Behind the paper plywood: first equipment
The stork made a special delivery to Contigo Monday morning ! Like any proud papa, I took lots of photos. Delivery was touch and go at times, but I suppose that's to be expected when your baby weighs 2,300 pounds.
My little bundle of love is a one-ton wood-fired oven made in the Tuscan hillside village of Reggello and imported by Mugnaini in Watsonville (near Santa Cruz). She has siblings at many local restaurants, including (if I remember correctly) Chez Panisse, Nopa, Coco500, and Lulu. She's the smallest Mugnaini sells, but just the right size for little Contigo. We're going to dress her up in locally made Heath tiles ("seconds," the tile equivalent of hand-me-downs from your older brother or sister).
Is it just me or does she look cuter than other restaurants' ovens?
In no time, my little hearth will grow up and become the focus (literally) of Contigo. She'll be churning out a seasonally changing coca (a type of Catalan flat bread similar to pizza), whole roasted fish, sardines, squid, braised and roasted meats, and all kinds of other yummy treats.
Sigh. They grow up so fast, don't they?
Where have I seen such an oven before? Oh, where? :)
Posted by: Jack at Fork & Bottle | Wednesday, April 23, 2008 at 10:14 PM
Congrats. It's always exciting to see the stuff going in.
Posted by: haddock | Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 08:46 AM
A heath hearth! I'm going to love it.
Posted by: cookiecrumb | Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 11:22 AM
Nice to see some progress!
Can't wait to see the Heath tiles. I wish I lived in the area to take advantage of their "special" pick-up only tiles.
Speaking of Coco500, is Jen Biesty still the chef there?
Posted by: art | Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 03:45 PM
OOH...you are going to LOVE working with that beauty! It was the only thing I actually liked about working at Bizou (Coco500)...what a dream.
Enjoy!
Posted by: Rachael | Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 09:25 PM
How fun! Congrats on your special delivery.
Posted by: Tea | Monday, April 28, 2008 at 08:24 AM
What's this? A response from Brett? It's good to keep y'all on your toes.
Jack, yes, I loved cooking paella-stuffed squid in your Mugnaini.
Haddock, I was beginning to think I'd never see the day that the toys would start to arrive.
Cookiecrumb, a Heath hearth. How fun! I hadn't thought of that before.
Art, yes, Jen is still at Coco, but only through the end of May from what I hear. She and I cooked together at Bizou back when that restaurant was rated 3.5 stars.
Rachael, how funny. I didn't know you worked at Bizou. I wonder if you were there before or after me.
Tea, thanks!
Posted by: brett | Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 09:48 AM
Jennifer Biesty's new menu at Scala's Bistro was announced on Eater SF yesterday:
http://sf.eater.com/archives/2009/01/13/jen_biestys_new_menu_at_scalas_revealed.php
Posted by: Joe | Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 03:58 PM