ScoopKW

I've come across more than my fair share of "too good to be true" deals that were just screamin' good deals -- usually involving airline tickets or antiques at thrift stores. Could be the store doesn't get any call for proscuitto, and they'd rather essentially give it away than throw it in the bin. Maybe Terrasanct is the only one in the store who knows what he's got his hands on, and the rest just think it's "ham" and that $3/pound is too damned much for "ham." Could be that it's spoiled and not worth a penny. Or that it's "proscuitto" in name only. The word isn't protected like Champagne and bourbon. (I'm sure it probably is protected in Italy, but nobody's paying attention outside their borders.) I'm betting it's probably a made-in-the-US proscuitto-like product that's still worth $15 per pound all day long. Could be the real deal, too. And then it's a screamin' deal. Who knows? There are no pictures in this thread to help out.

Show me some stats that even begin to support this. My experience – and I too travel a lot (and speak several languages, and make part of my living doing translation), have waited tables, and know plenty of people who have waited tables/still do – just doesn't support this. Difference is, I know that any one person's experience, even if it includes lots of other people's war stories, is not enough to base this sort of conclusion on. Perhaps NYC doesn't count as a tourist city? But I think I'll stop here: like pretty much else in this thread at this point, I'm just repeating myself, and frankly, I'm fine with agreeing to disagree. How can I show you stats? Perhaps a study has been done about the tipping practices about Americans vs. the rest of the world. But I doubt it. All I can offer is my personal experience and years of observation that most Americans tip fairly well. And that most Europeans/Canadians/Australians do not. And short of a bunch of servers logging in from tourist towns to say, "Yep, you totally nailed it, ScoopKW," you're just going to have to take me at my word. And keep in mind, I think that in general Europe does a better job of most things. I prefer Europe to the United States. I think they have a far better lifestyle than we do. I'd live there if I could. But when they come to this country, they do not tip. And it hasn't gotten any better in 25 years that I've been in this business. And this is not the first or even the 100th time I've heard this particular argument. "The system is flawed, so I'll do my part by not leaving any money for the bartender who just mixed me five mojitos." It's easy enough to get your question answered -- go to ANY tourist town in the United States, and ask the first server or bartender you come across if Europeans (and the rest) are lousy tippers. