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Archive for January, 2010
Friday, January 29th, 2010
Dear Mr. Martin,
 Now they get it.  Steve Martin 101
My name is Shelley Yates and I am a huge fan of your work. (I have
watched all of your movies and read many of your books.) I live in Pensacola, Florida, where recently you spent some time. In fact, I work at the Fish House where you and your family attempted to visit. The hostess did not recognize you and told you that it would be 45 minutes for a table, so you left. Understandably.
I was not at work on the evening that you came by, but I understand that the hostess was told, “You just turned away Steve Martin,” to which she replied, “I have no idea who that is.”
I feel that you are probably the type of guy who wouldn’t want special treatment even though you’re a famous author, actor, comedian, and musician. That you weren’t given a table immediately because you are such a huge star isn’t the issue here. What alarms me is what the hostess said. To me, not knowing you or your work is unforgivable.
I apologize for this. I wanted to fire her. However, ignorance is another way to say opportunity, so I took it upon myself to educate all of the hostesses about you and your collective body of work. We started out with a Steve Martin fact sheet with your photograph and some career highlights. (See photo.) Then we played your hit song, “King Tut,” and made the hostesses dance like Egyptians. (See photo.) Next, we made each hostess watch a YouTube clip of your SNL skit with Mr. Dan Aykroyd and say, “I’m a wild and crazy guy.”
For certain, at this point, I feel secure in the fact that each hostess knows who you are and, should you attempt to visit the Fish House again, will eagerly find you a table as quickly as possible.
Have a nice day.
Shelley Yates
Tags: local restaurants, Pensacola, Steve Martin
Posted in Uncategorized | 19 Comments »
Monday, January 25th, 2010
 Melissa Martin Event Coordinator for the Great Southern Restaurant Group In this series, we’ll offer tips on how to plan parties. If you have questions about how to make your party a success, please feel free to ask here.
There are a lot of funny things that happen during parties that most people never get to see. Generally, there is a good lesson to be learned. One funny story that comes to mind happened at a high school reunion that I planned. The details have been changed to protect the identity of our guests. But certainly, the person to whom this happened might read this and hopefully will understand that the story in itself is so fantastic that it bears repeating.
So, the reunion was in full force — people seeing people that they hadn’t seen in twenty years. A lot of girls who might have been wallflowers in high school have “gotten their groove on” and are rubbing it in the face of any now-chubby, formerly skinny cheerleader that will make eye contact with them. All fun stuff. One girl disappeared with a certain fella that she had pined away for so long ago. Well, they began a swift courtship at the reunion, which led to a “heavy-petting/full-on” make-out session all within a 10-minute period. Ultimately, they ended up locking themselves in the bathroom to not make a scene.Or so they thought. All of the sudden, the door flew open with the girl screaming and running out of the bathroom with her hair on fire! Seemed things got so hot and heavy that she didn’t realize she was leaning on a table lined with votive candles. Thankfully, the girl was not hurt, more scared and embarrassed. She laughs about it now and still sports a fantastic bob cut. It’s all clean fun. The lesson learned? “Be keen on where you lean.”
Read more for some helpful tips on planning a high school reunion and a chance to win one of my soon-to-be-famous party packs! (more…)
Tags: confessions, contest, events, humor, local restaurants, party planning, reunion
Posted in Uncategorized | 24 Comments »
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
Great Southern Culinary Moments
 Baked Oysters Food is at the core of Southern culture, and many of our notable Southern specialties are based on ingredients indigenous to the region. One of the South’s most delicious home grown favorites is the pecan (you say pee-can, we say pa-kahn). Enjoy them salted, roasted or honey glazed, and of course as the star in pie (here’s a great history of pecan pie). Spectacular seafood from grouper and mahi to shrimp and oysters are the freshest catches you can find and a staple of southern coastal cuisine. The South is also known for its long history of delicious recipes with black-eyed peas that are good for the soul.
Learn how to cook these Southern comforts at home from Jackson’s Chef Irv Miller on Wednesday, February 24, 2010. For only $40 per person, you will learn the secrets from our own top chef along with food tastings and wine pairings. Chef Irv will walk you through perfecting Southern specialties while sharing locally available and seafood favorites from the waters of our own Gulf of Mexico. He will also demonstrate how to prepare some of his favorite regional recipes including pecan-crusted Mississippi wild redfish with Louisiana meunière sauce, country fried chicken and Chef Edna Lewis biscuits. For more information and to make reservations, please call 850-217-2347. In the meantime, you can practice at home with some Chef Irv’s exclusive recipes. Here’s one to get you started –Baked Oysters with Hot Peppered Collards and Andouille Cream and Cornbread Crust! (”Read More” for the recipe)
Share with us! What are some of your favorite traditional Southern recipes? Where did the recipe come from?
Tags: Collards, Corn Bread, local restaurants, oysters, Pecans, Pensacola, Recipes, Southern Cooking
Posted in Recipes, Southern Cooking | 10 Comments »
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
Send off houseguests in style.
 Pensacola is a paradise on the Gulf of Mexico. Living in such a beautiful place, it’s not uncommon for relatives to crawl out of the woodwork for a visit or eagerly accept an invitation to a wedding. Our emerald waters and white sands are a big lure, in addition to any other festivity, making a house full of guests a guarantee even after the big day is over.
There is a simple, and fun, way to mark the end of the celebration and send guests off with a smile. Hold a post-wedding brunch. At the Fish House and Atlas, we can create a custom event to complement your wedding theme, colors or other special accents to personalize your event.
A post-wedding brunch is a great time to recap the festivities and indulge in delicious dishes like Bananas Foster French Toast or Seafood Crepes. Of course it wouldn’t be brunch without a Bloody Mary (or two). Here is our favorite brunch recipe for, Sunday Brunch Shrimp Cocktail. Cheers!
Leave a comment sharing your favorite brunch item or Bloody Mary recipe and you will be automatically entered into a drawing for a $25 Sunday Brunch gift card at the Fish House.
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Tags: Brunch, Recipes
Posted in Event Planning, Recipes | 50 Comments »
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
The holidays are officially over, but you can carry on the festive feeling and turn that fridge full of leftovers into a new dish for the New Year. At Jackson’s Steakhouse we believe in making the most of all of our fresh, valuable ingredients and not letting anything go to waste. That’s why we love Ribollita, a famous Tuscan soup that literally means “reboiled”. Like most Tuscan cuisine it’s a dish with peasant origins, originally made by re-cooking the leftover minestrone or vegetable soup from the previous day. The soup’s scrumptious flavor increases day after day with each reheating.
Slow cooking is the secret to creating this hearty winter vegetable soup. There are many variations on the recipe, but the main ingredients always include leftover (or “stale”) bread, cannellini beans and cavolo nero (black leaf kale). The tall narrow stalks of cavolo nero can be spotted peaking out of every garden along the Tuscan countryside. It’s an essential ingredient in this and many other signature dishes of the area.
Here is our favorite Ribollita recipe, by Jackson’s Chef Irv. Happy New Year and Buon appetito!
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Tags: Recipes
Posted in Recipes | 3 Comments »
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