of Juliet, the Magazine volume 4, issue 2 by ofJuliet

b a s e l i n e : n o t o k ay

of Juliet, the Magazine

v 4 issu e

2 $��.��

Contents Curtain Notes Josh Lewin 7 Mother’s Chili Matthew Bullock 11

Why Kickstarter Josh Lewin 35

Overheard Josh Lewin 13

Killer Pasta Josh Lewin 39

Getting Dirty, Getting Clean Andrew Jefferies 15

Nora’s Murder Mystery Nora Connelly 43

Happy Accidents Nora Connelly 21

A Worthwhile Thread Eric Rivera 45

Estamos Aquί Naomi Mora 23

Open Letter to JCO on Wages Juliet + Company 47

Rule #1 Josh Lewin 29

Home of Somerville’s Most Unique Dining Experience as well as Juliet Café Living Wages Great food. Great jobs. Great company.

of Juliet, the Magazine is: a little piece of something bigger, of Juliet Mediaverse not a food magazine, not really presented by Prospect Tower observation in association with Juliet + Company Editor-in-Chief Sam Mangino Managing Editor Katie Rosengren Editor-at-Large Joshua Lewin Design & Layout Maddie Trainor Artwork by Naomi Mora Contributors Ariel Knoebel Matthew Bullock Josh Lewin Andrew Jefferies Nora Connelly Naomi Mora Eric Rivera

Contributors KATIE ROSENGREN is the Operations

NAOMI MORA is a server working as

Director of Juliet + Company, a job which combines two of her favorite things, making spreadsheets and eating food. After a decade plus detour in New York, Katie and her husband, Cole, — both native Mainers — are happy to be back in New England and call Somerville home with their son, Henry. She is a playground aficionado, lover of tv, and unapologetic feminist.

the unofficial vibe captain of Peregrine. She loves social media marketing and occasionally draws birthday cards for the staff, amongst other things. Naomi loves shrimp scampi, bike rides and listening to true crime podcasts on the way to work.

MATTHEW BULLOCK is Peregrine’s

enthusiastic lemonade-maker at Juliet. She is the author of Celeste Gets an Answer, a children’s book about a curious snail, as well as a prolific walker, talker, reader, and swimmer.

chef de cuisine; a curious cook and diligent student of culinary history and technique. Matthew’s self professed favorite cuisines include underrepresented American traditions; among his favorite contributions to professional cooking is giving them their due, in presentations worthy of being noticed. Follow on Instagram: @mtthwbullock

JOSHUA LEWIN is a career cook,

ANDREW JEFFERIES is a line cook

who currently spends most of his time doing anything but that.

at Juliet, where he learned to cook, among other things. Crosses the river to cook at Peregrine and skate the esplanade.

NORA CONNOLLY is a server and

ALEX BUTLER is a nurse in the Trauma/Oncology Operating Rooms at Massachusetts General Hospital, as well as a published poet and writer. His recent works can be found in McSweeney’s, Fictive Magazine, and the ANA Mass Nursing Newsletter. He lives with his wife in Somerville, where they love to cook together.

ERIC RIVERA is the chef and owner of ADDO restaurant in Seattle. Hear more of what he has to say at ericariveracooks.com or on Twitter: @ericriveracooks

Curtain Notes josh lewin

Welcome to the second issue of the year, of our FOURTH year of publishing this little collection of stories and ideas that was originally simply called of Juliet. This work had to be renamed of Juliet, the Magazine at some point last year as of Juliet, generally speaking, grew to include 2 cookbooks, a children’s book, some VERY rough looking videos, including two short films, a live and interactive murder mystery experience, AND Ariel’s first installment of what is planned to be a serial story told graphically (comic book; you have your copy of this, yes? You need this.) You might be surprised to see me writing here, as this year was originally turned over to Sam Mangino. Who has given me a great headstart into wrapping up year four, titled: Baseline: not ok, and who will be back. I was asked to step in and help finish this issue, and I have a fun idea for the next one. And I was asked at just the right time. I’m writing this note at the counter at Juliet. A restaurant that will both cease to exist and begin to exist forever; a transformation that will occur in about one month. No, I’m not going to explain that to you now. It’s a story you can observe unfolding perpetually at ofJuliet. com, or maybe start with Instagram. But over the counter I’m watching the first night of our menu production, Les Pommes Sauvages (returning for its FIFTH run this year), being packed away to play again tomorrow. Les Pommes Sauvages was in some ways Juliet’s theatrical debut. When the menu first opened (2017, technically, but it also did prequel itself in 2016…that’s a story for another day), it was ushered in with an original opera performance, rock show, poetry reading, immersive play, and virtual reality experience…all culminating in a real world bite of crab apples. Over the years LPS (alternatively referred to as These Wild Apples) spun off to include cooking classes, alternate universe explorations of Normand and North American traditions, and became a short film. It will of course have its turn as a comic book. So, like the Magazine has been for our media projects, LPS was in many ways for the restaurant itself, the first step. The first central point from which something endless was built. The first transformation. And I couldn’t be happier for the opportunity to be here for this stage of it. As I take on the final steps of our yearly theme, Baseline: not ok...I’m approaching it with excitement about the opportunity for change. If all was well, there would be no Juliet, there would be no Magazine, there would be no staff, there would be no story. The baseline is not ok. Thank god. Let’s change. J shaper Juliet + Company ofJuliet.com I: @ofJuliet_media 7

