Cachagua General Store

Avgolemono: lemon, egg, rice, chicken.

Well, that was fun! Crazy week. We are rewarded with two days of sunshine, so we will be serving in the garden on Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday Rick Chelew will be playing in the garden from 1-4;30. Big new for us: the former chef/owner of Lokal is behind the stove all weekend. Our menu is close to normal, but Brendan has a magic touch. To go, pickup menus are up at the blogs.

Working on an old friend: coulibiac of salmon. Salmon wrapped in brioche, with crepes, duxelle, hardboiled eggs. etc. Assuming the brioche rises.... And while we are freezing in the kitchen and thinking Russian thoughts....this is perfect borscht weather. Nobody orders it, but we are all over it. Robbie just dropped off salmon, nice ahi and local rockfish....so stay tuned.

As if things couldn't get more weird: I couldn't post a menu until just now, because there was almost no fish! Only farmed fish, which we won't buy. I asked Robbie's guy what the story was..... No one is buying much fish because everyone is throwing it all out, because folks stopped buying. (Robbie tossed 30# of prime ahi on Monday....we threw out 7# ourselves, plus cod, salmon, etc). It is the opposite of the Yogi Berra saying: "No one goes there anymore.....it's too crowded...!" Restaurant to-go's have dried up, so we aren't ordering, so the wholesalers aren't buying, so the importers and fisherman have also downed tools. I would be very careful buying fish until the vaccines finally hit. Or, of course you could order fish from locals. Nah. That would be crazy. See more

Weird California winter comfort food.... I know I have not been a complete asshole if Amanda makes me this dish. It's simple, just royale citrus with good local yoghurt, but it requires a few minutes of time and attention. And intention, for that matter. Lots of knife strokes..... I thought this was a recipe from Amanda's grandma Charlotte, but no. So where did it come from? Yoghurt and citrus don't normally match.... "I got it from a Glamour Magazine article in the '70's. I was trying to eat healthy, so I would be pretty!" It seems to have worked..... Citrus means spring is in sight, theoretically: Cara Cara's, new navels, Oro Blanco grapefruit, Schoch yoghurt. Pretty please! See more

Our new menu is up at Quiet Food Carmel Valley and the Cachagua Store blog. http://cachaguastore.blogspot.com

Fall is coming....well, technically here already. Heirloom tomato season coming to and end soon. Sigh....

Folks are asking...where are we? Massa Estate tasting room, 69 West Carmel Valley Road. Next to the library. We are open for sure from noon to five or six on Saturdays and Sundays for parties in our garden. No minimum number of folks. We also are open by appointment on other days of the week, though we try to take Monday off. What kind of food do we serve? Modern market food.... Menu? We are caterers, so technically each menu is different....but we have general guidelines. Here is tonight's menu for three: Michael Ferrentino Shishito peppers with Murray River Salt and Muia EVOO Gazpacho Andaluz. Amanda's Kale Salad with her sesame dressing and her cold smoked wild salmon Elotes: Mexican street corn with peppers and spring onions and 88% Wisconsin butter Cachagua Store Pear Salad: our garden lettuce, yuzu dressing, parsnip chips, crisp pears and Point Reyes blue cheese Nobu marinated wild salmon with soba noodles, Borba Farm green beans, seaweed salad. Mesquite grilled Wagyu Bavette steak with wild rice, butter roasted Yukon golds, green beans Roasted tofu with heirloom tomato buerre blanc, wild rice, potatoes, green beans Single source Valrhona Araguani chocolate crema inglese with Muia EVOO, sea and river salts Carl Muia olive oil cake, Valrhona white chocolate crema inglese with Minnazoli Farm nectarines and fermented bing cherries This menu was $61 per person. The guests had the garden to themselves. Like that. B P

We are doing a trail ride this weekend over in Bitterwater, so there will be minimal food available at the tasting room on Saturday, and no take out or pick up on Friday. Sorry, folks.....but we will be back for Sunday lunch as usual.

We are back in action....well, we never took a break actually, but are able to focus on our normal catering menus. And you can book a private meal in the Garden from Wednesdays through Sundays by appointment. Saturday and Sunday are usually busy, though and we are fried by 6pm. We are really going to be fried for the next four days! Stay safe, and despite what WC Fields said.....drink water! Stay hydrated!

gf.me/u/ystznn Everytime I try to add text to this....it somehow posts as a job offer. WTF? Anyway...if you are local, and felt any anxiety or worry this week about where the fire would go, and how fast, and could you get out, and would you lose your house.... Cachagua Fire Volunteers are there at the get-go, cutting the head off the snake before it gets anywhere near y'all.... Send them a tip, and next time you will part of the team, and you will feel much more confident, because your people have your back. See more