Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb

Today was last day of the 6th month of business for the Blue Rooster.  We had a good day -- breakfast served to over 20 folks and lunch served to well over 40.  And we sold breads, pastries, COOKIES, CUPCAKES, olive oil, and a good number of other BR special treats.  

Both regulars - folks we see each week and who seem to incorporate a visit to the BR into their weekend -- and a number of first time visitors came through the doors today.

I am particularly pleased with the people who come in and ask if they can.... provide us with local honey ! -- yes, of course was my answer to Sally Toscano when she asked that in December.  We now have a number of connection points with Rejays (www.rejaysfarm.com ) including hen feed, organic eggs and lettuce seedlings.  

And what about the artists?   John Kearney has been with us since day one (I brought his works back from Ireland).  Diana Ornberg hung a few pieces with us on Cranbury Day and tomorrow she has a show at the Gourgand Gallery - way to go Diana!

For the last month or so, Allison Singer's wonderful paintings of Cranbury have graced the two dining rooms and the bakery space. Allison walked in, liked the place and asked if I'd hang her work for a while.  Yes, of course -- www.allisonsingerartgallery.com

And we have a group of water colourists in town who may bring items to hang on our walls in the spring.  Until then, we are talking with Jim Morgan and several others about the prospects of their works coming into our space.

It is an amazing adventure to see how each day and each event associated with the BR will unfold. And to now have 6 months of days is amazing, too.  Thank you to each person who asks about the health of our business, who lets us know how much they enjoy what we have created and who wants to help ensure our longevity.  We feel very fortunate to have such wonderful people in our lives -- 

February has been a short and yet strong month for us, and we are looking forward to building on the requests and favourites that each of you have mentioned to us -- by name or by repeat "eating".  We feel optimistic and thankful.

another week..

When you work 7 days a week, the beginning / end of the week is flexible.  However, seeing the Friday factor across the day at the BR makes it easy to mark Friday as the end of the week.  

We have folks who come in on Friday morning for the treat they've waited all week to have -- pain au chocolat fits this mode, regularly!

And Friday lunch sees a number of groups of people who are at the start of the weekend and join us as part of that "weekend" thing --- we had a couple who are driving from New Hampshire to Washington, DC join us today.  And the birthday get-togethers, well organised for a Friday, the workers who want time together and away from the office - join us for a meal.  

And then there is the after school crowd.  On Fridays it is a true crowd and the cookies, cupcakes, scones fly out the door.  Today with the warm weather the lemon-ade also flew out the doors.  People sat on the porch for a bit of fresh, springlike air, too.  

It was great and we had a great day all around.  

mea culpa

Anonymous informed me that I was in the wrong to suggest any of you comment on the BR in a survey currently underway. I called and apologised to the survey group, I had not read any of their rules and of course, I should have. As a new owner, this is a "first" -- to possibly be considered in survey mode...
so, my apologies to all.
And, my thanks to anonymous for the vigilent pursuit of watching out for what's right.

2 dates to put on your calendar

Saturday, 14th March - Tasting of Long Valley Creamery Cheeses -- 11 to 2 @ the rooster

Sunday, 15th March -- Irish fiddler in concert to raise funds for a special bike & build project being undertaken by a friend of the rooster.  2:30 - 4 come with friends -- enjoy good music, camaraderie and of course the food & drink of the BR.

and another set of little things

If you visit the Blue Rooster you are likely to have seen me under a table with a wood shim working to level the table on our wonderful, beautiful yet somewhat uneven hardwood floors.   Some visitors comment on the tables being uneven, some on the floors some on my skill with the shims.  

Well, today we had floating leveling units put on the bottom of each table leg and the results are spectacular -- there are only 2 or 3 tables that will still need shims!  -- Yeah!  When you come and move the table to suit you and your table mates, you are not likely to need me (or in some cases - you are not likely to need to make your own)  to shim the table.  

It is another of the little wins that we love to make the BR work well for all of us.

Let me know what you think..

another of the little things

So, on Monday at 4 pm a lovely group of women came to tea.  It was a birthday celebration.  The conversation, the laughter, the friendship and the overall enjoyment of being in one anothers' company was such a joy to be around.  

As the day went along, I was  not been looking forward to the tea, the tea sandwiches were a struggle to get out of the kitchen, the scones were not baked at 3:30 and the day had been long even before the 4 pm tea. 

However once these lovely women arrived, their enthusiasm was contagious & I saw again, first hand the wonder of this business -- thank you all.

