Hi Friends,
We just wrapped up the Ballast Point Brewmaster seafood dinner — mad thanks to Colby, Yuseff and everyone at Ballast Point, and of course to our own Rey and crew who worked tirelessly to put together a six-course menu for the event — and are looking forward to some fun new stuff this week. I’m en route to the Carolinas right now, working to keep procuring lots of great pasture-raised heritage pork. And maybe to find some cool stuff for the Carolina dinner we’re going to have at the end of the month! (Email me if you’d like to reserve a spot.) In any event, here’s what’s going on at the Link this week.
* As many of you know, whenever we can serve Old Creek Ranch meats, it’s a real treat. There’s so little of their meat available and it can be a logistical challenge to get it, so we’re really happy when we have it on the menu. Starting today (Wednesday), we’ll be featuring a starter with Old Creek Ranch beef brisket. Old Creek Ranch beef is all-organic, and 100% grass fed on rangeland overlooking the Pacific near Morro Bay. This is the rare opportunity to eat (relatively) local beef that is grown completely outside of the industrial food chain. And also to support Old Creek Ranch, who are right out there in the movement for sustainable agriculture.
* From the farmer’s market this week we’ll have fava beans from Rutiz Farm in Arroyo Grande, which will complement our wild local fish, and Oro Blanco Grapefruit from Bernard Ranches in Valley Center, which will be served with our coulotte steak (yeah, it’s back!) from Brandt Farms in Brawley.
* Our kitchen are making “chicken and biscuit”, kind of a deconstructed chicken pot pie, this week. With Fulton Valley Farms chicken, and it’s really tasty. It should be available Wednesday for at least a couple more days.
* Rey is putting together a “cinderella meatloaf” — that’s the closest English-language term we could come up with for a country pate. Country pate has been one of those secret dishes we make every now and then, just write it on the chalkboard and then really eat it mostly ourselves. Because we really like it but pate comes in so many different forms that a lot of folks are reluctant to order it, cause they don’t know what they’ll get. The country pates we’ve done so far really have been more like meatloaf — delicous and kind of, er, refined, meatloaf — than the “spread with a knife” pate that one sometimes gets. So that’s what to expect.
* We’ll have ceviche from ono fish, at least on Wednesday. I’ve tasted it and I think it’s the best we’ve done yet.
* Our pickled eggs are getting a lot of good feedback! We pickled some real ranch eggs from Wingshadows Hacienda in Warner Springs — if you’ve never had a pickled egg — or if you’ve only had commodity eggs pickled — I urge you to try one. They’re delicious. We also use the ranch eggs on our burger and you can taste the extra richness.
* A reminder that we now have happy hour! From 5pm to 6:30pm every day, we offer some light refreshing drinks at really low prices. For instance, Virgin Islands Pale Ale (refreshing ale with mango essence) $2.75, Trumer Pils (genuine European Pilsner brewed in Berkeley) $3, and Amigo Lager (Pizza Port’s Mexican-style lager, when available) $2.75. Plus Pinot Grigio for $3.75 and sparkling mead (akin to champagne, but with different flavor overtones ’cause it’s made from honey instead of grape juice) for $3.75.
* The cask lineup at the moment: Stone Smoked Porter, Ballast Point Even Keel Session Ale, Green Flash Le Freak Belgian Style Ale, Lightning Brewery American Amber Ale, and Stone IPA. One or two of these will be available over the next week or so, depending on how fast we go through stuff.
* The official “Favorite Band Of The Linkery”, What Made Milwaukee Famous, is playing at House of Blues on Thursday, May 3rd. I’ve seen them at the Casbah and at Spaceland in Silverlake, and both times they were excellent — it definitely helps that they write brilliant pop songs and are super-talented musicians. Anyway, if you’re looking for a great concert to go to in the next couple weeks, this is one I know of that should be just that. I know a few of us will be there, too!
* We’re changing the menu daily now, so we get a lot of stuff in later in the week, that we don’t even know about when we send this email out. We’re going to try to keep the online menu updated daily, starting Wednesday around 5pm. We’ll see how it goes. You may just have to come in to see what’s what.
* Lastly, as summer comes up a lot of folks are hosting events and receptions of various kinds. If you’re interested in having the Linkery cook food for your event, let us know. We can put together finger food for a cocktail reception, bring hot dinners for an event, or even grill on site using our large Santa Maria Barbecue. For more info, email me at jay@thelinkery.com.
We’re open every day from 5pm until at least 11pm. Thanks everyone for being part of the Linkery community!
Best,
Jay