David Ross

What a beautiful sandwich. And you've done the Rueben club proud by using Russian dressing.

Thanks! What a collection you have. That 1904 edition is to be cherished. I'll have to try some of the candy recipes. I wonder if your Mother was like my Mother and Grandmother when it came to making fudge--they would never make fudge on a rainy day--I think they thought the humidty on a rainy day would prevent the sugar from cooking properly. In those days they made fudge the old-fashioned way by cooking the sugar and never used marshmallow cream.

Do you own an edition of "The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook," and do you cook from the original recipes in the book? I would be interested to know what edition you have and if you have ever cooked one of the recipes in the book. Or--have you adapted one of the original recipes using modern techniques and ingredients? Two of my most cherished cookbooks, "The Boston Cooking-School Cookbooks," were written by Miss Fannie Merritt Farmer of "Miss Farmer's School of Cookery." The older cookbook was published in 1913 and the second has a publishing date of 1921. I believe our family has the original 1896 version somewhere in storage, but I'm not sure about that. If I find it I'll let you know. The two vintage gems have been in my Mother's family ever since they were purchased new by my Great Grandmother Jenny Pink of Twin Falls, Idaho. When Jenny passed away, the cookbooks were left to her daughter, my Great Aunt Bertie Pink. When Aunt Bertie left us, Mother stored the cookbooks away and they were never opened for many years. It wasn't until I got older and discovered an interest in food and cooking, that I realized our family owned a valuable piece of cookbook history. In the 1913 edition, Miss Farmer opens with an interesting quote from Ruskin that gives an insight into her thoughts on cookery in the early 20th century. The quote reads, in part..."Cookery means the knowledge of Medea and of Circe and of Helen and of the queen of Sheba. It means the knowledge of all herbs and fruits and balms and spices, and all that is healing and sweet in the fields and groves and savory in the meats. It means carefulness and inventiveness and willingness and readiness of appliances. It means the economy of your Grandmother's and the science of the modern chemist; it means much testing and no wasting; it means English thoroughness and French art and Arabian hospitality....." Quite prophetic words, and in many ways, still appropriate to the state of cuisine today. The text and the recipes open a refreshing window on America's tastes over 95 years ago. Many of the recipes would find a welcome home on today's restaurant menus and would do doubt be as delicious today as they were back then. I found two recipes that I wanted to share in the "Eggs" chapter. The first, a recipe for "Eggs a'la Livingstone," is an early version of an egg dish that would likely find a place on a restaurant menu today-foie gras and truffles seem to be as popular in 2008 as they were in 1913. The ingredients include: 4 eggs 1/2 cup stewed and strained tomatoes 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon paprika 2 tablespoons buter Pate de foie gras Finely chopped truffles Toasted bread The second egg recipe-"Omelette Robespierre," calls for sugar and vanilla in an omelette-at first glance an odd flavor combination, but one that could work-an omelette garnished with sugar caramelized by "a hot poker." 3 eggs 3 tablespoons hot water 1 tablespoon powdered sugar 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon vanilla "Beat eggs slightly and add remaining ingredients. Put one and one-half tablespoons butter in a hot omelet pan, turn in mixture and cook same as French Omelete. Fold, turn on a hot platter, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and score with a hot poker." Let me know your thoughts on the impact that Miss Farmer's works have had on the American kitchen and if you think there is value in revisiting some of the recipes from days gone by.

The topic seemed to somewhat move towards 'professionalism' and I was responding to David Ross's comments below. Though anger and swearing may be distinct, they are similar enough responses that they can be grouped together in this conversation, and I would venture to guess often accompany each other. I won't directly quote it, but in the Ramsay biography I mentioned, there is a story where Robuchon throws a plate of ravioli and hits Ramsay in the head, and another Robuchon throws a roasting pan at someone and breaks the front of an oven over a messed up meat dish. He also talks about the bollockings that follow and I believe Ripert talks about Robuchon taking a liking to him and not cursing him out like he did to the other cooks. So I was just bringing this as an example of how a 3-star kitchen isn't necessarily " efficient and professional without displays of anger or profanity". ← Intersting points about Chef Robuchon. Thank you. It may surprise some to hear me say thank you for sharing those examples, but it certainly opened my eyes and helped me gain a better understanding of this issue. As you can tell from my postings in both the Top Chef topic and on these pages, my assumption, apparently not totally accurate, was that one should not hear foul language, or witness anger, in a Michelin-Star kitchen-a "Top Chef" kitchen so to speak. Of course, I would still like to hear more chefs respond to this query. It's interesting that Gordon, a disciple of the "F" school, may have been influenced by Robuchon when he was hit in the head by a flying ravioli. I wonder what was in that ravioli?

