Fat Angel: Closer and Closer

So I've been on a blogging hiatus. As the pressure (read: reality) of what we're about to open becomes more acute and apparent, I can't help but get caught in the proverbial headlights of the oncoming semi. Until my head could wrap around the wealth of new information that has transpired over the past few weeks, I wasn't in the right mindset to write without sounding morose, Schizophrenic, or really irritated. Like I've said before, if we had a checkbook behind us that was able to take all of these seemingly large problems and turn them into butterflies then Jolly Jason would be tap dancing like Fred Astaire whistling Dixie. However, our faith and patience are being tested as our bank account keeps getting more anemic.

The cats at Great Wall slowed their pace down a few weeks back and have only started to get things ramped up and moving at the beginning of this week. Now there's a big countdown calendar in the space that everyone gets to look at each day reminding them that this isn't a Habitat for Humanity remodel and we start paying rent really really soon. So they've taken well to this and we're starting to see more steak and less sizzle.

So here are a few shots of what's been taking place.

1) The ceiling in the bar area is being painted dark brown. We want the ceiling to disappear and the chandelier to be the focal point. 2) Tommy doing some corner work on the wainscoting. The wood we are using for the wainscot is Douglas Fir that we pulled from the church. Beautiful tight grain with the perfect patina.

1) Another wainscot shot 2) The under counter of the back bar. Built strong to withstand 12 cases of wine and a 2-group espresso machine.

1) My birthday was last week and I happened to schedule a beer tasting dinner with Craig from Wine Warehouse on that day. We went to Andalu, a restaurant he is part owner of, and tasted through a veritable bonanza of Belgian beer. The photo on the left is of two beers that certainly shined. The Douchesse de Bourgogne is a life changing beer that if you've never tried it you must do so immediately, if not sooner. 2) Another star was the Blanche de Namur, a Belgium wheat beer that will completely change your view on what most American brewers are passing as wheat beer.

1) Got another 10 samples of possible stemware choices for FA. Now, of course, everyone is preaching Riedel Riedel Riedel. Anything less and you might as well shut your doors. HOWEVER, I have a point of contention. The research I've done talking to restaurant owners says that Riedel's break at a higher rate than other, equally high end glasses. So the decision before us is to either budget more for Riedel stems or search out the underdog who can offer the same experience of Riedel but be built for restaurants. We've found some very fine contenders to date and are excited to make a selection soon.

We also stopped by the fabricators of our storefront to check their progress. Ocean Sash & Door has been serving the Bay Area since 1880 (not a typo). Our vision for the exterior has always been classic cafe. Cyrick and I are obsessed with making sure there are as few materials as possible that do not evoke a sense of warmth and comfort. The storefront bids we got early on were all from companies who fabricate out of aluminum, which is pretty much the choice in today's world. However, with the help of GW we were able to realize our vision of a storefront made entirely from wood.

Seeing it in production today was awesome. Mike, the owner, took us around his shop and showed us the goods.

1) Mike has 3 buildings on 3 blocks in The Mission. Not a small operation. This is the wood shop. 2) Exterior view of the main building.

1) Mike standing next to the frame of our front door. 2) This piece measures 8'x9', so it's a big one. There will be three large panels that will open up accordion-style on one side. The other side will also open the same way. We have southern exposure so you'll be sitting by the window, sipping a nice Muscadet, nibbling on a smoked trout salad, and thinking how great life is.