Travel Bug has bitten.

So excited.  Getting ready to travel to Prague in 5 days for a month.  What do I pack?  Lite, for sure. This city has been beckoning me for a while.  Ever since I saw this old artistic black and white photographic book of the city from the 1950's I have wanted to visit.  The stark lines of the buildings in the photographs seem to whisper of time, and time and time.  Maybe it will stand still for me there.

My English Degree is finally useful

I own a little Cafe.  It is struggling to be a European Cafe in the midst of a of a small college town in Florida, full of mainly young college kids, hippies and southern folk.  The cafe is housed in the Historic Vidal House CA 1908.  We sit on the edge of a Historic District, 8 blocks from the heart of the City's downtown.  My husband and I bought this building in 2006, threw about two thirds of it away and completely restored it over a two year period.  The cafe was opened in October of 2008.  I'm starting this blog for two reasons, one; I always have a lot to say, two; I finally need to put my BA in English to good use as I am going to be paying student loans until I am 50.  Read as you like, but WARNING, there will be nothing normal about me, the cafe or my writing.  Read at your own risk.

The Fat Tuscan Cafe Summer Newsletter 2012

Hi Everyone,

Happy Summer solstice, the longest day of the year.  I think it officially marks the arrival of summer, yippee.  If you are like me, summers are spent trying to beat the heat and humidity of the Swamp.  Usually, that means lazing around a pool, a lake, a spring or some form of water source with a cool drink in hand.  Well, wouldn't you know, as it happens, the cafe's tinkling lion-head fountain counts as a an official summer watering hole, and with our fine choices of cold beverages, it should be on the top of your list.  As it happens, I am extremely excited that summer is here this year, as I have big, big plans.  Unfortunately, I will not be around the cafe during July as I am finally taking a trip outside the U.S. since opening the cafe in 2008 and I'll be gone for the entire month.  Yes, can you tell I have serious travel fever right now?  So, while you spend time trying to out-smart the sweltering, energy-sapping humidity in the south, I will be traveling through Czech Republic drinking cold beer, eating great food and learning about Czech cuisine.  Incidentally, don't be surprised if when I get back in August we seem to be running specials full of recipes from Czech.  The Fat Tuscan is a European cafe, right? And, Czech is in Europe; so its all good in my book.  Actually, the travel bug has bitten pretty bad and I keep threatening the employees that I may not return and instead just continue on Eastward through Budapest, on to Romania and finally to Mongolia...(why Mongolia, you ask? I don't know why.  Maybe it has something to do with this recurring romanticized fantasy I have of hanging out with the Nomads on the Eastern Steppes, drinking fermented warm fizzy Yak milk and wearing a large quilted robe that makes me look like a sumo wrestler.  By the way, the sane part of my brain knows this is a fantasy as I am sure that Nomads and Yaks in tight quarters would not make for a pleasant smelling time, nor does warm fizzy Yak Milk probably taste in any way good.  Not to mention, isn't it absolutely freezing on the Eastern Steppes all year?!) So, these are the things rambling around in my brain and for some reason the idea of not coming back for a while sounds really good to the Gypsy blood urging me to travel.  But, don't worry, I promise I'll be back.  I can't stay away too long from the Fat Tuscan.  For me, food, travel and good company are all part of what makes the heart of the Fat Tuscan cafe and I will never give that up, its in my blood too.   

If you happen to be unfortunate and stuck in Gainesville all summer and can't travel anywhere, don't forget that the cafe is like taking a mini European trip, at least for an afternoon.  Sitting in the courtyard, next to the french inspired fountain and enjoying some chilled Rose' or Fruity Italian wines is just like sitting in a Piazza anywhere in Europe, I promise. 

We also have some great things going on this summer at the cafe, most importantly, special hours are planned along with seasonal summer specials running throughout the entire month of July.

New hours for July
OPEN for lunch MONDAY to SATURDAY from 11AM to 4PM.  And only opened for Dinner on FRIDAY and SATURDAY from 4PM to 10PM.  We will still have music every Friday night along with our great happy hour prices on Beer and Wine, so definitely come by for that if nothing else.  The Music line up for the month is listed below. 

Candlelight Dinner is this Sunday!  We still have space if you are interested.  Call us today to make a reservation.  Our Theme is "Along the Eastern Mediterranean Coast".  These 5 course dinners are amazing, and its the best of 'slow food' cuisine anywhere.  Dinner seating starts at 6pm.  Our number is 505-56478 to make a reservation. 

We will be Open for July 4th, for lunch, so if you aren't going to a BBQ until the evening, come by for lunch at the cafe.  We will be here till 4pm. 

Also, check our our website for information on our Cooking Classes, the next series starts in August and is on Cooking with wine...(where I plan to do my best impression of Julia Child in every class!!)  www.fattuscan.com  - Pre-registration is recommended as class size is limited!

So, don't worry the girls in the kitchen will take really good care of you while I'm gone and the best part for you is that any time you need a mini vacation the Cafe is waiting for you,
so don't forget to come by. 

PS - Have a good summer and thank you for reading these news letters.  I really do love writing them, only running a restaurant seems to seriously hamper my writing time.  What do I love more, writing about food or actually cooking it?  This is a question much like Shakespeare's famous quote, 'to be or not to be'. There is no good answer.  (Well at least Shakespeare thought so, I actually always thought the answer was 'to be' always, I mean 'not to be' means you're dead, right?  And who wants to be dead?) 

See you in August,
Michelle