LaurieB

Sadly, there was nothing in my fridge at home (you know, the Shoemaker's-children-have-no-shoes syndrome). Snacked on croutons snitched from the speedrack everytime I went back and forth through the kitchen. Then some pizza my boss treated us to. Tomorrow should be MUCH better. Our staff has it pretty good -- they pretty much eat what the guests eat.

My husband and I host an annual New Year's Eve dinner (this year will be our 12th). Typically it's: hors d'oeuvre soup salad entree dessert chocolates/champagne And lots of wine But in the past year we've been to several wine/tasting dinners with several more courses than the above. He thinks a Tasting Dinner for NY would be GREAT!! He doesn't cook, really, tho. So I am trying to figure out how to do this. I'm looking forward to some ideas from the group here on eGullet. Cuz I think I might be kind of fun. Laurie

Maggie, sometimes, it's a mix of the good, the bad and the ugly -- and then, sometimes, the really really good. I'll keep track of what I eat today, Saturday and Sunday and post it for you. Right now I'm off to scrounge in my own fridge for lunch, then off for prop shopping for the buffets, then in to work and then tonight to an off-site set up. One thing on my to-do list is to see if I can manage to find/arrange for food for our set-up crew for tonight. A lot of our staff are high school kids, so I try to look out for them -- you know, make sure they get breaks and eat. Laurie

Today, half of an oatmeal cookie. But, it was from-scratch and freshly baked. Plus, the events I'm working this weekend are going to have some damn fine eats. So all will be well. Laurie

The salt on the right is one of my little peeves. The orientation of the room kind of directs it. Laurie

My one co-worker and I had SERIOUS falafel cravings. Unfortunately, the suburb where we work has no Middle Eastern places. Decided to take a break from our kitchen left-overs. We had: Supreme burger with fries BLT on pita (excellent) BLT on wheat with fries Gyro (no fries, trying to be healthy) Ate together as a team (!) (there were 4 of us, so you don't think we ate all that) and got some good design ideas for things this weekend, which we didn't come up with at our staff meeting yesterday! So, Food Helps. Laurie

Being in the "biz", my eyes have been trained to look at stuff like this. But what do you all notice when you eat out? (I thought of this topic tonight when my husband said "Stop moving the salt and pepper around! It doesn't matter!) (But it does, to me ) Here are some of mine: The salt shaker should be to the right of the pepper. And the shakers should always be completely full. Water should be wiped up from the washroom sink counter. I know I have others -- but what are yours? Laurie

Today my co-workers and I could not eat any more of the left overs from the weekend's parties. So we sent out: My boss: BLT Co-worker #1: turkey, pastrami, sauerkraut, coleslaw, swiss on rye with fries Co-worker l#2: breakfast sandwich (egg, bacon, etc.) & fries Me: Grilled cheese and a couple of fries snitched from # 1 & # 2 The food our kitchen produces is great, but some times you just need a break. Laurie

I "third" the vote against giving someone a "deal" because you want them to refer to to their friends. They will refer to because you were 1) so good! and 2) so cheap! And they will tell people what they paid. Do a fast comparison shop and charge accordingly. Laurie

(In addition to food) language is a big interest of mine. I have to admit, I never thought of how ASL would be written. Is it? Just curious.

First off, good luck on your new endeavor! You've already gotten some excellent advice, but I thought I'd add my 2 cents as well. I've done some catering on my own, but mainly have worked for big high end catering organizations, so here goes. 1) As you have already given her a list of ideas, definitely send her a letter asking for a meeting. Early October is not too early to request this. You need also to plan and define your role in her party. Are you providing just the food? Are you providing bar and beverage service? Wait and bar staff? In regards to food, you have already given her some ideas. You will want to discuss this with her to determine a more definitive menu so you can give her a specific quote on the cost of food per person. Don't be afraid to ask her what she would like to spend on food, per guest. Keep in mind that what she wants to spend per person is not what YOU will spend per person. 2) If she gives you the old "Well, what do you think I should do?" routine, give her 2 options. Write out two menus that you know you can execute, that you know will be good and that you know will work, cost-wise, for you. Price them out and then present them. Then discuss from there. 3) In regards to her not being happy with her former caterers -- hmm. One of my standard questions to a client is NOT "what did you really like in the past?" It's "what really didn't you like/didn't work/made people unhappy?" The answer makes it pretty simple -- just don't do that. 4) In regards to labor, are you talking about you yourself only, or other staff? I could give you some direction based on what you're providing -- just let me know. I see you're in MI so costs are probably sort of consistent with where I am. Feel free to PM me or respond with any questions. I'd be more than happy to help. Laurie

The original. Only the original for me. None of these newfangled flavors.

