winegeek

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Senses. Some of the best desserts and chocolate in the city. I'll also second Andrews recomendation of ANYTHING that Thierrry makes at Cin Cin's.

Things are great Derek, I hope to see you up here soon! Ciao Adesso Chef ← Damn!

A warm welcome to all the new Adesso people. I have worked with Travis in the past but I can't possibly give away my real name. Too much fun having him guess . How are things Travis?? Good luck to you. I will definately be going by in the near future.

I've been to Bacchus many times and I highly recommend it. It is a lounge though, not a bar. Difference? Age of crowd

I worked with Travis at Cin Cin. We had vitello tonnato on the menu then. I was wondering what happended to him. I'll definately drop by to see him. Whoever opended the place has a bit of money behind them. They've been advertising in the Sun & Province.

All this great talk about Le Club C&P is making me very anxious. Unfortunately, I won't be going until March 12th!! Coming to Montreal from Vancouver for 6 days.

I can't speak for all restaurants but we make it a point to never say we have no room for them, no matter how many we have in the book already. "Friday night, 8pm for 8? That's tomorrow, of coarse we can accomodate you! See you then" Kidding. It's probably a little easier for us because we are a large room. We do allow enough room in the restaurant for walk-ins (we get ALOT) but that would not be possible in a smaller room. No shows are just a part of the businees, albiet a big pain in the ass part. I Don't believe that there is anything we can do about them. But don't take my word for it; I'm sure all hostesses acroos the city would like to add taking credit card info to reserve a table to their already long list of headaches, especially during DOV.

I was recently being interviewed. The host asked me if I would ever consider opening my own restaurant. "Absolutely not," I replied, "I know too much about the business. And my sensitive disposition does not lend itself to dealing with the public." It was not the response she was seeking. "Well, say you did, she went on, "would you rather be chef or maitre d' . . ." "Neither," I said. "I would insist on being Director of Human Resources at Earls." ← Gotta agree with you on that one Jamie

Edited due to double posting

Freedom of speech. Just as Sean has the right to vent, others have the right to tell you that your service sucks and so does your food. They are absolutely entitled to their opinion. The purpose of these posts were to review our thoughts,no matter what they may be. Every diner has the right of their opinion. Alot of times we may not agree with it but it is their right. I don't believe anyone had the responsibility to PM or email you with their feed back. That would leave us with a DOV thread that would resemble a big love-in. No thanks. I have to put up with guests who tell me that the salmon is undercooked because it is cooked to a perfect med-rare. Should I scream at them and tell them they dont know what the f*ck they're talking about?? Don't think so. One last point that we will disagree on. Picking up a bill and processing payment is one of the most important procedures during a night out. This coming from someone with 20+ years in the industry. If your servers don't have time, perhaps smaller sections and more servers would be beneficial. I have not gone back to places to eat that left me hanging at the end of the night, waiting for payment to be processed. It's not up to me to look for my server. Don't care what type of establishment you are.

I'd go with joe fortes...

No way! Keep it a surprise. ← Tease

This is a really great but tough question. I believe it's our inclination to say a restaurant is over-rated based on one or even 2 bad experiences there, regardless of others opinions. The same holds true for places that we consider to to be under rated. If they are so-called "under rated", it's may mean that alot of people have found it be be below par, with the exception of yourself and maybe a few others. Having said all that I'll ponder this great question and get back to it later . Andrew may have answered this question in regards to Feenies. It's really is surviving off the reputation of Rob Feenie. Would it be doing as well if a no-name had opened it?

Different is what way?? Details please.

I'm glad someone said it, and I'm not surprised it was Neil. My suggestion regards the maintenance of staff morale in what usually proves to be a fiscally brutal time: add a 15% before tax grat to each bill automatically. ← As you know, I'm a server. I work my a** off during DOV, as I do the vast majority of the time. I don't like getting stiffed as much as the next guy. I do have a problem with auto grats though. As much as most servers will deny this, auto grats will take away incentive to provide first rate service. Not necessarily from real pros in the industry, but from those who are "just a server until I get my big break". I realise that we serve alot of guests who have no concept of a proper tip, but that's life. This is my profession, one which I have been doing for 20+ years. You take the good with the bad. I'd rather work during DOV than to be called off 2 of my 4 night shifts. It's definately mentally exhausting, but it is only two weeks. Don't know if I'd want four . As for time limits, is this not common practice? If not, the retaurants have no one to blame but themselves. We are very adamant when taking reservations that the time limit is 2 hours. If the guest does not agree with this, they are welcome to come back another time. If the servers work the table properly (BOH also), 2 hours should not even be an issue. Yes there are laggers, but they are usually very understanding when informed of the time limit. I agree with the deposit on a CC when taking reservations. But I'm not a hostess . I think they have the toughest job in the industry during DOV.

