jvictor930

I have been to Urban Spice a few times...great atmosphere, good food and the Indian friends of mine rave about it.

There's a little place called Murphy's Deli & Bar on Union Street. It's a hop, skip and a jump away from the convention center. It's been a while since I've been there, but it was good cheap eats downtown...it's probably not a must see, but it's good food and close!

I once worked for a restaurant that was rebranding from a bar (innocently named Jerry's) to a steakhouse. The "consultant", which was hired for an obscene amount of money came up with the name Cripple Creek Steakhouse. Cripple Creek, Colo. was the site of the largest gold lode in the US, as well as the subject of a song. However, this "consultant" didn't feel this could insult any folks who might be differently abled. Ergo, once the thought of the handicapped parking spaces beneath the Cripple Creek sign entered the minds of the powers that were in charge, the name was changed and the consultant was sent on thier way. One PR nightmare averted!

Wow! We have a couple of those guys in my building too! They even have a code for when one of them finds something, as most departments tend to have leftovers from catered lunches, etc... We joke with them about it, but it's serious business to them!

TripRewards, which is the loyalty program for Cendant Hotels (Howard Johnson, Days Inn, Super 8, Ramada, Travelodge, Knights Inn, Wingate Inns, and Amerihost Inns) offers the same kinds of rewards as well. In kitchen appliances, they range from 17,500 points for a knife set to 70,000 points for a 5qt KitchenAid mixer. I've never redeemed for merchandise however.

This is completely unscientific research, but I have found that electric ranges and ovens don't heat up the space as much as gas ranges and ovens. In my Fiancee's apartment (which has a gas unit) it gets much hotter when cooking than in my apartment, which has an electric one. The same thing can be said for my parent's house as compared to my old townhouse. Gas seemed to give off more heat than electric. Oh, in case there is a doubt about the validity of my homegrown research, this post has been sanctioned by the JVictor930 Institute for Gastronomy and BTU's.

Being someone who travels to the weirdest parts of the country at times, sometimes the only restaurants are fast food. For example, I pulled into a small town in Idaho at about 6:30pm and was told that the only restaurants open were the Subway and the Taco Bell inside the gas stations across the street. In these situations, when faced with the same old items or something new, I'd try a new item first. But again, it's only when the local flavors aren't open... So the answer is "only under duress of starvation."

You just need to make it yourself "Scrap Iron Chef" style using an old Gym Locker, a cast iron skillet, some wood chips, a computer fan and an A/C duct pipe!

A bottle of Seagram's 7 from 1986. It was my from my grandmother's retirement party and since no one in my family drinks it, it's been around ever since. I keep daring people to take a shot from it...there hasn't been any takers!

I was offered an opportunity to travel to France for a culinary competition, all expense paid. It was one general culinary student, one baking and pastry student and one hospitality management student. However, due to work commitments, I forgot to get the necessary passport so I could put a copy of it with the packet. There wasn't enough time to get one, so the university had to go with the next student down. To add insult to injury, I was laid off from my job the next week due to an economic downturn!

Oh, it should have been so simple, if you looked at the directions. My freshman year of college, my girlfriend at the time had gotten a new apartment and decided she wanted to cook for me. Considering she had the culinary IQ of a monkey with a lobotomy, I normally did the cooking as to avoid any, shall we say, incidents. When she would have these insane thoughts of actually cooking, my survival instinct would kick in and I'd usually give her a "that's ok, I appreciate the thought, but why go through the trouble?" This time, she insisted and I caved. This is the person that thought Gourmet food came from the Budget Gourmet, so how bad could it be? Oh, if I'd only known. So out comes the bag of Chicken Voila, which if you read the directions, you can't screw up, or so I thought. First of all, she didn't catch the "Just add chicken" labeling on the front, so this would turn out to be just Voila. Now, I'm sure Voila is supposed to taste like something other than bait, but I'll never know. So there was this bag of veggies and sauce to be heated, which should have been an easy enough task. Oh no, not for her! She decided to (and considering this was Emeril's old stomping grounds, I'll allow the reference) kick it up a notch. I'd rather she kicked me in the nuts. She added this mixture of spices that felt like I had eaten alum. Mind you, I wasn't allowed in the kitchen during this fiasco, so I don't exactly know what she put inside, but my digestive system began to churn from the first bite. I got through about a quarter of it and made the made dash to the bathroom. After I emerge from paying homage to the folks at American Standard, she wanted to know what was wrong. I just asked if this was supposed to have chicken in it. The response I got was "No wonder it tasted funny!" Maybe it was the lack of chicken, maybe it was the toxic conglomoration of spices she decided to add. We'll never know. However, as I was not feeling well, I excused myself, went home, and vowed to never let her cook for me again. Now, the ironic part. This was hotel school, and now she's a kitchen manager at a Macaroni Grill! And my friends wonder why I avoid the place like the plague. And I can't imagine why I'm now engaged to a fellow foodie!