"You want to use a white (or clear) garbage bag for storage because you can then label them with a sharpie pen (label before putting in the food). Don't want anyone thinking that black Hefty bag is full of actual garbage." After many years in the food industry, someone (who should know) just informed me that food or ice should not be stored in black plastic garbage bags, as they can give off a noxious, even poisonious, residue. Use clear or white. Laurie

I just wanted to add my 2 cents worth. 1) I definitely let my server know right off the bat if I have some kind of time constraint. 2) I learned a long time ago that there is a difference between slow service and slow food. Slow food is when you wait an exhorbitant amount of time for your food to get to your table. Slow service is when no one approaches your table. If there is a problem in the kitchen, your server should be there, pouring more water, offering more beverages/bread, etc. A polite and sincere apology about the delay is appreciated and understood. I agree that guests don't want an in-depth description of what caused the delay (unless it's something like the kitchen fire described above). BUT, my tip for the day: This senario can work two ways. A while back, my husband and I went out to dinner. Not to a fancy, takes-three-hours-to-eat kind of place, but mid-price, family oriented. They were slammed. We did get seated pretty quickly, ordered drinks, and watched our server get pummeled by the rest of her tables. They wanted their FOOD! More BEVERAGES! Their CHECKS! She kept stopping by our table to apologise for the wait. "Don't worry" we said "we're in no real hurry". We had bread and wine, so all was well. When her rush died down, she brought us a beautiful little antipasto platter (un-ordered and compliments of the house) and thanked us for being so understanding. Just some more thoughts. Laurie

Leeks are one of my favorite ingredients in quiche. Try leek and goat cheese or leek and white cheddar. Laurie

I have a couple of good friends who don't really cook, so they love coming to our house for dinner or snacks or whatever. A few years ago, they began bringing me a cookbook as their hostess gift. As a serious cookbook junkie, I thought this was a very good thing. So now, the deal is, if you bring me a cookbook (or give me one as a gift for some other occasion) you get invited for a special meal which will feature some recipes from that book. This arrangement seems to make everyone happy. As a side note for any who may think the art of hostess-gift-giving is going by the wayside, last winter my husband and I hosted his annual Thank You party for the many volunteers who give their time to his organization. Several of his high school students were invited -- all brought us a hostess gift. I was very impressed. Laurie

I'd be happy to help you out, too, and take some. Cut them in half lengthwise, scoop out the pulp. Put a gob of goat cheese inside, top with some cracked black pepper and chiffonade of basil. Wrap them in a foil packet and put them on the grill til they're warm and the cheese is getting melty. Or, slice them and layer them in a gratin dish with other above ingredients and bake in the oven. Serve with lots of crusty bread. Laurie

Glad to hear you're having such a good time! You definitely need to hit the West Side Market when you get back -- they did a great job of updating/renovating it without losing the cultural and historical feel of the place. Laurie

HA, I was just thinking the same thing!

First, to answer your question, Ohio City is the historic neighborhood right around the West Side Market, just to the west of downtown proper. Lots of Victorian era homes, many of which are beautifully restored; also, a good number of interesting art galleries. The area at the Market is also undergoing a kind of Renaissance -- what used to be a not-great area is slowing undergoing a nice transformation. Anyway, some "happenin'" spots (I'm working on more, especially for the East Side): Sage Theory XO Halite 3birds Fat Cats I've not yet been to Legacy Village, but in today's Food Section of the Plain Dealer they mentioned what is supposed to be a very good new place. Unfortunately, the Food Section is sitting on my desk at work, so I'll let you know on that one as well. Laurie

I'll make it a point to stop in, to help them stay afloat! Kris, I'll be sure to send you a couple more places to check out. All, have a great Fourth of July. I'm off to my best friend's house for a rib cookout. Gotta love having your best friend be a chef, I don't have to be the grill bi*** this year

Beans, trying not to pull this off topic, but, have you been into Opa yet? They're in the space in which I worked all last summer, when it was occupied by a catering company. They've done a great job transforming it into a little bistro-kind of space, but I've not eaten there. I'll have to pop into your parents pizza place next time I go down to the Market. If I say "Hey, your daughter is Beans!" will they think I'm crazy? :) Kris, like I said, I'll work on coming up with some other places, but two that come to mind (still on my first cup of coffee this morning) in Little Italy are Mama Santa's -- for pizza. Very casual and cheap, take the kids. Battuto's -- excellent. More later. Laurie

OK, Kris, I will put on my thinking cap on Sunday and Monday and see what I can come up with. I'm in a position to be fairly "up" on who's hot in town, so let's see what I can do for you! Beans, I had the pleasure of working the restaurant/catering at Blossom for a couple of summers, and so am familiar first hand with the blow-out Corona throws for buffet. I hope you had lots of fun! Laurie

OK, sorry, the coffee hasn't kicked in yet (I was up really late last night) and misread your post. I thought you were going to be on the West Side. Let me come up with some more East side places. Are you looking for good places that would also be suitable for your little ones? Or a mix of when you can leave them and head out on your own? Laurie

OK, my absolute favorite (although it is hard to pick one, it depends on what I'm in the mood for) is Sage in Tremont. For excellent Mexican, Luchita's on 117th (easily accessible off 90E) is great. There is also a place called Saucy Bistro which just moved from their old spot into a spot on Detroit Rd. in Westlake, just west of Clague Rd. I've eaten at their old location and thought it very good, not yet been to the new one, but they've been getting great press. If I get a chance to try them (hey! now I have a good excuse :) ), I'll post on what I thought. Let me know what kind of food you're looking for. If you're looking for stuff for the kids, you'll be close to a place called Dave & Buster's, which is a HUGE video/games/arcade kind of place which also has a full service restaurant and bar. It's just off 90W at Columbia. We could also go down and visit Beans at work! By the way, Beans, were you being a Parrothead on Thursday? Laurie