| My choices for restaurant sales would be different from those for my own use. First of all, for restaurant use I would choose only varieties which produce blemish free fruit which, although I appreciate it, is not a necessity for my own use. Reliability and production over a long time span would also be more important for restaurant sales than for my home use, although those too are desirable in every case. Large beefsteaks probably aren't useful in a restaurant if they aren't serving BLTs. Here are some ideas, partly based on what I have read about restaurant sales. Yellow Plum - Bland tasting, but cute as all get out, so favored by chefs. Great looking on the plate in combination with baby greens and other tomato pieces. Small enough to qualify as a cherry. Aunt Gerties Gold - Large and not always blemish free, but so colorful and outstanding in flavor that I have to recommend it as the best yellow. Cuostralee - There are so many good reds it is difficult to choose just one. Cuostralee would fill the bill nicely though. It's excellent in every way. One of the old standbys such as Rutgers or Wisconsin 55 might be good too. Eva Purple Ball - I haven't grown it, or even tasted it, but it has a good reputation as a purple. Worth looking into. I don't know which cherry to recommend. Sun Gold is terrific, but it is a hybrid, as are many good cherries. And, if you grow Yellow Plum as your cherry, you may not want to add a another small yellow. Riesentraube is an attractive red cherry, but I wasn't thrilled with its flavor and didn't find it so productive as most cherries. For production over a long time span, remember that slips cut from your plants will root readily when stuck in the ground and kept watered. Good luck, Jim |
