Jaymes

Spoken like a true primadonna. Thank you for the "prima donna" compliment. I should be so lucky. The thing is, in our free society, even the "haughtiest of chefs" has the right to open a business and offer for sale whatsoever products he/she chooses to offer. And you (i.e. the public) have the right to go elsewhere if you are not pleased. I will not Plotnickitize this argument by continuing to restate my position over and over and over. So, this is probably pretty much it for me. It's obvious you have some sort of chip on your shoulder. I can only suggest to you that you open your OWN restaurant and run it as you see fit, bowing and scraping and acquiescing to all who come in your door, omitting the peppers in the Stuffed Peppers, the garlic in the Scampi, cooking the steaks to shoe leather, and giving into whatever other whim crosses the minds of your customers. That is your right. And folks can come on eGullet and savage your choices. That is their right. That's the American way, you see.

Steve - You are absolutely correct that anyone in the service industry SHOULD strive to make people happy. Happy customers are the undisputed direct route to financial security and job satisfaction for any business. That goes without saying... too simple and obvious a concept to even be worthy of argument. And you are also correct in pointing out that making people "happy" is not necessarily the same as "educating them" or forcing them to eat whatever you want them to eat. Although if one is capable of doing just that in a pleasant manner, all the problems are solved. But it seemed to me that the focus of this thread is not so much what chef/owners SHOULD do; but rather, what they are OBLIGATED to do.... ...as in the odious remark that "they exist to serve me."

You are correct that your aunt has the right to have the food she orders cooked as she likes it. She can exercise that right by patronizing a restaurant that will do it that way. She NOT have a right to DEMAND that every single business person concurs with her every request, no matter how unpalatable. She simply doesn't. But if enough people agree with her tastes, the business will either close, or change its ways to suit her and others like her. And furthermore, the chef does not "exist to serve you." That is ludicrous. If you wish to have a chef who "exists to serve you," you are perfectly free to hire one. Put him on salary, tell him what you like and do not like and advise him that he serves at the pleasure of you. But to believe that you can order business owners around in order to satisfy your every whim is unbelievably arrogant. I just hope that in another life, you come back as a business owner with nothing but customers like yourself.

And of course, that's the crux, isn't it. Had my client said, "Look, I'll give you a thousand bucks extra if you'll just fix the damn shrimp without the garlic," I'd have said, "Sure, Darlin' and would you like me to get down on my knees and feed them to you one by one?" So, I guess it's the age-old question.... we know what we are.....and now we're just arguing over the price. (But also....I would have gone running around the party, saying to all the guests, "You know, that shrimp is SO MUCH BETTER with garlic in it.")

Just one more comment, and then I absolutely MUST go prepare my Snapper Veracruzano or we'll have no dinner at all my house tonight, properly prepared or not... In the matter of restaurants refusing to cook steaks well-done, in fact, lately I have even seen it printed on the menus! "Because we cannot ensure the quality, we do not prepare steaks well-done." Or some such something... But it's printed right there, on the menu, below the steaks, so no one has to even get into a quibble with the waiters.

Oh, but I did, for years, operate a successful catering business... I recall one particular conversation wherein I had suggested a "Shrimp Scampi Style" dish to the client. She asked what was in it, and when I told her, she said, "Oh...I don't like garlic, can you just leave it out?" To which I said, "Well, without the garlic it doesn't really have much taste... may I suggest the Salmon Balls instead?" She decided that was better, and we were all happy.

No, I have never operated a restaurant, but I've sure eaten in a lot of them. And, I sometimes ask for something to be prepared a certain way, or order something not on the menu. And often the chef will do his/her best to prepare it how I have requested, but just as often, I'll be told that they do not have those ingredients, or the kitchen is busy, or that they are unaccustomed to that dish, or even the much less classy, "no substitutions." I don't get offended....unless they are haughty and unkind about it. If I ordered the "Seared Tempura Tuna" to be cooked well done (as a companion did recently at a local restaurant), and was told (as was she) "That dish does only comes rare," I would do what she did....order something else. I don't expect the kitchen and staff to be my personal servants, as though I, like Oprah, had hired them to do nothing but my bidding to the exclusion of all else.

And you know Nina, I'll tell you another thing I learned from years of business.... The idea of "losing a customer"..... Especially in a consulting-type business, where you want your customers to rely on your judgment... you don't want those customers who always think they know more than you do. They are never worth more to your bottom line than they cost you in time and aggravation. You want long-term customers who value you and what you do and who take your advice and opinion. They are a joy to work with and for, and a financial boon, and they love you and what you do and recommend you to others. Those are the customers with whom you want to cultivate a longterm relationship. The other kind of person who thinks you simply don't know what you are doing is a customer you are better off without.

