Flatbread Weekend. @motleycrewranch Chicken slow-roasted in a smoky oak oven, Candied Bacon, @rockingchairfarms White Peach Flatbread. Good stuff! #pizza #pizzalover #smallbusiness #getinmybelly #chicken #peach #flatbread #woodoven #woodovenpizza

Garbanzo-Flour Panisse, Harissa Toum, @roots_organic_farm Cherry Tomato Salad. #glutenfree #vegan #vegetarian

It’s been a long time from my former life in music. It’s been a long time since we’ve had live music in our lives. Tonight was @thisispattismith at the amazing @henrymillerlib for their 40th anniversary. Nothing could have been more perfect!! Patti played with her son Jackson and her friend Flea and the redwoods and books... I’ve been coming to the Henry Miller Library for at least 35+ years. My son Rainer is in part named after Henry Miller (‘Valentine’ being his middle name). People have the power! #peoplehavethepower #pattismith #bestrong

Working through 200# of Chilis from Fred. These beauties being made into a Macedonian Ajvar with charred Eggplant, Onion, Orange and Sherry Vinegar. Getting ready for next week. Sonja from @casadumetzwines has her heritage from Macedonia and she has and is an inspiration to me. My friend Fred dropped a LOT of peppers and we had charred Eggplant and, well, the rest is what it is. Not too spicy. Just right. Perfectly local.

More fun in the new world! A bonanza of Chilis from Farmer Fred has us started on a load or projects. Lacto-Ferments with Chilis and White Peaches, Macedonian ‘Ajvar’ with Blackened Eggplant, Chili Mash for another ferment, Salsas, Shisitos for pan-searing... so much more. Super excited for what Fred calls Sardinian Fish Peppers (which we’ve used for years during the very short window they are available) and which I can only find research as Fish Peppers. Knowing Fred’s sense of humor he may be pulling one on us (albeit for years I have always referred to his peppers as ‘Sardinian’ in part as while I’ve been to Sicily and a favorite cheese (Brin d’amour) is from Corsica, I have yet to make it to Sicily. Looking forward to menues and projects to come!

Smoked Whitefish and Potato Gratin. Fish by @travishahafishing. Comfort! Open today to 9.

Oops! Forgot for a moment we are a Pizza joint.... we do have some pretty good Flatbread Pizzas. We also offer a lot of other dishes; Flatbread and otherwise. We are all about cooking on coals, on the hearth, in our oven. What started as a simple experiment has morphed into a much bigger thing. Live-Fire cooking on so many levels IS my restaurant.

#notonthemenu but available until we sell out. Local Live Spot Prawns grilled over Oak Coals with a Smoked @roots_organic_farm Tomato Water and @kelpful_ca Seaweed Dashi, Meyer Lemon and Smashed Garlic. The Smoked Tomato Water Dashi on this is insane!

For many years I have marked the seasons of the year here at the restaurant by knowing a certain ingredient will be available and at its peak. In the dog days of summer one such ingredient is the @ranchosanjulian “Ranch Melon.” I was introduced to this beautiful melon by @elizabethpoett. The melons are of Japanese origin and for the past 40 years been 100% dry farmed from the prior seasons saved seeds by a gentleman of Portuguese descent. It’s no exaggeration that I get excited each year for this beauty to be on our menu; if even for a few short weeks as the days themselves get shorter. The melon itself, the ranch where they grow and the hands that have played a part in these melons have such a rich history of stories. We have it on the menu in 2 dishes this weekend: this is our chilled Ranch Melon Gazpacho. A dish we repeat each year when the melons arrive. Simple. Sweet. Savory. Refreshing. By the way, Elizabeth has an ongoing show @theranchtable airing on @magnolianetwork and she graces the cover of the newest @805living !

We change our specials menu every week. We’ve done so for 18 years. Inevitably we have a surprise dish that dominates from the get-go. This is that dish this weekend (or so it would seem based on tonight’s feedback). A simple dish modeled on a West Indian Recipe but crossed with a Mexican Dish (in the most vague way). @tuttifruttifarmsca Anaheim Chilis stuffed with @roots_organic_farm Bicolor Corn, @elderflatfarm Zucchini, Goat Cheese and Garlic. Excellently Japanese Tempura’ed by @jilliana.davie and served with a fresh Heirloom Tomato Salsa and Salad. It’s tasty. #vegetarian #glutenfree #plantbased

Some restaurants believe that they need to be open the maximum feasible number of hours possible in order to be viable. There is also the community aspect that aspires to be there for the locals at all hours. I do not believe in this. I believe a restaurant (the physical space as well as the staff operating in that space) AND the ingredients (in our case all hyper-local providing sustenance) need a down time. With us, here, now, these days are Monday and Tuesday (Wednesday for staff only for prep for the week). When I made the great left-turn in 1998 and went from Music Industry Exec to Small Town Bread Baker I did so excitedly and not without great fears. I knew there needed to be a day that we weren’t open as I knew that by becoming the town baker I wanted to idealize that was a very real chance that my bakery would become a depended upon hub within my community: a job, a lifestyle that doesn’t allow much time off. I had the confidence of an ignorant man. This is what happened (fortunately). We were closed on Mondays and as Claremont is a very educated town soon many regulars brought me hats from the @walkerartcenter Contemporary Art Museum of Minneapolis who’s merchandise emblazoned “Closed Monday.” I’ve had @fulloflifefoods now for 18 years. We are closed Monday thru Wednesday. We are in a town of (approx 1800 people). We are in a town exploding with some very food-forward restaurants! 2021 is the year of the “Big Quit” and “Great Resignation.” My business, my life for the past 20 years has been about trying to contribute and at the same realize that I need to slow down. Today is Monday. We are closed. Yesterday, being a small town we had no electricity for almost 6 hours yet figured it out. Today our 20-Ton Wood Oven is resting; idle with warmth and smoke. Today I came in to slow smoke @travishahafishing Channel Island Ocean Whitefish that we’ve Dry-Aged for 14 days. They will appear in menues to come. I am here alone in this space I created smoking fish. It is quiet and I find comfort from in this. @jilliana.davie is in LA taking care of her aging parents. @losalamos.ca hums along on a Monday with @bobswellbread and @bellslosalamos.

Years ago some farmers had a nickname for me. Even though I was a major supporter and understood the nuances between 2 different makers even on the same day: farmers know they’re market and may not put everything they have out at one market because they have another market to go to where the likelihood of selling that precious good may be more. I see it all the time and understand it. Yet, for years this nickname stuck with me as a “market groupie.” Something I found hilarious given my past career. Yet groupie I was this week as @jimenezfamilyfarm had beautiful Squash Blossoms and I bought, let’s just say I bought a lot. It goes on our whole roasted @travishahafishing Ocean Whitefish but I still bought too much! As a #notonthemenu dish tonight is a @elderflatfarm Squash and Fresh Mozzarella Blossoms, Chimichurri and Toum. Come on in!