Oh, it should have been so simple, if you looked at the directions. My freshman year of college, my girlfriend at the time had gotten a new apartment and decided she wanted to cook for me. Considering she had the culinary IQ of a monkey with a lobotomy, I normally did the cooking as to avoid any, shall we say, incidents. When she would have these insane thoughts of actually cooking, my survival instinct would kick in and I'd usually give her a "that's ok, I appreciate the thought, but why go through the trouble?" This time, she insisted and I caved. This is the person that thought Gourmet food came from the Budget Gourmet, so how bad could it be? Oh, if I'd only known. So out comes the bag of Chicken Voila, which if you read the directions, you can't screw up, or so I thought. First of all, she didn't catch the "Just add chicken" labeling on the front, so this would turn out to be just Voila. Now, I'm sure Voila is supposed to taste like something other than bait, but I'll never know. So there was this bag of veggies and sauce to be heated, which should have been an easy enough task. Oh no, not for her! She decided to (and considering this was Emeril's old stomping grounds, I'll allow the reference) kick it up a notch. I'd rather she kicked me in the nuts. She added this mixture of spices that felt like I had eaten alum. Mind you, I wasn't allowed in the kitchen during this fiasco, so I don't exactly know what she put inside, but my digestive system began to churn from the first bite. I got through about a quarter of it and made the made dash to the bathroom. After I emerge from paying homage to the folks at American Standard, she wanted to know what was wrong. I just asked if this was supposed to have chicken in it. The response I got was "No wonder it tasted funny!" Not feeling well, I excused myself, went home, and vowed to never let her cook for me again. Now, the ironic part. This was hotel school, and now she's a kitchen manager at a Macaroni Grill! And my friends wonder why I avoid the place like the plague. And people wonder why I'm now engaged to a fellow foodie!

My fiancee turned onto Daisy Cooks, with Daisy Martinez on PBS. She's a lot of fun, and the food's got a lot of flavor! Daisy Cooks!

My most memorable food related thing I said as a child was simple...I had gotten a play kitchen for Christmas when I was around 5 years old, and I loved playing with it. After a while though, I did need to ask "Mommy, how do you expect me to work with only 4 burners!"

I know I miss mine. I gave my KA to my parents because my roommate at the time had one. Since I've moved, it has been a missing part of the equation! However, I know it'll be on my wedding registry, and it may even give me a chance to find the one with the airbrushed flames like Alton Brown's!

Actually, it's done something very important. Although my fiancee and I were introduced through friends, one of the major factors behind it is that we're both major foodies. She introduced me to eGullet and it always has provided a common frame of reference in our conversations about anything and everything. Some of my favorite memories when we were first dating was getting home from a great meal and looking over her shoulder as she showed me a posting about a really bad meal or a facinating ingredient. I still smile when I think about it. Has it changed me as a student of the culinary arts? Of course it has...but it also provides a refuge for the both of us that has become very special. I guess it's true...the couple that eGullet's together...

I know it is tradition in the midwest. I used to have a guest who demanded his apple pie this way and he was from Wisconsin. Also, I know it is standard fare in Michigan as well.

My Fiancee and I are such garlic fans, we made this dish together literally a few hours after we got engaged!!!

I'm sorry...as a manager I couldn't support my staff in thier quest to touch customers. Sometimes, it is welcome, but most times it isn't. I remember a situation where a waiter was paying a lot of attention to my date. He was touchy-feely, too casual and a little too obvious in his affection. Although my date wasn't interested, she thought it was funny. I was annoyed and thought it was rude. The only reason he even got a tip was to not look like an ass in front of my date. If a customer likes to be touched, they'll let you know through body language. Otherwise, it should be hands off!!!

My fiancé went to a conference where they brought Tastykake products to San Antonio...they were advertising Philadelphia as a location and you can't get those goodies down in the Lonestar State. From what I understand, it was mass produced baked good mayhem!!!

