Monday, November 15, 2021

Let's step it backward

 One of the highly anticipated 3003 house cocktails for Thanksgiving started yesterday.  

Japanese Beni Azuma sweet potatoes were roasted amongst a thick bed of sea salt.  That is being used to infuse a Fuju Small Batch whiskey.  Visually I agree, it's not appealing.  Looks like hearts of artichokes. Infused for awhile then the sweet potatoes get filtered out.



But before that, the liquor cabinet had it's copper polished.  I do this before every event and if not an event, then every few months.  This is before the top is polished, the circles are where glasses have sat shielding the copper from the ever present contaminating dust that is West Oakland.


The new kitchen has been done for a bit but formal photos have not been taken so I'll step you back from the application of the finish to install.

The so called Japanese Pagoda Wood with two coats of finish, just showing you parts of it.




Before the finish, the counter top person came to create an exact template.  He was talking to me as he walked in, telling me he worked in the building maybe twenty years ago.  Told me what was what with the building back then.  And just last week, another measurer guy comes in to measure something else and told the exact story.  It seems quite a few East Bay people have been in this building or worked in the building or in the case of Toothless Paulie, slept on the concrete floor.

The lattice is hot glued strips of Luan.

Before that came the rough install of drawer and door fronts on the cabinets



The cabinets needed to be in place before the rough install of the drawers and doors and before the counter top guy and before the finish was applied.

I was getting bad vibes from my various levels so I went ancient and used the principle that water seeks it's own level.  In this case I used clear tubing and anchored it to the corner (the out of focus one in back) and walked the other end around on the periphery of the cabinets to check.  You can go around corners and check for level, the water doesn't care.


You can see the water right at the top of the black strip.


Ok folks that's it. A journeyman's post for sure. Not even a bonus pic. 

Thursday, November 4, 2021

The USA Brand

 Contrary to the marketing these colors do fade.  

And run.

The Reds Whites and Blues are ripped 

and torn.


We need a re-branding ASAP.