Journeyman Restaurant

TW was gracious enough to send me pictures of one of our larger grills, installed in his restaurant in Massachusetts. He calls this grill "The Beast". Constructed of 3/8" steel with a floor lined with firebrick, and equipped with worm drive grill grates, I can truly say we are building some wicked cool stuff. This grill even has a griddle over its own dedicated firebox with a very cleverly designed exhaust system that takes up zero space, and exhausts the smoke up through the brasero space.

WOW! Have a look at this installaton!

Sometimes the grill is but a small part of the overall picture, as in this case. What a lovely outdoor area!

NorCal Ovenworks Grill Kit in a fabulous outdoor space.
Courtesy Bob Pignataro

NorCal Ovenworks Argentine Grill Kit in an amazing outdoor space.
Courtesy Bob Pignataro

Another Fire Table Grill

Grand Caymen Cookoff Photos

NorCal Ovenworks occasionally gets a chance to send equipment to the top chefs of the world. Several months ago, Tony Biggs told me he was going to participate in the Cook Off, at the Ritz Carlton in Grand Cayman. He asked me what to cook on, and we talked about a whole or half steer rotisserie, which was logistically difficult to get to Grand Cayman. After batting some ideas back and forth, I asked him what he thought about cooking beef ribs like they do at a Brazilian Church Asado. His enthusiasm and how it turned out stunned me.

Commercial Rotisserie Created

We've created a commercial Charcoal Rotisserie that mounts on top of our Commercial Charbroiler. It holds up to 30 chickens, or about 100 lbs. of beef, pork, or lamb.

Scratch Bar to Reopen!

Several years ago, I got a call from a chef's mother. Yep, she wanted to know about grills. Later, I discovered that the chef in question was Quinn Hatfield. At the time, he was running Hatfield's, but I believe he was wanting to reinvent himself. Eventually, he bought two grills. I was surprised that Quinn also asked to be a facebook friend. Later, I got a facebook messenger request from Phillip Frankland Lee, who knew Quinn, and wanted me to contact him about grills.

After a lot of hashing around, we finally came up with a design, but Phillip and his business partner wanted to meet me face to face. (This really worried me, because I'm a chubby, bearded guy, raised in the country, but with engineering degrees, and Phillip is a radically cool, tattooed chef from the city.) Anyway, Phillip, came down, and we sat at my computer, turning a 3 D rendering of his grill around and around, tweaking the grill to get it right.

We came up with this:

This is the Sketchup Pro design of the grill for Phillip Frankland Lee's new restaurant Scratch Bar Encino.

Well, this is what the grill actually looks like, installed:

I haven't been able to talk to Phillip since he assembled the grill, but it appears that he likes it, based on the wording on his picture! One thing about Phillip Frankland Lee, it seems every time I see a picture of him, he is wrestling with a tied up fish!

Now, I'm coming to California in May. I want to see Scratch Bar, but I want a Peanut Butter and Jelly from the Gaderene Swine. I am intrigued.

Gator on the Grill

I make a lot of grills for chefs, but sometimes the customer is not a chef, and he does an extremely credible job. Here is an example.

First, subdue one alligator. Please, do not skip this step, otherwise, the gator will bite the grillmaster, jump of the grill, and wreck your party. 'Splain to the gator that you are above the food chain, and that he is dinner. This is an 84" Wide Santa Maria Grill with an Argentine Grill Grate and a Smoker Box.

Stuff the gator with andouille sausage and wrap him in woven strips of bacon. Secure with wooden skewers.

Cover the gator with a big steel box to keep the heat in, and use a small, small fire. Remember that, at best, a gator tastes like chicken, but overcook him, and he will taste like your shoe.

Roast gator with a large quantity of garlic heads, and garnish with a nice gourd in his mouth.

Serve to a delighted crowd.