110 People

Well we broke the record last Saturday for the most people in a night at the  Craigie Street spot.   110 people over the course of the night were served some of Chef Punch's tasty plates, and everyone went home happy. 

We also made the cover of the Improper Bostonian this week.  

You Scream.... I Scream....We all run away from the Ice Cream Maker

What could be scarier than this Ice Cream Maker. I am not sure, but the fact that I used this thing for a while back in the day makes me a little worried that I could have gotten someone sick if it was this dirty back then. Another broken piece of equipment on the list did not make Chef Dave a happy camper.  Looks like a new one is needed, since I am not sure how to get the motor running again, nor do I have the time or patients to clean this thing to a working order. 

One week till opening. We sure cannot wait to start cooking and get all of the construction done with.  Luckily the phones are ringing and we are taking reservations.  Come see us soon.

To-Do

A good to-do list can be a life saver when trying to accomplish large amounts of projects in a not so large amount of time. It can save on trips to home depot, keep people busy and informed,  keep you focused on the tasks at hand and in general helps you to realize that there is an endpoint and finality to all the work that you are undertaking. 

As we move into the second week of the redesign and cleanup of the restaurant, it is starting to look more and more like a functioning restaurant. Chairs are getting reupholstered, fridges are getting cleaned and plugged in, prep tables are starting to get cleaned off and put into position and more importantly the staff is starting to show up and see the restaurant and meet each other.  Let's start crossing more things off that list.....

New Kitchen Floor

As you can see from this picture of the floor after it was ripped out we have come a long way in a very short amount of time. Bathroom floors are down also, haven't documented them yet and a new coat of paint... check that... several new coats of paint have brought them a long way. 

As you can see in the last two photos the long hours tends to inspire some pointless pictures... Christina is very strong and Dave is electrocuting himself. 

Construction Update ... Week one

The tough part about opening a restaurant is being able to see the finished product from the beginning to end. So many pieces must come together for a restaurant to work and so many people are important in making it all happen. As you can see from the photos below, we are starting to get closer and closer to that finished product and it's all because we have a team that compliments each other so well. I will try and get some more pictures of the kitchen up and the new quarry slate tile floors that Chick busted his a$$ all weekend putting in, that is when he wasn't putting in the bathroom tiles and hardwood flooring the dining room.

The burrito looking thing that is smoking in Dave's hand is actually a sage smudge that when burned is supposed to cleanse a space off all negative things left behind. I took a digger running it around the dining room so Dave took it from me to finish the cleanse. Part of our cleanse ritual also involves making crazy faces and lots of yelling as you can see from the photo.

day Three at Ten Tables Cambridge

Day three at TT C....

Ripping the tiles off of an old floor can be tiring work. Nothing reminds you of that fact more than waking up the day after working on a floor with bruises on your hands and shoulders that are so sore it feels like you might have swam across the english channel. 

With the floors cleared the next part of our job was to clean and paint the walls. As you can see from some of the before and after photos below the addition of a little paint can be quit dramatic. 

Chef dave needs his tums to ease that stomach through these stressful times of opening a new restaurant. As you can see though they make him happy. 

Let The Construction Begin

Dave and I got to work today on ripping up the kitchen at the new Ten Tables. Floors needed to be pulled up and the walls needed a lot of elbow grease to get ride of all the kitchen grease left

behind by the last inhabitants. The stove is in great shape, as long as you don't look behind it, the floors are a mess, and a lot of the walls have a lot of crap on them. 

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Luckily the stove is in pretty good condition... the rest of the kitchen is another story....

The scary dishwasher....