October 22, 2010

Have you ever heard of FRP?

That’s “fiber re-inforced plastic.” Basically fiberglass except with plastic instead of glass. This is cheap and durable stuff. It’s used in places that take a beating.

We’ve got it all in our dish washing room.

With all of the great things we’re doing in the restaurant the dishroom is the one thing I’m least proud of…

We’d love to have everything visible. But when you start laying everything out, and adding necessary walls (like around a walk-in, or a cooking area) complete transparency is impossible.

Until recently most restaurant hid all cooking. It’s pretty interesting. Just walk them. Any place where food is made is hidden. Like a vault.

Recently show kitchens have been developed (e.g., Craigie on Main, Towne). But there are inevitably hidden kitchens, generally many times larger than the show kitchen. The showy stuff happens out front. The business happens behind doors or in the basement.

It’s a big deal that we’ve dedicated 2/3 of our store front to kitchen. Pure kitchen. It’s the same reason we went to such length to cut off  the entire side of our truck and put windows in the back. We want  you to be able to see how we make your food. We want you to see us at our best and at our worst.

So what does this have to do with the dishroom? It’s the least visible room of all. Originally I wanted you all to be able to see our dirty pots and pans. But due to plumbing, and space constraints, etc. it’s hidden in the back corner of the restaurant.

The cool thing is that it is just off of a public fire corridor. So feel free to peek when you’re at the restaurant. Who ever is back there will be happy to give you a tour.

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