The tea sandwiches were "wonderful and so tasty", the scones were (as always) a huge hit and the sweet treats were viewed with delight -- many were boxed and taken home -- the birthday cupcake was eaten as were the cream puffs.

So, another amazing day at the BR.  It is truly the little things that make a difference to each day and Monday was a day where the little things, these wonderful smiles, laughs and enthusiasm of our tea party made my day.

Tea - more than a beverage

A small, highly attentive group enjoyed a full BR Afternoon Tea today along with a great interactive presentation by Karen Wolf. 

Karen is a professional in many areas of etiquette and global business.  We were fortunate to have the benefit of her understanding  and her love of fun, propriety and learning / teaching.

It is clearly an event we will do again.

Feedback from readers -- would you be interested in having a young adults table manners / etiquette event one weekend in early spring?

New Partners, Great Products & Opportunities

Wow - the Philadelphia Bread Company products flew out of the BR today while Laura Sterbenz, company president, was on site describing the process of making the great spreads and sharing samples with everyone.  I hope those of you who bought the various spreads -- feta, artichoke, peppers, tomatoes & olives -- are enjoying them!

We hope those of you who couldn't make it in today will stop by soon and try this excellent product.  Laura requested baguette for the tasting -- it was really a perfect pairing.  

On the other side -- a local organic farmer, beekeeper, and all around keeper of the lands has become a great friend and partner of the Blue Rooster.  Sally Toscano keeps bees and now provides us with great local honey.  Sally raises chicken and now provides us a portion of our organic eggs each week.  We in turn provide Sally with food scraps suitable for her chickens. This is how it works!

Next up, Sally will be instrumental in the development of our back garden.  She has plants we will start with soon (some lettuces are going to be ready before long) and she has the energy and interest to work with us, Alice (master gardener) and the girl scouts to help us with year 1, the BR back garden.

We are thrilled to have such great people who want to work with us at the rooster.  Thanks to each of them and to you who are interested in us, too.

Today over 100 people had a meal in the BR -- we love that you love our food, ambiance and service (as per your feedback forms).

today @ the BR

A lovely,  new'ish customer (she told me today that she has known about the rooster for 7 days and she's visited us 5 times, including today) arrived today with her friend / relative -- another lovely woman who happens to be 100 years old.  

They arrived during the lunch rush and waited the 15- 20 mins required for a table.  They told me that they had a good lunch and afterwards, I spoke with the older woman.

She had a restaurant in northern NJ for 38 yrs.  She shared with me the value of customer service & told me that they didn't spend on advertising -- they depended on word of mouth and referrals. 

She was complimentary of the BR - food, ambiance and service -- thank you all who come, tell your friends, keep coming back and provide us with useful feedback on how we are doing and how we can keep improving the BR -- we couldn't do what we do each day without you!

And we too hope to live many years without spending on advertising, so keep telling your friends & neighbors!

Philadelphia Brad Dip Company visit to Br - tomorrow, Sat

Come visit us tomorrow between 1'ish & 3'ish --- we will have a visitor from the Phila Bread Dip Co -- try all the flavors with our great baguettes --

This Sunday: Tea History & Etiquette

Sign up now for Sunday's special Tea at the BR - 3:30 start time.  Enjoy our afternoon tea along with Karen Wolf, our tea and etiquette expert. 

Karen, who spend a good portion of her youth living in Cranbury, now runs a company in Connecticut.  One component of her work is with corporate clients who need to polish up on global etiquette skills.  

She agreed to join us in the BR for this special event -- call and make your reservation today.  

Our next fundraising effort will be in the area of housing

I got a call this morning from a Cornell Sr who grew up in the Cranbury area.  She visited the BR with her family during the Christmas holidays.

She graduates in June & will travel by bike cross country with stops to work on habitat for humanity houses.

- her request to me and the friends of the BR is to help her with her fundraising:

her blog:  www.bikewithahammer.blogpost.com

South African Message...

this email note  arrived this morning & I think for those who know her, you will enjoy a direct read....

Eggs Finigan

Today we served a new egg dish -- our chef's creation, a variation on the classic egg's Benedict.  

Eggs Finigan:

Served on our Spinach Parmesan Bread, the eggs are poached and placed on a rasher (Irish bacon), the sauce is a hollandaise with roasted tomato chopped into it. 

Over a dozen of our customers tried the dish today and the feedback was WOW !

80th Birthday @ The BR

Today we had a birthday event after closing and it is lovely to see how family and friends enjoy one another in the comfort of the BR.  It was a birthday tea and we developed a petit four for a birthday candle.