Chris you've presented an interesting comparison-is the tone in Keller's French Laundry kitchen different, quieter and more "professional" than the kitchen at Bob's Taco's? I can't provide anyone with a factual report that might answer your question, but based on my unscientific experiences, I have found that top, "Top Chef" level kitchens are a workplace that is efficient and professional without displays of anger or profanity. These are not kitchens that I would describe as calm or unhurried-stress and a sense of urgency is pretty much a given in the kitchen. It would be interesting to pose your questions to Chef Keller or Chef Robuchon to see what their expectations are for decorum in their kitchens.

I think there is general agreement among us that profanity is a part of many restaurant kitchens. We get that part. But I see the heart of the discussion more a question of whether or not profanity should be accepted as appropriate in a top, professional kitchen. It seems as though we often accept the unacceptable as a normal course of business-in this case swearing in the kitchen-but do we stop long enough to ask whether or not that is what we should be accepting as the norm?

Thanks Chris for starting a discussion of this topic. As one who is in large part responsible for stoking the fires of this debate about profanity on Top Chef, I'm going to be interested to hear what everyone has to say. Some of you may be interested to read through our posts on Top Chef Season 4--it will give you a perspective on the issue of foul language in the professional kitchen and our differing viewpoints. I've probably been the most vocal in expressing my distaste for the use of the "F" word in a restaurant kitchen. Maybe it is a generational issue, but I'm in the over 50 traditional demographic that doesn't believe that there is a place for profanity in a "Top Chef" kitchen.

But aren't bleeps, snarky attitudes and sniping, like the obligatory guy with the kewpie doll haircut, the main attraction of Top Chef? It's not like this is a show about cooking - it's just another Real Housewives/Rock of Love/Dancing With the Stars "reality" crapfest set in a kitchen. ← But you see, that is where I veer off the common road and take a turn to the left-I don't see the costume jewelry as the main attraction of Top Chef. I guess that puts me in the minority demographic. I do see Top Chef as a show about the food and the cooking. While I find the "What the F is mayonnaise made of....." moments silly enough to generate a chuckle, that's not why I tune in. I watch because I am interested in seeing some talented young chefs and the dishes they create--which in turn keeps me in touch with trends in today's restaurant kitchens. So my level of interest is probably quite different than most people, yet they are the interests that fit my personal tastes. I suppose that is an analogy we could apply to the different tastes of restaurant customers-something on the menu for everyone. My favorite moments from past episodes of Top Chef have all come from the food-Marcel's dish of "Hamachi Poke with Pineapple Poi" from the second season and Hung's "Duck with Truffle Scented Broth & Mushroom Ragout" from last year are a couple of examples. Marcel's Wizard of Oz Munchkin haircut wasn't the reason why I was rooting for him to win-it was his food. (As we all know, I didn't win that office pool--Marcel was booted off the set in favor of Ilan being named the Top Chef. Where is Ilan by the way?).

While I realize that profanity is accepted as the norm in some kitchens, I just can't see that as being appropriate or professional. Certainly I'd be the outcase judge if I sat next to Tom, Padma and Bourdain if this topic came up. The food and the flavors would of course be at the top of my judging criteria. But if I happened to walk into the kitchen with Tom during one of the challenges and I saw and heard one of the chefs swearing up a blue streak, they'd drop down to the bottom of my judges card. If they all shared the F word and their food was awful, I'd have a hard time finding a winner wouldn't I? I can hope that as we go along we'll see some adventurous cuisine put forward. I think we will, but I also think I'll have to accept and put up with the bleeps, the snarky attitudes and the sniping. Such is the intrigue of Top Chef.

Maybe. I'm not sure. Is it (sorry!) a chicken and egg thing? Do we eat less lamb because it's hard to find, or do is it hard to find because we are a country of beef lovers, with easily available cheap chicken and pork? I'd eat good lamb twice a week if I could. And I can't. Somehow, lamb seemed to have slipped off the menu in the average family dinner sometime in the late seventies? ← I sure wish I knew why the American taste for lamb has dropped so drastically. Today when I ask people about eating lamb they turn their noses up. They think it tastes "gamy" and has too much fat. I then counter with questioning whether they've ever eaten lamb and most say no. How sad that someone would discredit a lovely food they have never tasted. It is sort of like asking people this time of year if they have ever eaten rabbit. "You mean bunny rabbit?" "I'd never eat that cute little bunny." As members of eGullet, we certainly know that Mr. Cottontail is a cute animal that tastes delicious, just like your little lamb Mary-cute and delicious all at the same time. My Grandfather knew some of the old Basque sheperds who cared for the flocks of sheep that roamed over Southern Idaho. The sheperds were known for their Basque lamb dishes--recipes that most surely were brought to America from the old country. That's a story going back a century or more and those days and those lamb recipes are for the most part a forgetten chapter of our history in the Northwest.

Could be, but I would say that Chef McEwan and his staff in Toronto do show a lot of class and professionalism sans the F'ing word. I see you hail from Vancouver? Wonderful restaurants in your city.

I think it comes down to the simple facts of cost, demand and regional influences. It saddens me to hear everyone's reports about the lack of lamb throughout our country because it is such a delicious meat. I live only 90 miles from one of the larger lamb processors in the West, yet I can rarely find their lamb products in my local supermarkets. The lamb that we do find in our supermarkets usually comes from a mega-producer and I don't know if it came off a ranch in Eastern Washington or a farm in Wisconsin. And the variety of what we see in our supermarkets consists of lamb shanks and tough shoulder chops with the occasional leg or loin chops thrown in around holiday periods. I rely on Costco to always have racks of Australian or New Zealand lamb available and it is usually in the $10-$12 dollar a pound price range. I find an 8-rib rack of lamb affordable and more than enough for two people. Costco also sells nice, thick-cut lamb loin chops and boneless leg of lamb. I do feel a tinge of guilt buying foreign lamb at Costco because I live in farm and ranch country and one would think that local lamb is readily available. Sadly it is not easily found in the local markets. If we are lucky, sometimes a local farmer will sell lamb at one of our farmer's markets, but unfortunately due to our weather, (we had 7" of snow on Friday), the farmer's markets won't open until later in April. I can buy a whole lamb direct from a local farm, but even with my voracious appetite that's a lotta lamb for one guy. Out West, we've seen the production of lamb and the consumer's taste for lamb decline for many years. The decline in supply has resulted in a rise in the cost of producing lamb. There is a difference in how sheep and cattle are fed and raised, but the higher cost of lamb seems to be more affected by supply and demand than the issue of how sheep are raised. As you all know, beef prices are rapidly rising. Beef tenderloin in the market here yesterday was $18.99 a pound. My Great-Grandfather and Grandfather owned a business in Twin Falls, Idaho that sold wool pelts. Yes, the skin, the hide and the wool all in one. Southern Idaho was once the home to thousands of sheep ranches and lamb was a regular on the dinner table. I remember one time that a family friend fed us a dinner of Mutton Stew. It was delicious. I know most of you are probably turning up your noses at the thought of eating meat from older sheep, but it is fragrant and delicious. You can rarely find mutton today.

I agree with your points and I am certainly not naive in not realizing that there is a fair amount of swearing thrown around some restaurant kitchens. Yes, chefs work in an incredibly stressful environment each night and so it's no surprise that a "sh**" may come out now and then. But I would hope that profanity is not accepted as normal kitchen speak. Call me old-fashioned, but I know a number of chefs who don't feel that accepting the "F" word as a part of the normal kitchen language is appropriate--whether the kitchen is open or at the back of the house out of earshot of the customers. Yes, no doubt that the foul language, whether intentional on the part of the Top Chef contestant or not, certainly plays into the drama of the show. The art of building drama on a reality show is the hammer in the producer's toolkit. Whether it's the bleeping of a profane word, a show of anger between contestants, or a 2-second edit showing a gaze of disbelief on the face of a judge on Top Chef, it adds to the sense of anticipation for what is coming that is one of the key factors in building viewership week to week. Do I buy into that? Sure. Is it why I watch Top Chef? Not really. I'm trying to be true to myself and focus on the things that I want to see in a Top Chef-the food and cooking each week and my standards of what a "Top Chef" should be-without all the swearing. One of my favorite food "reality" shows is "The Heat" with Chef Mark McEwan from Toronto. I believe the show was originally run on Food Network Canada. I've been watching it recently on Fine Living Network. The show follows a day in the life of Chef Mark McEwan and his staff members at his Bymark and North 44 restaurants in Toronto. I've seen about 8 shows and I've never once heard a profane word bleeped out or seen any rage displayed by the chefs. Does the show accurately depict the stress of a professional kitchen? Yes, and they do it without the profanity and added-effects I find aggravating on Top Chef. Now maybe Chef McEwan and the producer's sent down a directive to the staff to not swear while they were on-camera but I doubt it. What I have been seeing is what I think is an accurate portrayal of Chef McEwan's kitchen and I admire him and his staff for that. I wonder if Le Cirque endorsed Andrew's swearing in their kitchen before he auditioned for Top Chef? Maybe so and maybe I'm in the minority here, but I can't imagine a top restaurant standing for that.

