The Other Side of the Veil

Leaving Texas. One of my favorite Jerry Jeff and as a matter of fact one of my all time favorite songs.

The logistics of shutting down the little mobile food lab, tying up the loose ends and getting ourselves to Houston was pretty much a shoe in with the help of our family. Family of course, are all of you who've cheered us on and been loyal to our crazy alchemy. 

Our children who've always indulged our eccentric Hick-Finn lives (and who've consequently prospered in spite of it) as usual banded together and made sure we got to Houston. And beyond. 

Boarding an airplane and flying after so many years of not doing so was not as bad an experience as we had feared. We made all of our connections and our massive pile of luggage, including a guitar made it safely and without issue.

Arriving at Anchorage was a surreal experience. It was a bit overcast and cool. We looked out the big windows at the Chugach Mountains and for me, I felt a single tear. 38 years had separated me from this sight. I often wondered if I would ever see it again. 

We waited for our shuttle to the hotel out in front of the terminal. The smells here are absolutely intoxicating and although weary to the bone, we were ready to explore, After we checked in and stowed a few things it was about 1030 local time (1;30 Texas). We hadn't eaten much all day, so we walked in the broad daylight to find something. Most every restaurant was closed, so we found a Tesoro convenience store and bought a six pack of Alaskan beer and a couple of microwave Philly cheesesteak sandwiches and strolled back. Pure ambrosia. It wasn't several minutes and we were dead asleep......

Yesterday, after we rose from the dead, we headed to the Anchorage People Mover, the mass transit system. I've always remembered it as a premier system, and was ecstatic to find it remains so. The drivers and the passengers are all beyond friendly and it feels like living in an old episode of Northern Exposure. We caught a bus eastbound toward the Chugach, and the driver told us about the Anchorage botanical garden, saying we could ride with him, he'd be returning to downtown (where we wanted to go) in an hour, or explore the gardens and catch him on the return for a direct ride. It was an excellent suggestion and we spent the next 45 minutes in the woods. 

Downtown Anchorage is a wonderful experience. Anchorage is a town of 400,000, but the small town feel remains. It is clean and friendly and we spent the next several hours wandering around, visiting with people. Alaska may be cold, but the people are quite the opposite.

We stopped for lunch at a small outdoor eatery, made of converted shipping containers outside downtown  called Ak Alchemist  (https://www.facebook.com/pg/alaskaalchemist) advertising Halibut Tacos and Salmon Quesadillas. I chose the tacos and Dee had a reindeer burger. We both quaffed giant flagons  of Bear Tooth IPA, another Alaskan product. The sun came out for awhile as we chatted with the locals. 

The food was outstanding.

After the late lunch we found the bus again and boarded it back to the hotel (with an intermediate stop to get some groceries). We're still adjusting to the time change and jetlag. 

Today we're off to bicycle the city park trails and back for a bit of rest before being picked up for Sterling tomorrow morning. Then the fun begins.

I apologize for the rambling, imperfect prose here but I wanted to fill y'all in on the last several days. we'll have a better update this afternoon.

Que lo vaya bien mis amigos y amigas.... 

Countdown T Minus 24 hours

In a little over 24 hours we will be uprooting ourselves here on the ranch and beginning our journey. Staying with old surfing friends near Houston, on Friday morning we will negotiate the madness that air travel has become, boarding our three legged flight to Anchorage. Neither of us have flown much since 9-11, so it should be an interesting trip. We're essentially finished packing with just a few other last minute details to go.

Yesterday we surfed at Fish Pass. It was a bit messy and dumpy, but uncrowded giving us time to absorb and reflect.

We are water people.  I savored every second of the morning, a kaleidoscope of storm clouds, warm sand and water. Nervous with anticipation the time it appears, is almost upon us. The wave has crested and we are staring at the shoreline ready to take the ride.

One Week

Well.
Here we sit down in a laundromat in Kingsville doing the laundry that we keep relegating to lower priority till it suddenly became, priority one when we had all but run out of clean clothes...

One week from today we will leave our simple country existence and its myriad of challenges for an equal challenge high above the 60th parallel. So, for the time being we are finally able to play a game of catch-up. We've shut down the Modern Alchemy Fusion Foods lab, are in the process of doing the same with our  tiny abode, and packing. The reality of the summer happening  is starting to kick in.

And of course everything is the news, on everyone's mind is the drama that our government is so far thoughtfully giving us. It seems as if collectively, we all feel a great apprehensive of what's on the close horizon. It adds to my sense of anticipation and uncertainty. And that's not good. I am however beyond thankful that our kids have such a tight network of loose family here. I am grateful that our kids are motivated hard workers and good citizens. They have succeeded despite my shortcomings as a parent. These things make it a little easier....

The Food Within

We were talking with a friend tonight in the food business. She's a true and a fine country food artist. Comfort stuff like barbecue meat, chicken salad, solid potato dishes, stuff like that.  Although she says that she's not a cook, let alone a chef and that she hates to cook, her food is pure art. She's a genuine Texas treasure, her recipes committed to mind and scraps of paper.

We've had many slightly drunk evenings discussing food. We all have a passion for food. For flavors, textures and colors. The subtleties of food. There is no pretense. It is a lifelong search for memories, for things almost to ephemeral to describe. Food has punctuated our lives. 

She currently is trying to help nurture a fledgling brick and mortar food business. She didn't want to but she has to because it's her food that's being showcased, it's her work, her art that's being represented. 

The owners have a different approach. It's about the money. The food is subordinate. 

Now don't get me wrong, I want, I need to make money at this stage of the game. But I've always been a firm believer that money will follow what you love to do if you let yourself do it. If you throw yourself and your passion into it. But, it's about the art, the ineffable, that which can't be easily described. Like the essence of beauty. If you do that the best you can, let the fire burn so to speak, the almighty dollar will follow.

This is the first time the owners have even worked in a brick and mortar type food business, let alone owning one. I've worked in a few over the past several years in my quest to learn. Over those years I've learned that the restaurant business is one of the hardest that I've ever seen. Long hours, small profit margins, and a very fickle audience. So to survive and prosper in it one must probably either a) have the tenacity to endure and the temerity to  push the envelope in the pursuit of the very essence of the art. Or, assuming that one's passion for food extends only to the extent that it is a vehicle to make money with, one that suits the individual (rather than one that torments the individual) than, b) It is better for that sort to own / manage a franchise or the sort of place that sanitizes the food for the masses. People like that make great owner / managers of chain restaurants like McDonald', Burger King and Bill Miller Barbecue. There is room, as well as call for businesses like those. 

So now the mistakes are beginning. 

The burnout, the lack of attention to kitchen needs., the hangers on and the poorly chosen staff are beginning to show in customer frustration. The early signs of fatal mistakes are in place. And the owner only sees the bump of newness, not planing, not caring about what happens when the newness of the place wears off. Because his soul, his heart are not in it. It's just the profits he sees.

Would be better if he owned a Whataburger.

I worry for our friend, and hope by some miracle the place succeeds.