Hi Fay Jai, Is your $120 budget inclusive of beverages and tip/tax? This is obviously quite different from $120 for food only. Le Crocodole is one block off Robson Street but is not for the budget conscious. They are regarded as one of the best restaurants in the city. Le Gavroche is also just off of Robson Street. The owner, Manuel is an amazing host, which has been discussed on egullet before. Great room and great food. Those would be my two picks. I'm sure others will join in with their suggestions. Good Luck .

Arne, Manuel must be the most gracious owner/host I have ever encountered. Years ago while I was serving at Cin Cin, I asked my sommelier to make me a reservation at Le Gavroche and let Manuel know that I would like to try a good Burgundy with dinner. I was just getting into pinot and had never had a good Burgundy. I let them know that my budget for wine was @ $100. When my wife and I arrived, Manuel came over to our table, chatted for a bit and then went to retrieve our wine. He came back with an '85 Clos de la Roche Grand Cru from Armand Rousseau. I still had the wine list and after he left I started to leaf through it and discoved the wine was listed for $250!!! I was slightly horrified but the wine was incredible and I did not want it to ruin our evening, which was wonderful. When we received our bill, I was shocked to see that we were charged only $109! I questioned this to our server, who then brought Manuel to our table. He informed us that he wanted us to experience a truly great wine and it was this one that he chose for us, even though our budget was $100. That was the most incredible display of hospitality I have ever received, one that has yet to be matched.

I can't speak for everyone but we have started a thread here because the wines that we choose are easily available locally. A high number of wines posted in the Wine Forum are not available here ( I don't believe you've ever had the pleasure of dealing with the LDB ). I agree with you that participation in the wine forum can be beneficial to all. I also encourage everyone here to join in. You can never have too much discussion on wine, especially while consuming it .

I would go with Cioppinos. Never had a bad meal there.

That's a classic. "But what if you have some people who don't show up"? (another thread altogether)

I wanted to bump this up as there was talk of a WOW (every 2 weeks). Is everyone still interested? If so, I believe it is Andrew's responsiblitity to pass the cup along. Andrew??

I'm happy to hear that your experience was positive. It seems that a few of the smaller restaurants that are completely sold out are only offering DOV menus, but the majority of restaurants offer their regular menu, a few with limited selections. It's tough for some restaurants, especially those that are not open for lunch. If you offer your regular menu and the vast majority are ordering from the DOV menu, you will have an awful lot of spoiled food stcok.

I've served in 2 previous DOV events and will be staring my 3rd tomorrow. I personally look forward to the event, both as a consumer and a server. Last nights dinner at West was fantastic. Read Here. As I server, I'm of two minds, which is two more than I usually have. On the one hand, I love introducing the restaurant to new guests, alot of whom are not considered "diners". Keep in mind, everyone must start somewhere on their way to becoming a lover of dining out. Yes, even the 4-top who are affectionatley known as the "107" table (4 guests, 4 waters, $25 plus tax). This year it's $35 and it just doesn't have the same ring with $139.80 . Having said that, those people deserve as much attention as everyone else. As a sadist, I look forward to these 2 weeks. Unfortunately, the food and service during DOV does not always live up to the restaurants reputation. Occasionally, this is because the establishments are not used to the volume. Sometimes, in trying to keep food costs down, the kitchen may cut corners, although this is definately not always the case. Quite frankly, most of us know that this will hurt the restaurant in the long run. Service can suffer because as we've already heard, there are those that hate to work during this event and as much as we keep a professional attitude, there are those guests that will pick up on this. On the other hand, serving those "4 waters only" tables can get tiresome, especially when they are usually the most maintenance and the most frugal. So what exactly are my feelings?? I'll get back to you in 2 weeks

Not waiterblog ( ) but yes Ling, I know that they would appreciate it. I know that my Managers would be very receptive to such feed back. It is just one of many ways that restaurants can continue to improve.

Ling & Vancouver Lee, Was your experience such that you would recommend a cancellation for those of us that have reservations? I was planning on going Monday. Maybe going there outside of DOV is a better option. Where as I believe that restaurants should be putting forth their best, It's not always the case during DOV. Two years ago I was serving in one of the citys best known fine dining establishments and was very dissapointed in the effort of the staff, especially the kitchen. I did not feel like it was indicative of the restaurant on a day to day basis. The following year was much better. Maybe 1st timers are not prepared for the onslaught, although they certainly should be.