Ladies and gentlemen, it has been a long time coming but – and I can hardly believe it myself – we have gas. Five months late, and many tens of thousands of dollars later, it’s here and we are no longer cooking on electric appliances but using real, professional equipment. Check this out to see how we’ve been cooking up until now and while it hasn’t been insurmountable it’s been tough on all of us in the kitchen. Gas appliances can cook in the volume we need, with an intensity of heat that we need, and they give us a lot more flexibility.

.

This is us getting a gas

line put in.

.

Seriously, these really are

pictures of the work.

.

And this was barely the beginning.

.

Now that this comedy of (expensive) errors is concluded we’re a veritable volcano of gas heat so it’s time to start playing. My sous chef and I get bored easily and so we’re starting to put new dishes on the menu and we’re changing things up in a manner so fast and subtle that we look like three card monte dealers. As of tonight, we’re taking the divisive papardelle off the menu and adding Golden Beet Papardelle with Yogurt, Pistachios and Honey.

.

This is how I’ve always wanted beet pasta to taste. The pasta is made fresh, and the dough is mixed with beet juice instead of water. It’s full of roasted candy stripe beets, golden beets and roasted red beets with tarragon. We serve it with a pesto made of beet greens and pistachios and the whole thing is drizzled with beet-infused honey and a sauce made of yogurt and goat cheese (and yes, there is a vegan version available but it may not be ready this first night. We’ll let you know the second it’s ready to go). It’s topped with beet and parmesan crisps. We’re trying to bring out the sweetness and the earthiness of beets so that you wind up with a perfectly balanced dish. Pictures will be up before you know it, and this is just the beginning. Spring is coming and that means a lot more menu changes are coming your way.

.

.