Our first Valentine's together

Happy Valentine's Day, we hope you are able to share it with someone you love. We are looking forward to the holiday, and hope that everyone has as much fun as we will have. Often holiday's like Valentine's do strange things to a restaurant... You know people will come out; you write special menus, often crammed with expensive items; restaurants I have worked in have even added tables, taken away all of the larger tables and exchanged them for two tops. We talked at length about our approach to holidays. We decided they would be the same as normal days. We decided that we like what we do every day. As such, our Valentine's menu is our menu. Our tables are our tables, and we do not take reservations.

I part, we realized that we are not a quiet, romantic table. We are a raucous sexy party. It may be a different approach to Valentine's. It is community seating and talking with neighbors and friends. It is sharing drinks, food, and laughter. It is a great time.

Cheers,
Ben

Craft Beer Week?

Portsmouth will be celebrating Portsmouth Beer Week February 27th through March 5th, and it culminates in the tapping of Kate at PBrew. We are as excited this year as we have been in every year past. The good folks at Seacoast Beverage Lab had contacted us in our early days about the events. While we wanted to participate in some fashion we just didn't know how or what we would be doing. Now we are approaching the date and wanted to let everyone know that besides seeing us out and about at Portsmouth's fine beer-centric establishments on our downtime, we will be planning to drag some gems not available on the New Hampshire side of the river out of the storage and onto our lines. De Ranke XX. Sure. BooGoop? If we have any left... we are running it now. Sours? We anticipate Cuvee de Jacobins and Rodenbach in, not to mention the Sasuga Saison from Oxbow-- brett and funk. Mikkeller Simcoe. Unfiltered Bruges Zot. Yeah, we're on the wrong side of the river, but worth the 5mins.

It makes me wonder what we are planning for American Craft Beer week in May...

Cheers,
Ben

The New Menu...

There has been a constant conversation about our menu since we opened. I mean among the staff. Only a few weeks in, the chef announced that he intended to change it, keep it fresh. And he meant soon. Gavin and I were excited. We slowed him down a bit-- booking parties, eating up his down time. And there was just the day to day, fortunately for us we have been busy. More so than we anticipated. And that is wonderful, everyday we feel the support and love of our community. But, the business was its own set of delays for Jake... just keeping up with the volume and demand on our from scratch kitchen.

Well, the menu is here. In the middle of winter we are ferreting produce from farmer friend's root cellars. We are thankful to Jean and Josh Jennings of Meadow's Mirth for bearing with us as we get our legs. Every Wednesday, they make the trek to Kittery, loaded with staples. It will be with it for everyone as we cultivate this and other relationships with area growers.

On Tuesday, the new iteration of the menu rolled out. It was quiet, without fanfare. We decided we would announce the menu change in time for the weekend. But it was the first time that as a staff we saw the food. It began earlier than usual, as the whole house organized and the new menu items feel into the prep. By service, the kitchen was cawing about not being ready for service about scrambling for garnishes, and mis-en-place. By the time customers arrived and food was going out the kitchen was unphased and stoic. There was more commotion over shift drinks than new dishes. Near the end of a busy Tuesday in February (yes, they happen) Gavin and I had a chance to start tasting through the dishes. He remarked that the most impressive part of the process to him, was that after so many years working in other restaurants, watching dishes get made, tweaked, and remade, our kitchen just talked about dishes... and then executed them. Jake and Skye went back and forth for weeks, sometimes involving us in conversations other times dismissing ideas we offered with little more than a sideways look. But after they had set the menu in their minds, there was little left but make the food that they had envisioned. And that is what they did. Almost flawlessly. Gavin was proud. I was proud. It was one of those moments where every doubt we had had along the way became moot. It was a quiet moment we shared over a bowl of bolognese.   

So, some favorites have been shed from our menu. Not because we didn't love them, not because we were hoping to deprive anyone. Just so our kitchen could keep it new. So they could work with new ingredients and present new dishes for people to fall in love with. We hope it will be a successful menu, we hope that you enjoy it. We are betting that you will.

