Stuffed Medjool dates and handy list of virtual meeting sites and apps.
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Entertaining, virtually.

Loneliness can be a risk during times when Stay-at-Home orders are in place. Many clubs and business networking events have started meeting online using FaceTime, Zoom, and Skype. It’s a BYOBFYC (bring your own beverage and food to your computer) world.

Here’s a handy list of virtual networking ideas to help you stay in contact with others:

  • Nextdoor.com — Create an account and pick your neighborhood to converse with others near you. This can also keep you aware of any issues in your neighborhood.
  • Meetup.com — Meetup groups usually focus on a topic or group goal such as food or business networking. Meetup.com is the way they alert group members of upcoming events even though many are starting to use Zoom for the actual meetings.
  • Facebook Groups — A great solution if you live in a remote area or just want to virtually gather with others that reside near or far away. 
  • Support groups like AA are also moving online to get through this difficult time. Check your local group’s website for options.

For business networking, these conferencing apps are quite popular:

  • Zoom has a free basic 40-minute plan that can work for short meetings of up to 100 people.
  • Skype — The great thing about Skype is that they’ve been around forever and therefore support many platforms including Xbox and Alexa.
  • GoToMeeting has a free version as well.

Link correction from yesterday — our link to Dandie's marshmallows online store was wrong. We're sorry for any confusion and please do check out small businesses in your area and offer support if you can.

Thanks so much for all your support. — Mickey, Jo, Michael, and the crew.

photo of Cajun Black Bean Burger
Caviar Delivery service daily, 12PM to 8PM until March 30.

Caviar has extended our delivery range up to 10-miles depending on routes and traffic. Please check your app to see if you're within range. 

Note about carryouts and curbside pickups.
Out of an abundance of caution for our staff, we are not offering carryouts or curbside pickups at this time. Thank you for your understanding.

dates

Sweet dates at home.

If your next knitting group, book club, or business networking meet-up is happening online, consider treating yourself to make the experience more enjoyable. Whether it's coffee, hot cocoa, wine, or a cocktail, prepare your favorite beverage and some finger foods for yourself. Food bonding can also be a great opener for networking.

Sugar Bombs

While this recipe isn’t in either of our cookbooks, our current cookbook does have a great section on entertaining that includes both appetizers and cocktails.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
6 Medjool dates
Your favorite nut or seed butter (we like peanut butter but almond and sunseed butters work great too)
¼ cup melted dark chocolate
 
Directions:
  1. Pit the dates by slicing end-to-end along one side. Insert the tip of your knife blade to pop out the pit.
  2. Gently squeeze the pitted date to open the cut side so you may insert the nut spread with the tip of a butter knife. Insert as much spread as you can fit inside each date.
  3. Close the date, arrange on a plate, and drizzle with the melted chocolate. You may also dip the dates in the chocolate.
  4. Arranging with fresh fruit makes for a colorful and conversation worthy snack during your online meeting.


Gift cards are a great way to help your favorite restaurants survive during this trouble time.

Gift cards, cookbooks, and t-shirts are available at our online store and are also a great way to help us survive this troubled time. We're including some of our recipes in the emails this week and next but many more are available in our cookbook.

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Reminder of staff GoFundMe pages.

Every effort is being made to keep as many of our beloved employees gainfully employed, with as much work as possible. We’ve not only increased hourly pay for our front of house staff, but have maintained hours for back of house and kitchen staff employees. For some of our employees, it is simply best to file for unemployment and we’ve connected them with all the resources to do so. Finally, we’re matching $5,000 to each GoFundMe page set up by employees of our locations at Logan Square and Halsted and encourage you to support them as well.

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Two 100% cotton options: include our Retro Waiter and Veg Revolution make great gifts!
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Chicago, IL 60657

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