Kaffeinated Konfusion

Posted By kaffeenjunkie on November 7, 2011

Lisa and I attended a couple auctions over the last few days. Both with very different aims and intents

Saturday we went to a farm auction. If wasn’t a foreclosure it was the estate of my Mom’s uncle. He had
lived in the same house since he was 1 or two years old. About 90 years. The estate was huge! We counted 34 Farm All and International Harvester tractors plus he had collected several lawn tractors. It took two days to auction off the vast collections of antique toys, household goods, vehicles and tractors.

On the day that we went it was a crowd of 4 to 500 people dressed in Carharts, jeans and simple handmade clothes.
The auction was in Middlebury Indiana and the Amish presence was quite large. We had never seen so many horse and buggies in one location. There was no entry fee and they didn’t even ask to see my drivers license when I picked up my bidder number.  Number 643. The crowd was very polite and well mannered. The bidding was energetic, fierce and fast! The food offered was simple, homemade and was not free.

The second was a fund raiser for Kalamazoo in Bloom.  The pumpkin Soiree It cost 25.00 to get in the door and and the food offered
by chefs and restaurants was free and very creative. The auction items were gift baskets with really not much value. The crowd was dressed mostly in suits and dresses. Very polite and well mannered. The bidding was silent and lackluster. They raised $$4200.00 to help pay for the flowers that will beplanted in Bronson Park and other places around town.

Although we enjoyed both auctions, truth be told, we enjoyed the farm auction a lot more. There was an energy in the air that was missing in the other auction. It was the fierce but friendly, up front, bidding contest that made it exciting. The quick and sing song patter of the professional auctioneer and the quick responses from the bidders. The occasional back and forth between the auctioneers and bidder was
often humorous.

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Tags: auctions, food, Full City Cafe, fund raisers, Kalamazoo, pumpkins, restaurant

Posted By kaffeenjunkie on October 28, 2011

We sent out emails back in August and humbly asked for your vote in whatever category you thought would be approriate in the Kalamazoo Gazette Reader’s Choice award. Although we didn’t take a first place in any single category, we placed in six different ones.

Best American Restaurant – First Runner up
Best Family Restaurant- Honorable Mention
Best Brunch – Second Runner Up
Best Coffee Shop – Honorable Mention
Best Wait Staff – First Runner Up
Best Lunch Place – Second Runner Up

Thanks so much for your votes, it really means a lot to us and our staff.

One October 26 we gave away a $100.00 Gift Certificate and the great pumpkin.

Congratulations to Jacky Denaway!

The pumpkin weighed in at 70.25 pounds and 22 people were within 5 pounds. Jacky won the $100.00 certificate through elimination.
Plus she gets to put the huge pumpkin on her porch to be the envy of the neighbors. All the folks who were eliminated got a dinner for two certficate. All in all, we gave away close to 500.00 in certificates and the pumpkin. What a fun night!

Several of you asked about what happened with the SF Jazz Collective.
I was able to catch the last half hour of their show. They were fantastic!

They loved the meal we prepared for them and left very little behind on the buffet.
We exceeded their expectations. One of the musicians told that they hadn’t had one meal prepared
for them that got all their requirements right. They had been on the road for three months straight.

Really, the highlight of my weekend was the one year old who’s party we catered on Saturday. Mom, Dad and
other family members came in for breakfast on Sunday. I asked the little guy if he got enough ribs to eat for his birthday.
He grabbed my finger and gave me a big huge smile. Made my day!

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Tags: birthday, Full City Cafe, guests, Kalamazoo, pumpkins, restaurant, thank you

Posted By kaffeenjunkie on October 14, 2011

On October 1st we were involved with a little known fund raiser (it’s only their second one) Crescendo Fest.
This fundraiser helps raise money for scholarships. The scholarships are used to help students that wouldn’t be able to afford music lessons. The festival featured a progressive recital, a silent action, and food from local growers and restaurants.

The reason we are invited to be involved in this little fundraiser is the Tomlinson family. Dick, Kathie, and Dick’s son Charley.
This family is on several boards and is involved in many things. From the Kalamazoo Symphony, Fontana Chamber Arts, the Theater Guild are only a few of the things they are involved in.