Of course there are legal and other restrictions (such as zoning, etc.) that influence what one chooses to sell. For purposes of this argument, I didn't feel the need to delinate that.

Again, speaking as a former business owner, when someone insists you sell them something you would prefer not to, what happens is that of the people who order the shoeleather, many will not be happy with it, and will go around complaining to everyone they know that they went to your supposedly "fine" restaurant and simply couldn't see what all the fuss was about. In the short run, okay, you get the business, but in the long run... it usually costs you... in many ways, both financially and in job satisfaction. You just can't be all things to all people.

Which gets us back to the question posed in the "palate" thread. Of course, that's all subjective and is, as you stated in your earlier post, a question with no answer. It's like which color is prettier: purple or turquoise? But back in the beginning of THIS thread, I understood the question to be whether or not the chef "ought" to have to cook good steaks well done, even knowing they would taste inferior, if that was what the customer wanted... going on the theories of "it's the customer's money" and "the customer is always right."

Yes, everyone is "entitled" to choose but no one is "entitled" to dictate, in a free, capitalistic and democratic society, what a merchant must proffer. That is one of the most sacred tenets of capitalism. If I open a restaurant or any other business, I choose what I want to offer for sale, whether it's shoes, or baseball memorabilia, or automobiles, or rare chunks of beef. That is the first step. The customers then decide if they wish to buy what I have chosen to offer. That is the second step. Period. If I don't want to offer for sale any particular dish (or other product), no one has the right to make me. Ergo, if I do not wish to sell New York strip steaks cooked any more than medium rare, that is absolutely my prerogative. It's just not negotiable, nor is it some big question for the ages. It's simple. And the people who are "entitled to choose what tastes good to them" are also entitled to take their preferences and money elsewhere. And if I cannot draw enough customers to buy what I DO choose to sell, I will not be able to stay in business, but that is the unavoidable choice that retail business owners make every single day. If someone comes into my "Medium-Rare or Rarer Cafe" and demands their steak well-done, I have the right to instruct my waitstaff to say, "We believe that particular cut of meat does not have enough marbling to be cooked well done and still remain properly juicy, so WE DO NOT OFFER THAT. We can prepare your steak medium rare, or perhaps you might prefer to choose another dish that we DO offer, such as this chicken dish, or that salmon." This is not to say that I or anyone in my imaginary restaurant has the right to be rude or condescending, but I should not be forced or coerced into selling a product I do not wish to sell. It just so happens that I did, for eight years, own a business. And sometimes we would get clients who attempted to dictate to us what we should sell them. It only took me the first year in business to learn that acquiescing to ill-informed demands was exceedingly bad policy. If we sold someone a product that we knew to be inferior, or that we didn't believe in, or that for some other reason we just did not wish to sell, it would invariably come back to bite us in the butt. So, I and my staff would simply say (in an unemotional and nonjudgmental tone), "I'm sorry, but we just DON'T OFFER THAT. We believe you would be happier with another product that we DO sell, and we can explain to you the features and benefits of the other product." If they insisted on the inferior product which we could neither endorse nor guarantee, we would just say, "I'm sorry, but we do not offer that. Because we do not sell what you want, we believe you would be happier elsewhere." Period.

I found just the opposite in my father. He claimed to be salt intolerant and never used it and never ate spicy foods, but as he got into his late 80s and on into his 90s, he ate food I cooked that had reasonable amounts of salt and lots of chiles and gobbled it up. I don't think he could taste any of it, and I don't know if this was something going on in his taste buds or brain or both. In any event, the prospects sound dismal. Well... on the other hand, it is quite possible that nature is just continuing to take care of us. We slow down as we age and our bodies need fewer and fewer calories. So, sure enough, taste buds die and we want fewer and fewer. Frankly, I'm looking forward to it. I'll be much happier loving food much less. Maybe I can get "into" donning trainers and speed-walking the malls instead of endless quests for ever better patés and cheeses!!

Cafe Annie has an international reputation, I'd say the loftiest in Houston, and is certainly "splurge-worthy." You should check into it.

Again, Toby, interesting subject. Isn't it funny how something we think we know so well, is really completely unknowable. Also in my casual research following your question, I discovered that it is believed that children have far fewer taste buds than adults. And as infants, primarily have taste buds sensitive to sweetness, which is, it is thought, required for the urge to drink mother's milk. And that, as one ages, the taste buds gradually die, resulting in the decreased appetitite (particularly for spicy foods) of the elderly.

