The Saus team is astounded by the buzz that the (soon-to-open) restaurant has been generating over these social media platforms. Our facebook page, twitter account, and blog have joined as a trifecta to ceate a micro community of social media savvy food nerds (in other words, people who are a lot like us). Having this community is conducive to our goal of becoming a kind of user-contributed local eatery. We have created a menu and have a store experience in mind that we would want as food explorers, so why not try to make it a place others want to come to as well. For example, one of our twitter followers (we know him as @gregmurph)asked if we were planning to make samurai sauce (a popular accompaniment in Belgium), which prompted us to experiment with a sambal-oelek/mayo fusion. Our samurai sauce turned out to be delicious, so we're going with it.
Facebook has also been a great way to gather feedback from 'fans'. Recently we asked everyone to help us name our sour cream and chive sauce and the results exceeded our expectations. We got 30-some ideas for names that we had to make it a vote.
Of course we will not be able to satisfy everyone. The idea is to try to make everyone happy, and when that can't be done, to mitigate a bad situation as best as possible. Either way, we desperately want to serve you guys and provide a phenomenal experience, but more than that we want to be your place. This is the dream, I think, of every restaurateur.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Check out our deep fryers!
I just wanted an excuse to post a picture of our brand spanking new deep fryers that were delivered just this week. Woot woot.
Monday, April 19, 2010
The Finish Line
In honor of Marathon Monday (and for those of you out there who are unfamiliar with the significance of this day in MA, it's a day when locals come out to cheer on the runners of the Boston Marathon whilst drinking, carousing, etc. Oh and it's also Patriot's Day...), the team is considering our own race to the finish.
We are at our last mile, we are exhausted, we are feeling accomplished, but also like our legs are going to give out. We clearly see the finish line, yet it seems so far away. The metaphors can really go on and on...and on and on. What I am trying to say is that the team is so close to finishing build-out, we're making our final purchases and final touches, yet still have a number of steps to complete before we can actually serve food.
Once the construction is set, we must have an inspector come in to evaluate our space for a Certificate of Occupancy and also to sign off on a Health Permit. We are a bit terrified. What if we need to drastically change something that ends up taking weeks? We don't think there are any potential hazards in the space, but with this team - anything could happen (I mean hey, no one thought Saus could happen and here we are!)
Anyway, we're so nervous. We just need you guys to keep cheering for us a little longer as we "run our last mile" - I know, I can't help it, I talk in cliches in my sleep. After all, when this project is done, the new project begins - and it's all about you guys and providing you with a fantastic food experience. See you at the finish line. (Number of times the word "finish" was used in this post: 6)
We are at our last mile, we are exhausted, we are feeling accomplished, but also like our legs are going to give out. We clearly see the finish line, yet it seems so far away. The metaphors can really go on and on...and on and on. What I am trying to say is that the team is so close to finishing build-out, we're making our final purchases and final touches, yet still have a number of steps to complete before we can actually serve food.
Once the construction is set, we must have an inspector come in to evaluate our space for a Certificate of Occupancy and also to sign off on a Health Permit. We are a bit terrified. What if we need to drastically change something that ends up taking weeks? We don't think there are any potential hazards in the space, but with this team - anything could happen (I mean hey, no one thought Saus could happen and here we are!)
Anyway, we're so nervous. We just need you guys to keep cheering for us a little longer as we "run our last mile" - I know, I can't help it, I talk in cliches in my sleep. After all, when this project is done, the new project begins - and it's all about you guys and providing you with a fantastic food experience. See you at the finish line. (Number of times the word "finish" was used in this post: 6)
Monday, April 12, 2010
A short story about counters
The Saus team is excitedly waiting for Wednesday- the day our handcrafted counters arrive.
Our woodworker/expert craftsman (I really don't know what to call him), Adam has been keeping us as in-the-loop as possible, given that he is making these all the way in Indiana, PA (aka, middle of nowhere).
Funny story, I recently went to dinner at a new restaurant in Boston, Stoddard's. Dinner was amazing (they aren't really open yet, so it was a limited menu). However, what struck me was how we (the Saus team) were children compared to them and what their budget must be. The interior was astounding. The piece de resistance: the massive, gorgeous bar- meticulously and intricately handcrafted in Manchester, England, like a hundred years ago. No joke. It sat in a museum for a while because it was too big for the original restaurant it was made for. When you see it, it's easy to see why. Of course, my first thought was, "Our counter tops are handcrafted in Pennsylvania! They are being imported.." But we all know, it's not really the same ball game.
Anyway, back to Saus, Adam sent us a third round of photos of our counters. They are turning out beautifully! Here are a few- notice Adam in some of the pics!
In the last photo, our counters are wrapped up and getting ready to come to 33 Union!
Also, a last word in, while our counters may not be as spectacular as Stoddard's bar (I'm not bitter...), they are so us. Not only in appearance (style wise, matches our personalities and Saus's), but also in construction.
A note from Adam about how they were constructed:
"Your counter tops were engineered to appear like they are 3.5" thick, but are in fact partially hollow. 40% less material was used in the execution of your tops, than that of traditional edge-grain butcher blocks. For the walnut trim around the burlap, parts of each walnut section are engineered from thinner pieces of wood to appear longer and thicker than they actually are. By using the drops and edge cutoffs from the walnut boards, I've used all material that would be considered "waste" to extend the walnut trim columns to their required lengths. I've extended sections of trim by adding in mortise and tenon joints between sections."
