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A Chat with RJ Cooper


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Thank you and congratulations on your upcoming son.

Thanks for the good wishes, but, unless the sonogram is wrong, we are having a girl. ;)

By the way, the fried Camembert Cheesecake that you are currently serving is insanely good...like liquid crack surrounded by fried, crunchy goodness. :P

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Thanks for the good wishes, but, unless the sonogram is wrong, we are having a girl. ;)

By the way, the fried Camembert Cheesecake that you are currently serving is insanely good...like liquid crack surrounded by fried, crunchy goodness. :P

I am sorry that I misspoke. The last sonogram I was shown there were two girls and the house still has not come back to the guy side, moto in Chef Cooper's House Girls Rock!!!!! and Rule!!!!!!!!

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RJ told me he's going to hang with us for a few more days, so here's another question:

RJ, you've mentioned before that you'll go off-menu for anyone who asks. Can you expand on this so that someone walking into Vidalia wanting to plumb the considerable depths of your culinary armory knows what to do? Is there a minimum number of courses required? Does it need to be for the entire table? How much can people expect to spend? Is it true you're offering dr.com members a $7.95 fifteen-course meal through the end of 2009?

Cheers,

Rocks.

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RJ told me he's going to hang with us for a few more days, so here's another question:

RJ, you've mentioned before that you'll go off-menu for anyone who asks. Can you expand on this so that someone walking into Vidalia wanting to plumb the considerable depths of your culinary armory knows what to do? Is there a minimum number of courses required? Does it need to be for the entire table? How much can people expect to spend? Is it true you're offering dr.com members a $7.95 fifteen-course meal through the end of 2009?

Cheers,

Rocks.

I hear that it's paired with lafite and rothschilde wines for only a 6 dollar upgrade.

Anyways, what advice would you give for the home cook who wishes to elevate their cooking to a more "gourmet" level?

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RJ told me he's going to hang with us for a few more days, so here's another question:

RJ, you've mentioned before that you'll go off-menu for anyone who asks. Can you expand on this so that someone walking into Vidalia wanting to plumb the considerable depths of your culinary armory knows what to do? Is there a minimum number of courses required? Does it need to be for the entire table? How much can people expect to spend? Is it true you're offering dr.com members a $7.95 fifteen-course meal through the end of 2009?

Cheers,

Rocks.

We like to go off the menu, improv cooking not only challanges my team and I but develop cookng skills that allow one to think outside the box. You can go about this two ways, when making a reservation ask to have a improv tasting menu or simply ask the server and they will ask facts about likes, dislikes and dietary restrictions.

We would like to limit this to the entire table, we tend to send differnt dishes to each guest, tghe cost starts a 75 dollars for five courses (not including amuse), and additional courses depending on the elemental ingredients (truffles, foie gras ect.) are a fifteen dollars per person. To have a proper flow of service 5,7 or 10++++n are what we recomend. My dear friend, colegue and x-sous chef Teddy "chicken bone" Walker on his last night before moving to Bis busted or hands with 21 courses. He holds the record!!!!!!!!!

It was a blast.

You last question Don is simple "I wish I could but...........no cant do it." LOL.

Last we spoke I had mentioned that we have revamped tha bar menu with small tasting portions from our regular menu. It is a great way to dine a vidalia with or without a companion.

We will not be offering a tasting menu for restaurant week, we have expanded our services to included Saturday lunch and Sunday Brunch.

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I hear that it's paired with lafite and rothschilde wines for only a 6 dollar upgrade.

Anyways, what advice would you give for the home cook who wishes to elevate their cooking to a more "gourmet" level?

The term gourmet I find a little vague these days (i.e. when in NYC how can a deli be gourmet????????) But anymay, read and experiment as much as possible.

Home cooks have a great passion to try and duplicate what they had in a restaurant but we have a huge advatage of staff, product ect. Home cooking is about putting as much passion and love inot each dish made because genrally you our feeding ones you love. Last I spoke with you, you were playing with foie gras. Ice cream or something in that medium. I took that simple idea you shared with me and tried it in a few mediums. That idea to form a different cooking medium at home is fun for you and makes one think about cooking more. i tend to keep it extremely simple at home.

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RJ, thank you again for letting us highlight you for so long. I'd like to ask two more questions before you ride into the sunset on your Harley-Davidson.

What will Vidalia be doing for Restaurant Week?

And more importantly, would you mind discussing the small plates you're currently featuring at the bar? What they are, how much they cost, what hours they're being offered? I suspect not many people know about these, but they're an easy, inexpensive way to enjoy Vidalia (the atmosphere and the terrific wine list being included in the price of admission).

Thank you sir!

Rocks.

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RJ, thank you again for letting us highlight you for so long. I'd like to ask two more questions before you ride into the sunset on your Harley-Davidson.