We have been privileged and delighted to donate time and services for many things over the years. Mainly because of the Tomlinson’s and their tireless efforts to support the Arts in Kalamazoo, they keep asking and we keep saying yes.

After you have had nice breakfast on Saturday, you could wander down to the Epic Center and enjoy some great music and a snack or two from a few local restaurants. The cost is minimal compared to the impact it could have on some child’s life. All the money stays right here in Kalamazoo.

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Tags: Full City Cafe, Kalamazoo, local products, music, saturday morning

Posted By kaffeenjunkie on September 14, 2011

It has been a couple busy weeks. We have two new cooks in the kitchen and Lisa
has been out and recuperating from pneumonia.

I was watching a special on the rebuilding process at the World Trade Center site Sunday night.
Having missed yesterday’s ceremonies I came home to read and see highlights. I felt it
important. Like many, I still remember exactly what I was doing that morning.

One of the reasons we are training cooks right now is one of our “kids” has been ordered to Afghanistan.
Jeremy had been in the Army Reserves when we hired him. He shipped out last week for a month of intense training. My nephew is currently in Okinawa, Japan training to go into Afghanistan as well. For Lisa and I, like any parent who’s
kids go into harms way, there is a wide range of emotions. Everything from pride, fright, worry and anger.

Ten years after our Nation was attacked we are still engaged with an enemy that has no country and doesn’t seem to care who they kill to justify their twisted thinking. After watching and being reminded of the horror that was visited on the people of New York,
Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, the country and the world; freedom is worth fighting for.

I also took time to read comments related to a story about 9/11 on CNN. Freedom was evident in every single
passage. There were comments that were thoughtful. There were comments that were plain silly. There were comments that were an admonishment. There were some that were, well, downright hateful. Whether I agreed with any of them or not
isn’t nearly important as the freedom of each of the person to express themselves, without the fear of harm or worse.

Sadly there are still places in this world that freedom is a word that is just, a word.
Even writing a blog post like this one could mean trouble,

Bless our troops in harms way and all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, so that you and I may enjoy the
freedoms we often take for granted.

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Posted By kaffeenjunkie on August 22, 2011

Last week was the end of our time with Angelique. We miss her already!
She will be remembered for her grace and calm presence.
She has been serving you for the last three years and has been an absolute joy to work with.
If we could keep this one around forever, we certainly would.

We wish her well in her new management postion and know that wherever she lands she will be a star.
If your near The Village in Rochester Hills stop in at Hollisters and say hello!

Angelique and her Father

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Tags: employees, Full City Cafe, Kalamazoo, restaurant

Posted By kaffeenjunkie on August 10, 2011

Last weekend was an experience.
We put our ribs into the competition at the Ribfest. This was our first time entering into this competition so my expectations were pretty low. Good thing. I think we have some
pretty tasty ‘Q but we didn’t place in the top five. In talking to a few of the other entrants I was amongst some heavy competition. Many have entered competitions at the state level and placed.

Big Moe’s BBQ took first place. and People’s Choice. Congratulations to him and his crew!
Moe has  been cooking ribs long as I can remember. He has placed first in many competitions around the state. We have room for improvement!

I also got the Ribfest coordinator, Deb Droppers, to introduce me to one of the large national vendors from out of state. I really wanted to see one of their operations.

She introduced me to Rasta Joe.
Joe has won many competitions and has been serious force to be reckoned with on the BBQ circuit for about twenty years.
Joe is a really nice, down to earth guy. We made small talk and compared notes and experiences and the next thing I know I was grilling and cutting a few hundred slabs of ribs on Saturday.

A different way to spend a day off for sure! I had a great time working with Joe and his crew and I learned a lot. Seriously thinking about a booth at next years Ribfest.

Rasta Joe’s daughter (white bandanna)told me that she graded my ribs at 16 out of 20 points.
At least it gives me a small ray of hope.

Ribfest Judges

 

 

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Posted By kaffeenjunkie on July 23, 2011

Our hot dog promotion went exceedingly well! We ordered in just as many cases of dogs as last year and sold out twice as fast. It is a tough call because we can only order from Usingers one time for this promotion,by the time we can order again and get them in the promo would be over. So if you live in like Albion or somewhere, you might want to call ahead, read our weekly newsletters or connect up on Facebook so you know what is going on.
Just saying.

It was a crazy couple of weeks! We got off to one heck of start with Mother Nature crashing our party. It was lights out for two days. A couple hundred pounds of dry ice later, we got our power back. Many of our friends, guests and neighbors suffered significant damage from falling trees and they are still picking up. We hope they get everything repaired and cleaned up quickly.

Then things really heated up, well literally with temps in the high 90′s and the humidity just as high. I think most of the cooks in the kitchen were swimming through their day (except Elwin, I never saw him break a sweat). I took two showers when I got home every day.

I really got to hand it to the kitchen crew, they did an awesome job. Recovering from the power outage and getting back on track was no simple task. Then for the next week conditions in the kitchen were downright miserable with the heat and humidity. One time during lunch I looked over and Kenny had 15 buns lined up on his counter and he was filling and topping like a maniac! I guess nothing beats a hot day like a good dog.

The most popular dog sold was a local favorite. The Coney is a Detroit (some say Flint) creation and they out sold all the others about 2 to 1.
Next year I will order in a few more cases but for now, you will have to wait until December.

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Tags: employees, Full City Cafe, Hot Dogs, Kalamazoo

Posted By kaffeenjunkie on June 30, 2011

It is grilling time!!

This weekend is probably the biggest weekend of the summer for firing up that grill. Sure, hot dogs and burgers will be probably be the lions share of items to hit the grill. But hey do you have to have them EVERY year?? There are plenty of things that you can toss on the char grill that are simply more fun and flavorful. Hopefully you can find a few ideas here.

Vegetables:
Asparagus, corn, broccoli, Belgian endive, potatoes, squashes (summer and winter) onion, okra, tomatoes, peppers all do well on the grill.

Lamb is begging for that char grilled flavor. Kabobs, chops and burgers or even a butterflied leg of lamb are all easy to do.
Remember lamb is best in the medium to medium rare range.

Of course there is chicken but that is kind of like hot dogs and burgers! Consider game hens, turkey or duck.
All of them will fare nicely on the char grill and a realm of flavor that above and beyond.

Fish is also perfect on the grill. If you plan to do steaks of filets salmon, swordfish, halibut and other meatier fish or a whole fish like are easy to manage on the grill. The big secret is make sure your grills grates are clean and well oiled and you brush the fish with some oil.

Lest we forget, there is pork. Pork does best when you can cook it low and slow. Loins, shoulder, picnic roasts, ribs all benefit greatly with a low heat method. Chops and sausages
are usually cooked quickly.
If you have no inclination to get your hands dirty or stand over a hot grill then you can order one of our rib or
pulled pork packages. Everything you need to have a nice little picnic for 4-6 people.

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Tags: Cooking, Fourth of July, fresh food, Full City Cafe, Grill, Kalamazoo, restaurant

Posted By kaffeenjunkie on June 24, 2011

Bob Bickle (on the right) and his son. Awesome ties guys!

Father’s Day was a success.

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Tags: Father's Day, Full City Cafe, Kalamazoo, restaurant

Posted By kaffeenjunkie on June 18, 2011

My Dad taught me several things  when I was growing up. Perseverance, the value of hard work, patience, love for
the outdoors, a sense of adventure and travel are among the many traits that I truly value. Lisa’s father shared with me two of the things he cherished most.
His daughter and his love of flight.

How to properly tie a tie was also among the list of things my Father taught, but it is no less important. It
seems that this simple piece of material conveys a lot of things in our society. Power, authority and respect are the top three that come to mind. Perhaps that
is why the gift of a carefully chosen tie on Father’s day is so popular.

Carl Zwanzig said “Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together.” Nancy Werlin is
quoted “Such a bad mistake it would be, to embark on marriage and adult life without a nice supply of duct tape.”

Holding the universe together and the lessons taught in not making a major life mistake combined with power,
respect embodies everything about fatherhood. The reason for our duct tape tie tradtion is clear.

Now if we could only find a way to fit in WD40

Dad's seventieth birthday party

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