Cheers,
Ben

Maine Magazine

We enjoy magazine photoshoots. We just wrapped one up with Maine Magazine. Perhaps better than the shoot was the visit from Joe Ricchio, the Maine Magazine food editor. Bang up job.

I am looking forward to the April issue.

Thanks.

Cheers,
Ben

The D Word, or Diacetyl Beers

Many of our guests detest Diacetyl beers, or as some affectionately term them "butter beers". Some brewers and breweries seem unable to produce anything but such beers. They know who they are, and one such brewery does well in its Maine home. However, we are less a fan of butter flavors in our beers. It isn't a creaminess, it is that distinct melted butter that has separated and sat stove top for far too long. When it finds its home in an appropriate style, diacetyl qualities can be masked by other aspects of the beer. It can even make a pleasant appearance, in much the same way that forgotten pot of drawn butter can be a perfect compliment to steamers or boiled lobster. Hell, I'd probably pour some on my baked potato. But, on that potato I would probably regret it. The drawn butter would be thin, an oily mess in the making. I will stare at it and wonder why I hadn't just used a pat of creamy butter instead.

This week I tasted through several IPAs. And as I did the underlying Diacetyl qualities of several shone through.

Brooklyn, Blast.
A beautifully constructed double IPA, balanced at 8% with a rich mouthfeel and great set of hops. But, as it lingers on the palate there is a distinct diacetyl flavor. I assume that the Brewmaster knew this was present, that he wanted the butteriness to bridge the malt and hops. I like it, and while I wouldn't session these, I will admit it would probably work great with a steak topped with gorgonzola.

Smuttynose, The Big A
I can remember being a hop head and sessioning this beer. I have changed. I would like to think matured. I still love this brutal double IPA. Massive hops, a maltiness that warms you immediately (or is that the alcohol?). No butter to speak of, this beer is all about an assertion of citric acid. Dark chocolate or grapefruits (pink, ruby even) would be a fine snack. But really, I choose this beer to chew on hops.

Southern Tier, Gemini
Southern Tier Produces another fantastic high abv IPA. This double IPA delivers a lot of hops as well as an easy drinking beer with a staggering 10.5 abv. My experience with The Southern Tier lineup is just that, high gravity beers that drink like much lower alcohol beers. You have to look for the alcohol here, and while looking, you may find a slight butteriness that creeps in behind the malt and immediately before the smack of hops. That said, no complaints. A little butter on this beast does it no disservice.

Cheers,
Ben

Radishes. Pickles.

So the kitchen pickled radishes, and radishes have an intense smell when pickled. Keep in mind the taste is sublime-- but getting them to your mouth triggers the olfactory. Actually, just having pickled radishes in the same room triggers the olfactory reaction. Gavin had some concerns, and rightfully so. The odor is not dissimilar to a diaper. It means that every time we served the pickle, it should be prefaced with an explanation that the reaction between vinegars and the radish create the intense aroma. That conversation doesn't always take place in a busy restaurant. As we were serving them, we didn't think about using analogy; that the daikon pickle is similar to a washed rind cheese. That the off-putting smell belies the sweet, complex deliciousness. It would probably have helped to make sense of the item. That too may have been lost in the busy dining room. The radishes are gone, for now... the weekend cleared them out. But they will fondly be remembered.
Cheers,
Ben

The Black Birch-- Think of us as a speakeasy

A lot of people ask us about signage. We don't have one hung yet. We are in a nondescript, one story government building (it was built in the 60's as a Post Office). We would love to hang our sign, we love the sign we commissioned Spotlight Woodworks to craft for us. We are having The Green Foundry build a pedestal and frame for the massive piece of red oak. And we are working to ensure that we get approval from the town of Kittery for the sign.