Artist’s Note naomi mor a

I decided to make most of these pieces with only one line (or attempts at one line). I thought a lot about the weird way that everything now seems to make sense, take form, and stay in place. Still, it feels like all it takes, like string, is one tug at the end and the whole thing falls away. They’re okay now, at least. I think we all feel this urge to tug and unravel, but we often choose not to though we know we easily could. It’s a better choice; being okay, being just good enough to make sense. Other pieces are old — when things seemed to be together — they have a more solid form. I drew myself and my friend. These were little moments of peace, the self-portraits as well. A little unhinged but not tightly strung, coming into shape slowly but surely, even when I cant easily fall into just one place. That’s all! — NM

Mother’s Chili m atthew bullock

Never spicy, always mild. Onions and peppers, always fresh And cooked until soft and fragrant like Sunday afternoon with grandma. Vegetables made way for ground beef, seasoned with salt and pepper, but not to much. Vegetables off to the side melting away slowly as the beef cooks. Mama, is it time for tomato’s? Yes baby put the can in, don’t spill it now. Make sure you get all the juice. Get the beans too, both cans. Let it simmer slowly. Let that juice reduce. You want everything to come together. Look in the pot, everything is melting together. No one light shines brighter than any other. The house smelling different. Warm and cozy. Booney, come help me season this. Garlic, parsley, basil. All dry from the spice cabinet. Paprika, and cayenne. But be careful not to hot. Sneak in more salt when no one is looking. Mama, I think it’s good. Clean spoon goes in the pot. Slurp… almost just needs a few more minutes. Serve with fresh biscuits and don’t forget your greens.

Overheard josh lewin

Overheard: 1990 captured by Josh In the spirit of These Wild Apples, this series turns snippets of conversation from the dining room into stories for everyone to overhear. Have you seen the movie ghost? Ummmm.. no I don’t think so. Come on, you don’t think so? It’s Ghost. You’ve seen Ghost. No I don’t think so, is it good? It’s a GREAT movie. It’s like the best movie. It has Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. Patrick Swayze, I don’t think I know him. What?! I mean I know Demi Moore, I think. You don’t know Patrick Swayze? Wait, is he called… like, The Boss? Omg no, that’s Bruce Springsteen. Right right Livin on a Prayer That’s Bon Jovi Yesss Bon Jovi, sorry haha. Is he a singer? I know him from that vampire movie… From Dusk Til Dawn. Nope, John Carpenter’s Vampires. Close though. Yesss see I know some things. And speaking of vampires, yes I know Demi Moore. She’s in that one in that like goth action movie. I think you’re thinking of Kate Beckinsale. No Demi Moore … Definitely Kate Beckinsale. Ghost is from 1990. 13

This is a great movie. I can’t believe you haven’t seen ghost. How old are you, anyway? Doesn’t matter. Ghost, vampire whatever I like them all. Hey I have a 65 inch tv. I used to have 80 inches but my friends would never leave. We could watch Ghost. Maybe next time. Underworld then? Did you really just tell me the size of your tv?

