Lunch, anyone? Well, apparently people have started to notice the food. One foursome on vacation came in for coffee, came back for lunch, and returned again for dinner. The Treehouse Trifecta! One of them said they were going to see if they could try everything on the menu during the 72 hours they were here at the beach.

So, I think they liked it.

We had good crowds all week, leading into the wine tasting Thursday, hosted by our girl Choice Spice. Kristin showed up early to taste on some more Willamette wines, from Chehalem and Torri Mor, both wineries we visited when we were in the valley. Then she began pouring wine for the tasters, and we sold out of everything she brought, and started selling off the shelves. There were also a fair number of plates coming out of the kitchen, as Susan and Ed did their magic.

After the tasting, Julie Gribble and her drummer made their way here from the Boardwalk to entertain our late crowd. She was awesome, and signed a CD for us, saying, “To the Treehouse, Seriously…I love you guys.”

Sigh.

Of course, we did feed her again.

On Friday, Jeremy visited us to once again taste us on a nice mix of wines. Shortly after he left, the health inspector came in to issue our first grade as the Treehouse Bistro, and we scored 100. Not bad. It was a little nerve-wracking, but I had already hidden all the…just kidding! No, it was nerve-wracking, but it went well, and ultimately turned out to be a learning experience. For me, I mean…she pretty much knew what she was doing.

Friday, a couple guys on vacation came in and played some music, and they were actually really good. A nice surprise, and we had a pretty decent crowd in to listen.

Saturday, young Jeremy (not the wine one, the other one) made his triumphant solo return, and he, too, got a good crowd in. Saturday, food sales actually beat wine and coffee, which was a pretty big deal for us.

Now that we feel pretty good about what is coming out of the kitchen, we are going to start introducing a few tapas specials coming up this week. The chefs are busy with their scratch pads, and, as always, the creative juices are flowing and there will be some pretty interesting stuff available for tasting. The excitement level is palpable, as I think they are anxious to get beyond just sandwiches and flatbreads (although those items will remain staples on the menu). Not that they haven’t done a tremendous job creating great food and awesome presentations, I just think they want to be challenged a little more…so get ready to be wowed!

We are also eagerly awaiting our new wine racks, which will transform our retail space into a more user-friendly shopping experience, plus enable us to institute a better inventory system so we quit running out of things…and that is good for all of us. We have the wine you want, and, well, we have the wine you want.

Our girl Liza will be doing this week’s tasting, and she never disappoints. In fact, several of her tasting wines made it onto our glass list, so we are always interested to see and taste (more importantly) what she will be pouring.

Music over the weekend, and, of course, the food. Oh, the food. And the wine. Yes, the wine. The food AND the wine. Or beer if you like. But the food. I’m just sayin.’

Anyway, there it is. Come on down to the Treehouse Bistro, and let the 2 Wine Guys @ The Grind pour you a glass and fix you a plate!

Shawn