I am taking a slightly different view on this. The only thing that might help restaurants is the forcasted economic spiral for the travel industry this holiday. If people cut out a vacation at the end of the summer/early fall, they may be willing to use some of the disposable income on eating out. Folks need to get out of the house somehow....it may be just out to eat. That needs to be capitalized upon. Maybe the industry as a whole should do what NYC did after 9/11...prix fixe meals, discount show tickets, everything they could do to enhance the experience. Make it not just a night out, but a responsibility to bolster local business and support the community. I know that's what the hotel industry will be doing, and I'm sure the airlines (who operate on similar margins as restaurants) will be getting it together soon. Maybe it will force people to try that great local place instead of driving 20 miles to an Olive Garden or Bennigans...

This is affecting the hospitality industry as a whole. Frankly though, any yahoo can post comments based upon anything they want. There are websites like tripadvisor.com and others who could convey the opinions of folks who are motivated by less than, shall we say, noble purposes. Are we to assume that all restaurant owners are going to not bash the competition with postings? It could, and has, happenned.

This is actually a very typical practice in the hospitality and other industries. What happens is that when this setting is activated, the establishment will authorize an amount on top of the actual bill to ensure there is enough credit on the card to cover any extra charges. In a restaurant, the only extra charge would be a tip. However, whenever you check into a hotel, most places add anywhere between $25.00 and $50.00 per night to ensure there is enough credit for in room movies, phone calls and the like. In a rental car agency, they take an extra $100-200.00 for extra days or damage charges. The practice is actually called estimated authorization. Restaurants could likely not have knowledge they are doing this, as it is a system setting that is not easily found by anyone but the accountant. Authorizations usually close out when the bill is closed out, however, there are situations where this is not released and your money can stay held up to two weeks. Most times, this results from putting the bill on your credit/debit card and leaving the tip in cash. When this is done, if the server doesn't close out the bill with the cc machine, the estimated authorization is transmitted to the processor and not the actual amount. Heck, gas stations even do it...most times you'll see a charge for $1.00 and then the amount of the gas...that $1.00 is the estimated authorization. Moreover, all of this is perfectly legal, covered by most cardmember agreements and is actually encouraged by the folks at Visa and Mastercard. And just so you know, Visa and Mastercard view any bounced check fees as your responsibility, not the establishment and certainly not thiers. The best defense is to either pay cash or to avoid using debit cards when gratuity is involved.

Geez....I don't know about anyone else, but my list would read like an Academy Awards acceptance speech. "Wow, what an honor. I'd need to thank my Grandmother who taught me how to stuff a pepper at age 4, and always instilled in me that a pot of gravy isn't complete without veal, beef and pork. Shout outs to Mom, who bought me a kitchen set for my 5th christmas (and told me to tell everyone it was for my sister) and didn't blink when I asked her how to turn on the convection. Dad for showing me that Jeff Smith wasn't just some weird bald guy. Julia Child for being after "Seasame Street" on PBS and showing me how to not just laugh at Cookie Monster, but how to tame him with freshly baked Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies. I can't forget my Dad, because if you wanted an omlette, hot dogs, coffee or pancakes, he was your man. Oh, and before I go, need to thank my girlfriend, for getting me into a website where whacks like she and I can talk about cooking to our heart's content!" Cue music and hook from side of stage...

You know, we do this all the time in the hospitality industry. As others have said, this is common practice in the hotel and airline industry, and why shouldn't restauranteurs be able to have the same kind of security. I agree with it, as long as the cancellation policies are explained well in advance, much like a hotel's. Is it 24 hours in advance? 48? Same day cancel ok? Will there be someone to dispute this with if necessary? As long as you can make the customer have a comfort level with those questions, there really shouldn't be an issue. The best example I can use for this is how the Cipriani's manage The Rainbow Room in NYC. When I took my girlfriend there for her birthday, they were quite upfront about the difference. If you are making a reservation for dinner, they don't require a credit card. However, if you are going for dinner and dancing, it is secured by a credit card. If you are a no-show, you are charged the $150.00 per person and sent a gift certificate for that amount. Cancellations within 24 hours are fine. And they even called 3 times during the week to confirm. Needless to say when we were going to be late (Lincoln Tunnel + Stormy Weather = Traffic Jam), there was an incentive to make a quick call to the maitre'd besides just being respectful of them. It worked for all ends.