HOW we work, WHO we work with
The Price family is RIGHT up there with our fave families! I actually remember when Katharine and Dan got married because it was one of Broadstreet’s first (if not the first), catering gigs with Rochester Art Center. Now a few years later we got to meet Charlotte, Ben and Henry! Charlotte and Ben were regulars coming long before Henry was born. Just wee ones coming in with their parents and always well mannered. The thing we love best about the Price’s is that they understand what ZZest was intended to be. The neighborhood gem where you could drop in any time and get something wonderful to eat. They may come in for special occasion but they will come in on Tuesdays as well. To them, it’s place for the family and we love that! The Price family comes winter, spring, summer and fall. It’s not about the patio or pizza! And… they always order vegetables! Right now avocado toast is a hit, but I’ve been told Ben is a bread and cheese sort of guy. They welcome the menu changes and always find something that works for each family member. The kiddos each have a very fun personalties, The boys grow their hair out. I love this, so much!! Henry must have chosen to cut his but not Ben! Henry often sports tall rubber boots. Charlotte is a reader. The whole family bikes over in the summer months and often meet other families. Last week after being closed for a week our front door was very dusty. Someone wrote I heart ZZest so much! in the dust. I asked...
HOW we work, WHERE we do it
Oh gosh… how we all love seeing Finn and his family! It was Finn’s grandma who first discovered us shortly after we opened. She comes often to visit and to take care of Finn. I think she is a pretty awesome cook too, so I am surprised they venture out! But, it wasn’t long before we got to meet Brian and Amanda and of course Finn. Brian would be surprised to know we actually have his last name in the system and I think spelled correctly! But, when he calls we just usually use Finn or Finn Bart! Amanda will say Finn cut his culinary teeth here at ZZest. He really does travels a lot, but, declares ZZest to be one of his favorite restaurants. Cheese boards are his usual choice and at this point I don’t think he has eaten one he doesn’t like. Finn has left drawings for our refrigerators, robots made from cardboard and lots of other great items for us! He once was interviewed when we were chosen as one of 100 best patios in the nation. (He talked about cheese) It feels like Amanda and I are telepathically connected. Right before I send an email blast out, she is feeling the need to visit ZZest. Also, we connect in the soft hearts that easily tear up, kind of people. I’ll have a hard time seeing her come Sept. 16th, they already have a reservation. Tissue, please! A couple years ago, Brian and Amanda declared it was their “summer of ZZest” as the 3 and many times 4 of them, came quite often. When this...
HOW we work, WHO we work with
Here’s Joe and Debbie, Mary and George. They are serious about sitting on the patio. Debbie and I go way back to the days of choreographed exercise classes at Rochester Ballet, circa 1984-ish. I should remind her how she actually used a favorite song of mine for a routine, I was so thrilled! I’m sure no one else in the class had any idea who Jerry Jeff Walker was, nor cared. But, Debbie did that for me. Don’t it make you Wanna Dance. It did! George, although I should have ran into him sooner as like me, a native Rochesterite, I only came to know of him through mutual friends. The one thing I didn’t know for quite some time is that George and Debbie are brother and sister! Both families are incredibly loyal customers. In fact, I thought each winter I should award them “points” for every time they came in. The “points” could be used to secure a patio table in the summer, because the patio, is what they really love! When a fair amount of people enjoy the patio only in it’s perfection, George, Mary, Debbie and Joe are the first ones out there come spring when there’s not a leaf on the tree. All summer, heat or not and come fall, once agian until there’s not a leaf on the tree. I’ve usually workout a patio seat when they come in! For that kind of customer loyalty, I’m going to work hard, turning my rubics cube to make that happen. Thank you for enjoying our patio but also for enjoying the booths in the winter....
HOW we work, WHO we work with
came in and it was a blast from the past! Love this group!! I first met them in my little shop, Culinary Market on 1st Ave in 2008. So…they go back to almost the beginning. Martha favored goat cheese and Tammy had adventourous cheese tastes. They each made weekly stops to see what was new. Debbi brought her daughter Danielle in for dinner at ZZest ay least a couple times in the summer when she was home from college. Cindy frequented ZZest for lunch. They ALL did their part to keep ZZest Market and Cafe going!Thank you, thank you so much! I was also extremely lucky to score an invite to one of Tammy’s wonderful dinners a couple years ago. This particular one featured foraged mushrooms and was served in her wine cave. So fun and so delicious! I dined with several of the ladies in the photo and it will be one of my more treasured memories of ZZest. Awfully glad I met you...
