Marylisa L.

Here at the restaurant, I've been serving a mulled cider mimosa for Sunday Brunch. Take a high quality cider.. barely heat it with clove, cinnamon, star anise (or whatever spices you like).. chill and mix with champagne. It's awesome! Good luck!

Other than Craigslist, anyone know how to find good cooks in this area? I'm lookin' and I'm not findin'......maybe there's a website out there I'm missing. Tryin' to find a line cook/kitchen manager with some experience.... If anyone knows where I might post/publish, etc.. I'm all ears. Thanks!

Well I am not the most involved with cheeses although I wouldnt mind some input in the whole thing. I am currently prepareing a dessert menu in which I am making curds for. My recipe id 6L 35% ctream/ 1.2L fresh squezed lime juice. I mix it let it sit at room temperature for about 3 days then hang it in cheese cloth for 24hrs then press it in a perferated hotel pan for another day it turns out just fine but I am wondering where ekse I could go with it as t seems that there are many opther avenues that I could use to make other products. ← Check out CIA's latest edition of the garder manger text book (probably can get it at barnes and noble) it has everything from mascarpone to ricotta to farmer's cheese. Nothing too complicated but I really want to try the ricotta.. As for my cheese o' the moment... I'm LOVIN' Lamb Chopper by Humboldt Fog.. Oh my!!! It's pricey..but oh, so, good..... Have you Cheese lovers checked out Cheesetique in Del Ray, Alexandria? Jill' got a fantastic selection of domestic and international cheeses.. she also happens to sell my sausages there.. AND we feature a Cheesetique pizza on our menu.. it's got yummy high end cheeses all melty on a pie...like the ultimate cheese pizza.. Also, if you've never gone there with ultra ripe triple cream mac-n-cheese...then go there.. you may die of a heart attack but at least you'll die happy!!

I agree that teachers on the whole should be paid more. But I don't agree that the level of education you need to get into a field has a direct bearing on how much your work is worth on the market. You usually need a PhD to be a philosopher or an art historian, but in many cases people are not willing to pay much at all for your work. On the other hand, a plumber doesn't need an undergraduate degree but his or her work can be very valuable. ← One more post before I start putting my tipping theories into practice tonight (sadly, the only teacher in the bunch dropped out, I was hoping to get some solid field research done). First, as I learned getting my college degree, the market determines salaries, not some abstract accreditation process. No one deserves to make more money because of their college degree, but they often make more money because their college degree puts them in greater demand. Second, I did the math for Marylisa's waiters, assuming 3 slow days a week at $60/night (4 hrs at $15) and three good days at 100/night (5 hrs at $20) and came out at $24K/year. Just another number to throw into the pile, but one that feels realistic to me and imploes that, though hourly earnigs might be good, waiters aren't getting rich. That's for 300 days work, not 188. And, finally where's your restaurant, Marylisa? If it's East of the park, we may get by... ← You make me a little nervous to say...based on your other posts I've read. But we are in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria....It's called FireFlies.. Rumor has it that we serve a pretty tasty pizza. I like it.. but I'm a little biased! We also have everything from a Thai Bouillabaisse to steak..to a vegetarian wheatloaf served with a salsify mashed potato cake, rst carrots and a sherry mushroom gravy.. We're small..neighborhood-y and I think we sell the best turkey sandwich I've ever had. We cook everything during service in our pizza oven in cast iron pans...hovering around 650 degrees.. produces a pretty nice sear on a steak.. ok...sorry for the huge restaurant plug... But stop in and see us!

Pop into FireFlies down the street for a hot, tasty Cheesetique Pizza for which Mrs. Jill handpicks the cheese!

[Andisenji: I wish I could watch and learn with the cooking chopsticks. I love eating with chopsticks and use them regularly.. however, I'm a total idiot with the long ones. Besides, every pair I've ever seen/had have been warped and don't even touch at the bottom. By the way... what's the difference between Chinese and Japanese chopsticks. It makes sense there's a difference.. but I have no idea what it is.

