winegeek

Derek... was that 13 groups or individuals that were a no show? I cannot believe how Vancouverite's can still get away with no-shows after making a reso. The technique of asking for a credit card and "suggesting" a charge fee for no shows would hopefully prevent this problem. On our recent trip to Australia...all fine dining restaurants asked for a c.c. and promptly mentioned to us that there would be a $25 to $75 cc charge for a no show. Cheers, Stephen ← Steven That was 13 GROUPS, about 45 guests in total. And that was after confirming all resos. Because of our size, and the steady stream of walk ins, we are able to obsorb all the no shows, but most places can not. I really feel for them .

I thought that was why people eat em off the beach? To facilitate nakeness. I think the oyster appreciates being forced open to the world by a naken person over a clothed. Ok where can I find these? I had one once and they were really good! Joe's? Rodney's? ← Shameless Plug Part 2 Joe's serves Kumamotos, along with all the other top sellers at The Bearfoot Bistro. Joe's may also be closer to where you live .

This one does ! ← Darn...forgot about the chef/owner scenario

Zuke, It is actually not a legal practice for a restaurant to make a server pay for comps. Having said that, there have been instances over the years that I have comped something for whatever reason and paid for it from my pocket but that has been MY choice. If I make a blatant mistake that is entirely my own fault, I see no reason for the restaurant to pay. Most restaurants understand that comps (and server errors) are a part of the business and budget for them. Mistakes are made; it's a part of the business. Does a chef pay if he overcooks a steak (not that that ever happens )?

Interesting occurance tonight. Our guest services called EVERY DOV reso today to confirm (if I had to guess how many that was, I would say around 80-100 calls, we had over 300 resos for tonight) When they could not reach a guest, they left a message to please call if you could not honour your reservation. It obvioulsy helped;we only had 13 groups as no show tonight .

My fault for not being clear. My analogy had more to do with how busy things would be, than with the level of service. I agree 100% ... DOV (or Spring Break at DL) is no excuse for poor service. But personally, I'm not surprised when the level of service dips a little in either case. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this. I see no obligation. I see it as a smart business practice, and yes, were I the one in ElizR's chair, I would have liked a little something for my discomfort. I just wouldn't have expected it. Shit happens.Sounds like she should have gone to Joe's A. ← Nice one Arne . When I re-read my post I did realize that the word "obligation" was too strong. But like I said, above and beyond a gueats expectation There is nothing that bothers me more than a guest "expecting" something to be done for every minor occurance. But in this case , I definately think it was warranted, even if not expected.

Link to the post describing ElizR's experience at Pastis (last paragraph) [CLICK] ElizR's mishap was unfortunate, to be sure. But it had NOTHING to do with DOV, and as I see it, the restaurant was under no obligation whatsoever to comp anything to anyone. Would a comp have been a smart business practice? Perhaps. Far too often however I'm reading about how a dining experience wasn't up to snuff, and how someone was "owed" something. It seems these sentiments are amplified during DOV, and I'm completely baffled as to why. The analogy I like to use is Disneyland. One of the most popular times of year to go to DL is Spring Break ... and that is why I will never go during Spring Break. 60+ minute line-ups for Space Mountain are no way to spend a vacation. But if I were to go, would I be asking Mickey for a comped slice of Cheesecake-on-a-Stick ( GOOD!)? Yeah, sure buddy ... A. ← Arne, I'm a bit perplexed by your DL analogy. If I went to DL during Spring Break, I would expect the same level of service that they provide (excellent) on a regular basis. While I obviously would not expect them to do something about the long lines (duh), If they were at fault for something they did, or had control over, I guarantee that they would do something to rectifly the situation. I can assure you that if that if ElizR's situation at Pastis had happened at Joe,s the LEAST that would have been done for her would have been a comped meal. It was the restaurants obligation to her after something happened that they were at fault for. It's also about going above and beyond a guests expectations. Concerning the level of service during DOV; Most restaurants are not used to doing the insane levels of volume that they see during DOV, so they and their staff are not working under their normal conditions. Unfortunately, this is a bad excuse. If you need to, put more staff on (bad for labour, which already takes a bit of a beating). Restaurants that are busy on a regular basis are probably more able to provide the same level of service during DOV that they provide all year long. As a server, and MOD, I actually really enjoy DOV. The majority of my fellow servers at Joe' feel the same way. There is a great buzz in the room akin to the summer months. For the most part, the guests are really happy that they are getting a great deal and it shows. There are some groups that are more challenging that others ("6 hot waters with honey and lemon please"), but there are challenges every night, all year long. I like the fact that on a Monday night in January we are serving 400 guests as opposed to 250 -300. That is income for 4-6 more servers! I like to work under the assumption that the guests that I'm about to serve are all big-wigs from EGullet .

Hi, Thanks for the concern - but no, I wasn't. Not a thing. ← Wow, I'm really surprised that they did nothing! Not too professional in my opinion. But I'm happy to heae that you rallied!

