Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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In 2000, a new celebrity chef was born when Anthony Bourdain’s book Kitchen Confidential; Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly became a best seller. At the time, I was working as a “kitchen slave” for Daniel, the executive chef at famed restaurant Citrus in Los Angeles. Bourdain’s book divulged many truths about the behind-the-scenes antics in many restaurant kitchens. For example: No, kitchen staff doesn’t spit on food or add weird things to your salad as retaliation. If food falls on the fl...
We’re all exhausted, my hands are raw, my nails are shredded, and my feet are so sore I can hardly walk. Somehow, we made it through the first two weeks as new Dayton restauranteurs. All without killing each other, burning down the building or poisoning anyone. We have had our share of chef tantrums (him), staff silent treatments (me), stare downs (both of us) and pizza lunches. Luckily, to balance out the opening kinks and tiffs, we’ve had many laughs, happy customers and great lunches pre...
DAYTON—The Economic Development and Steering Committee met for a regular meeting at noon on Tuesday, June 1. Port of Columbia Executive Director Jennie Dickinson reported the Port was being awarded another grant from the Innovia Foundation. Prior funding from the foundation provided startup grants for businesses in Dayton that did not qualify for COVID-19 funding, including the Main Street Marketplace and Table Rock Meat Company. Applications for new startup funds will be available for pickup so...
On Sunday, May 23, 2021 (Donald) Gregory Davis, loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend, passed away at the age of 72 at Holy Family Hospital in Spokane, WA due to complications from Covid-19. Greg was born on May 30, 1948 in Sandpoint, ID to Bill and Mary (Jeppsen) Davis. He spent most of his childhood in Chewelah, WA before moving to Dayton with his family. Greg married at 16 years old and welcomed two daughters, Darla and Debbie. On March 14, 1970 he married the love of his...
We did it! We opened the café! I’m so glad we started with our “friends soft opening” last Saturday; it was a smart move. We found the kinks, what works and what doesn’t (the meat slicer). Also, since it was a private party, guests could bring wine which helped soothe and stall as we worked out various kinks in real-time. Daniel, Jaime, and I each ran a marathon as we filled glasses, turned in orders, and delivered food. We also used the experience to do a test run of our payment system w...
My sister and I are good friends when she's not trying to run my life. Being petite and the middle child, she's decided it's the reason (excuse) for her bossiness. Luckily, we agree on politics and most social issues, one of which is the environment. I proudly give her kudos because she does put her money where her mouth is. She has driven an electric vehicle for years (starting with a Volt and recently upgrading to a Tesla), updated her yard many years ago to be drought-tolerant, and she has...
Insanity doesn’t even begin to describe our recent business decision. There was a movie made in 2011 called “We Bought a Zoo.” Based on a true story, it stars Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson. It chronicles the trials and tribulations of a widowed journalist who buys and moves with his two children to an animal preserve/zoo in dire need of restoration. There are setbacks, victories (and lots of money) that eventually make it all work out by the end of the movie. Now if life were only like the m...
DAYTON-Chef Daniel Rossi thought that moving to a small, rural town like Waitsburg meant he could live out retirement peacefully, picking away at his banjo and sharing his musical knowledge. In 2020, he hit the road just moments before the global shutdown was announced, escaping the bustling cityscape of Los Angeles and driving north. He spent the pandemic with his partner, Vicki Sternfield Rossi, doing exactly what he set out to do in the first place, for roughly a year. The kitchen kept...
DAYTON—Vicki Zoller from the Friends of the Dayton Community Center was a special guest at the Dayton City Council meeting last week. Zoller said fundraising efforts for the feasibility study for the pool/community center have slowed due to the COVID-19 situation. She has written two grants which were both rejected. “There is a lot of need out there right now, and there are not a lot of dollars,” she said. The group is still willing to be the fundraising arm for the $50-60,000.00 feasibility stu...
Like beauty, organization is in the eye of the beholder (or doer). Daniel and I recently had a heated discussion about who is more organized. I think the issue is that we have different expectations about what the definition of organization is and what it means to each of us. We are both organized. We just approach it differently. When I was in elementary school, my mother expressed concern to my teacher that I was not organized. Of course, this distressed her because she came from a family that...
As I’ve come to learn, I cannot be confident that spring has truly arrived, no matter what the calendar says or how many daffodils, tulips, and crocus I see. Someone recently advised me not to plant anything until after April 15th, but I’m not convinced this is relevant to the weather; perhaps it’s the IRS, or; possibly, they are members of Daniel’s garden fan club and just want to delay my planting to support his victory in our garden competition. OK, I could be a bit paranoid, but this is...
Spring seems to have sprung, and I’m cautiously optimistic but not totally convinced winter is over. I see the rhubarb peeking out from the dirt, daffodils look like asparagus about to open, and even my chives are about five inches tall. Yet, I’m not convinced, and with good reason, I have a photo I took last year of a vase of daffodils on a snow-covered patio table on our deck. This is my third spring here, so I am no longer a total newbie. Therefore, I believe I have enough authority to ren...
Visit Fiesta en Jalisco at 400 West Main Street for the best Mexican food in town. Manager Oscar Guitron and his crew have spent time during the downturn to refresh the inside of the restaurant with new paint, brickwork, and tile. Guitron will display replicas of historic livestock brands in the restaurant bar in the next couple of weeks. Fiesta en Jalisco is open from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. every day, with daily lunch, dinner, and drink specials. Call for carryout orders at (509) 382-0606. Do...