Getting Dirty, Getting Clean a ndr ew jeffer ies

Happy Accidents nor a connelly

How does a new food come to be? There are patterns in the stories that surround the things we eat. One of these motifs is the “happy accident,” mistakes that were embraced and recreated. These are dishes born out of error: delicious, but also beloved for being born of confusion. 1. The ice cream cone is said to have been invented in 1904 at the St. Louis World’s Fair. Ernest Hamwi, a waffle vendor, had set up his stall next to Arnold Fornachou, who was selling ice cream. When Hamwi noticed that Fornachou had run out of paper cups, he took pity on him, and gave him some waffles to roll into cones. 2. Crepes Suzette were invented in 1895 by a young waiter named Henri Charpentier, who was serving the Prince of Wales at a restaurant in Monte Carlo. He had the prince’s dessert, crepes dressed in cordial, sitting by a chafing dish. When the cordials caught fire from the heat, he thought the dish was ruined, but gave the sauce a taste before throwing the crepes out. What he discovered was the most delicious sauce he’d ever tasted, and the prince agreed so whole-heartedly that he presented Henri with a Panama hat. 3. Tarte Tatin was invented in another overcooking incident. The Tatin sisters ran the Hotel Tatin, south of Paris. In the 1880s, one of the sisters forgot about an apple pie she had in the oven. When she saw the well-done pie, she just flipped it over, served it, and watched as the hotel’s guests fell in love with the caramelized apple flavor. 4. The story of Anadama bread goes that there was a North Shore fisherman whose wife, Anna, was a terrible cook. Every night she served him a bowl of cornmeal mush and molasses. One night, after a particularly cold and choppy day at sea, he came home to yet another bowl of cornmeal mush and molasses. He swept some yeast that was sitting on the counter into the bowl and tossed the whole thing into the oven, saying, “Anna, damn her!” Out came Anadama bread. 5. Nashville Hot Chicken was invented not due to a mistake, but as vengeance. The owner of Prince’s Chicken Shack, Thornton Prince III, was a womanizer who liked to stay out late. One night, he came home after midnight. His angry girlfriend cooked him a chicken dinner, but coated the chicken in a paste she’d deemed too hot to eat. Prince loved it, and started serving it at his chicken shack right away. 6. George Speck, a cook at a hotel in Saratoga Springs called Moon’s Lake House, invented another vengeance-fueled dish. When a guest at his restaurant repeatedly complained that the potatoes he made weren’t crispy enough, Speck fried slices of potato so thin that he thought the customer wouldn’t be able to pick them up with his fork. To Speck’s initial chagrin (but eventual immortality), the customer fell in love with the newborn potato chip. 21

7. Monica Flin invented the Tex-Mex classic, the chimichanga, in 1922 at her Tucson, Arizona restaurant, El Charro. When she accidentally dropped a burrito she’d just finished making into the frying oil, she started to say a Spanish profanity that started with the syllable “chi,” but then noticed her young nieces in the corner of the kitchen. Instead, she said “chimichanga,” which translates to “thingamajig.” Her youngest niece said the “thingamajig” looked tasty. 8. Dr. John Kellogg was a reformer who wanted to cleanse the American population of both indigestion and sin with his regimen of “biologic living.” Kellogg ran a Seventh-Day Adventist sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan, where he treated patients with a regimen of bathing and plain, vegetarian eating. In 1894, Kellog was working on developing a new health food, wheat-berry bread, but patients kept cracking their teeth on the too-hard loaves. One night, Kellogg accidentally left the wheat-berry dough out uncovered and it dried out. When he saw the dried dough the next day, he decided to crack it into flakes, and began a new career as a cereal tycoon. 9. Popsicles are the only food on this list that were invented by a child. In 1905, an eleven-year-old named Frank Epperson was stirring water and powdered soft-drink mix in a glass jar with a twig. He left the concoction on his back porch, and forgot about it. It froze overnight, and in the morning, he pulled the icy concoction out of the jar by the stick and gave it a lick. He was so devoted to what he’d created that he patented his “Epsicles,” which he sold on Neptune Beach in Alameda, California, 20 years later. It was his children, who called him “Pop,” who eventually convinced him to re-name the popsicle. 10. Legend has it that the chocolate chip cookie was invented in 1938 at the Tollhouse Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts, when some chocolate chunks fell in the butterscotch cookie dough that Ruth Graves Wakefield was making. Wakefield always denied the tale, saying she invented the cookie on purpose. Maybe all of these inventors would argue with their inclusion on this list, saying it was ingenuity, not buffoonery, that guided them. Unfortunately for them, they can’t decide what we remember. An invention is all well and good, but everyone loves a mistake.