What will Vidalia be doing for Restaurant Week?

And more importantly, would you mind discussing the small plates you're currently featuring at the bar? What they are, how much they cost, what hours they're being offered? I suspect not many people know about these, but they're an easy, inexpensive way to enjoy Vidalia (the atmosphere and the terrific wine list being included in the price of admission).

Don and all the "Rockheads", thank you for all your questions and letting me share pieces of the life of Vidalia. We are always striving to do the best we can and cook better then we did the day before. On that note, when you all come in please say hi - I am always available to meet any and all guests who come into Vidalia.

The question of restaurant week - we are offering a full menu that has nine appetizer choices (yes 2 with supplemental charges) and 9 entree choices (2 with supplemental charges). The menu can be viewed on our newly designed web site at vidaliadc.com. Our idea is to give an array of dishes that show our cooking philosophies. We have, however, changed or service times by adding lunch on saturday and brunch on sunday - there is still room on those days.

We have developed a bar menu that is an a la carte tasting menu with small plates that are on our dining room menu. It is a great way to enjoy the wine bar, Doug, Mike and the Bartender du jour's company and knowledge of food and wine. Yes there is a corn dog boudin blanc. We still have our daily wine tastings and Don asked about Mini Coopers which are defined as the canapes we provide during the tastings, and a chef prepares these at the bar. However it will be suspended during restaurant week. We have just gone through a total menu change and will modify the menu again after resaurant week. The mid-atlantic region at this moment has some of the best provisions in the country.

Thanks again, and please stop by and say hi, if the Harley is out front, I'm there.

RJ

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And there's more!

R J will be spending this week blogging about Restaurant Week - he'll be writing his thoughts after service each evening, and yes, people should feel free to ask questions based on what he says although it should certainly be entertaining reading even without them.

This will be "simulcast" on WETA.org, so feel free to read R J's pearls of wisdom there, too.

Thanks, R J, for sticking with us for so long - this should be interesting to get your perspective. Hopefully, you won't be too diplomatic since the real value in these types of things would be to hear you go off on chicken-ordering annuals (you know, the folks that come out once a year, order a breast of chicken, balk at $2 supplements, and leave a 12% tip).

{Buben} "R J, you'll do no such thing!"

{Cooper} "Yes, chef!"

{Rockwell} "You have tapioca-sized doo-dads if'n ya don't."

Cheers,

Rocks.

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Thanks Don for this last little blog Q&A.

The staff and I take the opportunity of Restaurant Week as a challange. We normally don't do as much volume as we do during the week, and must be creative with cost limitations as well as giving a sample of the food ideas of Vidalia.

We kicked off Restaurant Week in the usual manner with an offering of herbs and mirepoix to our food gods, thanking them for this opportunity to shine. Lunch was smooth, and dinner the same way. We have been surprised with what guests have been ordering: The salmon cru has been a hit while the parsley-root vichyssoise has been missed. Fried green tomatoes have stolen the appetizer show while duck and catfish are equal in popularity on the entree side. Desserts... the big two are still leading the way (lemon chess and pecan pies).

No hiccups and no weird happenings today. The marathon has just started and we will be running all the way to the end. This year we're opening the doors on Sat and Sun for lunch and brunch, so this weekend no big chefs ride on the pumpkin.

Have a great Restaurant Week and enjoy the restaurants that you all go to.

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We have been surprised with what guests have been ordering: The salmon cru has been a hit while the parsley-root vichyssoise has been missed. Fried green tomatoes have stolen the appetizer show while duck and catfish are equal in popularity on the entree side. Desserts... the big two are still leading the way (lemon chess and pecan pies).

Thanks for giving us this inside peek. Do you have the opportunity to adjust your menu as you go? Will you be able to swap the vichyssoise that people don't seem to be getting for some other dish that can showcase what Vidalia can do?

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Thanks for giving us this inside peek. Do you have the opportunity to adjust your menu as you go? Will you be able to swap the vichyssoise that people don't seem to be getting for some other dish that can showcase what Vidalia can do?

We do have a chance to adjust the menu if need be. However, the run we had last night on the vichy we won't be doing it.

Tuesday was very good..........Lunch diners were in and out within an hour, it is amazing that with the volume we do for restaurant week this gets done. Our sous chefs and chefs de partie are so amped up (yes red bull and coffee help) that it turns into a contest on how fast and consistent we can bang out the food.

With no exception lunch was 230 people and dinner went from 230 and finished with 273. Doug in the door was a great offensive coordinator and we rocked out.

We will have some adjustments on a couple dishes we are doing thanks to the comments from the guests.

Today I got a phone call from my fish monger to inform me that he has an influx of softshell crabs so they may be making a one-time appearance tonight.

We are at hump day with 8 more services so far - front to back awesome jobs!!!!!!!!!

