So here I am, sailing along smooth as can be and we can all guess what happens next. This has been the craziest and most expensive week in memory. First my eBay purchased steamer arrives like it’s been dropped from on high – the door is smashed off, the racks are busted and even the screws are gone. Mike and I poured it into my car and I took it to Ryan at Booga on Ossington for repair. Was supposed to be done on Tuesday. Its Friday. Hello?!?
Last Sunday my smoker failed. Instead of a relaxing day off with Lara I had to fight traffic to Vaughan and get the thing fixed. Today it failed again and I had to make the trip at 3pm on a Friday. Me gnawing on my steering wheel and all the kids going to the cottage with their feet hanging out the windows. Luckily Lara was there to talk me down from the ledge and remind me that this is what having a business is all about. She really is wonderful. Now I’m looking for a better smoker which may require a move to a bigger space. My current smoker is temporary at best.
Then the oven starts acting up on Monday. Pilot keeps going out and since we don’t have a proper steamer we rely far too heavily on the oven to keep stuff warm. But now we can’t turn it off for fear of having to relight the thing. Its maddening to keep having to watch the flame and try to adjust the temp. I finally buckled and called the repair guy. He came Wednesday and fixed the pilot/temp problem during our second busiest lunch ever. We work in the world’s tiniest space and yesterday we had a large man with tools and an open oven to dance around. That cost more than the steamer.
That same day one of my staff forgot to drain the meat from the rinse bath. The result was that 10 briskets sat overnight in salt and got very tough and unusable. They were huge pieces too. Wasted. I was really angry because I have a certain amount of stress regarding the party. I want to have at least 20 briskets prepped and ready so this was a significant setback. We actually had to close for a few hours today until a new batch was ready. I think we only disappointed a handful of people so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been but it was still a tough day. Not to mention that my matzoh balls wouldn’t hold together. Really: one of those days and weeks.
And the week’s not over…
The good news is that the cheese curd supply has been solved so now I’m just waiting for Jesse to come help me with the gravy. Beef or turkey? Probably beef although our turkey is really popular so I have drippings to make a gravy with.
Lara wants me to use Greg’s ice cream instead of Dutch Dreams. I don’t know. Summer’s almost done and my freezer space is minimal. I may forget about ice cream altogether. She’s going back to New York after the party anyway so what does she care?
If this is as bad as it gets, I can manage. I still look forward to going in every day and cutting meat, schmoozing with friends and customers and laughing with my team. This is my calling. This is my life. Meat is good.