HOW we work, WHO we work with
Meet Kaely and Dylan. I first met them shortly after ZZest opened. Kaely is the daughter of a high school classmate of mine. It was fun seeing Sally again to to learn about her daughter Kaely, who at the time, just got married. When Kaely and Dylan come in they always lavish us with compiments, and thumbs up on facebook. And, even though they were newlweds they would come in fairly frequently. It turns out Kaely and Dylan came in frequently because, they had things to celebrate. Dylan was all set to join the marines feeling like this was his best choice for the future. But Sally and Kaely surprised him with tearing up his papers and offering to pay for college. #1 celebration! College graduation was another and soon their first baby girl in 2014. It was particularily fun to listen to Sally gush about the wonders of holding a grandchild for the first time (something I can’t wait for!!). Baby David was born last Nov. and that gave Kaely and Dylan one more reason to celebrate and come to ZZest. Tonight when I caught them for the photo its was yet another occasion. Their 7 year anniversary, dinner at ZZest and on to Las Vegas! Such a special couple and thank you for sharing your special occasions with...
HOW we work, WHO we work with
Here’s an awesome family! They may have slipped my radar the first few years. I’m pretty good at faces, sadly names elude me, but, I’m really good at remembering what cheese you like! Thank goodness after awhile I started to realize, something was up with these folks and New Years Eve. It turns out the Parkers have not missed our New Year’s Eve Chef Tastings, since we began them! That’s at least 7 of them! And… if it couldn’t get any sweeter than that, New Years Eve is their anniversary. A couple years ago they brought the whole crew in to celebrate their anniversary and of course New Years Eve. All the kids were decked out and every one of them had the chefs dinner, that’s 6 courses and not one course is a burger. That makes my heart sing! I’m glad I connected the dots a few years in, is was fun to look forward to them coming each year. The Parkers live in Winona and do pop in now and again beyond NYE. When they learned we were closing, Chris called and made a reservation for the whole group again. Here are their smiling faces! Thanks for sharing life’s celebrations with...
HOW we work, WHO we work with
As we begin our final days at ZZest the very best part is seeing old friends again. Julie promises this is not her last evening in (whew! I’m not ready for tears quite yet). But, as I was chatting with her it occurred to me there are so many ZZest stories. Now, I want to catch as many as possible and post them! Julie has been a great customer, literally going back to the very beginning which would make her actually our very first customer! The very beginning, was my short stint in a little kiosk space in Rochester Produce, 10 years ago. She enthusiastically looked over all the jars and cheeses and proclaimed this to be her favorite “shop” ever! Ha! literally 3 shelves and about 12 specialty cheeses. But that’s Julie 🙂 Later when I moved to my “little shop” Culinary Market, Julie was one of the first customers in the door. Now there were a couple more shelves and about double the cheese for her to explore. When we changed and moved to ZZest Market and Cafe, Julie made the trek south. I used to laugh at her because she couldn’t get past the $15 lb Hooks cheddar from Wi. She put in on her sandwiches for lunch every day! I told her it was one hell of an expensive sandwich to pack daily! She moved on to other cheeses. For awhile her fave was Delice de Bougogne especially with Robert Lambert raspberry champagne jam. Julie also made coming to the cafe a priority. We all enjoyed chatting with her at the counter where she lavished...
HOW we work, WHAT we eat, WHO we work with
This extraordinary cheese is part of the family of Robiola’s from the Piedmont region of Italy. I think I had a past life there as I am so drawn to the food and wine elements. White truffles, Barolo and red peppers. Yeah… you were there too, right? These cheeses are produced in dairies in the Langhe area and aged for a short period developing a thin, white, bloomy rind. The Guffanti family are master cheese makers, and honestly this is a cheese for any palate. In ZZest Market’s cheese case is Robiola due Latte, meaning made with two milks (not a Starbucks drink). The milks are both cow and sheep’s milk. This Robiola has a smooth creamy texture and an lovely sweet flavor with slight mushroomy notes and a buttery, milky finish. Of course Robiola is a perfect cheese board, cheese. I love it with cherries, fig jam or orange marmalade. Roasted red peppers and olives are also quite nice. Baguette slices are always perfect but a rustic walnut bread is very lovely. There’s a good one at Costco! I will “cook” with Robiola too. What grows together goes together and think truffle. On my list for dinner this week is, naan bread (yep, Costco again) warmed and slightly crisped in the oven. Spread a luxurious slather of robiola, slivers of prosciutto and topped with wild arugula, a drizzle of white truffle oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. Warm Robiola in the oven for a heavenly gooey, cheesy spread. I love it topped with roasted mushrooms and asparagus, here’s a quick recipe and any leftovers can be tossed...
