get your narragansett on at LSE. while supplies last. more coming soon. don’t stay home when you can go out. don’t go out if yer broke. save money, eat ramen. except when yer friend is paying then eat at satchel’s.

the day manager ordered a large spinach mushroom pie late tonight. i made it myself and made sure it was perfect. when i flashed it to him in the box he said it looked wet, like maybe it had too much spinach… i’ll have a hard time sleeping tonight wondering if he thought it was okay…

florida/FSU. i should probably not reveal this, but the LSE resident artist has a degree in sculpture from FSU. well, tomorrow he’ll be crying like a baby when he hears the gators have whooped some butt in the swamp. lord knows he hasn’t got the guts to actually watch FSU lose some feathers on that head-dress…

actually, all that is just meant for fun – we welcome the FSU fans to gaineseville, and wish the seminoles the best. they eat pizza with the best of ‘em, and buy beer too.

$1 off all beers at LSE from kickoff to countdown. come get a 16 ounce can of Narragansett lager, our new and only can of beer. $2 narragansett 16 ounce cans while you watch the gators chomp down.

thanks to all…
satch

this is a good time to tell you about normal rockwell. you see, i consider myself a painter and normal rockwell is also a painter. i, like most people, have seen many reproductions of norman rockwell paintings throughout my life, countless times. i’ve seen them so much in fact, that i don’t think about them as great paintings, or rockwell as some great artist. at least i didn’t until i saw the originals one time… i was in massachusettes visiting the in-laws family, and somewhere along our travels we passed the exit for the norman rockwell museum and then we were there, a relative paying my admission, and then i was standing in front of the original painting, the one pictured here but also many more. it was a life changing moment in my life… at least it seems so now. and i think it seemed so then as well. i think it was this painting pictured above that almost brought me to tears. and if i remember correctly, i had to fight the crying because i was around so many people. i was so moved and inspired and amazed by the paintings… this painting is big and to see it up close is simply unbelievable. so hard to imagine, as a painter, someone painting this picture. all the pictures were great but the room with the series that included this one was my favorite. i felt something similar at the morandi show in new york /// painters would relate to what i say no doubt, but anyone else would wrinkle their brow and think ” is he crazy? what the heck is he talking about, fighting tears over a painting…” maybe i’m wrong… maybe non-painters also feel so strongly, i’m sure other guests to the rockwell museum could corroborate…

you know what? i have so much i am thankful for. truckloads. i was happy to see families gathering tonight, finding out about their thanksgiving plans. one customer is going to have 28 people, down from the 60 he once had… jen and john will be among 5, others with aunts and cousins, one starting a roast tonight- no turkey- and some with still no plan… i will be at a table set for 18… i can think of 17 right now…. who am i missing?

i am stoked. i’ve always said new years was my favorite holiday but thanksgiving is pretty close…. the food! man, i can’t wait.
thanks to gainesville for writing kind emails, quick hellos in the kitchen, the regulars like danielle who order all the time… we love the regulars, and i always love talking to the seniors. can i call them blue hairs? is that offensive? you know, i always wanted to make a “satchel’s is for geezers” t-shirt but i don’t want to offend the senior set… but i must admit i especially love talking to the “over 60 crowd” as they always make my night and seem to be having the most fun. table 1 tonight was a group of 5 that i really enjoyed. one guy said it was the best pizza he ever had. that single compliment i hear a lot and it always makes my night. especially when it comes from someone over 60…. that’s a lot of years of eating pizza. we have such great customers and employees…

norman rockwell…. if you ever go to massachusettes, for whatever reason, please find and visit the norman rockwell museum and see these things in real life. then email me and let me know if it was an incredible experience. i’m pretty sure i’m just crazy, but it’ll be good to find out for sure.

here is the sneak peek at the latest window i made that will be going in satchel’s soon.

i’ll just post both. this one is the same holiday video with holiday music. the other is gainesville band holopaw. i like them both.

