Jump to content

JoRic

participating member
  • Posts

    69
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Contact Methods

  • Website URL
    http://raymondsnj.com

Profile Information

  • Location
    Verona, NJ
  1. As I understand it, basically Gimmee Jimme's new owner had a dispute with the landlord regarding the lease. Don't know why the lease wasn't addressed before he bought the business- he had only been there a couple of months.
  2. Just had an incident with my lead cook who is Mexican. He came out of the kitchen in a panic saying "Joanne! No more gus!!" I now panicked because Gus is not only a good waiter, but the absolute best expediter we've ever had. "What happened?? why did he get mad??" "No, Joanne, we have no gus!" Well, this went on a la Abbot & Costello until I realized that construction workers in the building had turned off the GAS. We've been laughing about this all week.
  3. I'd like to give you this restaurant owner's perspective if I may. The last two ads we ran for a chef netted at least 150 responses each. That is a lot of information to sift through, and it can be overwhelming. Here's what we look for: Keep it very simple and concise. As stated above, give concrete stats if you can. I don't want to hear that you have leadership abilities. I will be more impressed if you say that you managed a staff of 20 at X labor percentage and increased productivity resulting in X reduction in food cost. We are able to tell more about you from 1.) the trajectory of the places in which you have worked, and 2.) how long you have been at each job. Have you tried to work in places that will further your culinary abilities, or just worked in "average" restaurants. Do you hop from job to job in a year or less? I've seen resumes for applicants who have worked at 10+ restaurants in 10 years. If those two things are out of line, it's doubtful that the rest of the resume will be read. I also am not impressed by resumes that are padded with basic things that should be a given (I don't need to read that you know about sanitation) or mean nothing on paper- I can't tell you how many times someone has talked about their plate presentation or understanding of flavor profiles and not been able to back these claims up. Also, I don't need your photo. Really. Personally, I prefer to see a thoughtful, sincere, intelligent cover letter followed by a simple resume that includes the kind of experience that I have stated I am looking for. You would be surprised by how many responses to our ad for a chef with experience in "American regional and ethnic cuisine" have been from chefs who have only cooked in, say, Italian restaurants. Honest to God, one guy kept sending a resume who only had done sushi. I know this has been a bit of a rant, but I'm really just trying to make the point that it will help to consider who is on the other side reading these resumes. Try to make it easy for them to see your strengths clearly. Good Luck!
  4. I won't get into the ethics of posting the letters, but I do want to address the restaurant owner. She'd better get used to this kind of thing. I can understand indignatoin if this was a "professional" review written by a paid employee of a publication, but it was not. These user-based reviews are everywhere these days, and culinary qualifications are not necessary for the reviewers to post. These negative reviews used to drive me nuts, but here's how I handle it these days. If it is a review where you have to rate the restaurant in order to post, I just let it go, and take it for what it's worth. Keeps my blood pressure down and allows me to go about the business of running my restaurant. Also, I don't think it's right to rate my own restaurant. In other forums, I usually respond if I need to clear something up, like a factual error, if the situation was misstated, or if I need to apologize for something. Lately, I don't even do this- who has the time? Especially since there seems to be a new restaurant review site every week! Honestly though, I have actually had some useful feedback from some of the more critical reviews. I don't really think that the site owner owes the restaurant owner anything other than a reiteration of why her response was not posted, and a sympathetic reminder that these reviews come with the territory these days, like it or not. Besides, who cares if this was only one negative opinion in the midst of numerous positive ones?
  5. I agree with TheFoodTutor that your gratuity may not have been added. At my place, the servers often don't add the grat if things have been going especially well or if we know the customer well. When it is added, our policy is for the servers to mention to the guest that the tip is included when the check is dropped. Since a manager has to add the grat to the check, the server is reminded of this as well. This clears things up nicely, and we are sure that any additional gratuity is intentional.
  6. You most definitely should not have been charged. The only time I have ever refused to take back and not charge for an order was the person who wanted to send back their BLT because it had bacon in it. Not kidding.
  7. I do know Ariane. We both live in the same town and both own restaurants in Montclair, NJ. Her restaurant, CulinAriane is wonderful! Ariane is extremely talented, and a lovely person. We even "share" a server who works at both of our restaurants. She has nothing but high praise for her as well. I'm so happy that she has achieved so much and am rooting for her!! (No, I can't get inside info, but my understanding is that filming is over)
  8. I recently saw online that Ariane is one of the contestants in the new season of Top Chef! I checked the Bravo site and sure enough, there she is. (Maybe someone with more computer skills than me can post a link) How exciting is this? Congrats, Ariane- we'll be rooting for you!!
  9. Just deleted a double post- oops. (just proved my point about my computer skill!)
  10. My comment was not directed at the choice of where to advertise; it was the bias toward the advertisers in the reviews published in the magazine with the readers left to assume the impartiality of the review. That's what's shameful... ← I really find it hard to believe that there is a direct correlation between good reviews and advertising in NJ Monthly. Our restaurant has been very favorably covered- in reviews, readers and critics polls and other articles, and we have never advertised there.
  11. Montclair's Nicky Messiah makes the best toffee in the world! It's really outstanding and can be found, I believe at Spice it Up on Bloomfield Ave in Montclair. If not, check her web site missnickys.com- although I didn't see anything about her toffee there, there is contact info.
  12. That's why this competition is so brutal. It's not a cumulative thing, you have to kick ass week after week. ← Yeah, kind of like the restaurant business!!
  13. We have this problem at my place, and it's gotten even worse since Starbucks opened down the street. We have a casual but very nice BYO in NJ. I have had to post a sign at the door that outside beverages are not permitted. People still try to bring their own coffees in, especially during weekend brunches when there are waits for tables- even though we have take out coffees and espresso drinks. The quality of our coffee isn't an issue, either. We use very high quality products and most people comment on how great our coffee is. I think that people really don't think about what is or isn't appropriate. They just want what they want. On our end, we sell food and beverages (no alcohol). Period. Believe me, it's not easy without liquor sales. And our servers earn their living from tips based on what they sell. Period. Bottom line- bringing your own beverage (or food for that matter) into a restaurant is almost never appropriate.
  14. You not only did nothing wrong, you acted admirably in calling the restaurant to let them know you'd be late. If only everyone was so considerate!
  15. I use InDesign for my menus, and find myself using it for almost everything. It's Adobe software, so if you know Photoshop, you're halfway there. It's really easy to use with Photoshop, especially on a Mac- you can just drag the photos into the document.
×
×
  • Create New...