And just to be clear-Richard is my favorite to win Top Chef and he isn't the one using profanity to make his case-he's doing it with the food and I hope he gets stronger each week. I think he will. My criticism of foul language is directed at Andrew, Dale and Spike. I see no place for it in a professional kitchen.

Perhaps he was hoping to season his dish by "peppering" his language with obscenities (ha ha ha...) Or perhaps he just secretly idolizes Gordon Ramsay. ← Yes, apparently Rocco is another student of the "F'ing Gordon Ramsay Top Chef Contestant School of Vocalization." ''F this, F that, F, F, F," is a phrase I've heard used liberally on Rocco's former disaster of a show "The Restaurant." I've been watching reruns of "The restaurant" on this new channel offering-"Fox Reality." Isn't that a clue to you as to how wonderful these reruns will be? Oh wait, isn't that the same network, Fox, that runs Gordon's abominable show "Hell's Kitchen" where "F'you" is the soup d'jour? Gordon-Rocco, Rocco-Gordon, F, F, F. It got me thinking that maybe the liberal use of said word is what propelled Rocco to become a judge on Top Chef. Likewise, the popularity of the word in Gordon's vocabulary apparently encouraged him to name his new show "Ramsay's "F" word." Oh--forgot. Gordon wanted me to tell you that "F" means Food. Thank you Gordon. And Rocco.

After having watched the second show for the third time last night, without the influence of wine, I have a few more thoughts. I was surprised that Spike spent so much time listening to the guitar player at the market and not more time making sure that he was buying was what he thought it was-beef tenderloin. And by the way Spike, "beef tips," whether they are tenderloin or not, is just an old excuse for using scraps of meat. Beef tips can be delicious-if they are used properly. That mess Spike put forth in the Quickfire challenge looked, and according to the judges, tasted awful. Hmm. A farmer's market full of fresh produce and meats. As Judge Wylie remarked, "I thought about a steak sandwich." Good idea and one maybe Spike should have considered. Five wonderful ingredients from the farmer's market-beef, artisanal bread, wonderful fresh cheese, greens and maybe some specialty mayonnaise or mustard from one of the vendors? I think that would have been delicious and much better than what Spike put on the plate. I don't think the future looks good for Dale. Seems to me that one measure of a "Top Chef" is the ability to be the leader of a team and to have the respect and trust of those you lead. Dale certainly isn't showing that dignity to others or demonstrating he even has the will to do so with his comments of "I'm a control freak," and "Working on a team is a problem, I want to do my OWN thing." Yeah Dale, and while you said that Nikki's mushrooms were crappy and shouldn't have been served, you Dale were a part of that mess. You said that putting the cheese on the black mess of mushroom was like "putting perfume on a pig." Whose the pig here? Yes, Valerie deserved to go this week, but other's are walking the plank and will fall into deep waters very soon. As some of you have said, Valerie deserved the boot for simply saying "Bellini" repeatedly, repeatedly, repeatedly. But I'd like to ding Bravo as one of the co-loser's this week. Did you see them show a clip of a hawk just before they previewed the dishes of the "Vulture" team? Wrong bird Bravo.

I must have been in the kitchen getting more wine at the time-but did Richard do some sort of beef carpaccio? I'd be interested in a description of his dish. Although I castigated him last week over his use of plastic wrap to uncover some smoke on his crab, I still think he's one of the front runners. He's focusing on the cooking and letting that speak for itself-rather than some of the other guys who seem to think a liberal use of the "F" word somehow enhances their cooking.