Rule #1 josh lewin

“I’ve had this dream again that I’ve had for as long as I can remember. I’m stuck in a vast old Victorian hotel with endless rooms and hallways trying to check out, but I can’t. I spend a lot of time in hotels, but this one is menacing because I just can’t leave it. And then there’s another part to this dream, always, where I’m trying to go home but I can’t quite remember where that is.” — Anthony Bourdain, Buenos Aires If you live in the English speaking world, you probably know the name Anthony Bourdain. The only cooks more notable outside of the niche circle my friends digitally connected acquaintances and I inhabit are either Emeril Lagasse or Rachael Ray, depending on which side of that coin your entertainment tastes come down on. Then MAYBE Gordon Ramsay, or it’s one of the Top Chef people I guess. Throughout his career, Bourdain may well have been your first introduction to the idea of travel outside of the continental United States or Europe...or hell, your introduction to travel within the United States or Europe, but outside of a resort. He also hung himself in a hotel room in Lyon, France at 61 years old, at the height of his career, not long after cracking beers with Barack Obama in Hanoi. Throughout his career he may have been the first to suggest to you that Emeril and Rachael were both fucking clowns. And then the first public figure to show you what a real apology looks like, too. In the United States, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death for individuals of all ages. Logic dictates that some of those deaths (47,000 per year) would be household names. You might be forgiven to assume that general success, and all that success brings in terms of resources and the ability to live a self-directed life would eliminate the root cause that might make an individual choose to stop existing. Financial and other basic needs stressors are indeed a common thread in many suicides, but far from the only thread. Two of the biggest factors, although certainly not present in all cases, are drug addiction, and mental illness; but seemingly happy people often commit suicide. Major depression often leaves the sufferer without enough care or resolve to even end their lives. A brief clearing of the clouds of such depression can result in lifted spirits, and an apparent recovery, while sneakily providing just enough space for the motivation to creep in to make such a permanent choice: “they seemed to be doing so much better,” is something we have all heard before, and some of us have said. It’s a North American pastime to stigmatize the sufferer. Especially the sufferer of addiction. In 2019 over 70,000 unnecessary deaths were the result of drug overdose, and the number is rising. These aren’t exactly suicides, of course. But they may actually be closer related than it appears on the surface, or in the statistics. Many, many suicides are not the

result of an acute situation, circumstance, event, or even series of events. These factors can increase the risk. But any of these factors alone rarely amount to a suicide. A suicide is commonly the end result of a thought pattern that is largely involuntary. The pattern may be brought about by drug withdrawal, underlying mental illness, the long term effects of neglect or trauma and their triggers, and other factors. Circumstances may converge to remove the thought (or physical) barriers to death, or hasten its urgency, but circumstances alone are rarely the cause. If the underlying cause exists, an individual may be at risk without any outward sign. A lot of this is still misunderstood, and I imagine always will be. It is widely agreed though, that acute factors resulting in suicide are largely interruptible, if not easily so. It is also worth noting that over 90% of people who survive a suicide attempt do not go on to die of suicide in the future. Interrupting the circumstance has permanent results. Tony Bourdain was one of my few adult heroes. Tony was a champion of cooks everywhere — and especially cooks, like me, who found our profession out of necessity, but stayed out of love, ability, and opportunity. Tony was like each and every one of us, in some way, and he was an example for each and every one of us, in many ways. “I communicate for a living, but I’m terrible with communicating with people I care about. I’m good with my daughter. An eight-year-old is about my level of communication skills, so that works out. But beyond, that I’m really terrible.” — Anthony Bourdain, Buenos Aires For many of us, like many older brothers (like me), Tony’s example is easily questioned from a positivity standpoint. In his invincible early years in the spotlight (Tony was a late bloomer, shedding the basement kitchens of New York City for a life of notoriety only after he was forty years old) he showed us that mouthing off and lashing out could, under the right circumstances, result in success. He showed us that we could survive the drug and alcohol abuse that came with our profession. He proved to us that jobs could come and go, but our confidence and our skill, our willingness to be better, harder, faster, would save us, always — everyone will always need a truly bad cook on the team, and not everyone could get down in the shit and be one. We could. Tony was for us. Tony took off and saw the world, in jeans and a Dead Kennedys T-shirt, cheap sunglasses, and a cool haircut. He beat drugs, and he kept drinking. He partied until the room spun, and he put it all on TV. He had it all. He was famous, bad, and safe for life. He shared that safety with us. Then Tony cleaned all the way up. And he showed us that, too. He showed us, and he insisted, that he was young and wrong once, and he proved to us why. Tony rose to the heights of respectability, and brought that hope of change to us all, again. He showed us that it was ok to want more than cooking, for us and for our teams, and for our families. He showed us that we could want all of this without selling out the job that saved us when we needed it to pay the rent on a shared room in the city, and couldn’t afford to eat every day, except for what we had fit in our pockets out of the storage room, or pinched off the plates of the wealthy. Without selling out the experience of having made it in the only place that would take us, and stayed because it changed us. Tony showed us that it was ok to accept mistakes in our past, if we could learn how to speak up, apologize, and change. Tony spoke up to his friends who wouldn’t. Two lessons many of us are still struggling to learn, but at least we have one example.

