glenn

I bought their espresso training video. I think by now you guys/gals know I barely have a clue when it comes to all things espresso. After watching the video, which is all of a bit over 1 hour, I'm not exactly the junior barista I thought I'd be. Actually, I didn't pick up a single bit of useful info. They covered a zillion areas including commercial and home brewing and roasting in like a heartbeat. It's really absurd. I wouldn't mind so much if it didn't cost $59.95 + tax (jeez, they have no stores in NJ) + shipping which translated to $70+. And to think - Owen would've travelled 4 hours each way, given me a day's training and bought me a shot for a lot less loot. :-)

Owen, I had to read that 3 times! All I ever wanted to know and then some. You've made me a believer. Anyway, back to my world - coffee. I was trying to find the price of Ditting grinder and couldn't find a site that sold them on the web. Owen, you had recommended a reconditioned KF804 at one time. There were none on the Ditting website. What can I expect to pay for one of these and what, if any, other models are recommended? Is there a particular coffee server recommended.

thanks memesuze, great info to get me started.

Thanks m(a)ce. So you don't think a double hopper blender is necessary?

As I mentioned elsewhere, my small 20 seat cafe should be opening within the next month or two. Its focus is not on teas and I don't expect much tea business nor have I given it much if any thought. Frankly, I don't drink it and never made it. Now that you hate my guts, could I get some advice? :) What would be recommended for a low volume business? Bags? Loose tea? Equipment? thanks!

I was told by a barista that Cimbali is better. This seems contrary to other advice I've been given. Is it a fair question to ask which one's better? I'm talking 1 or 2 group machines. I've decided to hold off for now on serving espresso at my cafe (assuming all the i's get dotted and the deal goes through.) I'll have enough to keep me occupied with my primary items, grilled cheese sandwiches and milkshakes. And it will give me a chance to judge whether or not my store will bring enough interest in espresso drinks to justify the zillion dollars it costs. Instead, I've decided that I wanna get the coffee thing right. I'd love to hear opinions on the best way to approach this. This same barista told me it wasn't necessary to get a double hopper grinder for coffee. Again, this runs contrary to other advice I was given. He recommended a Bunn G3. No? AS for brewers, everyone seems to agree on the plumbed Fetco. Yes? Finding the right company for a coffee roaster is another issue I need to tackle. It's tough not being a connoisseur, and I'm the first to admit that is not my strongpoint. While I know a good cup of joe when I have it, I'm really no good in discerning the fine intricacies - acidity and body and all that good stuff. It's a small place - 20 seats - and my business plan projects about 150 covers/day. Thanks for any advice.

Just curious, what was Philippe Lajaunie's contribution?

Have you ever eaten here? glenn the hijacker

My goal was to be in the financial area around Exchange Place. The lobby of Goldman Sachs was a possibility at one point. However, plans have changed. Long story, but I basically couldn't find anything apropros in that area. I've made an offer on a place in the Hamilton Park section, a residential neighborhood 5 blocks from the park. Lots of upscale and gorgeous victorian brownstones. It's not far from the Hudson and is actually considered downtown, but the office worker is not going to be my customer. Too far. So I'm thinking lower volume now. To give away part of my business plan, I don't envision doing more than 200 covers/day (that includes someone who orders a coffee to go) - and that's in the summer. More like 150 in the winter, less this winter when I start. But I tell ya, when it comes to predicting sales and covers for a new business, it's a crapshoot. The place will seat around 20 not counting the patio out back. You might have heard of Basic, a popular coffee shop/cafe bordering on Hamilton Park which is similar in concept to my future cafe (except decidedly less upscale.) People often say they have the best coffee in town. Frankly, it's awful and those people have no palettes. But that's another story. I hear what you say about planning for the future and that would be the only reason I'd consider paying somewhere bordering on $10k for all my coffee equipment. I definitely think that for the first 6 months to a year it would be overkill. I'm curious why you say skip decaf. Is there really such a low demand? And do I need a separate grinder for coffee? And decaf coffee? In other words, 2 grinders for espresso if I served decaf and 2 for coffee? That's a lot of loot not to mention a lot of space.

Wow Owen, thanks for that comprehensive and very helpful response. I spoke with Zoka and incredibly, they've offered to come to me if I buy the machine - the La Marzocco (at a small markup above their cost.) They'd come out to install it in addition to setting aside about 1.5 days for training. I think that's pretty incredible of them and I'm leaning towards going that route. However, I have to be realistic too. The cost difference between the Illy machine and the La Marzocco is almost $2000. Not to mention 2 grinders. [actually, just how many grinders do I need?] Of course, Illy does training too, but how much training does it take to learn how to use a pod? I'm not completely sold that the economics justify the expense and am having internal conflicts on all this, i.e., I'm wishy washy - like are people really gonna notice how good my shots are? Or the difference between Illy and something a step above? I'm in Jersey City btw. And you have to remember that my place is not primarily a coffee shop. Grilled cheese sandwiches. However, the focus can change depending on demand. Zoka also recommended the Fetco for drip coffee. However, I'm not sold on the idea of having a "plumbed" machine. I just don't think my volume will warrant it. Is the coffee any better as opposed to your other recommendation, the Ditting? Are there any advantages to a "plumbed" machine other than volume? I'll be checking out some of your other suggestions. Thanks again.

