Varmint

"If the Perlows want larb balls, I'll give 'em the goddamned larb balls."

El Caminos would be fine, too! No ping pong table, pnapoli. You can bring one if you'd like! The event will be on the tennis court, but the tent and port-a-potty might prevent you from getting in a couple of sets, however.

Kathi Purvis of the Charlotte Observer has a piece in today's paper (Link) about the Raleigh dining scene. Yours truly and eGullet were prominently mentioned, although I think I may be getting some nasty-grams from the Raleigh Convention and Visitors' Bureau with quotations like these:

I would have tipped this guy at least 20%, because he gave exceptionally good service, which is rare here in Raleigh. But I just happened to notice that the 20% gratuity that was automatically tacked on was based on the amount that included tax. Down here, that's standard practice, but I just wanted to know why that's standard here but not necessarily in NY.

I think we should hit Mitchell's in Wilson, which is about an hour or so from the house. I will be taking Thursday and Friday off, so I should be able to sneak away to Wilson for lunch on Friday. If not, I'll provide detailed maps. Mitchell's is the real deal.

I expect to be driving down to my bro Rich's place in Arlington, Va on Thursday, Pick him up and then drive to Raleigh on Friday. Will reverse the process on Sunday/Monday. Don't know which days you'll be travelling... Arlington is about 4 hours away. Richmond is about 2-1/2 hours away. Perlows-- Just get your tails down here. You needn't stop! It's only about an 8 hour drive (depending on traffic, of course).

Does this mean we gotta get up prior to 7am on the 11th? Of course, as the festivities will begin the night before, and sleep is not an option! Actually, it means that Fat Guy wanted it to coincide with day break. However, those on the cooking crew will need to man a couple of hours with the pig during the prior night/early morning. I just want to get about 6 hours of sleep. We'll start the pig around 7 the night before, and it'll be done by 3 the following afternoon. We'll serve around 5 or so. That should give us about 2 hours of daylight before the serious partying begins.

I'm fine with an SUV, just as long as it's a big-ass SUV. The Caddy SUV would be just fine, thank you.

They got them a Caddy, It's as Big as a Whale, and it's about to set sail . . . .

An observation while looking over a Ruth's Chris (see this thread) receipt for reimbursement purposes: the waiter added a 20% gratuity. No big deal, but something that is VERY common here is that the gratuity is based on the bill AFTER sales tax is added. As a result, the gratuity is closer to 22%. It's always been my thought that gratuity should be based on the pre-tax amount.

i think you found that elusive point that you wanted to make when you started this thread and claimed that you weren't sure what your point was. Tee hee! I really just needed a forum to vent. And I found it. Ah, the beauty of eGullet.

Agreed. But the same if you always choose Daniel. But would you then be an idiot savant?

Damn, FG, you needn't be so hard on yourself.

Nope, the meal was not horrible (except for Mrs. Varmint's swordfish, which was horribly overcooked, and not wanting to make a scene in front of clients didn't say anything). It was OK. It was, as Fat Guy stated, a commodity. Something that I could have obtained at many a steakhouse. Perhaps it's not just Ruth's Chris, but the concept of most high end steakhouses in general. I can buy that. As far as saving money is concerned, that's not the issue. I'd gladly have paid more for a better dining experience, an experience where the chef had to do something -- anything -- interesting. Again, it's back to the notion of commodity dining.

The absolute cost was somewhat irrelevant. Shelling out a couple of grand for great clients is just a cost of doing business. It's what they wanted, and I gave it to them. We did indeed have fun, but I still wonder what is it about Ruth's that excites people so. Is it the name? The tuxedoes? The room itself? Again, we could have gone to 2 other steakhouses in town that are, in my opinion, superior, offering better meat, wine, and value. They wanted to go to Ruth's Chris. And before you think this is a "guy" thing, spouses were included and 2 of the 4 clients were women. I guess there is something mighty powerful behind what Ms. Fertel created.

I love steak. I love lobster. I love creamed spinach and au gratin potatoes and cheesecake and crunchy red wines. I just don't want to pay $200 for that meal. Thus, I'm very, very glad that this wasn't my own money.

My guests LOVED the place. Plus, the service was great. We have 2 local steakhouses that are as good as, if not better, than Ruth's Chris. I guess I just have some problems with paying for the "commodity." The food was fine, but I couldn't distinguish anything particularly great about my steak (except for the crust). It was all comfortable, simple, and presented in a very quiet and lush room. Folks love that stuff, and that's why there are so many steakhouses out there. I also think that you don't have to hire very talented cooks, either, as everything they make is very, very simple. Yup, that must be it. Even when my firm is footing the bill.

For those who really want to count down the days until the pig pickin', Fat Guy worked this up for me: Go here for a countdown to the big event (this counts down to 7:00 AM (EDT) on October 11). Click for the Countdown Page!

I took some clients out to dinner last night, giving them the choice of restaurants. Well, they chose Ruth's Chris, and after shelling out a buttload of money, I just wonder why people are willing to spend so much loot on something so relatively ordinary? C'mon, over $100 for a lobster? Or $40 for a steak that's not much better than what I do at home? Seven bucks for half a head of iceberg lettuce with blue cheese dressing? I don't mind paying a lot of money for well prepared food, but I just don't see the value in this particular place. I spent easily 4 figures on the food cost alone for 10 people (don't talk to me about the free-loading behavior of the clients!), and I could think of 40 places in the area where the experience would have been so much better (at least from a food perspective). I don't know if I have a particular point to make -- am I that much different than my clients who raved about their dinners? -- why would anyone open a food focused restaurant other than a steakhouse when the profit margins are so damned high? -- but I'm just venting. Yeah, great steak is memorable. But this was just good, and I felt a bit used after my dinner.

Wow, I'm away for a couple of days and we get into a spat!!!! The fact that any of you are coming is pretty damn amazing. Never in my wildest dreams did I anticipate folks coming from all over the continent. I figured maybe 10 or 15, tops. Well, when it became an "event", the pressure started being applied (some of it from me, of course!). I just want everyone to know that it's great if you can come, but let's let everyone decide on their own whether the trip is too much. Down here, people wouldn't necessarily drive an hour for a pig pickin', as they're pretty damn common. Granted, this one should be better than the average pig, but it's still a pig roast! Thanks, y'all. I'm going back to my beer.

It must be fate- we couldn't make the 7th or 14th either, but the 21st sounds great. Now the only question is whether or not we bail on the Varmint Pig Pickin!! Then again, you can't go too far for good pig.... The NJ function is a "get-together." My pig pickin' is an "event", a "party", a frickin' bash. Nuff said.

Yeah. Now they just say I should wear a bag! At least I still have a full head of hair.

Well, here's the full-sized baby picture. Brace yourselves.

Hell, this is what I'll have for y'all: Not an Outhouse!

C'mon. We ARE White Trash!!