Tony drank beer with Obama. Just one beer. In Vietnam. With CNN. “I tell stories for a living. I write books. I make television. A reasonable person does not believe that you are so interesting that people will watch you on television.” — Anthony Bourdain, Buenos Aires Suicide is an attempt to stop suffering. Depression is a crisis that can lead to personal harm and death, but can be prevented. In the days, and now years, following Saint Anthony’s suicide, the restaurant industry has spun a deep web of collective grief and an outpouring of messages of sadness, disbelief, and pleas to prevent more death, largely by sharing requests to ask for help, to dial the telephone number of the prevention hotline: USA: 800-273-8255 (more information below). Alternatively, there was an outpouring of black box posts on social media. And finally, the posts that admonished one response, or the other one. Of course. The truth is we need both. We need access to resources; and easily accessible information about where to turn. One of the largest risk factors, next to illness and addiction, for suicide is simply access to the means to suicide. How then, could it ever be wrong to put up an option for relief, quickly and easily accessible. Passive sharing is not going to save your friends, though, and these black boxes are, in turn, an unbelievably necessary reminder of that too. The going argument against the hotline sharing seems to be the idea that speaking up and asking for help is impossible. I can tell you from personal experience that this is true. But I can likewise promise you that an anonymous voice, or even text, who can never judge you, know you, remember your name or your voice, or look you in the eyes, the minute you were at the edge and tipping but somehow made it to the phone...that voice saves lives. Statistics tell us that life saving will stick. If it’s even just one life today, that’s worth it. Tony inspired me to the fact that it was ok to ask for more than what I had, and ok to want what I wanted, to speak the way I spoke — or didn’t speak. If Tony couldn’t make it, though, how can I? How can any of us? Well, we can’t. “I’m not going to get a lot of sympathy from people, frankly. I mean I have the best job in the world, let’s face it. I go anywhere I want, I do what I want. That guy over there loading sausages onto the grill, that’s work. This is not so bad. It’s alright. I’ll make it.” — Anthony Bourdain, Buenos Aires Not without each other. There is a line in my onboarding for all staff at the restaurant who express an interest in joining our communications teams — who work on all of our social media, email newsletters, and often this magazine — “you’ve chosen two tough professions [restaurants and media], and chosen to split yourself open every day, all day, to let the world in; try not to let all of yourself out in the process.” And from my handbook specifically for chefs, emerging leaders and mentors: “If you are asking the right questions, the answer is always yes.” This one is meant as a joke, but a joke full of meaning. The meaning being something like: if you say yes to a positive action, even if it wasn’t necessarily the “right” one or the one someone else would have chosen, you’ve still acted good and decisively, and quickly; in other words, you’ve done the right thing. Full stop. In the cook’s case it means time saved, and more good work done, and less time 31

spent thinking about it — as they move steadily into more and more work to be done. This is a very good thing. We call it rule number one. Rule number one could also apply like this: “Should I call my friend?” “Yes.” “Should I ask the follow up question when something didn’t sound quite right?” “Yes.” “Should I tell them about the hotline, and that it is also a text messaging line?” “Yes.” “Should I remind my cousin that the Instagram post they put up about hotlines by itself might not be enough if they are worried about someone today?” “Yes.” “Should I live?” “Yes.” — In writing this I reread and rewatched all of Tony’s work, which includes a handful of crime novels written before his breakout fame. This included replacing some of what had been pilfered off the restaurant office bookshelves over the years. I’ve always been generous with my things with the cooks. Especially when those things are books. Somewhere out there someone has my original dog-eared copy of Medium Raw (and I think I know who). Sidenote, if your only knowledge of the written Tony is Kitchen Confidential, stop reading my work and get a copy of Medium Raw, today (you can borrow mine, I have another one). This follow up to his original hit is required reading for the cooks in our company if they are fans of Kitchen Confidential. It begins the arc of Tony’s career post “making it.” The first book was written without an audience expected, by a scared addict in an anonymous kitchen. It’s a hell of a story, but no one was ever supposed to read that. What Tony did next with his platform, though, is the real story. He made amends without pretense, realizing the stories of his antics were having an effect on an entire generation of young cooks. He made his struggles public. He turned his attempts to mitigate his struggles into pride, addressing the stigmas of mental illness, alcohol abuse, addiction, poverty, immigration, and a whole lot more with every new installment of his story, in print or on the screen. And he did all of this without pretending he had solved or beaten any of it. Somewhere in doing all of this rereading and rewatching it also hit me that from commencement of fame to his death at 61, Tony only had about 20 years. And it hit me again that his first 40 were probably the most important, on his path to becoming Saint Tony to all of us. Wherever we are, it is part of who we are going to be. However much it hurts, or scares us, to become who we will be, we need it. I started writing this less than a month after Anthony Bourdain’s death three years ago, while sitting at a picnic table, watching one of my cooks turned chefs, setting up for an event, working their fingers over the mise en place of the day, surely organizing it and reorganizing it while making sense of their own tangled mind — a ritual Tony taught us — I put the pen down and went to work. I had my own untangling to do. And still do. — “Atlantic City will never die. Good is, indeed, good forever. And Atlantic City will be great again, Asbury Park, Camden, all of my home state. I’m convinced when the tide

