by Therese de Grace

It has been three months since my partner Lady K and I took on the task of refurbishing a once abandoned, dilapidated and temperamental chartreuse that we aptly named Lola.

In a few weeks her doors will open and as new mothers do with their young we will watch with baited breath as she takes her first steps.  This has been the hardest project of our lives and as a self proclaimed control freak I eventually came to surrender to a variety of trades and delivery people all while waving my fists at the heavens. There hasn’t been a trial, tribulation, animal carcass or government document we haven’t come up against. 

We have stead fast and have almost completed the make over of this shady lady into an eclectic goddess. The frustration and exhaustion has made even swallowing my own saliva taxing at times but I know it will be worth it in the end………..it f*&king better be!  

The most infuriating thing for me has to be the constant need for the Yokels to approach us with vile stories of all the previous owners and no matter what idiotic grossness they share with us they always seem to end the tale with this question:

“I hope you guys aren’t going to do that too.” So for the record here it goes: 

*We will not split the cost of a prostitute with the Front of the house Manager and allow her to service us in the kitchen
*There will be no picture of myself or any member of the staff large enough to cover a coffee table with my interpretation of Karma and Dogma
*We will not pick up twigs, branches or any other sort of garbage and nail it to the wall and call it art
*As smart women we are aware that a two by four can’t possibly hold up 50 tons of cement
*We intend to provide toilet paper to our customers
*Our employees will never get too drunk to leave the premises and sleep in the doorway using menu covers as a blanket 

Our new menu looks fantastic, our lady is getting sexier by the day and we hope to see you in a few weeks but in the interim try our Simple Corn Chowder receipe, it is hearty but is packed with the freshness of summer. 

Cheddar and Corn Fritters

You will require the following ingredients:
3 ears of fresh corn off the cob
2 whole eggs cracked and lightly beaten
2 finely chopped green onion
1/3 of a cup of roasted red peppers chopped
3 tablespoons of cornmeal
¼ cup of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 cup of aged cheddar cheese
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons of finely chopped dill
¼ cup of vegetable oil
¼ teaspoon of each salt and cracked black pepper 

Method:
Using a deep fryer or a pot filled with oil use a thermometer to achieve a heat of 300F/150C.

In a bowl combine corn, eggs, onion, red peppers and cheese.  Add the remaining ingredients until combine, mixture will be chunky.  Using a teaspoon drop the fritter batter into the deep fryer, cook for about 3 minutes, season them with salt and pepper as soon as you remove them from the deep fryer.  Use them as garnish for your soup 

Simple Sweet Corn Chowder

You will require the following ingredients:
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 medium onion finely diced
1 medium carrot finely diced
3 ribs of celery finely diced
1 teaspoon of smoky paprika
1/3 of a cup of vodka
1 cup of vegetable stock
1 small sweet potato finely diced
9 ears of fresh corn off the cob
4 cups of 2% milk
1 cup of 35% cream
4 tablespoons of corn meal
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of torn fresh parsley leaves 

Method:
In a stock pot over medium heat melt butter, add olive oil, onion, carrot, celery and cook for a few minutes, deglaze with vodka.  When all the wine has evaporated add corn, milk, stock and cream.  Bring mixture to a boil and reduce, slowly add in your cornmeal to thicken the mixture.  Simmer for 25 minutes stirring constantly and serve garnished with parsley and corn fritters.