I am mortified, as the daughter of a plumber, that it didn’t occur to me that watching the toilet in our newly remodeled bathroom slowly sinking to one side, was an obvious sign that it was out of plumb. The first clue that we had a problem should have been when I put a box of tissues on top of the tank and it ceremoniously slid off. The second clue was noticing the floor felt spongy as I reached to retrieve the tissues. Tilting toilet and a spongy floor, any observant person would have r...
My father always reminded us that “man proposes, life disposes,” or, as John Lennon so articulately reminded us: “Life is what happens when you’re busy making plans.” When Daniel decided to move here last March, we each had plans. His was buying tools for home repairs; mine was “date weekends,” opera and museums in Seattle, Walla Walla Symphony, the Chamber Music Festival, Willamette Valley wine tasting, Los Angeles trips to scope out trendy new restaurants, and tennis with my friends. But,...
When I was in my teens, I was adamant that I would not become my mother. Of course, as I matured, I realized that I would be lucky to be more like her. However, I think life played a joke on me and skipped a generation; instead of my mother, unfortunately, I may have become my grandfather. I weighed myself this morning and noticed I gained three pounds. I decided to move the scale an inch to one side, and I lost one pound, so then another side, a little in front, and boom! Three pounds down. I s...
Recently I have been watching a number of sports-related movies. I’m not sure if it’s because I miss going to games (baseball and basketball especially), or I’m trying to get excited about the Superbowl. But even the anticipation and hype for the clever commercials and extravagant half time show hasn’t sparked my enthusiasm this year for the big game. However, one movie, in particular, has been on my mind recently. Oddly, I admit, with some trepidation, that as much as I like baseball, this is...
The death of Hank Aaron this week, although sad, stirred up some fun family memories for me. Baseball was a big deal in our family. My father was born and raised in the Bronx, so there was no doubt he was a rabid Yankees fan. With their Murderer's row, Pee Wee Reese, Mickey Mantle, and Roger Maris, who wouldn't be. My mother for one! Her family lived in Brooklyn, so naturally, they loved "dem bums," the Brooklyn Dodgers' well-earned nickname. My Uncle and Aunt were such devoted Dodger fans that...
My “office” is a built-in desk located in an alcove upstairs in what is now our master bedroom. Next to our library, gym, and my staging area for Zoom business meetings, it’s a cozy little space. Zoom cocktail parties work on the couch or at the dining room table; but, when I have a Zoom business meeting, I strategically place the computer on a table in the library with our over-flowing bookshelves as a backdrop. Just like TV news reporters and politicians, it provides a perception of intel...
I am confident that Daniel and I, like most people (and dogs), have daily routines. Ours usually start with Daniel making his tea while I let Mugsy out the back door to bark at the squirrels he perceives to be in our neighbor’s tree. Then I feed Mugsy and make my coffee. With those rituals out of the way, Daniel usually starts our morning conversation with, “what are we eating tonight?” My response is typically an eye-roll, followed by “can I have my coffee first?” He then heads off to his mu...
My grandmother taught me the basic knit and purl stitches when I was eight years old. However, she didn’t teach me how to start or end anything. I just made odd rectangles with no rhyme or reason. Eventually, I got bored and gave up knitting; we moved on to gin rummy instead. Growing up in New York, girls were required to take Home Economics. I loved the cooking, hated the sewing. I am a terrible seamstress, as opposed to my sister, who is an amazing one. With her need for precision coupled with...
It’s hard to believe; this is the third Christmas I have celebrated in Waitsburg. The first was exactly seven days after I moved here. Christmas week, I was a guest at a birthday party and invited to a New Year’s Day brunch/open house. I knew I had arrived, and Waitsburg was perfect. And that winter, I proudly survived what new neighbors proclaimed to be the snowiest and coldest winter in 15 years. Last year, my second December here was also memorable, although not for the snow. Daniel vis...
Verla Ernestine Rouse, age 102, passed away peacefully at home in Dayton, Washington on December 10, 2020. She was born on October 17, 1918 on Angel Ridge out of Peck, Idaho, the youngest of five children born to George Oren Stevens and Julia Matilda Johnson. She graduated from high school in Kooskia, Idaho in 1939 and attended beauty school in Waterloo, Iowa. Verla married Joseph Edward Rouse on December 17, 1941 in Milton-Freewater, Oregon. They had two children, Audrey Lynn Rouse (1944) and W...
I assume I’m not the only one ready to bid good riddance to 2020, am I? Ever the optimist, I am cautiously hopeful that 2021 will be a good or at least better year. And since it was an unusual year, I am going to do something unusual for me. I am going to be reflective for a change. Although maybe it’s just a way to reinforce 2020 is over! Daniel and I reconciled, then he moved here in March. This adjustment to my 10-year single life coincided with the pandemic and lock-down. Togetherness sud...
We are back in Los Angeles for more doctor visits, tests, and procedures, and we are the healthy ones! Los Angeles is supposedly in COVID-19 lockdown. However, we have been in bumper to bumper traffic more than once, which is frustrating since restaurants aren’t open, except for take-out or delivery. We are relegated to eating grocery store food in our room. It’s Friday, and we’ve been here since Monday, so needless to say, eating in the room has gotten old. We have tons of trash every day....