In the interim, I have come to accept that we are a hole-in-the-wall, a hard to find gem in Kittery, ME. At some point Gavin and I had joked about the resurgence of speakeasy-style bars in metropolitan areas. We certainly haven't been trying to be trendy... we just didn't exercise the best planning with regard to our business' facade. We will get the sign hung, and we are confident it will be a beautiful marriage of some very talented local artists and laborers. For now, we are poorly marked, have terrible visibility, but believe that for the people fortunate and patient enough to have found us, we offer something unique, wonderful, and comfortable. Thank you,

Ben

The Black Birch & Buoy Gallery

 An opening at Buoy is scheduled for Friday, February 3rd from 7-10pm. The exhibit is as others see you by Suzanne Schireson, a talented artist and lecturer from nearby University of New Hampshire. The paintings and drawings will be hung through the end of the month, and have transformed the space. We hope that everyone we know will take the opportunity to stop by, to see Buoy, to see Suzy's work, and to poke in to the restaurant for a bit of refreshment.

On this exhibits heels will be the ArtPM challenge... a fun, annual event that helps support art and conversation in our community.

Cheers,
Ben

When she sees the princess bed she will just understand that we have to have an open relationship...

It's a long title, to be sure. The sentiment isn't mine. But it is just one of those things that gets said in a restaurant, around a bar, that seems completely without justification. Someone will try. Someone will try to bring rational thought, will attempt to apply it to the thinking that magically conjured that sentence. It is a moment where I truly love my job. And it happens almost daily.

Cheers,

Ben

Menu Changes

We have been talking about menu changes since soon after we opened. That is the nature of The Black Birch. Jake and Skye are always talking about refining each dish, and when they feel they have zeroed in on the plate... well it becomes time to start something new. After the conversations and the speculation, the new menu is taking shape. There is a menu and the new foods are jostling for position in our already crammed walk-in. We've decided on the roll-out date and are quickly approaching the day.

There is always a sense of apprehension. We are novitiates; although we have all been around restaurants we are just learning to crawl at The Black Birch. We have in effect, created a menu to immediately follow up what seems to be a very successful opening menu. Our kitchen is talented, ambitious determined team. They subordinate their egos to our food-- and it shows. The food benefits, our guests benefit. We appreciate it, and we appreciate the kitchen. But it is a new menu. Things change. Some things we love go away. We treasure the memory and patiently await their next visit. Like a loved one who has traveled, moved away and returned, the items may not be the same. They will come back somehow foreign, but still recognizable. Down the road it will be a regular thing, people will come in and see something somewhat familiar, something once loved and never quite forgotten. For now, it is a process of taking away as much as presenting the new. We firmly believe in our kitchen, in the new. We hope that our guests will share in that belief. They will be rewarded, the experience will stay fresh, new. And that faith will keep things feeling familiar. Enjoyable.

Cheers,
Ben

The Website...

Our Website...

We love the website for The Black Birch... there are things we want to tweak. Mostly how quickly we popup in search engines, but largely this will be remedied with time and traffic and links, and metatags or somesuch, not to mention seo and slimy words and things my brain doesn't retain. I think our friends, Cleo and Troy, who coded and now maintain the site feel the same way about the website. Our designer, on the other hand... well we love her too. Probably more than the website.Part of loving her is knowing that she is never really satisfied with her work. A tweak may become an overhaul in the matter of a conversation. And that overhaul may call for a meeting.

When I was dreaming about a business of my own, I loved meetings. There were a few types; some enjoyable, some enjoyable because of how foreign and unenjoyable they were supposed to be. The later were mostly with officials and the sort of low level bureaucrat that you never hoped you would have to speak with. They were licensing and inspection issue meetings. They were lawyers and finance people that occur in offices that try to feel comfortable but never lose their catalog sterility.
The first type of meetings, the ones that were the most enjoyable mostly, for the past few years, Gavin and I took meetings in restaurants, coffeeshops and bars. We took meetings seriously for the first few pints. And, I am fortunate to say-- we took them often. I can't say that they were always efficient, or that they ever seemed productive. But they were all exceptional.