The fish was not cooked. It was raw. The huckleberries were used in a cold thin sauce. It didn't overpower the fish (which to me is the miracle of the dish). So you got a kind of mellow fishiness accented with what you perfectly describe as the tart sweet flavor of the sauce. It's like the fish cuts the tartness of the huckleberries, while the huckleberries cut the sort of mushiness of the fish. BTW -- That dish wasn't at Ko, but at Ssam Bar. ← Thanks for the description. I agree with you the miracle of that dish is that the huckleberries didn't overpower the delicate flavors of the fish-especially raw fish. It is the concept of pairing those two ingredients that I found so intriguing. Thanks again. I'm going to have to experiment with this one. Thank the chefs for me next time you go in. Let them know a guy who picks wild huckleberries appreciates the manner in which they used them.

God I wish I had a Bloody Mary right now this morning as I write about episode #2. As we've seen in past years, the early episodes bring us two extremes-some amazingly creative dishes and some disgusting mishmash. It seems like we have to weed out the weaker chefs early on before we see the cooking level off on a consistently high level. But it sure is fun seeing the weaklings fall off early on isn't it? I actually thought that Nikki was the one who would be let go. As the judges said, that poor, little, clump of black gunk looked like bear poop-not bear food. Was Nikki just trying to play with the bear theme and trick us into thinking what looked like bear crap was going to taste delicious? Mushrooms stuffed with blueberries is not a flavor combination that I think would work. I live not far from the forests where grizzly bears dwell and I know for a fact that they like huckleberries-somewhat of a cousin of the blueberry. And our forests are thick in the Spring with Morels and later in the year, delicious Chanterelle mushrooms. Maybe real bears like berries with their mushrooms but I don't think their human counterparts do. And pecorino cheese? Nope. I just don't think the meaty flavor of mushrooms should be paired with the sweet yet tart flavor of blueberries and the tangy flavor of pecorino cheese. The team admitted the cheese was just an after-thought, added only to add some white specks of color to the black bear poop. I checked out the site for Nikki's restaurant in New York, 24Prince. The menu is not overly adventurous, but it does appear to be written by a chef who should have a decent grasp of flavor combinations. It seems odd to me that Nikki would not have taken a bit more time to think about the flavor combinations in the stuffed mushrooms before moving forward with this dish. It looked awful to me and tasted awful to the judges. And it was cold. Yuck. Chef Collichio's blog this week is spot on. He speaks about how he finds it amazing that some of the contestants don't follow the basic fundamentals of cooking. I agree with Tom. If some of the contestants would just take care of business on Top Chef like they should do in their restaurant kitchens every night, they might be more successful at the judges table-1) taking a few moments to think about the flavor combinations in a dish before racing off to steal a saute pan, 2) avoiding the urge to create a dish that they have never cooked before, 3) serving dishes cold and 4) not tasting the dish before it goes to the dining room. Terrible.

Over in the other topic on Ko where we have been debating the reservations system, Sneakeater mentioned a new dish he had at Ko the other night of Striped Bass with Huckleberry and Fried Lotus. Sounds delicious to me and Sneakeater gave the dish a thumbs up. Hats off to Chang for having the creative vision to dream up an intriguing combination of flavors-the tartness of the wild huckleberry paired with sea bass. How was the striped bass cooked and how were the huckleberries used in the dish? Were the huckleberries used in a sauce or served as whole berries? How did you feel the tart, yet sweet flavor of the huckleberries accented the flavor of the fish? Did the huckleberries overpower the fish? I live in the land where huckleberries grow wild. We tend to use the huckleberry in traditional recipes in sweet dishes like pancakes, breads and jams and then in savory dishes like sauces for wild game. I'm always interested in how chefs outside of the Pacific Northwest use the huckleberry in new ways that we haven't thought of. Thanks for your thoughts on this dish.

Last night I made Chicken Picatta served with these little Smoked Chicken Pasta Dumplings that I found at the market. I cheated and used a store-bought Alfredo sauce that I dressed up with some fresh spinach.