I'm shattered. I would've thunk your influence extended well beyond any geograhic borders. :)

Thanks again guys. It's now in the hands of God, or the lawyers and bankers, same thing I guess. Whatever happens happens.

Not sure if this should be posted in the NY forum since I'm in the NY area, but here goes a crazy question. I need a crash course in becoming a barrista. I'm in the process of opening a cafe and need to know whatever I need to know to make the best shot on MY side of the Hudson, Jersey. In addition, I need to learn how to make all the related caffeinated drinks. I don't feel comfortable learning this stuff from a book and would prefer hands on experience. Plus, what commercial equipment to buy. Right now I'm leaning towards Illy but they don't offer much in the education department. thanks.

So if you were the proprietor of an upscale cafe just across the Hudson, where would you buy your bagels from? Assume the owner doesn't have the time or inclination to go to NYC to pick them up every day.

Has anyone tried Burger Stop in Seacaucus? If so, I'm more interested in how their fries are.

Opening day? I'm still looking for a space :). Seriously, I have a space which I'm seriously considering and will put in an offer on Monday in all likelihood. If I go ahead with it, it won't exactly be the original vision I had, but similar. At this point, I can't really say anything else pending the outcome. Thanks for the good wishes. Stupid me forgot to thank the real hero, the guy who thought up the name, wfnugent. Thank you thank you thank you. The 10th sandwich you order is on the house. :) But loads of thanks to everyone. Just so you know, I had to submit 3 names with the application. The other 2 were JCGC & Shake and Glenn's Melt.

It's official. Melt LLC it is. Thanks everyone!

Liberty House is a great location. In addition to Liberty House, I've seen weddings held on the other side of the park, apparently privately catered. They put up canopies and tents. I have no idea who to contact for such things though. [cruise ships seem to go by all the time, at least in the summer. I'm there 3 or 4 times a week in the wee morning hours.]

Not Essex, but Liberty State Park is aces.

Thanks Divina. I'll give that a shot, the hot chocolate that is with ice cream instead of chocolate. Seems so obvious but I never thought of it.

No, not anything frozen. I need a special winter drink. The only reason I asked about a hot chocolate milk shake is that I saw it on the menu somewhere and it sounded perfect for my (hopefully) upcoming new place (which will feature milkshakes among other items.) I'm totally open to ideas. In keeping in line with milkshakes as a primary item, I thought a hot milkshake sounded like a nifty idea - I'm just having trouble envisioning exactly what it is :-)

I was told I'd have better luck posting this here - sorry for any duplication. _______________________ I'm trying to develop a drink for the cold months but I can't seem to get past first base. Perhaps this a moronic question, but what temperature should a hot milk shake be? My idea which I tried and like - is to make a spicy hot chocolate and chocolate milk shake separately. The milk shake is made with just enough milk so it blends somewhat smoothly, i.e., about 3 oz. of milk and 6 oz. of ice cream (as well as chocolate syrup.) The hot chocolate was about 7 ounces, so the yield totaled about 16 oz. I first poured the hot chocloate in the glass and then added the shake. So it was hot on bottom and cold on top when served. Is this what is meant when people refer to hot chocolate shake? Someone (Holly?) came up with the following.... A black and white shake with marshmellow fluff on top or mixed in. If she's reading this, can you expand on the recipe? Thanks.

This isn't northern NJ, but I passed by Mr. Greek in Princeton yesterday. There was a sign that said "home of the gyros." It looked pretty good, the picture that is.

That was my intent. Everyone's saying the same thing over and over. And over. And while everyone's saying the same thing over and over, can I just say AGAIN that there is no single correect answer to the general question about speaking up - situations vary, people's personalities vary, etc. End of discussion. Katie, a bottle of wine was a bad example. But you answered my question and for a change of pace, I think we agree. :-) What made me think about this was that two times at the same restaurant I ordered a glass of wine that I didn't like. The first time I thought the wine tasted like battery acid and couldn't drink it. I asked for a different glass of wine and explained why. I didn't ask for a freebie, but they didn't charge me. I was also a regular at the restaurant. The second time, I simply didn't like it but it wasn't so awful that I couldn't drink it. And I did.

This is a general discussion, yes? If I may digress a tiny iota, what is the concensus about "speaking up" if you get a dish or glass of wine that you don't like? Assume there's nothing wrong with the dish except that you just don't like it. Do you ask for something else? Unless I feel it's so awful that I can't eat/drink it, I usually keep my mouth shut figuring it was my fault for not knowing that xxxx riesling is a sweet riesling and not dry, or whatever. But I'm honestly curious what others do when faced with this situation.