Guests pleasant and fun!!!!!!!!!!!!

We shall chat later

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It's very cool to hear about Restaurant Week from a (wonderful and non-bitter) chef's perspective--thanks!

My boyfriend and I were in on Monday, and we had a lovely experience, as always. The peach-chardonnay dressing on the frisee salad was divine--I'd buy it by the gallon if I could. I rarely order poultry when dining out, but the roasted poussin was beautiful and satisfying. I'm allergic to peanuts, but my man raved about the "peanut butter crunch"--and, of course, my pecan pie was out of this world. I almost broke up with my boyfriend when, after a mid-dessert trip to the restroom, I found an empty plate upon my return! :-)

As usual, there were plenty of affordable wines available to highlight your amazing food--yet another reason why Vidalia is our favorite restaurant in the city! Bravo, and good luck for the rest of the week.

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It's very cool to hear about Restaurant Week from a (wonderful and non-bitter) chef's perspective--thanks!

My boyfriend and I were in on Monday, and we had a lovely experience, as always. The peach-chardonnay dressing on the frisee salad was divine--I'd buy it by the gallon if I could. I rarely order poultry when dining out, but the roasted poussin was beautiful and satisfying. I'm allergic to peanuts, but my man raved about the "peanut butter crunch"--and, of course, my pecan pie was out of this world. I almost broke up with my boyfriend when, after a mid-dessert trip to the restroom, I found an empty plate upon my return! :-)

As usual, there were plenty of affordable wines available to highlight your amazing food--yet another reason why Vidalia is our favorite restaurant in the city! Bravo, and good luck for the rest of the week.

Happy hump day, all!!!!! We are almost at the halfway point of Restaurant Week. So to keep the team motivated, contests have been started, off-hand betting on cover counts etc. I have not even come close to winning.

Today brought in the hottest and most humid day of the year. The cooks sucked down Gatorade, Red Bull, and lemonade.

Lunch was rocking - we had started slowly, but by 1:00 pm the house was jumping. Dinner was slower due to some Metro problems and the heat. But the cold soups were a hit. Softshell crab with gazpacho and the vichy were flying.

No real weirdness again, great crowd that we have enjoyed showing some of our craft. The bbq pork belly otherwise known as pork and beans has been a hit.

We are going to be here all week, but dont forget that we have a lunch tasting menu that is 24.50 monday -friday.

Drink of the day: cold coffee and Red Bull with a splash of lemonaide (10 today for me)

Water of the day: 3 liters of Fiji (cool)

Food of the day: Peanut butter crunch for me lunch and dinner - will make nachos when I get home

Quote of the day: just cook everything!!!!!!!!

Have fun and happy dining.

Please dont break up with you b-friend or g-friend over a pie; do it over caviar and foie gras - we can always get more pie.

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As I reflect on the past Restaurant Week, I have come to a realization about what it is, and how we go about doing it.

We serviced 2800 people of which 340 of were walk-ins. Did we do a great job in giving an overall experince? We tried. Did we give a 100% effort on what we do? Yes. Will we take a different approach next time to what restaurant week is? Yes.

We will always feel gracious when we have a promotion like restuarant week. We will always try to provide the best we can. We will always try to live up to the standards we all hold for each other here at Vidalia.

Thank you for the comments - the chance to give a voice behind the scenes and your comments.

Until next time ... keep the shiny side up!!!!

RJ

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As I reflect on the past restaurant week I have come to a realization about what it is and how we go about doing it.

We serviced that week 2800 people with 340 of which were walk ins. Did we do a great job in giving an overall experince, we tried. Did we give a 100% effort on what we do, yes. Will we take a different approach to what restaurant week is, yes.

We will always feel gracious when we have a promotion like restuarant week. We will always try to provide the best we can.

We will always try to live up to the standards we all hold for each other here at Vidalia.

Thank you for the comments, the chance to give a voice behind the scenes and you comments.

Until next time keep the shiny side up!!!!

RJ

Chef, how would you feel about the promotion (or your participation in it) scaling back to one Restaurant Week a year? I don't work in the business but found myself feeling for restaurant workers running themselves ragged in 95 degree heat.

And, while I have you here, if I were to attempt recreating your pork and beans at home, what advice would you have for me? Thanks! (That's probably my favorite Vidalia dish.)

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Chef, how would you feel about the promotion (or your participation in it) scaling back to one Restaurant Week a year? I don't work in the business but found myself feeling for restaurant workers running themselves ragged in 95 degree heat.

And, while I have you here, if I were to attempt recreating your pork and beans at home, what advice would you have for me? Thanks! (That's probably my favorite Vidalia dish.)

I dont think that in the environment that we're in that it matters if its one wheel or two. We had one really hot day, and the dining room was hot, but that should not deter us from the promotion.

Wait for the book on the pork belly - or call me!

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