The_Rookie

Great. Now I have to go to the store to buy some Fig Newtons. And I better pick up some Nutter-Butters while I'm there.

It was a now-defunct Chinese restaurant in Spokane, Washington. BTW - one place you should eat if you're ever in that city is Patsy Clark's. Great wine list, excellent food. At least, that was the case when I worked there several years ago...

Non-slip pads?

This isn't my story, but was related to me first hand. A new line cook was being broken in when he spots a rat sitting near the door. He runs up and kicks it... Right into the dining room.

Have you tried sticking a wet paper towel under your cutting board?

How is the hardness on the bamboo cutting boards? I saw a peel away cutting board in the new Korin catalog. Seems like a pretty cool idea - when your surface gets too scarred up, you just peel it away to a fresh layer. Pretty expensive though (as is everything in the Korin catalog )

I bought a pair of the "James" style Modellistas (they are closed at the heel). I contacted the company selling them first because I wear a size 11 1/2 and he said to buy the 12. I'll post my review as soon as they show up.

That's the name! Thanks, I've been racking my brains trying to remember. Of course, it's not really a racking. More of a gentle nudging. I've only got a few brain cells left, can't be too hard on them. :)

I can't do sliced tomatoes. Sun dried? Sure. Salsa? Absolutely. Tomato soup? One of my favorites. Sliced tomato? Makes me shiver just thinking about it.

Thanks for bringing this thread up! I needed it! -Jason

Gin, tonic, lime. :) I'm a purist. My wife enjoys my "chocolatini" 4 parts vodka 1 part creme de cacao 1 part triple sec 1 part kahlua Garnish with a Hershey's kiss. Personally, I think it's disgustingly sweet, but if you're into that sort of thing...

A good friend of mine is a longtime waiter and, in my opinion, an expert in the field. He's worked at very high class restaurants and at TGIFridays. He has worked as a head waiter and has trained waiters in many of those restaurants. He has always told me that it's a matter of reading your customers, just as you would if you were any other type of salesperson. First impressions are paramount. The type of service he gives is always dependent on the response he gets to his greeting. Some people love it when the waiter sits next to them at a table or squats down to make eye contact with them, others (like some of the repondants here) hate it. A good waiter can identify one from the other immediately, and adjust his "routine" accordingly. But he also knows that the #1 thing peope want is fast, efficient, service. Everything else is simply window dressing. BTW - to go slightly off topic - when upselling, a good waiter will nod his head slightly when offering you an upsell. There's even a name for the move, but I can't remember it at the moment. It's a very subtle move, and I've seen it work with my own eyes countless times.