Sensi would be a good bet. Since you are at Bellagio I would just stay there for dinner and then you have just a short walk through the hotel to get to the show. Martin Heirling is the chef at Sensi and his cuisine is described as a mix of Mediterranean, Asian and American. I would actually say it is more akin to what some call California cuisine with Asian and Mediterranean accents. The chefs work at glass-enclosed stations centered in the dining rooms. Your fiancee would like the seafood that they keep in live tanks while you would find a number of other non-seafood dishes. The desserts are very good and they will give you a fancy bag of cookies at the end of the meal to take with you. While it's not my crowd, or age group, you might want to try Fix. It caters to the club crowd and has a more see and be seen, hip vibe. The food is what I would probably call upscale, chi-chi American fare. There is less of an accent on seafood at Fix like there is over at Sensi. The noise level gets pretty high at Fix-partly because it opens next to a main walking area through the casino and partly because of the lively crowd. Depending on the time Elton John concert ends, you might want to walk straight across to Bradley Ogden or Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill. Personally I would prefer Bradley Ogden-upscale "farm-fresh" American cuisine and the chefs son, Bryan Ogden runs the kitchen. It is a bit more formal than you want, but I know you wouldn't be disappointed in the food. I'm not sure if you would want the full-meal-formal setting at a late hour though. Flay's Mesa Grill is close to the entrance to the Elton John show and it would be more akin to your preference in contemporary informal dining. The reviews I have read have in general been average to good, not great. You may want to try the newly opened Payard Patisserie and Bistro within Caesar's. They show that they are open to 11:30. Probably the best payoff to dining here is that you have the chance to buy one of their pastries to take back to the room.

Well first off, as you know, you've made a wonderful choice of hotel. Give me some time to think about answering your questions and I'll get back to you. I can tell you now though that Sensi, while expensive, has a casual feel in the vein of Olives and the food is very good. Sensi is often over-looked since Bellagio has so many other big-name restaurants.

I think you would still enjoy Nobu even if you are not a seafood lover. While the cuisine is focused on fresh seafood, as you noted, there are other options on the menu and I think you'd find the quality of the beef and other non-seafood dishes to be just as high as the seafood. At most of the top seafood houses in Las Vegas you'll find the steak item on the menu uses prime grade beef. Are you staying at the Hard Rock hotel where Nobu is located? If you are, there are a couple of other restaurant options there that aren't as heavily focused on seafood as Nobu. If you are staying somewhere else, let us know and we can give you a quick recap of the restaurants at the other hotels, and keep going through some of the pages on eGullet that are devoted to Las Vegas dining. There are detailed reviews and lots of wonderful photos to give you a good base for making a decision on where to dine.

There's at least one more way in which the comparison is totally irrelevant.When a regular calls a restaurant at the last minute for a table, the restaurant is only too happy to accommodate them (if they possibly can). Indeed, many restaurants deliberately set seats aside for just that reason. When a regular calls an airline at the last minute for a seat, they are "rewarded" by paying a higher price than they would have paid for a seat reserved long in advance. When a regular calls a restaurant to change their reservation time, the restaurant is only too happy to accommodate them (if they possibly can). When a regular calls an airline, they are "rewarded" by paying a change fee, ranging from $25-100. ← I am not sure if you are a member of a frequent flier program and which airline it may be. So if you are a frequent customer and have had the experiences described above, if it were me I would be on the phone to that airlines frequent flier customer service people to voice my displeasure. I can only speak about my company's program of loyalty for our best customers and the examples you mention above are not always the standard that we follow. We do have many flights where we set aside seats on a daily basis for our MVP Customers. We are happy to accomodate them if we can with a seat. Just like the restaurant. It is not just a given that we will gouge them for the cost of a "walk-up" ticket at the last minute. We recognize that they are good customers and want to provide them exceptional service by selling that last minute seat at a reasonable price. Yes, that is a bit of a different pricing structure than you would find at a restaurant, but it isn't necessarily the exceptional high price you suggest. While airlines have a "Change Fee" for passengers who make last minute changes to their reservations system, we rarely follow that procedure when it comes to our frequent fliers wanting to change to another flight. So like a good restaurant, we recognize the loyalty of the frequent customer and accomodate their last minute change of plans. Back to my daily commute example. We fly every hour between Seattle and Spokane and we regularly have frequent customers walk up to the boarding podiums wanting to fly earlier. We accomodate them without taking a change fee because it is the right thing to do. The Ticket Agent doesn't have the time nor is it expected of them to collect a $25 change fee from the customer. This customer has paid far more in tickets over the long run and they deserve the courtesy. They might have bought a ticket on a later flight for a cheaper price but they want to fly at a peak business time, which would be priced higher, without the hassle of paying a change fee. We accomodate them because it's the right thing to do for our best passengers. Again, I think a similar comparison to Steven's earlier points on Ko, or any restaurant, rewarding it's best customers.