Our guests tried a wide variety of our loose teas - berry berry & 3 Flower burst were favorites.

In addition to the formal tea guests, we had a few other family members who spent the late afternoon in our library with the fireplace roaring and I think they enjoyed coffees, cold beverages and a few savory treats!

Parties on Sunday are a key part of what we want to do to make the BR "work" as a business and we are certainly moving in the right direction!

First from South Africa

As many of our morning regulars know, one of our favorite morning barista's has gone off to South Africa to work with orphans.  We got a report on her first week -- all is going well.  She arrived, toured the city -- both the privileged areas and the very poor areas.  Her work is with children in a day care, in the very poor area.  She says they are wonderful and caring kids who are responding to her and her colleagues.  

She has already experienced one of the difficulties in the SA world - a riot kept her from being able to travel to the daycare one day late last week.

We hope to have direct emails & maybe pictures before too long.

By the by --- we are fortunate to have another lovely lady who has joined us as am barista, so keep coming!

Happy Valentine's Day

Moving into the evening, at home after a great day at the Blue Rooster - I am happy to take a few moments to write and reflect on the day.

As I mentioned a few days ago, we planned our first "taking reservations" day for today.  It worked well in that those with reservations were seated in a very timely fashion, however those with reservations were just 25%  or so of those who came in for a meal today.  It was our biggest day ever --- and more importantly to the learning curve, we did it with ease and no problems in the dining room or kitchen!

Beyond the mechanics of the day and the pleasure of seeing so many visit us, I had the distinct pleasure of watching the meaning of love of your fellow man in action.  It is indeed a privilege to be part of a community where, with no fanfare, no need for recognition - neighbor helps neighbor.

I feel very fortunate to be in a position to occasionally see how people touch one another. 

Happy Valentine

First Year - "firsts" rolling on..

And Valentine's Day is the one up next -- so, here we are February 11th and what is going on at the Rooster for the 14th?  

We have a first -- reservations for the day of the 14th -- pick the time you want to come and we are aiming to seat you at that time.

Special V-Day cookies, cherry pies, a lovely duck confit salad, and a few surprises on the menu, too.

We will be dipping Driscoll Strawberries in Chocolate -- no, they are not local, but they are lovely and large and full of flavor--- and a favorite of ours for our Valentines!

We have a number of V-Day teas over the next few days and each will have a few surprises for the participants-- 

Now, the next growth step for us is to have our plans in place for a holiday WEEKS in advance rather than days --- think March, think Patrick's Day -- we are working toward a robust set of offerings....

Month 6 - and we roll on

Today we had about 40 folks join us for lunch.  Old friends bringing new friends, people who --"didn't know you were here!" - just drove by / walked by, and a large number of returning patrons.

I am constantly amazed and pleased by the number of people who have ideas, recommendations and are willing to take personal interest / action in our making more inroads in building success for the BR.  The  sincerity and worthwhile input is helpful to us on so many levels, I don't know if  all new businesses have such great customers, but I do feel we are really lucky with ours!

As you probably know, this is our (Bob & I) first experience in retail / food service.

 -- I don't know that it is totally atypical, however I am quite sure it is not the standard operating procedure for new small business like ours to engender the level of commitment / care & support that I strongly feel from those who visit us often.

PS -- look for new cookies in the bakery this week -- coconut macaroons for one.

---- look for a new scone flavor too.

Jazz Sunday - Mercer St Food Bank

Thanks to all who came along to listen & donate an entrance fee to The Mercer St Food Bank -- we raised over $100 --- if you were unable to join us for jazz and want to donate -- we have the $1 / $3 / $5 chits available all day everyday at the bakery register.

Our sincere thanks to Doug Miller & Lori for making the donation of their talent and time to play great music for us today.  

We will continue to bring jazz Sunday's to the BR and will look at raising funds for local groups who help with food and shelter.

Your thoughts on appropriate music and charities would be most appreciated.

Thurs, Fri, Sat

A few notes about what's going on at the Rooster -- 

on Thursday, late in the afternoon -- a couple of fellows came in looking for lunch before a business meeting.  They saw the BR and gave us a try.  They seemed to enjoy their meal - a bit of standard BR fare -- great soup, sandwiches on our fresh bakery bread, espresso drinks and of course, the last fruit tart of the day ---lemon and blackberry.  I do hope they come back and bring friends -- like so many of our patrons!

Friday we had a great day - breakfast, lunch and a bit of a tea -- all this before our mid-winter supper.   And  the evening was something!  Fun, taxing, and very well received by the customers.

