By Gave Lily and James my notes on the business plan. Fourteen pages of notes. Lily looked at the stack and said, "Fourteen pages?" I said, "The plan was thirty. I was restrained." James laughed. Lily did not. She is the more serious of the two, which is right — someone has to be.
The main concerns: undercapitalization (they need more money than they think), location (Montrose is right but the rent is aggressive), and staffing (finding cooks who understand both Vietnamese and BBQ technique is not easy). I also flagged the timeline — they're planning to open in 2027, which gives them four years to build capital and refine the concept. That's smart. I told them so. I also told them the menu needs editing — too many items for a startup. Start with five things. Do them perfectly. Expand later.
James took my notes like a student — attentive, nodding, writing things down. Lily took them like a daughter — personally, with the specific sting of paternal criticism that is unavoidable when your father is your toughest reviewer. I told her after, when James was in the bathroom, "The concept is brilliant. I'm being hard on you because the concept deserves to survive. If I was easy on you, I'd be cheating you." She nodded. She said, "I know." She didn't say it happily. But she said it honestly. That's enough.
AA meeting Tuesday. Kevin is past six months and thriving at the bakery. He's been promoted to lead morning baker, which means he's in charge of the sourdough and the croissants. He talked at the meeting about how baking gave him a way to use his hands that didn't end in chaos. "In the kitchen line, my hands made food that was gone in five minutes," he said. "In the bakery, I make bread that someone takes home and eats with their family. That's different." I understood. The smoker taught me the same lesson: the food that takes the longest is the food that matters the most.
Made a simple chicken stir-fry — gà xào sả ớt — chicken with lemongrass and chili. A weeknight dish, fifteen minutes from wok to plate. Sliced chicken breast, lemongrass, Thai chilies, garlic, fish sauce, sugar. The heat from the chilies, the fragrance of the lemongrass, the savory punch of the fish sauce — it's a dish that's simple but never boring. I ate it with rice and thought about Lily and James and the restaurant that exists right now only on paper but will, if they listen to me and work hard and get a little lucky, exist on Westheimer in Montrose in four years.
The gà xào sả ớt was fifteen minutes, start to finish — that’s the nature of a wok dish, no patience required. But I had the wild rice going on the back burner the whole time, slow and steady, and when I sat down with both of them together I thought about what Kevin said at the meeting: the food that takes the longest is the food that matters the most. The chicken proved the point one way. The pilaf proved it another. I’ve been making this cranberry wild rice alongside weeknight stir-fries for years — it holds, it doesn’t rush, and it finishes when it’s ready, not before.
Cranberry Wild Rice Pilaf
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 50 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 cup wild rice, rinsed well
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup pecans, roughly chopped and toasted
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Toast the aromatics. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 6 minutes until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
- Add the rice and broth. Stir in the rinsed wild rice and pour in the chicken broth. Add the salt and pepper. Raise the heat to bring the liquid to a boil.
- Simmer low and slow. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover tightly, and let the rice cook undisturbed for 45 to 50 minutes. The rice is done when the grains have split open and most of the liquid is absorbed. Do not rush this step.
- Rest and fluff. Remove the saucepan from heat and let it sit, still covered, for 5 minutes. Then remove the lid and fluff the rice gently with a fork.
- Finish and serve. Fold in the dried cranberries and toasted pecans. Taste and adjust seasoning. Transfer to a serving bowl and scatter the chopped parsley over the top. Serve immediately alongside your main dish.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 290 | Protein: 8g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 44g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 430mg