LSE holiday film from satchel's on Vimeo.

here’s the holiday film with music by a local band, gainesville’s own holopaw

wow. saturday was quite a day. both my home and and LSE toilet clogged up. i unclogged the home toilet with a plunger, but the work toilet got a call to the plumber, a ruined toilet from the snake scratching the porcelain, and a large bill from the plumber. somehow i was able to get the TV set up and watch the Gator game at LSE. pretty good game. good company. even 1 bud.
the night never really got crazy busy. we had some tables. we got a pop, but it never really took off after the game. there were a few issues:
1. table got a burnt cheese pie that the kids were eating. kids almost always prefer a light cook it seems. we should specify on the ticket if the pizza is for kids… anyway, i compensated the family. the kids ended up LOVING the pizza.
2. another older couple said the sauce was a bit too spicy on their deep dish. they were telling my how good UNO pizza is in chicago. maybe we put too much sauce on that pie? maybe they should order the white pie? they left pretty happy. i heard their complaint.
3. the one guy who wanted eggplant? well, later he wants me to change the CARS to the POLICE (on the ipod) and i put on BAND OF HORSES. i don’t know why, just to be different i guess. i knew the employees would like it.
anyway, i was about to leave, business was slowing down, and a guy shows up to play sax. the LSE bartender told me he just asked to play. so, as we’re all shifting to closing mode, my man starts unpacking his gear and setting up on stage. he busts out some smooth jazz sounds, and changed the whole trajectory of my night. i couldn’t help but wonder, “who just shows up about closing time to set up and play smooth jazz sax? well, this dude does:

if my goal is to bring only the good news… how do i ignore the complaint i received tonight via email?
i would lie if i implied that the restaurant business is all making people happy and satisfied.

my mother, my son and my daughter would tell you, we are all honestly trying to make a place for you to have a good time.
but what happens when we fail?

scary stuff. that’s what. it might be your first time ever coming to my restaurant and you may decide it will be your last.

this robot hangs at the end of my hallway. it is a costume made by my son last year or two years ago. it got to be too heavy to actually wear for any length of time and became a sculpture to hang in the hallway.

the host asked that a table leave to make room for another group that had been waiting an hour. he said the table in question had finished eating 45 minutes previous.
well… we just can’t do that. we can possibly ask a table to move and continue conversing at another table so we can make room for a large party that has been waiting excessively… but we should not agree with the customer that says, “should we go?”

lord only knows i try my best to make people happy. i work overtime on stained glass and good service and perfect pizza and toys for the stocking…

it’s been a busy couple days. cheers to the VETERANS who serve this country admirably.
nice to get some rain for the plants.
hope you had a good pizza.

here’s the cada cats t-shirt i promised.

danny’s “OP” design… with a better model attached

and mary with the orange and blue special…

new keep it simple shirts coming in too soon… all in time for christmas. don’t forget to shop at LSE… this is shameless advertising here. shouldn’t we make an LSE commercial or something? hey, i think there’s a new job for our resident artist john… create a 30 second LSE ad as a holiday shopping destination. budget? $50.

i shouldn’t talk about what a terribly hard night i am having without explaining why. i see that. but, i can’t get into all the personal lives of my employees/ friends either. to explain why my heart hurt so last friday night, i would have to get into the details of watching someone you love and care about make really bad decisions, or at least what i consider bad decisions…
and so, i’m not going there. i’m going to try and concentrate of bringing you good news.
i’m turning over a new leaf. at least i will try to dwell on the good things…
like the new holopaw album that is recently released by some of our very own..
check out review here.

come and get it. good pizza and junk.

haylee slaughter killed it. and that was thursday night.
tonight was lavell. catch it all on the new LSE youtube channel.

i just can’t lie to you. i had a really really really hard night. i was ready to go but some early news at work broke me down like tom hanks on that island. man. it broke me down worse than i thought it could. i guess i care a little too much. i should guard my heart and not get so attached to these co-workers right?

anyway. we were it. tonight, we were the best place to be in gainesville. lavell on the keys in LSE, and a party in the treehouse. oh, i wish you could see these pictures, but i loaded them onto another computer which is stuck right now.

i love this town.

****thanks to danny for recording it all and getting the channel up and running. this wasn’t like a project i asked him to do… no, this was something work related that he does at home after work. talk about a labor of love… but when you see the end of the woodwork collective or the open mic segments, you see that spark, that collaboration of musicians, that inspiring artistic creation that is basically at the heart of making music together. it inspires me. lord knows i need some inspiration right now. it was a hard night. i have so very much to be thankful for, no doubt, and i should not worry so much about others people’s lives…
danny gets it. he’s a musician. he gets music. brilliant.

danny has set up a youtube page for LSE. there he posts bands playing out back. click here to check it out. be a subscriber. we’ve got a new jam night the first tuesday of each month.