And today -- wow! -- big breakfast parties and a long lunch -- topped by late afternoon tea for two, "just a cream tea, if that's alright"  was the request.  And we did what we like -- we said yes.

 

Won't you think about doing dinner?

....The question has come our way since late October and the persistence of some of our customers caused us to think about what if anything and ow if at all we might be able to do something...

So the ideas started to percolate in December... a menu came together.... how to do this @ the BR?  

An early supper that would not have us go beyond our appointed opening hours (township requires a business to establish opening / closing hours) -- this was the plan.

Last night was the night.  The 25 attendees seemed to enjoy the supper and we certainly enjoyed the buzz around fixing the food, planning the event and entertaining in a new arena.

The question last night became -- will you do this again, will it become a regular event, how can we find out about what you plan next??

All great questions, thanks.

We have Senior Staff meeting on Wednesdays and we will talk about the event and all the possible next steps. 

Any move into supper will require work with the township and their agreement to expanding our hours.  Watch this space.

Upcoming Demonstration & Tasting

The Philadelphia Bread Dip Company is one of our favorite product purveyors.  They make the really yummy feta & pink peppercorn bread dip, the artichoke & caper ... and others.

Linda, of the company, will be joining us at the Blue Rooster on Saturday, February 21st.  She will be offering tastes and ideas for uses beyond the simple... 

We hope to see you on the 21st --- between 1pm - 2:30

Catering!?! ++

Sometimes the "new" offerings we have are the result of customer prompting.  Thank you to those of you who are customers and particularly those who have "prompted" us.  We now will do special orders for all manner of items that are on the menu (bakery or cafe) or are similar to the menu.  For instance, we are making a full size quiche for a party this Sunday, to be picked up warm on Sunday morning.

Also, we made 200 miniature "sweet treats" for a Plainsboro Library event -- who knew --?!?

And we are doing deliveries to businesses in the area -- lunch for 15 ++ cookies (of course!)

We are contemplating (no prompting yet) the idea of making home / home office / small office deliveries as well -- if you know come in for take out, would you like this as an option?  If so, please let us know....

Thursday is Cinnamon Raisin Bread Day -- stop by for your loaf!

This is one of our great favorites.  The entire week schedule is now available, stop by for your copy or call to see what day your favorite is made.

We are serving most daily special breads in the lunch bread basket, so taste away before you buy!

Snowy Wednesday

What a gorgeous snowy day in Cranbury!  The roads were clear and most sidewalks too -- the snow glistened in the trees, shrubbery and rooftops (in the morning anyway).  

All staff arrived without delay and we were ready with pastries, breads and all manner of breakfast foods when 7 am rolled around.  A few hearty souls joined us for breakfast and a good number stopped for their take-away coffee & pastry.

Wednesday is our senior staff meeting day and today we focused on readiness for Friday's supper and assuring we'd have hearts galore for Valentine's Day (yes we will, and don't forget -- you can make reservations for that holiday Saturday).  WE also tasted a possible new breakfast pastry, made with brioche dough and including cream & nuts -- it was tasty!

The cheeses from Long Valley Creamery were also tasted by all and the 4 selections we chose for a start were enjoyed by all - a few great surprises in the taste.. all are available by the pound and will be on our cheese plate starting now.

What else is new today?  We had a buzzy crowd late - in the 5 o'clock to 6 o'clock hour and that was great fun -- tea, coffee, little treat and lots of what seemed like good conversation.

Mid-Winter Supper

5 - 6 seats still available for Friday night if you have any interest in our prix fixe meal.

Call if you want more detail....

Valentine's Day

Did I mention the cookies and other specials in the bakery?  The cookies look great and we are accepting orders now.

Breakfast on a snowy day

What to expect on a snowy morning... we don't try to set up too much in way of expectations --- we are staffed and we are ready for all who decide to join us.

Today we had a group of 13 women join us.  It seemed like a lively group who were having a good time with one another.  

We appreciated the opportunity to serve them!

and then --lunch --- two parties let me know that they wanted to be sure to get in today because they thought the weather might lead to a shorter wait.  The waits today were no more than 10 minutes for anyone, so that theory worked out.

We are featuring a range of grilled cheeses on a variety of our breads.  This seems to be a great winter and comfort food.  Come in and try one!

Story Hour - redux

This week we restart and "get serious" about Friday story hour!  10 am start, 1 hour of stories, snacks and a bit of play in our toy space.

