Dija Know… Joe’s Restaurant Newsletter -75 August 2012

Dija Know… Joe’s Restaurant Newsletter -75 August 2012

Dave and his first crop this year

It’s that time again – time for our signature Margherita Pizza making its 17th year return engagement.  In 1996 at Pizza Etc. we started buying these wonderful local heirloom tomatoes from Dave Fresques.  Roland then put together the most sumptuous but simple pizza using exclusively local and in-season ingredients.  We use NM organic flour for the crust, local earth-grown heirloom tomatoes and basil.  Simple but incomparable. So, if you’ve been waiting all year, it’s finally here!  Also available gluten-free in the 10” size.  Note: if you are GF, see our special menu

We recently put out a survey to see what is working for our advertizing dollar. We didn’t want to skew your answers by bribing you, so hopefully you all received a truffle after you returned the survey to your waiter.  Results were not really surprising.  WORD OF MOUTH/FRIEND is always the best way to attract business – also the most elusive.  And it turns out that hiring Micah (the charismatic street sign guy) was a good move, so we are happy to say, you will see his return.  Thank you all very much for your feedback and the many additional comments!!!
Joe’s Meet Your Farmer program, started May 2011, continues.  Here’s how it works. Every Saturday after Market (sometime after 1:30) we invite any and all of our local growers to come by Joe’s to relax over a meal and a beer. (We bribe them with a “good deal”).  You, our guests are invited to sit with them, chat with them, ask them questions about their growing practices.  And just generally get up-close and personal with Who Grows Your Food.
Since our primary business is food quality and our primary concern is food’s impact on health, the subject of cholesterol inevitably arises.  This whole ball of wax (pun unavoidable) and its relationship to health, is part and parcel of Sheila’s many “rants” on the criminalization of good dietary fats.  Traditional wisdom and true indigenous diets which are frequently very high in saturated fat and medium chain fatty acids, are being vindicated as “new” research positively supports the dietary necessity of fats and cholesterol and by extension, a serious questioning of statin drugs. This information may surprise you. The following quotes and data draw heavily from one of my faves, Dr. Mercola.  Please go to his site for credits and fleshing out of this article.  www.mercola.com.
“A major clue that something is very off with the notion that high cholesterol causes heart disease can be found in this:  as cholesterol levels have become lower, rates of heart disease deaths have not followed suit!” … Despite the fact that cholesterol rates for men aged 65-74 are decreasing, the rate of heart disease for this age group stayed the same … Other age groups experienced an increase in the rate of heart disease as the number of people with ‘high’ cholesterol has decreased.”

Dr. William Castelli, a former director of the Framingham Heart study, stated: … the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower the person’s serum cholesterol.”

Cholesterol is simply not the main perpetrator causing heart disease.
Dr. Stephen Sinatra, a board certified cardiologist, explained “Let’s face it, cholesterol is something your body needs. If you look at the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial . . . 180,000 men over a period of… 13 years men with cholesterol of 330 had less hemorrhagic stroke than men with cholesterol less than 180. If you look at cholesterol numbers, the higher cholesterol number would give you protection from hemorrhagic stroke.  (We) need cholesterol in our skin to activate vitamin D3 from sunlight . . . to make our sex hormones… to make our adrenal hormones . .  for lubrication . . .  for neurotransmitter function in the brain. When LDL is driven too low, it’s no wonder that patients develop memory problems or pre-Alzheimer’s.” Then why haven’t we heard the truth about cholesterol?  There may be $29 billion very good reasons why.  The current value of the cholesterol-lowering drug industry is estimated at around $29 billion — and this is a conservative estimate.

Beyond pharmaceutical profit, much evidence supports the fact that statins can be harmful.