[Wow, everyone's so technical.. I got lost in the math.. heehee About the price increase, overhead, etc.. That was based on someone saying that they would rather pay more for a meal and know that the servers were getting paid "regular" wages. My question was only in the change over to that system. I have people that come in everyday for our turkey sandwich.. it's $7. Now, one day, I change my system to the aformentioned... Tues, $7 sand. , Wed. $7 sand, Thurs $9 sand. and no explanation. I think that if everyone changed over.. fine. BUT, if there's one renegade out there changing over..I think there'd be some confusion. That's all. And my average $/cover is not $100.. it's about $25.. we're volume, not fine dining... and we close pretty early.. so the shifts avg about 4-5 hours The reality is..for all the math that was done.. you can't really compare salaried and hourly wages. How many people do you know who are salaried work only 40hr weeks?

Totally unrelated...but I'm new here and have NO idea how to get a quoted item in that nifty little box and my text to appear under it....help?

So, you would be comfortable, across the board if prices increased 20%.... at your fave restaurant, your hairstylist, car wash, anywhere you might consider dropping a tip? Keep in mind, I'm only using 20% as a figure b/c it is a norm in my restaurant.... 18% is low. So, a $7 sandwich all of a sudden becomes a $8.40 sandwich + tax-- bringing it over $9.. And then do we, as owners and chefs, put a disclaimer on the menu 1. saying that you are paying more because we are paying higher wages and you don't have to tip? 2. that we are taking away you ability to recognize the service you were given by another individual? Do I get to put one of those on the menu when my gas bill goes up too? Or my mixer breaks and it costs a grand to fix it? Customers don't give a hoot about your overhead. I have a hard time believing that America, on a whole,would be cool with an overall increase in prices at restuarants, etc. Gas prices go up 1 cent/gallon and there's a national crisis...

Wait staff aren't as badly paid as I thought. I know teachers, nurses and other vital professions that pay less. ←

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My only comment here is that I think Flay's a tool...yes, a tool... I think he summed him self up on the original series when he jumped up ON his cutting board and chanted USA.. to which Morimoto replied " he is not a chef, he is a disgrace"

Well, I think we all at least agree on something.. that yes, produce off the plant, ripe, is tastier--be it bananas, tomatoes, peppers.. And, in terms of using out-of-state/country produce to satisfy needs and wants? Well, it appears to be an individual preference for each of us and we'll eat accordingly. I know what my guests like and want... and you all know what you like to eat. It wasn't my review- I was just curious as to whether critics are taking in more than just the food..

I'd say, for the most part, in Northern VA/DC area...at least in my restaurant and what I've heard from my servers who've worked elsewhere..20% is the norm.. It's not rare for us to see 25-30% on a check... now, I'm not saying that high is the norm.. but easily 18-22% is. I don't think it's so much that Americans are more picky.. I just think that America, as a whole, is still in the middle of it's culinary revolution.. we're still in our infancy when it comes to good food. I mean, really, pigs in a blanket and broccoli with cheese sauce was as good as it got in the 50s/60s ...with a few exceptions. As much as I hate to admit it, because I"m no fan, Emeril, I believe was partly responsible for simplifying good food for the home... between the barrage of shows on the food network, magazines, great new chefs and restuarants, books, etc... America, in the last 30 years, is finally learning how to "taste" food. It used to be limited to New York, Chicago....but now you find great restaurants in small towns across America.. I think it's awesome. However, remember back to your teens...when you learned to drive, you knew everything in 1 day of driving.. or so you thought. I think that's where the American diner (in the general sense....there are some great palates out there) now. Now everyone knows pate, foie gras, well-cut steaks.. med rare vs. med. We didn't have Taillevant, Escoffier, Careme, and other cullinary greats of Europe.. We didn't get our own until the 1900s with Julia Childs, James Beard.. and the like. Phew...sorry....Sometimes it takes a little bit to get the thought out..

