Hi All you Lunatics;

Here we are in February already.....the world is still in chaos, wondering when Obama-magic will happen, and most of all - looking forward to the first signs of spring that will be emerging soon....(damn Groundhog....)

Something very exciting (to me at least) I would like to talk to you about: Facebook. I know, I know...who wants to hear people telling your they read the newspaper, or walked their dog or finished drinking their coffee.....and then the "see ya later" part ......

Well. Mr. John Adams, our new head-chef guy, has shown me the light and how valuable this item can be. We have now been on-line with this social networking program for about a week hard-core now, and it has enormous potential to reach the WORLD!!! We are posting our nightly fresh seafoods and preparations, our
nightly specials, our soups of the day, and eventually will be posting our 'out-of-the-oven" desserts, and all the things we will not have printed on our monthly menu.

The response has been great, and on top of that to have the feed-back from you, our customers is incredible.
And instant......
That is the part that is so over-whelming to me.....how people read these little messages, and respond back or write us a little tid-bit of their own. And some of them our outright funny....and rude (my favorite I am afraid)!

I guess this is where I must learn that the COMPUTER IS MY FRIEND. Apparently there is more to it than me sending out this little letter each month. Who'da thunk?

So if you would like to link to this Facebook site with us, here it is:

www.facebook.com/cafelunaplacerville

New Faces Again: Gary and I used to own a restaurant in Coloma for many, many years. It was the Vineyard House. While there, a young girl used to come in and watch her sister work for us - because very few of you know this, but restaurant work is very glamorous. She would just wait for her sister, and watch and practice with her hands getting her imaginary tray balanced, her ability to recite the current menu and specials, and to flirt with the imaginary men who flirted with her. She was 14 at the time....
Then we sold the Vineyard House, and five years later we opened Cafe Luna (1995). She began working for us here when we opened, and continued for about six or seven years.

Well.....she is back. Richelle is back. She has been working for us for the last several weeks, and let me tell you, it is a very warm penny she brings to the table. And the surprising part? So many of you remember her from her first several years here and from the old restaurant (I envy this kind of memory from others: me? I can't find my socks....). Come in and say hello. We are so very happy to have her back. (oh by the way: what has she been doing? Well two more children, a husband and a new house....I will give her kudo's for staying busy.....)

Valentines Day Menu:
We will be open on Sunday, February 14 for Valentines Dinner. I will be posting the menu for all of you to check out. Make your reservations as soon as you can. We will be open from 4 PM to 8:30 PM.

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New wines on the menu:

Amador Cellers 2007 Rocky Point Vineyard Zinfandel

2006 Trefethen Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley

Duas Quintas "Douro" (Touriga grapes) - Portugal

Dillian Petite Sirah - Amador County

Hollys Hill Patriarche Blanc
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Note: Gary is back from Mexico....tan, tan and more tan. And for some strange reason, reeking of tequila and guacamole.....go figure....His journey with our friends to Troncones, Mexico on the Pacific coast staying at our friends Debbie and Mike fabulous place Casa de La Sirena (double click the name to go to their web-site) was a success! They had a ball, sent me pictures, and brought me back some incredible "Day of the Dead" or in Spanish, "Dia de las Meurtos", a very big celebration that has small figurines of skeletons in different guises. I have been collecting them for several years, and so I guess if I don't get to go there, a great present softens the blow.....
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Thank you for your business.

We are all excited about this new year. Changes here at Cafe Luna will be making things better, and more fun. We hope to see you all soon. We love seeing your faces, and miss seeing those we do not. Come in and say hello.
Drop me a line with an idea, or a suggestion and I will try to respond. It is a pen-pal situation here on the internet.....

Take care.

David at Cafe Luna

February 2010 Menu, Recipes & Promotions

Here is a link to this months dinner menu.

Just double click on the line below to be whisked away to food heaven....

Cafe Luna February Menu

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This Months Recipe

Double Click on the recipe title for a PDF copy. Enjoy

Cafe Luna Beef, Gorgonzola and Mushroom Pasta

An elegant entree' that is fairly quick, and a show and flavor stopper.

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Double-click here for a down-loadable & printable
page of Dining Discount coupons

Here is our promotional plan for this month. These are available to only you, our customers who have signed up for our e-mails and looking at our web-page and e-mails.

#1. On Wino Wednesday, all full bottle wines are 30% off the list price. The change here is it used to be wines under $35.00 and over 50.00......now you get to have any one on the menu, bottles only. So now, a $40.00 bottle will run you $28.00 on Wino Wednesdays......Yahoo!!!!!
(Does not work with by -the-glass offerings)

#2. BYOB Thursdays! On Thursday nights, diners wishing to bring in their own bottle of wine getting one free bottle corkage per table. That alone will be a $15.00 savings. Please don't bring in wines on our list though.....how gauche. Call us first if you have a question......does not include holiday evenings!

#3. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights 1/2 off dinner coupons. Buy first dinner at regular price, second dinner is half off the menu price; limit 2 coupons per table. You must bring in the attached coupon in and be honored for the month of February, 2010.

Wine Trivia

Age of vine before producing useful grapes-3 years

Age of vine before full production-5 years

Productive lifetime of a vine-30-35 years- Although the quality can remain good, the yield begins to decrease after that

Grape clusters in bottle-4-5

Grapes in a bottle-500-600

Clusters on a vine-40

Grapes in a cluster-75-100

Grape clusters in one glass of wine-1

Vines per acre-500-1300

Pounds of grapes produced by one vine-8-12

Tons per acre-4 (average-can vary greatly)

Gallons of wine per ton of grapes-120

Gallons of wine per acre-less than 500

Barrels per acre-13.5

Bottles per vine-4-6

Bottles per ton-500-700

Bottles per acre-4,000

Cases per barrel-24.6

Glasses per acre-16,000

Glasses in a bottle-5-6

Bottles per 60 gallon barrel-300

Calories in a 5 ounce glass of dry wine-100-125

Fat in a 5 ounce glass of dry wine-0

Carbohydrates in a 5 ounce glass of dry wine-1-2

Cost of French oak barrel-$600-850

Cost of American oak barrel-$300-550

Average age of a French oak tree used to make barrels-170 years

Number of years an oak barrel is used-5-8

Proportion of total value at harvest of red varietals compared to white-Nearly 3:1

Ranking of United States in world wine production (1999)-4th-533,596,000 gallons (behind Italy, France and Spain) 2008)

Ranking of United States in world wine acreage (1999)-4th-905,000 acres

Ranking of United States in world wide consumption-Second place - soon to become first

Percentage of U.S. wine made in California-90%

Average annual soft drink consumption of Americans per capita-55 gallons

Average annual beer consumption of Americans per capita-22 gallons

Average annual coffee consumption of Americans per capita-22 gallons

Average annual bottled water consumption of Americans per capita-11 gallons