M.I.T. claims that no study has ever proven that statins   . .prolong your life any longer than if you’d not taken them at all. And they actually contribute to a deterioration in the quality of your life, destroying muscles and endangering liver, kidney and even heart function.  According to Stephanie Seneff http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff “Statin drugs inhibit the action of…certain enzymes critical to normal heart function. Take one study in Clinical Cardiology, which found heart muscle function was ‘significantly better’ in the control group than in those taking statin drugs! The researchers concluded: Statin therapy is associated with decreased myocardial function.”  And what is often the end result when your heart muscle function is weakened or decreased? Heart failure!
The evidence now appears to support traditional and ancient wisdom regarding how and what to eat for optimum function. The choice is really quite simple – eat as much regionally produced, clean, un-messed-with foods as possible.  Avoid GMO and synthesized “non-foods” and include the whole food as it comes from Mother Nature – whole milk, cream, butter, grass-fed-and-finished meat, eggs.
Of course in recent times we have developed allergies and we have to methodically work our way back to bodies that work.  But that is a whole ‘nuther subject!

uJoe’s signature latte cups, tee shirts, beer glasses and wine glasses are all for sale.  Ask your waiter.

 

Tuesday is STILL Spaghetti and Chianti Night at Joe’s.  $29.95 for two will get you Caesar Salad, Spaghetti with homemade Bolognese and a great ½ ltr of Chianti.  A heads up – we can’t hold this price much longer. The beef is pricey (local, grass-finished) and getting pricier.

Joe’s is proud to participate once again in the Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta.  We will be hosting a Wine Dinner on Wednesday, September 26th partnering with Galante Vineyards of Carmel CA. Roland is looking forward to pairing his dishes with these multi-award-winning wines. After tasting them he was inspired to draw on his classic European training for some timeless dishes.  And, as you know by now, much will also be inspired by what is ripe, ready and seasonal from our local farmers at the last minute.  Reserve the evening – Sept 26, 6:30.  The theme is “Continental Cowboy Classic”.  Cowboy gear recommended. Hitch your horse to the rail near the patio (no unruly stallions please!) Make your reservations asap.  We will take cc info with a deposit to hold your seats.  Price to be determined as we get closer to final menu, but always reasonable.

Here are some excerpts about the winery.  “Our philosophy is simple: grow the finest grapes possible and let the fruit express itself in the wine. Since all of our grapes are estate grown, each bottle of wine we produce embodies the characteristics of our unique region, exhibiting the natural flavors that are born from the land.  The grapes ripen slowly, intensifying their rich berry flavors. We do not use pesticides or herbicides and irrigate only when needed. Our vineyard names are also meaningful; for example, Blackjack Pasture is adjacent to the field where a favorite roping horse, Blackjack, spent the last of her 36 years.”
Make your plans now – WED Sept 26th.

Free food!  With a Joe’s gift card for $100 (when you pay with a check or cash) it is programmed to give you an additional $10 worth of free food or drinks or merchandise. This is our “frequent diner” card.

Are you on Joe’s check list? Are you using your credit cards less frequently?  I know we are and somehow it is liberating. We as taxpayers have contributed generously to the BB’s bailouts and their CEOs’ mega bonuses.  Well, enough is enough.  Here at Joe’s we are going retro and we encourage guests to pay by personal check and of course time-honored cash and precious metals!  So if you are a “regular” and wish to pay by check, please ask your waiter to get you on Joe’s check list. It’s a one-step process. Couldn’t be easier.

Dija know: What 27 local restaurants combined buy from the SF Farmers Market in a year, Joe’s alone buys in under 2 months. Each year we increase our local spending. In the interest of transparency, in 2009  $69,000 went exclusively to local products, in 2010 that was over $80,000 and this year we expect to top $100,000 for locally grown foods alone.

Chill out!  These may help – a tall iced Chai, an organic iced coffee made with coffee ice cubes, and our fabulous Haagen Dazs ice cream coffee float.

Joe’s is now on Twitter. Go to joesdining.com then click on the bird.  You may find some $urprise$ tweeted there from time to time. Follow us on Facebook, too.

Lost in translation:
   A sign in a Moscow hotel across from a cemetary:
YOU ARE WELCOME TO VISIT THE CEMETARY WHERE FAMOUS RUSSIAN COMPOSERS ARTISTS AND WRITERS ARE BURIED DAILY EXCEPT ON THURSDAY.
Joe’s when it matters what you eat.