has come and washed all the greed heads away, we’ll once again be magic. I hope I’m there to see it.” — Anthony Bourdain, New Jersey —

5 Action Steps for Helping Someone in Emotional Pain

Suicide is a major public health concern and a leading cause of death in the United States. Suicide is complicated and tragic, but it can be preventable. Knowing the warning signs for suicide and how to get help can help save lives.

5 Action Steps Here are 5 steps you can take to help someone in emotional pain: 1. ASK: “Are you thinking about killing yourself?” It’s not an easy question but studies show that asking at-risk individuals if they are suicidal does not increase suicides or suicidal thoughts. 2. KEEP THEM SAFE: Reducing a suicidal person’s access to highly lethal items or places is an important part of suicide prevention. While this is not always easy, asking if the at-risk person has a plan and removing or disabling the lethal means can make a difference. 3. BE THERE: Listen carefully and learn what the individual is thinking and feeling. Research suggests acknowledging and talking about suicide may in fact reduce rather than increase suicidal thoughts. 4. HELP THEM CONNECT: Save the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number (1-800-273-TALK) and the Crisis Text Line (741741) in your phone so they’re there if you need them. You can also help make a connection with a trusted individual like a family member, friend, spiritual advisor, or mental health professional. 5. STAY CONNECTED: Staying in touch after a crisis or after being discharged from care can make a difference. Studies have shown the number of suicide deaths goes down when someone follows up with the at-risk person.

Why Kickstarter josh lewin

Why did we fund our restaurant’s evolution with Kickstarter? There are many reasons, here is one: We are working toward a mission of changing industry standard assumptions about restaurant finance. The Juliet team is endeavoring to make our initial experiment a permanent way of work. We are a mission based restaurant organization that puts the creation of great jobs, the development of careers with purpose, and direct and impactful community engagement on equal footing with excellent products and successful business operations (read: money). We opened Juliet in March of 2015 (technically February 29th, but that’s just one day of that month, and it only comes around once every four years), challenging the status quo in a number of ways. Our top priority was paying all staff members full wages instead of relying on alternative minimum wages for tipped workers (then less than $3/hour), or the industry standard practice of lower wages for kitchen workers in non management positions and support staff (typically jobs with titles like “food runner” “back server”), even though these are not tipped positions. To work toward this ideal, we engaged with two main strategies: eliminating tip lines from the guest experience, and paying all staff the full wage learning to practice open book finance for the dual purpose of developing financial literacy among the staff — a step toward meaningful career development — as well as making financial incentive possible for all (read: staff kept a portion of the restaurant’s profits). These strategies directly impact two lines of the profit and loss statement: Direct Labor, and Net Operating Profit. Without the space for a class in basic profit development standards, suffice it to say that traditional restaurant investors are not typically excited to hear any business owner seeking funding — especially an unproven one — present a plan that both intentionally (and aggressively) increases DL — direct labor, and gives away some of the potential NOP — net operating profit. When Katrina and I were first dreaming up Juliet, we were looking at spaces about three times the size, between 2,800 and 3,400 square feet. We had our initial conversations with a number of those investors. They did not like what we had to say. Now, careful, this doesn’t make them bad, wrong, or anything like that — at least not automatically. Some of them were, some of them weren’t…in my opinion. But seeking standard returns, in a vacuum, is actually a perfectly reasonable expectation. It is a reasonable request of an investor that the business owner reduce costs and increase profits. Reducing overall costs, and increasing profits was actually our intention, but we didn’t have a proven approach to how we were going to get there. The model for what we were trying to do did not exist; at least not readily in the history of restaurants. We believed that we would get there through better training, longer tenure, and increasing wages among

