blooangel

I stare at the last two options that I tried...both darn good we thought. a Trollinger Icewine, produced by Weingut Dr. Bauman, Scholoss Affanltrach, Wurttemberg...1999 or antinori's muffato..1999 as well. let me know what you think.

The problem with this cancellation fee is that it is 100% no matter when one cancels or why one cancels. I don't have a problem with a reasonable penalty for no-shows, however, I do resent a cancellation fee when I act responsibly. The policy discussed in this topic is particularly egregious from any number of angles. Two things: The policy: I remember when I first started at a large, busy, very well-known restaurant in Chicago. My first New Year's Eve there, my first table of the evening informed me that they were very unhappy with our reservation policy, and would not be having the "great evening" that I had so -stupidly- wished them. The policy: On "big days" Valentine's, Mother's Day, New Year's Eve ect., we would take a credit card number and inform the guest that in the event of a no-show/no-call we would bill them a set amount of money as a "cancellation fee". Note please that a) it was made clear that if they called and cancelled, the fee would not be charged and b) the entire three years that I worked there nobody was ever actually charged this cancellation fee even if they did pull a no-show/no-call. Why bother stating the policy then? Because one New Year's fully 50% of the reservations did not show up. The cost? Tremendous. Food was purchased that was never used, staff both kitchen and front of the house was paid when they weren't needed, and real live guests who -did- want to eat were turned away because we were fully booked. The story: At that same restaurant, a very wise chef revealed this personal favorite of mine....A very small restaurant in...we'll leave the city blank so that nobody is hurt. New Year's Eve, and every table is booked for a beautiful dinner so perfectly planned that it hurts. This guy is not trying to turn tables for big numbers, in fact, so personally invested in his guest's evening is he, that he has only made 1 reservation per table this evening. The guest has been promised an entire intimate evening at one of the hottest restaurants in town...every part of the night has been planned to perfection. 1 table doesn't show up. 10pm reservation. Last table of the night. 12 person table. Ouch. The owner/chef/head dishwasher calls the home during the evening. He's worried about them. An accident? Family murdered? Wrong on all counts. The missing table has cheerfully left a message for all callers that they go to a different restaurant for their 'party'. He bites the bullet and calls the cell phone number. It's a fake. Soooooo it's 2am New Year's Day. Our man is cleaning up, counting the money, and toasting his hard working crew for a job well done...but that missing table nags him. He feels personally offended, hurt, used even. He suspects that the villians have made multiple reservations to ensure that they have all their options open. He suspects that maybe the table didn't even care about -his- food, or -his- evening that he so lovingly planned. So, at 4am, he calls the home again. A sleepy, well-fed voice answers. "How was dinner?" "What?" "I'm asking you how your dinner was." "Who is this?" "Restaurant X." "Why are you calling at this time of night? "Well, I figure it this way...I'm still here, your food is uneaten, I just wanted to make sure it was alright if I close up...Since you never cancelled your reservation, I've been waiting for you." Not that the Hyatt policy is right, I'm just offering a slightly different take on the issue.

I'm a former restaurant worker myself (back of the house) and I've heard plenty of waiters and waitresses talk about filling up the glasses and selling extra bottles. Good for you if you don't engage in this type of behavior. The industry needs more people like you. Sometimes that isn't solely attributable to the waitstaff's motivation. Often managers are right behind them coaching this increased sales goal. My point is not that these things don't -ever- happen...they do..they even happen to me. "the industry" is not sales, it's service. "the industry" is one of the most misunderstood. Most often when a server, or a busboy, or a wine steward does that "something" that drives someone nuts, folks outside of the industry immediately attribute it to some sort of money-making manipulation. Truth is, most of the time, it's ignorance. I've been a bartender, a server, right now I'm *shudder* management...and I've done all those wrong terrible things at some point in my career. Everytime I've done them, it was out of ignorance. That's my point

Lies!!!!!!!! These are the kinds of myths that drive folks in "the industry" nuts. While I'm sure that in many places servers are coached to "sell more wine" I think that the over pouring issue is due to ignorance than anything else. Sort of a"Hey, people don't like it when their water runs out, so people won't like it when their wine runs out" attitude. When I encounter an over-zellous refiller in a restaurant I explain that I would like experience my wine's development in the glass, and ask them not to re-fill my wine glass until it's almost empty...much less rude/ambiguous than putting one's hand over the glass. The information stays with the server, and rarely upon returning to a restaurant do i have the same problem twice. I pour wine "correctly", all the time, only to step away from the table and watch as a patron grabs the bottle and fills their glasses -way- too full. Happens way more often than you'd think. As well, when I'm waiting to fill glasses until appropriately empty, I've been snidely told "Keep the wine comming, honey, I don't want to run out." I know I'm doing wine service correctly, but a less-experienced wine professional/server could think that they're doing something wrong after a couple of experiences like that. Ultimately the guest is always "right". I understand that. However they want their wine is the way they should have the wine....be that over-full, never empty glasses, or the "correct" way . I guess I'm just tired of these myths about the service industry. We're portrayed as barely-human, evil, uncaring, ignorant, money grubbing scum, out to suck the last dime out of our guests' pockets with our "tricks"

When I was small, my favorite thing in the world was a teaspoon of Crisco, dipped in plain white sugar...now it makes me shudder.

I think that there are scads of other Italian wines that you could start with besides Barbarescos. The fact that the older vintages are so sought after makes them...pricey, to say the least. There are so many great wines, even from the same region (the Piedmonte) that are delicious. I saw a suggestion for Nebbilolo, but you could try Barberas and Dolchettos as well. Or, explore lesser known regions. Everybody's heard of Tuscany, but there are great Sangeovese blends from "next door" in Emilia-Romagna. At least, that's just my two cents