Sometimes..I, too, wish I could be that crazy chef... Uh...but I don't smoke... and uh. I'm not French... I have the carbon steel Sabatier...and, well, uh, we have an open kitchen. So people see me all the time! Hahaha

I only listed this post in DelMarVa b/c that happens to be where I'm located. I'm not AS familiar with critiques from other cities.. To Busboy: while I appreciate your point, are you honestly going to spend a "rare big night" in a neighborhood joint? In another neighborhood? If it were me, I'd be hittin' it up in a swanky joint downtown... By the way, the idea was only sparked by a reveiw I've read..it's the type of comment I've noticed across the board and has become ubiquitous in reviews.... I've been reviewed and I'm not thin-skinned about it at all.. yeah, any negative comment you read or hear sucks.. but there is a reason for it and it brings to light something that may have been needing attention for a long time. I just think the "standard" should be based on the type of restaurant and what the restaurant is going for. I think I can stand on my own against other neighborhood eateries.. however, do I want to be judged against a restaurant that changes their menu daily and has a chef that can shop for the best produce and fish at local markets?? No. I don't think there necessarily should be a "standard" on which to write. Go in, eat a meal or two.. produce an unbiased opinion of the food, service, ambiance, etc, etc.. Judge the restaurant against itself. I've seen restaurants fold completely because of a review... I think we all have. Or at least know of them. Once a bad or mediocre review is out there.. it's very hard to recover. On the other hand.. a great review is just that... GREAT! It's amazing how much weight is put on one person's opinion. We were reviewed once in the Post..luckily it was favorable.. and we got hammered for two months straight! So I'm all for reviews.. I just think the food critic needs to be all emcompassing and very professional.. Especially nowadays when everybody can review any restaurant online...and be a critic for a day... THAT topic opens an entirely different can of worms.. I won't get into today.. but I will when anyone's interested. DonRocks: thanks.. I will! Thanks you guys for your nice welcome.. and I love talkin' food.. so I know I'll be around!!

I'm very new to this site, but an interesting thing has popped into my head, and I thought I'd throw it out there. Now, my point is not to come off as a jerk in this post... so hopefully, no one takes offense. Here goes.. I was reading a review the other day in a certain well known magazine. It bashed the chef's use of tomatoes in the winter in an Insalata Caprese. The place is a small, neighborhood, Italian restaurant. Ok, now everyone knows in an ideal world.. people don't eat tomatoes in the winter.. and in an ideal world, restaurants could follow this seasonality, organic, locally grown trend that has moved through culinaria. However, are the restaurant critics looking at the whole picture?? Are they considering that fact that maybe the chef doesn't really want an Insalata Caprese on the menu anyway BUT knows that he will lose business if he doesn't?? A small, neighborhood eatery cannot conduct business in the same way a place like Citronelle can. We have customers to please.. ones that will come in more than once every 6 months. Ones that will come in 4-5/week. How would the general populace feel if Subway stopped using tomatoes in the winter because they weren't locally in season?? Yea, when I go to Citronelle in winter, I don't want tomatoes... maybe tomato jam.. maybe a confit.. BUT, I also know that I'm going to pay for it. And I know that I'm going there to have my palate surprised.. I want the chef to take care of me.. feed me what he thinks is best. I just feel that critics are not always fair to restaurants that aren't out there to change the culinary world, but rather to just feed people really good food that they want. I'm a local restaurant owner.. and I know what it's like trying to be seasonal in a world where people are used to grocery stores where the motto is "it's summer somewhere". General consensus with guests is-- if I can get it in the grocery store, why can't I get it here? Sometimes, I can't dictate the menu, because I would lose my regulars whose opinions matter. I think that critics should be anonymous.. But I also think that they should take into account what type of restaurant and the clientele before smashing a restaurant.