Wow, I’ve been back for two weeks already! I didn’t know that the Ft. Lauderdale-Phoenix portion of my trip home included a stop in New Orleans (they do NOT tell you this stuff on the southwest website!!) So three flights later, I arrived back in San Diego and was whisked from there straight to a Roots of Change meeting, where I listened to local food-related issues in a slightly dazed, travel-weary state. Like I said, jumping right into it!! The presentation itself was a bit dry and general about what the organization was trying to accomplish (a sustainable food system in California by 2030) but the networking time afterwards proved quite useful and I met some interesting people, some of whom Dennis had already made contact with in his preliminary source research, and some of whom recognized him from his ongoing food blog which they had come across independently- people kept stopping him and introducing themselves and mentioning a specific blog entry that they had particularly enjoyed…I was amazed! Krista put me up for the night and then kindly got me to my condo the next morning, where I picked up my car, rollerblades, mail, and other less-important sundries, and then visited with my Turkish tenants who kindly offered me breakfast (yes, very strange to be a guest in my own home!) I checked into my temporary rental place, which is in a beautiful Mission Hills home with views overlooking Mission Valley and USD, very conveniently located and owned by a Sierra Club friend.

I then began a new “homeless” routine consisting of camping out at various coffee shops each day to work on restaurant research, brainstorming and documenting things to discuss with Dennis. We then met for two days straight to review business plans and create a detailed list of things we’d need to tackle in order for it to come together in just two and a half months. We reviewed website content and design, made lists of all of our known or recommended resources for food and drink, and discussed how to go about hiring a consulting chef and/or lead cook. We started visiting potential produce and fish suppliers, toured their facilities, and asked tons of questions about the seasonal availability of ingredients, the sustainability and healthfulness of the farming or fishing methods used, and the logistics of the ordering and delivery process. We attended a benefit for a north county farm (that’s where they all are) which was held at a popular and quickly growing brewery, where we first scheduled a tour of their warehouse and saw first hand what it takes to create, process, bottle, store, and sell their product. We met the owner and talked about everything from how he has expanded his company to the details of the design of the facility, many of which include reclaimed materials and apparently won a “green” architectural award.

Writing our first business check, touring the Moceri produce warehouse, and scouting out sources at the local farmer’s market.

We’ve spoken to local wineries and coffee brewers, contacted culinary schools about placing job ads with them, discussed the remodeling we’d like to do to the space after The Linkery moves out, and met with a web content developer to help us create our website. The head chef/director at one of the schools spoke with us at length about our concept and gave us a number of leads, offered to let us peruse the school’s culinary library, and offered to consult with us about both our menu and the kitchen layout. We contacted the botany department of the Museum of Natural History to learn more about the plant called sea rocket, which is becoming our namesake and logo, since we’d like to see the plant in person to take photos and understand it’s characteristics better. We’ve tested several seafood recipes at home as well as eaten out at recommended seafood places with the goal of trying things similar to what we think we might serve in order to critique the flavors and generate creative menu ideas, as well as learn what the different local fish taste like. And have just generally gotten everyone’s opinions, feedback, criticism, advice, and support about the project. People seem very enthusiastic and excited for us and eager to try us out when we’re open. A lot of people have said that seafood restaurants are lacking in San Diego, and especially in the neighborhood where we’ll be taking root.

Testing recipe ideas- scallops on top of an onion puree with blood orange garnish, grilled peppers, carrots and quinoa, and a white fish dish (dad, dandelion greens are WAY too bitter- ugh!!)

But even though I’ve been pretty productive these first couple of weeks back in town, I’ve also taken the time to do some of my favorite San Diego things, such as rollerblading around Mission Bay and up the beach, having grilled mahi fish tacos in OB, hiking Cowles Mountain, and of course starting to catch up with friends again. Luckily the work and play have gone hand-in-hand, since it is really interesting and motivating to be out and about talking to restaurant owners, meeting the people who grow and make the things that we’ll be selling, and thinking about all of the decisions we’ll need to make to make this happen- how exciting! Dennis threw a wonderful welcome home party for me last Thursday, throughout which I played my Alaska slideshow, but mainly enjoyed the homemade soup, salad, drinks and conversation. Dennis accompanied me to a Smith Club event where US-Mexican border issues and economic globalization were the topics at hand but where I also fielded many a question from my Smith compadres specifically about the restaurant, who can’t wait for us to host a special event at the Sea Rocket Bistro for them!

The bar at The Linkery and a fish market restaurant that we checked out.

So, things are well underway, but there’s still a lot more work to do just to determine the exact menu which depends on the coordination of a million other things. For example, I observed the kitchen in a restaurant in Mission Hills for an hour last week, and the chef stressed the division of tasks between the various cooks so that no meal required attention from just one of them so as to spread the work around evenly and not create potential delays of a certain dish. It was interesting to see what had been pre-cooked or prepared ahead of time, how much time each meal took to put together, and how it was coordinated between the 3-5 different people working. It’s pretty amazing how fast it can be to assemble a gourmet meal, which of course is the key to efficiency and profitability. So the kitchen layout and flow of cooking will depend on our recipes, which will depend on the skills of the cooks, and in turn which will affect the food presentation and level of service we will be able to provide. I of course have enjoyed fantasizing about the changes that could be made to the physical space to make it look like a completely different place, checking catalogs for new furniture, lighting fixtures, and all of the small, essential furnishings we’ll need such as plates, glassware, silverware, and linens for the front of the house, plus pots, pans, cutlery, and small appliances for the back, all of which we will need to purchase. That’s what I’ve been up to since returning home.

Here is a video of one of our cooking experiments. We might just go with a grilled whole fish after all…more Mediterranean style. If anyone out there knows were we can find fresh sardines around here, please let me know! We hear it’s a tasty little fish with a bad reputation, that unfortunately has become more of a bait fish for the larger catches in recent years.