Thus, it makes it more beneficial cost-wise, but it's also kinder to the environment. We use less wood, have less waste and kill less trees!
This is why Adam is amazing, he COMPLETELY incorporated the soul of Saus into his work. See some of his other work at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/noelfales
(He does the wood items, not the clothing. That is his talented gf, Noel.)
He also has a website, but it's still under construction. Check back later when it's complete.
http://www.arcwds.com/
Our woodworker/expert craftsman (I really don't know what to call him), Adam has been keeping us as in-the-loop as possible, given that he is making these all the way in Indiana, PA (aka, middle of nowhere).
Funny story, I recently went to dinner at a new restaurant in Boston, Stoddard's. Dinner was amazing (they aren't really open yet, so it was a limited menu). However, what struck me was how we (the Saus team) were children compared to them and what their budget must be. The interior was astounding. The piece de resistance: the massive, gorgeous bar- meticulously and intricately handcrafted in Manchester, England, like a hundred years ago. No joke. It sat in a museum for a while because it was too big for the original restaurant it was made for. When you see it, it's easy to see why. Of course, my first thought was, "Our counter tops are handcrafted in Pennsylvania! They are being imported.." But we all know, it's not really the same ball game.
Anyway, back to Saus, Adam sent us a third round of photos of our counters. They are turning out beautifully! Here are a few- notice Adam in some of the pics!
In the last photo, our counters are wrapped up and getting ready to come to 33 Union!Also, a last word in, while our counters may not be as spectacular as Stoddard's bar (I'm not bitter...), they are so us. Not only in appearance (style wise, matches our personalities and Saus's), but also in construction.
A note from Adam about how they were constructed:
"Your counter tops were engineered to appear like they are 3.5" thick, but are in fact partially hollow. 40% less material was used in the execution of your tops, than that of traditional edge-grain butcher blocks. For the walnut trim around the burlap, parts of each walnut section are engineered from thinner pieces of wood to appear longer and thicker than they actually are. By using the drops and edge cutoffs from the walnut boards, I've used all material that would be considered "waste" to extend the walnut trim columns to their required lengths. I've extended sections of trim by adding in mortise and tenon joints between sections."
Thus, it makes it more beneficial cost-wise, but it's also kinder to the environment. We use less wood, have less waste and kill less trees!
This is why Adam is amazing, he COMPLETELY incorporated the soul of Saus into his work. See some of his other work at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/noelfales
(He does the wood items, not the clothing. That is his talented gf, Noel.)
He also has a website, but it's still under construction. Check back later when it's complete.
http://www.arcwds.com/
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Food Safety Training
Today we completed Unit 1 of our ServSafe online course. The entire class is estimated to be between 7 and 10 hours long. We learned all about pathogens, viruses, bacteria, and other toxins related to foodborne illnesses. While technically only one of us is required to have a ServSafe certification, we all decided to train for it - including Greg, who is the financial guy and Asad, our investor and 5th partner.
We learned all sorts of fun facts. For instance, to remember the elements that help pathogens grow and make people sick remember FATTOM, or Food, Acidity (lack of acidity contributes to pathogen growth), Temperature (41-135 degrees F is considered the DANGER ZONE), Time (pathogens grow after 4 hours), Oxygen, and Moisture.
We also learned less interesting and obvious facts, such as there is no smoking in the kitchen, open wounds must be covered when handling food (unless you want to give new meaning to 'blood sausage' or 'blood oranges' hardy har har), and if you use a knife to cut a raw chicken, you can't then use it to cut an orange.
And that is a summary of Unit 1. So the next time you decide to apply the 5 second rule, just remember that you could potentially be exposing your food to physical, chemical, and/or biological pathogens.
We learned all sorts of fun facts. For instance, to remember the elements that help pathogens grow and make people sick remember FATTOM, or Food, Acidity (lack of acidity contributes to pathogen growth), Temperature (41-135 degrees F is considered the DANGER ZONE), Time (pathogens grow after 4 hours), Oxygen, and Moisture.
We also learned less interesting and obvious facts, such as there is no smoking in the kitchen, open wounds must be covered when handling food (unless you want to give new meaning to 'blood sausage' or 'blood oranges' hardy har har), and if you use a knife to cut a raw chicken, you can't then use it to cut an orange.
And that is a summary of Unit 1. So the next time you decide to apply the 5 second rule, just remember that you could potentially be exposing your food to physical, chemical, and/or biological pathogens.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
saus is famous (ish)
Ok, so it's my birthday (and about to be 80 degrees today in Boston) so this post is going to be a short one. Saus was not only featured in the Boston Globe (with oh-so-flattering pic) but Boston readers apparently are enjoying the article!
We are #6 most emailed! So thanks to everyone for supporting us, this is a big deal.
Aaaand here's the proof that we are #6
And of course, the link to the article:
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2010/04/07/serving_a_side_of_social_media_with_their_frites/
And I got notice that while I was typing this short post, we jumped to number 4, but I'm anxious to get out of here for now, so I'm not re-posting the new evidence!
We are #6 most emailed! So thanks to everyone for supporting us, this is a big deal.
Aaaand here's the proof that we are #6
And of course, the link to the article:http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2010/04/07/serving_a_side_of_social_media_with_their_frites/
And I got notice that while I was typing this short post, we jumped to number 4, but I'm anxious to get out of here for now, so I'm not re-posting the new evidence!
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