It’s a big day! After much hard work by our Kitchen Team and volunteer Member-Owners, today is the first day that the world gets a peek at our draft Rational Menu.
Most everything you see will be on the menu year round, but with slight changes due to seasonality. For example, you’ll see pickled okra for most of the summer, but soon after the locally grown okra starts to become hollow and woody, it can be replaced with pickled summer squash. When the weather starts to cool off, you might not see beer-braised spare ribs, but you’ll see braised pork shoulder and the beer used for the braising might shift to the seasonal Moontower.
Everything on the menu was created to be flexible and will evolve as the seasons change and as our members give feedback. Recipes have also been designed to use as much of the whole ingredients as possible. The scraps from the chips will be made into mashed potatoes to soak up the rich sauce for the roast chicken. The ends of the carrots we shred and celery we chop for the vinegar slaw will be used for the Mirepoix in stocks and braises. There will be very little waste in our kitchen.
As for our Irrational menu, stay tuned. We have some exciting ideas that are still being tested. These are menu offerings that will be updated as often as twice a week. For example, if one of our suppliers has an extra case of figs, they might just be stuffed with blue cheese, wrapped in pancetta and grilled to perfection. Of course we would drizzle it with a sweet malt vinegar gastrique to finish it off. That’s just one idea.
If you just can’t wait to get a taste of what’s in store, you’re in luck. We’ve got A Bite of Black Star BEER SOCIAL coming up on July 17th. We’ll be modifying the usual Beer Social format to feature a couple outdoor friendly versions of items found on our Rational Menu. Be there!
Rational Menu (DRAFT)
| A sample of our Rational Menu featuring seasonal and local ingredients where possible. Many items can be made vegetarian, vegan and gluten free. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Snack |
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Shrimp ‘n Grits Texas Mixto Chips and Queso Tofu Popcorn Beer Nuts |
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Bowl |
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Bowl of Red* Vegetarian Chili* Soup du Jour Bibb Lettuce Salad |
Beet Salad Wedge Salad Chopped Salad |
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SandwichAdd: fried egg, bacon, avocado, pickled vegetables, fresh jalapeños, cheese |
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Black Star Burger Vegetarian Burger Grilled Cheese |
Fried Egg Sandwich Pulled Pork Sandwich Grilled Vegetable Sandwich |
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Plate |
Extra |
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Fish & Chips Portobello & Chips Roast Chicken Bar Steak Vegetables Pot Pie Pork Ribs |
Seasoned Chips Mac & Cheese Side Salad Slaw Greens |
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Dessert |
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Seasonal Cobbler Candy Milk and Cookies |
Beer Float Beer Crispy Treats |
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Do you like this? Share It!
Dan says:
what’s in the “country paté”? foie gras?
Johnny Livesay says:
No worries Dan, although we are committing to a ‘whole beast’ philosophy in our kitchen, we will not be using any foie gras. The country pate is a pork and pork liver pate. Thank you asking! If you have any more questions let me know.
Melinda B says:
When is the opening? I can’t wait!
Steven says:
Melinda,
We’ve got six weeks of construction left and then ramping up for operations. We’re shooting for September for the softest of opening, but you should become a Member-Owner today:
http://www.blackstar.coop/co-operate/become-a-member
Jaime Shimkus says:
Looks great! Thanks for offering a nice variety of vegetarian options, not just one perfunctory (boring) dish on many menus.
Katie Pud says:
Awesome work guys! Can’t wait for the beer float!
Sarah Jane says:
Steven,
Who will be your main produce supplier? And sorry if I missed this somewhere, but will it be mostly organic?
The rational menu looks awesome….esp. fried tofu popcorn and beet salad…yum!
Thx,
Sarah.
Jim says:
Some nice and interesting alternatives to the usual menu, e.g. fried egg sandwich, tofu popcorn, beer float, etc. Can’t wait! Great job!
Kathryn Turner says:
This looks awesome, y’all. Good job! I’m especially excited about the shrimp and grits, and the beer crispy treats.
Can I talk you into a ceviche (possibly Waterloo accented)?
Kevin Jolly says:
Nice menu – ditto on the thoughtful vegetarian choices
Nice to see a fried egg sandwich, and yippie on the flat iron steak – long live the chuck!
I’m already hungry – can’t wait
Thanks for all your work
Kevin
Sarah says:
Congratulations Michael and Johnny! You guys hit a home run.
Steven says:
Sarah, there’s no need to be so modest. You were on the volunteer team that helped craft the menu, so congratulations to you too!
Kim says:
You folks are innovators in the truest sense and I can’t wait to taste your creations! The portobello and chips makes me giddy just thinking about it.
Jack Holt says:
I’m impressed! I love the emphasis on local food and think you’ll get a food-following regardless of the beer.
Maybe in your messaging you could highlight the local aspect as it’s quite appealing nowadays–the name “Rational” is cool and yet doesn’t quite send what could be a very important message.
Laura Lu says:
DANG!! *Very* impressive choices! I am now planning to show up more often, because there will be *so* many interesting things to try!
Cheers!
Nicole Truly says:
Thank you, thank you, thank you for the vegetarian choices!
Jon Roberts says:
Sounds amazing. I can’t wait to try some of this stuff.
lisa knaggs says:
will there be (at least a few) gluten free options, please?
Dressings and sauces w/o wheat, malt, etc., would be an awesome start!
Twyla says:
The menu is fabulous, can’t wait to start working my way through it!
Twyla says:
Opening Day: let the tasting begin!
patrick says:
if i have erdos #2, do i get beer for free?