30 March, 2011: Does this get you excited? Or gross you out? I’ve always been sort of fascinated with those pickles you can buy at gas stations. Have you ever noticed them? But I’m usually pretty disappointed, and I’ve had at least one memorable experience where the package exploded pickle juice all over the car on a road trip. But… Read More
30 March, 2011: This is Rolando here with a former student, Eric. We had a chance to hang out when in Austin. Sorry all, admittedly this note really has an audience of one. The purpose is to encourage Eric to come work for us. We’d love to get you on the team. For the rest of you, yeah, we’re going… Read More
27 March, 2011: If you’re looking at this you’ve arrived. The center of the (very small) chicory universe. I couldn’t believe our luck. This was amazing. Like everything on this journey there’s a history lesson here too. Morning Call was right around the corner from Du Monde in a huge building. They started a decade or so before Du Monde,… Read More
26 March, 2011: That’s my claim, not his. And I’ll admit it’s not particularly well informed, but it might be true. He told me “there are a few people who know more than I do, but they wont talk to you.” (I’m guessing he meant folks at Du Monde, or Community, the big roasters.) Rolando and I made our way… Read More
25 March, 2011: Rolando and I started our day with coffee and beignet at Cafe Du Monde. This place is very well known, sort of a landmark in New Orleans. The place is built for seriously high volumes. I’m always on the lookout when traveling for high volume operations. There are very unique problems that arise when you’re forced to… Read More
24 March, 2011: So what’s the deal with this Chicory coffee? If you’ve been at Harvard Square you might have noticed it’s now an offering on our menu. But what is it? As Rolando and I were on the 3rd leg of our flight (cheap flight = many layovers) to New Orleans I was feeling a little discouraged. I research everything… Read More
20 March, 2011: (from left: Pierson and Co BBQ, Houston; Food truck, Austin; Franklin’s – best BBQ in US?, Austin) Sold out signs from Texas. We encountered a lot of these at the top BBQ joints and food trucks. Look familiar? Well maybe my handwriting isn’t as clear, but we’ve written the big “OUT” more than a few times. It’s… Read More
19 March, 2011: Like the moist brisket from Austin the other day this King Cake from New Orleans is something you’re not likely to find on the Clover menu. But look at those colors! Brings out the kid in you, right? From what I understand this is a somewhat seasonal cake they make down in New Orleans. On our research… Read More
16 March, 2011: When Rolando and I were down in Texas the other week our most important mission was to understand Texas BBQ. There’s this crazy website called Full Custom Gospel BBQ and this guy is nuts about BBQ. So we used his guide and hit 6 of the top 10 BBQ joints in TX. Why? We’re going to start… Read More
15 March, 2011: As many of you know Rolando and I just got back from a tour of New Orleans (coffee) and Texas (BBQ and food trucks). I’m going to share with you here my favorite story from our trip. We’d just finished Chicory coffee and Bignet at Cafe Du Monde. The vietnamese servers couldn’t answer my questions. And the… Read More