[How I have lived this long without such a gadget]

I have to say...I haven't bought one...yet!

The Cup-A-Cake

Who wouldn't want to bring your home made cupcakes (with real buttercream) to work without this?

[Travel Advisory: How to Know You're Dining . . .]

As a hotelier, I should mention something. Most tourists are looking for familar places to eat, as travel is stressful enough for most people. From my experience, they view new, less familar dining to add to the stress instead of the fun. Ergo, the staff gets used to recommending "safe" dining to all.

However, when you are at a hotel, ask the staff for recommendations outside of the norm. If they throw a tourist trap or chain at you, tell them you want someplace a little more local. Ask them where they go out to eat when they want a particular type of cuisine. Walk into the restaurant and inquire about the menu and reservations, and in turn ask the host/manager/server where else they recommend. If the hotel has a concierge, be frank with them. Tell them exactly what you want...if they value the prospect of a tip, they will send you there.

[What's THAT on your plate?!]

Huge portions are so common nowadays - and so much a part of the identity of  bad chain restaurants like IHOP, Denny's, Red Lobster - that I've come to associate a large portion with poor quality, and small or tiny portion with good quality. If they can offer that much food, they're severely cutting corners somewhere.

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It's the old garbage in, garbage out effect. Even though the large chains have massive purchasing power and that affects prices (like Wal-Mart on the grand scale), there still is a point where you are getting exactly what you pay for. And yes, that includes the best $1.99 buffet in Vegas too!

[what's the big deal: choosing a culinary institute]

As a Johnson and Wales Grad, I am, of course, partial to my alma matter. The school has great instructors with a lot of hands on experience. Not to mention a 4 day class week!

However, I saw there was some talk about aid, and I wanted to make everyone aware that there are a number of scholarships available through the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Foundation (AHLEF) for most culinary programs. As a member of the Scholarship Committee, I get to help give away over $100,000 a year in aid to students. A number of scholarships go to "non-traditonal" students, who have considered the Culinary Arts as a second career or a first attempt at college. They also go to younger students who are transitioning from high school to college. Check out www.ahlef.org and click on the Scholarships link.

There have been recipients from CIA to Cornell to Community Colleges throughout the country. It is all about merit and financial need, not where you go to school.

I'd love to be able to sort through more than 40 or 50 applications per scholarship, so I'd encourage everyone seeking an education in the business to do so!

[Per Se ends tipping in favor of service charge]

You know, this was a topic of conversation in a Master's degree class I am taking in Service Strageties. If they are saying everyone, hopefully they do mean the cooks and the managers. However, that is not usually the case in any establishment I've run or been involved with that does pooling. If so, the cooks and other staff included in the pooling that aren't service staff will most likely be taking a pay cut to make up for the "sky's the limit" potential of tip share.

The other issue tip share breeds is carrying servers who aren't really up to task getting more than they should and the truly stellar servers getting less than they deserve, all because at the end of the night, it's all evenly split.

I can tell you that on the banquet side, this is very common. Captains get a higher hourly and the staff/bartenders split the gratuities & service charges.

As for the required amount of gratuity. that's a sticky wicket at best. Some people are not going to pay attention and wind up tipping on top of that amount, and some people never return because they feel it is up to the guest to decide how service is compensated, not the establishment. Even at places like (and I hate to use the example, because he's such an egomanicial little bitch) Charlie Trotter's, where servers poolAND recieve a guaranteed wage, it is never required to tip.

I think Page 6 is right, let's hope it doesn't catch on!

[Guilty Pleasures – Even Great Chefs Have 'Em – What's Yours?]

"Jersey Girl Cream Puffs"...

Fresh zeppoles from the boardwalk, split & filled (or whole & injected) with Kohr's Frozen custard (also fresh from the boardwalk!

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You forgot the final step of dipping it in melted boardwalk fudge!!!

[You know you're in the wrong place to eat when...]

You know you're in the wrong place when even the moose head on the wall has dandruff...

All I know is I decided to go along with a group of friends to try a local place called "The Thirsty Moose" for a birthday celebration. Now the place has good curb appeal, nice signage, even outdoor tables should you decide to go al fresco...but being the wintertime, we decided to go inside. When we walked in, it began to snow, which spells that any restaurant in the area we were in would already be closing down once the first flake hit the ground. So we walk into a foyer filled with all sorts of moose paraphernalia, and as we open the inner door, the karaoke was blaring (Like I needed to hear someone kill 'Jersey Girl' one more time) and the bar area was filled with townie types. The atmosphere was a cross between the "Larry the Cable Guy" fan club and, oh I don't know, let's call it the "Second Level of Hell". So our hostess brings us to the dining room upstairs. There was better decor, more light, a view of the snow falling, which was nice. We had the table of honor, under a gigantic moose head. We ordered cocktails, which were damn near awful (Can ya not give me Bailey's that expired at least a year ago!) and an appetizer. The app, basic as it should have been, was anything but. We had no side plates, no utensils, not even napkins. It took at least 10 minutes to get the waitresses attention, but she said she'd be right back. As we discovered about a minute later, she was due on the karaoke stage downstairs, and that was waaaaay more important than helping us (or getting a tip apparently). So I walked into the pantry area and retrieved all that was needed for the table and we ate the app. Not bad, but would have been better if it was, hmmm, at least what I would call warm. So once our waitress/entertainment was off stage, she ran to fetch (and that was her word, not mine) our meal. She retrieved them and my rare steak was done so well, you could have dropped it on the floor and it would have shattered. Considering the fact we would most likely never see her again until she had the bill, I got up to get something to add some hydration to the meat. I personally detest steak sauces, as when meat is properly done, it shouldn't need A-1, but since I wanted to minimize my intake of pure carbon, I decided to once again venture into their back room to get some. As I got up, I hit the moose head on the wall above me and all of a sudden it was snowing inside. Now, I wouldn't have minded the precipitation from outside coming in (It couldn't have made the beef any worse), but I did mind that it was enough dust to send another of my dining companions into a sneezing fit and give a healthy sprinkling right on my steak. In a total act of self-preservation, I got up, grabbed my coat and walked out the door...leaving my fellow diners with the disaster that was dinner. They followed suit, but I imagine that the waitress didn't notice anyone leave because she was on stage, yet again...

Moral of the story...If you see a moose, and it's not hatching a plan with a squirrel, RUN! :-)