Lately, the meetings we set have little of the jovial bustle of a coffeeshop, the swagger of a barroom or the endless options of toppings at the Bratskellar. The meetings feel a bit more sterile and there is less pizza. Well, at least they had. And then I got an email from Liz... it was addressed to myself, Gavin, Cleo and Troy. It proposed a meeting to discuss the direction and potential redrafting of the website. But it proposed the meeting to be held at Cleo and Troy's farm over dinner. I have had the good fortune of having had dinner at the farm several times over the past few years. Well, we haven't cemented a date for the meeting, but the prospect of dinner, conversation and too many bottles of wine is just the medicine I need for a snowy afternoon. Regardless of the outcome, I guarantee it well be one of my favorite I've attended in quite some time.

Cheers,
Ben

An emotional pizza

 A lot of you may not know Al Mead. In the time we have been working on The Black Birch, Al has proven himself time and again. Sure, it looks like he just woke up and rolled out of bed, if you know him well you know it isn't just a look-- he did just roll out of bed. Al is always a quiet, poignant voice at the end of a tumultuous evening. He is also the piercing scream that announces

Al Mead, NYE 2011

During the construction phase, Gavin and I would frequently miss meals. And I get cranky when I am hungry. And construction is a frustrating exercise for me. Anyway, you can see where I am headed. It was probably on one of those sorts of afternoons that Al introduced me to the emotional pizza.

Simply put, in Al's own terms, everybody feels better with a pizza in the room. I think he is right, I know I experience a sense of satisfaction, near bliss, upon the arrival of a pepperoni pie. Regardless, of my mood or my hunger level-- just knowing there is a pizza at arm's length has a calming effect.

To this day, we routinely reach out to Kittery Town Pizza (207) 439-1265  to ensure that there is an emotional pizza on hand in event of a crisis. To date, we've had no crisis, but at least 9 pies. Thanks Al.

I advise that you try an emotional pizza. Keep one at arm's reach in the office, the shop, or at home. Everything will be just a little bit better.

Ben



PS, there is a very real possibility that I have mis-attributed the emotional pizza. If I have, I apologize to anyone who feels the emotional pizza is their intellectual property. (There is also the distinct possibility that the emotional pizza was courtesy Jeremy LeClair)

Has it been 2 mos.?

Two months and counting... It is safe to say that we are just starting to acclimate to the pace. The menu has been well received-- the venue and the drinks... And we are having fun. In hindsight, it was a lot of planning, a lot of hard work, and a lot of luck that brought the whole package together. It feels like a lot of luck. A lot of support from friends, family, and neighbors. That is what most of the experience really has boiled down to-- a sense of place, of community. The Kittery Foreside and the Seacoast as a whole delivered that community feel, even before we were able to open our doors. Now that the doors are open, and the first immense wave of guests is starting to ebb-- we still see that community every day. Our neighbors, stopping in for a glass of wine and a beer, sharing a snack with a co-worker or an old friend. Local artists, carpenters, and plumbers dropping by with a new taphandle.

Jake, Gavin, and I are settling into more familiar territory. Having a great time, and really doing what we had set out to do-- helping to provide an outlet for our community, our home. Thank you.

Headway

We are winding down a fairly productive opening week. We have started to dial in all of the tiny pieces that need fine tuning (not to mention the bits that need a complete overhaul). There is pressure, rigorous demands, and a timetable that seems relentless.

(As a note, I wrote the post Oct. 6, 2011. At the time, we were heading into inspections, a mad dash to try to get ready and licensed... there were setbacks that felt crushing. We were a long way from being where we wanted-- back in the dining rooms, bars, and kitchens that are familiar territory. I have a lot of unfinished snippets-- threads of thoughts that may finally start to see publication, just to help complete the sense of process that we went through.)