I wonder if there are similar physiological variations between individuals when it comes to olfactory receptors. I shouldn't be surprised. I did a little investigation on Google and discovered, among other things, that men's and women's taste buds differ slightly, with women's being more sensitive and discretionary. Probably because in the cave days, we gals were busy tasting weeds and leaves and berries and deciding what to take home that wouldn't poison us all, while you big brave guys were off tramping about, talking dirty, scratching yourselves and looking for woolly mammoths to gore. Ya big lovable lugs ya.

Jin, Thanks for your prompt response. I had promised my mom & dad grilled artichokes for my mom's 85th birthday tonight, so was up against a time factor here. I did what you said and they turned out great. Also, Maggie, made your caper sauce which was also delicious (and easy). The other recipes sound absolutely wonderful as well...the one with blanched asparagus (another favorite) and fava beans, and stuffed, Creole style. I love artichokes and have a whiskey half-barrel on my condo deck where I grow them, so needed some new ideas. Really appreciate y'all coming through for me! Thanks again.

We have completely different tastes. When I lived in Austin, the only joint I didn't like was the County Line. The sauce they serve tastes like watered down ketchup, horribly unappealing. But they are the only place I can think of that serves up beef ribs and I did like their sausage. And I do like the Salt Lick, primarily because of their sauce, the habenero sauce is even better... Sadly, I love 'em all. But County Line is my least favorite. I do like their babyback ribs, and they are the "nicest" and most-expensive of "joints" (as you put it ). I had a laugh when I saw in one of the New York (or New Jersey threads) that someone had gone to a BBQ place and it was "$60 per person, which I thought was reasonable." County Line is BY FAR our most expensive "barbecue restaurant" but it's easy to get out of there for $25 a person! They have a full bar, "restauranty" tables and chairs, metal tableware, and classy desserts. That is where we take the out-of-town guests that we believe wouldn't want to hit a REAL "joint" nor drive the hour and a half (or more) to one of the TRUE 'cue temples.... Kreuz, Cooper's, Louie Mueller's, etc. Also, County Line has wonderful "sides" and is famous for their breads, but who goes to a BBQ joint for bread!!?? And the Salt Lick. Yes, I love it there. I like looking at the big pit with the meat hanging all 'round. And their 'cue is wonderful. Man, am I spoiled little 'cue brat. And that's just how I like it. PS - Celeb mention: In an interview, Sandy Bullock said that the Salt Lick was her "favorite restaurant in all the world." She gets the BBQ Chicken Sandwich.

Wow. That sounds positively orgasmic. Thanks!

I'm no physician, but suspect 6 is what holds the whole mess up there, wobbling about.

Yes, right you are. But how does one know what Caviar is supposed to taste like, when he/she never had it. Does this go back to the "educated" palate? I believe this is absolutely an excellent example of educating one's palate. I suspect very few, if any, enjoy caviar upon first taste. In my case, I attended some fairly high-profile occasions when I was young and, not wishing to appear unsophisticated, managed to gag some down. After several years of about four of these "gaggings" per year, I eventually began to not dislike, and then to enjoy the dish. And I began to seek out caviar and to study and learn more about it in order to serve it appropriately in my own home. I read somewhere that the metal spoon interacts unfavorably with the caviar, so conducted my own kitchen test with various caviars and a metal spoon and a plastic one (not having ivory, mother of pearl, or bone). So, this was "educating my palate" in several ways: both through reading, studying and learning about caviar; and through empirical evidence. Obviously, I would never have been able, at a young age, to take from a metal spoon my first bite of caviar and remark, "You know....this is 'off' somehow. Could it be that metal spoon?"

Oh - and thank you BHoward for that link. You are correct, all four restaurants are indeed perennial favorites of the locals.

You are certainly correct about asthetics and ambience playing an essential role in any sensual experience, which eating surely is. But as to this question, the answer is more simple. Interacting with metal changes the taste of the caviar.

Good morning, Mark. Thought of you today, whilst reading the Austin paper. In the Food section, they were discussing a new "contraption that will give pepper lovers a thrill." It's a "chile grill" that holds peppers upright for heating in the oven or BBQ. You can find one at chilegrill.com. Yours in capsicum, Jaymes

Please, Jin... please get started. If you really like artichokes, you must have one or two faves!!! Please? I swear I'll check out Mario as soon as I have more time.