Please call or email if you plan to attend so we can have snack boxes ready.

If your child has a favorite book, you are welcome to bring it along.  We have a Dora the Explorer, a Clifford, and the new Caldecott award winner ready for this Friday.

an unexpected problem..

We have 2 requests for private parties where our contact information is not working.  This is a huge disappointment to me because I  believe that how communication is handled in a reflection on the attitude and abilities of an organization.

So, our updated approach is to ask for both a phone # (and repeat it back to you for accuracy) and an email (and repeat it back to you for accuracy).  This should eliminate the problem.

In the mean time, if you read this and have not heard back from us --- I really hope you will give us another call or email and more importantly -- a chance to make good on your request for more information on a private party.

thanks!

New Art on the walls

Another wonder of the evolving BR space is the people who drop in with offers / ideas / input... 

A local artist, Alison Singer, came in with her Mom in the autumn.  She introduced herself then.  Just a week ago, she came back with 5 oils she had painted during the autumn -- all of Cranbury.

Would we hang them and offer them for sale?  

        "YES".  

They now grace our walls - 1 in library (of the BR!), two in each dining room.  

I hope you will make a point of viewing them the next time you stop by.

Special Days require special treatment..

We are taking reservations for Saturday, Feb 14th & we are likely to meet your request & take reservs for similar holidays.... we have requests coming in for Mother's Day already!  So, call and let us know when you plan to come in on the 14th -- we look forward to celebrating with you.

Additional local cheese purveyor

Long Valley Creamery is now providing us a few cheeses to supplement our wonderful Cherry Grove selection.

Long Valley has both sheep & cow cheeses, cave-aged

We will schedule a tasting in the coming weeks

Just a few more tonight..

Sunday, Feb 8th @ 2:30 the second Jazz @ the BR -- in support of the Mercer Street Food Bank ($5 donation) -- Doug Miller leads ... detail on website... hope to see you there!

What about the bakery proper?

The really exciting news here is that we now have 3 full time workers in the bakery - Bob is joined by Cory & Amber -- breads, pastries and a more diverse array of "sweet treats" is in their plans for us.  

At this point, we have a schedule of the breads being made each -- stop in and pick one up!

We have samples of the Valentine's Day cookies on offer for special offer.

We will have special desserts during VD week and hopefully one or two will strike your fancy!

The cookies, cupcakes & tarts will continue to be our cornerstone -- best news for all is that our goal is a full bakery case ALL THE TIME!  So, stop by and see how we are doing....

Master Gardener working with us

We are thrilled that a master gardener & herb specialist has offered her services as we start to explore getting a serious herb garden & vegetable garden started at the BR.  We expect to work with one or two of the local girl scout troops in this project as well... more detail as we put this together.  If you have ideas or want to help... we'd love to hear from you.

Local Organic Eggs & Honey

Sally Toscano stopped into the shop in December and asked if we wanted to try her honey;X made by bees kept at her place on Plainsboro Rd.  (Ask her about the various pollens -- sunflowers are one I recall).  

We said yes, definitively!  It is a big hit and we are on our 4th order with Sally.  

Upon one of her return visits to deliver honey, Sally asked about our organic egg need.  She has laying hens out there too.  We use more than she can provide each week, however we are taking a number of dozen each week.  They are huge & wow -- are they fresh.  It is such a great way to work - local businesses working together to provide the best to all the locals. 

Any other local purveyors out there who want to provide basic ingredients to the BR -- please call or stop by.. it is "our thing" &, as our customers tell us regularly, it makes a difference.  

February -the start of month 6

Hi all - the January hiatus is over and blogging the Blue Rooster is back.  I have a few "pent up" thoughts / ideas / messages, so I hope you will put up with a few tonight.

First on the "what's coming up @ the BR front" -- we are taking a leap into the evening meal arena with a mid-winter supper this coming Friday night.  We have 6 or so seats left if you are interested in giving this a try.  A good friend and good customer suggested we give this a try and so.... here we are, in the thick of final planning for the day.

The menu is:  first course of a crabmeat galette, followed by a chicken consomme.  The menu dish is a really lovely dish - lamb navarin -- Peter & Lois will be turning a number of vegetables to make this winter stew lovely to look at as well as wonderfully tasty!  We will then serve a salad, followed by a cheese board (more on the cheeses...) & we will finish with a multi-layer apple crepe, flamed & sauced.  Attendees are welcome to bring along a wine.  Our barista will be available to make espresso drinks as you wish.

Call or email if you want more info or if you want to come along..