a well empowered staff. Somewhere along the way we got the four-part term in our vernacular: super empowered helpful individuals. And…it worked. But that’s a story for another day. An aspiration for 3,400 square feet shrank to a reality of 998 and Juliet was brought to life on paper (read: we signed a lease). It was funded by ourselves, some friends and family of the closest variety, and a community of 318 individuals through Kickstarter. This tradeoff in size and scale meant that we were always going to have to reckon with what was possible someday in the future. That day is now. Juliet is five years old and has proven a business model, but completely outgrown the functionality of its shoebox of a space. Kickstarter funding allows us to reward our supporters with future value. The majority of our supporters will pre pay for food and service in the space. A handful will take advantage of some pretty unique experiences, like the opportunity to present their own menus in the Juliet kitchen, to the public, or get 10–20 of their closest friends together and have an online murder mystery theatre experience (starring us, and them). These supporters will be well served for their early support, but they aren’t concerned with five years of cost controls and profit distribution, leaving us free to work our very challenging but absolutely successful business model with our team as our top priority. Kickstarter is not our only source of funding, though it was our first method of fundraising. In addition to the community outreach it provides, and the full seats it allows for early upon opening (or re-opening in this case), it is finance that comes with one string and one string only: the requirement to do our best work for individuals who are excited to experience it. That is the kind of obligation we are great at fulfilling. A successful round of crowdfunding in this manner is an incredibly important piece of our overall funding puzzle. Juliet is growing. Not quite into the aspirational 3,400 square feet, but pretty close to the 2,800 mark. We aren’t compromising on space again (well, I suppose we still are a little bit). That’s a nice evolution. But we are exiting the hardest year of our history, with an uncertain immediate future, and a need to grow and evolve now. Crowdfunding helps to keep us free to weather the dynamic response that the year ahead will require, as we put the pieces of the world together, and rebuild it the way we want to see it for years and years to come. Juliet is crowdfunding its evolution, as a continuation of our revolution. Full wages are difficult to budget for and achieve through industry standard practices. We believe that means the industry standards should change. That starts with the foundations of finance. Kickstarter is our first, but far from our only tactic to achieve the larger strategy that is essential to our mission. — At Juliet, we strive to deliver a great product: cuisine, beverage, and the service to go with it, but we take a multi stakeholder approach to defining success. People are absolutely essential to our work; we create great jobs, and we mentor people into careers. The restaurant industry needs this, our communities need this, our country needs this. Juliet fully funded their crowdfunding goal over 4 days in May. The new, all grown up, Juliet will open next door to the original later this year. It’s too late to be part of crowdfunding history, but far from too late to support Juliet, now or forever; here or there. JulietSomerville.com

Killer Pasta josh lewin

Shh. Let’s share a secret. From Bari, Puglia, comes a secret technique for pasta that requires no water for cooking. It is a recipe which has two academies of cooking in Bari dedicated to preserving this dish, as well as its secret. This technique of course, is for making pasta all’assassina — pasta of the killer / assassin. It’s name comes from the idea that to make this dish properly, you must be as calm and cool as a killer. This is a dish that breaks a lot of rules. This is a dish that is made from start to finish in one pot. Meaning, not even a pot for water to cook the pasta. This is also pasta that is burnt on purpose, to create texture. There is a fine line between correctly burnt and inedibly burnt. Only a killer instinct can deliver proper results. Ingredients: 1 box dried spaghetti 3 garlic cloves, minced 2 dried chilies, de arbol preferred, minced, or 1 Tablespoon chili flakes olive oil tomato puree salt and pepper Tools: 1 12-14” cast iron pan or other heavy bottomed pan Add a three second pour of olive oil, to the cast iron pan over medium high heat, add the garlic and chilies, as well as a small pinch of salt. Once the kitchen begins to smell like garlic and chilies, add about one cup of tomato puree, then the RAW pasta right on top of the rest, in a nice even layer. Now, you must wait, listen, and stay cool. The goal is to allow the bottom surface of the pasta to brown, darken, and near blacken without going too far. Once you smell toast, turn the pasta over like flipping a pancake and repeat the same process on the other side. Patience, and trust, are key; use your nose. Once the pasta is sufficiently darkened on two sides, add more tomato puree to NEARLY cover the pasta in the pan. The pasta will still be very stiff, but you can stir it a little bit. Cook the tomato puree down until it is nearly dry, then repeat all over again, with more tomato to nearly cover the pasta in the pan. Repeat this process until your pasta is properly cooked…remember it will remain crunchy on the surface from the browning process, but should still be al dente, not hard, at the center.

Taste for seasoning and serve immediately. We recommend a handful of chopped herbs or a grating of lemon skin just before taking the pasta from the pot — a secret of our own. — This strange and secret recipe comes to us from Eva and Harper at pastagrammar. com who had the recipe recorded in secret from the pasta masters in Bari. We won’t share any videos or photos of this secret recipe, but would love to see your attempts. Post them and tag @ofJuliet_media and @pastagrammar. Visit pastagrammar.com to see the lesson from the source.

Nora’s Murder Mystery nor a connelly

This is the skeleton of a murder mystery. When I wrote our first mystery, I knew that all the characters needed to be involved with each other, to keep the game interesting for the players. While writing that mystery, I kept all the connections in my head. It wasn’t until I taught somebody else how to make a murder mystery that I realized how much easier it would be if I could just glance at the web on a piece of paper. Having the bones in place makes it feel like the mystery is writing itself. — NC

A Worthwhile Thread er ic r iv er a

The best questions you can ask yourself when you work at a restaurant are. Who am I doing this work for? Is it for you? Is it for them? Whose dream is this really? There are options out there for jobs. Restaurants are definitely at the bottom. When they truly go out of their way to prioritize workers over owners and guests then it’s maybe cool to return but by that time you’ll be promoted a few times at your new job with indefinite work from home. You got this. Go tell your boss what you want in life. If they look at you weird and wonder why you’re telling them that then you’re in the wrong place. What happens in a month or two when the winter slow down happens and shifts are harder to get? You’re going to feel like 2020 again. So get a seasonal part-time job for a big box retailer?? F that. There are WFH jobs available nationwide and most workers at those are meh. apply. Give yourself a nice holiday present early. Get out of this industry. The glitz and glamour is gone and the only way you’re going to get to the next level here is if you are completely independent and can control your own path. That requires so much work so check out your options. There are lots right now that don’t involve having your hand sliced open or burned and pushing out service. You know? Yeah, you know. The stories of people not wanting to work in this industry are true. You know who’s writing about them and being quoted the most? People that work from home. Quit this industry, work from home, talk your shit. It’s good. Best way to quit? Tell your boss you’re going to organize all the workers into a union. Watch the blood in their face go away and how you won’t see them for days while they talk to attorneys and all that. No notice. Just leave while they’re gone then help others there find jobs. You will run circles around any other industry you work in. Might be a little learning curve but once you pick it up you’ll wonder why you ever worked so hard at a restaurant for so little pay and appreciation. — I couldn’t appreciate more all that Eric has to say here. We do our best, day after day, year after year, to operate a business that is a meaningful, and equitable place to have work, and develop a career. We aren’t perfect at that, but we do our best. Our place of business is not the perfect place for everyone. But it is a great place for many. The realities and questions that Eric introduces are essential for an empowered workforce to be asking. The restaurant business changed my life, and made possible a career. Restaurants are a worthwhile entry point for many many people, for many reasons. It is a privilege to work with the great people that keep our business running, and make my continued career possible. If you are going to work in restaurants, know that there are places that understand this privilege. However, likewise, sometimes it is a privilege to have found them, and not always easy. Ask questions, of yourself, and your employer. Even after you’ve found a good place to work, here or there, keep asking questions! — Josh 45

Also by Prospect Tower Observation ava il a ble w her ev er juliet

compa n y goods a r e sold

production notes (issue #1 out now) A restaurant mythology. A serial graphic story, with recipes.

our market season a cookbook(let) guiding you through a full season of New England farmers market shopping and cooking, plus some light professional level cooking training along the way

of Juliet, the Magazine not a food magazine, not really and a little piece of something bigger in association with of Juliet MediaVerse the Magazine is released seasonally, in print and online. free online, but better in print, of Juliet, the Magazine can be found at ofJuliet.com and supported at patreon.com/ofJuliet

Bean Zine: Cooking in the Time of Corona all three volumes of the pandemic zine collected in one handy spot. tip: the art by Ariel Knoebel in this book is to die for.

find us online: of Juliet.com JulietSomerville.com PeregrineBoston.com JulietAndCompany.net JulietWorkshop.com

and on Instagram: @ofJuliet_Media @JulietUnionSQ @Peregrine_Boston @JulietWorkshop