Seems I missed this forum too...

[monkeymay]

Hey everyone,
I seem to have missed this place entirely while cruising around these boards,
giving my two cents without proper introductions. Must be my ADD, because my mother's convinced she raised me right!

I am a chef- grew up in the film business and worked in that profession for a number of years, got tired of it and started cooking professionally after I had my kids.(I have 2).

I have been cooking for 15 years in different aspects of the industry-
restaurants, high end catering, and as a private chef.

My cuisine is based on two major influences - my Italian(Abruzzi) and my American Midwestern (Kansas) grandmothers. Both gave me a profound sense of their cultures through the food they cooked and I like to think I am the hybird of those styles- fresh, true, simple and good.Living in Los Angeles I have access to the most incredible variety of ethnic foods and these too play a major part in what I cook and eat. (Currently I can be found swooning in the aisles of a new Asian fish market I just discovered - they have an entire case of DURIAN FRUIT sitting out on the floor stinking up the place!)

I am in the process of opening a new restaurant - a digital supper club where you can eat, drink and watch movies in an elegantly designed space. I know there are places similar to this in NYC and San Francisco, but this is a first
for L.A.
It's a huge project as we are starting from bare space. and not only building a restaurant (and I've already done that a few times) but incorporating a huge amount of digital technology as well! Already the nightmares have begun...

It's been great to find these boards and read other's views outside of LA/SF/NYC. I look forward to reading more...

Peace.

[momoreg]

That sounds like fun, monkeymay. It's nice to formally meet you. I hope to hear updates on the restaurant, as things progress. When is the projected opening? BTW, what does your name mean?

[Kimmie]

Hello Monkeymay and welcome to Cheftalk. Your project seems very interesting. Shall we count on you to fill us in as it develops?

[Mezzaluna]

Welcome to Chef Talk, Monkeymay. Your comments about grandmothers sure struck a chord with me.

[monkeymay]

Thanks for the welcome, I will try to answer questions as they come...

My name is a play on my childhood nickname and last name.

My restaurant is attempting to open May 2002. We have had other opening dates, but this is the one I am sacrificing to the kitchen gods for (and Building and Safety and Health Dept...! )
I would love to give updates as time permits.
Currently I am working out of home, as there is no 'there' there, but things are threatening to snowball quickly.
.
Today: I got to watch 7 men pull out tape measures and talk about inches... .

floor drains being installed for equipment that already had
built -in condensation units...
:
stealing space I needed for a prep table to compensate for door size that got changed due to stringent handicap accessing in the kitchen...
Then there were the three structural beams that were placed in front of, not one the side of the windows (we're raising the ceiling 6' for better sitelines for the screen) that the engineer claims no knowledge of, and blames the architect for failing to inform him...

But it's all good and I wouldn't have it any other way

My Italian Nana (nonna) was a wild one... I will tell you some funny stories about her some time. She died a few years ago and I have her recipes, some jewelery, and her flat leaf (Italian) parsley whose seeds she gave me when I moved into my house. That was 16 years ago!

Peace.

[ShawtyCat]

Id like to hear more about your restaurant building and your nonnas. It would be interesting to know more about what exactly goes into building your own place. What with permits etc. Looking forward to your posts.