All our fresh oysters are very simply served on ice with lemon wedge and cocktail sauce topped with fresh horseradish. Let the oysters do the talking

Tonight went well. Pretty slow from 4-7pm though. We served about 525 guests. Last night was a bit slow(425). Last night the split from DOV and our regular menu was exactly 65.8% DOV, 34.2% regular, almost a 2-1 split. Not sure about tonight. My section was about 50-50. Great crowd. Lots of nice people. Everyone enjoyed their food. Service was amazing as always Jovo and Matt Cooke were in after the game.

Probabay not, but I imagine that without their patio, they need any way possible to get people into all those seats.

I'll be partying with my beatiful wife in some way, shape or form in hot, sunny Puerto Vallarta!!

The Rodeo Drive In is closing! It was announced in todays Vancouver Sun. It has always been one of my favourite burger joints. Not the best necessarily (but right up there), but wow, what ambiance!! One of the very few non-franchised burger places still around. I will miss them. Check them out before they close in February. Story Here

Ah, to be in the industry and be one of the first to answer this very hot topic. As a guest, I used to tip out at least 20% unless the service was abysmal (then it would be @15%). I now try to tip according to the level of service I recieve. Because I am in the business, I realize that alot of what happens is beyond a servers control. I tip more on personality that on knowledge. Of coarse, if someone has NO answers to my questions and asks me if I want the red or white chardonnay, well, then all bets are off . It has taken me a long time but for the past year+ I really have very few expectations of my gratutiy. Sometimes I will be surprised, both good and bad but truly, everything equals out over the course of the year. I don't get too excited when receiving a 30-50% grat, nor do I get bummed out when I do not receive a good tip when the service has been excellent and the guests comment on the great service. Sometimes I wonder why someone would leave me 20% when the service has been less than my best. Like I said, it all balances out. Just when you think that you have a certain "demographic" pegged, they then turn around and surprise you . Yes, Americans generally tip better than, say, Europeans, but I have had it both good and bad from both sides. Certain nationalities have gotten alot better over the years. But the best are those that pay their very large bills with CASH . I wonder why that is??

I don't believe that you can book throuh the DOV website,

If I am correct, most restaurants are looking at Open Table as a means of replacing the traditional reservation book. It has so many great feutures that a reservation book obviously doesn't have. Even if no one ever booked on line it would still be a valuable system for a busy, large restaurant. Having said that, it will only be a matter of time before most guests use it to book reservations, as opposed to booking over the phone. It seems to be a trust issue (do they really have my reservation or is it lost somewhere in cyberspace?) My wife was in banking for 20 years and remembers all the people who were so fearful of a debit card . While there are some that will always line up in a bank for 10 minutes to cash a cheque or withdrawal $20, alot of us never walk into a teller line anymore. We think the same will happen with reservations. Check with some of the top restaurants in the US that are using it; they receive up to 80% less calls during a lunch or dinner rush. When you are serving 300-600 guests a night, that is a HUGE savings of time for guest services.

Hi Neil, We are in the process of traing our staff on Open Table. I am also good friends with the head hostess at Cin Cin and she said the system is fabulous. I think the answers that have been given by others while helpful, are more " is this a good system for the guest" versus "how can this benefit my business"? There are so many amazing features with the system if used properly. First thing is that you do not want to have guests book through OT as the cost is 6 times higher(to you) than if they booked through your site! It is also completely intergrated with our POS, which is Micros. For a place our size, that is a HUGE help to our girls at guest services. They will know when a table has had a CC authorized and when they have gotten up to leave instead of having to do a constant walk though. It also keeps track of our mailing list, which totals over 5000. I will give you more information this week end as all the managers are being trained (I manage the floor 1-2 times/week). Open table is HUGE in the US if I am correct. The Bay area alone (San Fran) has almost 500 restaurants on line.

Great topic Lorna, although definately a difficult choice. I would have to go with a braised suckling pig risotto with foie gras that I had in Montreal at Le Club Chasse et Peche. It was the best item of food I have ever had in my life!!

and now you can go enjoy that clam chowder at lunch for $2.95 a bowl (yes, $2.95!!) all week as Joes celebrates their 20th anniversay with 1985 prices. Also a 3 coarse dinner table d'hote for $19.85. Yes, a shameless plug it is but what a great deal. See menu HERE.

Cin Cin also has a private room for up to 26 or so. Joe Fortes also has a private room for up to 22. The entire upper level can also be used for a private function. It can seat around 60 for a prvate function. It seems to me that the group functions(menus) are an ever increasing business. We do at least 10 large parties a week with group menus.

I had the pleasure in March of dining at Le Club Chasses et Peche. It was without a dought the most incrdible meal I have EVER had. You can read my review HERE. It is under March 16, 2005.

I'd check out Inniskillin, as well as BOV. The is NOTHING to see at Black Hills as they have NO WINE (as usual) . If you want to try some great Pinot Noir, head over to Golden Mile Cellars. They were taken over 2 years ago and are producing some fantastic pinot, very "burgandy style".

Years and years ago I spent almost every Sunday brunch at Gladys. That was probably over 10 years ago. I have to agree with everything you said about it. It was all fantastic. No more.

It would seem to me that your diet is very high in cholesterol. It is high in both oysters and shrimp. I know, they're really yummy

Best Pizza (anywhere) for a chain has got to be Me N Eds. In North Vancouver they are located on Lonsdale on the corner of 21st.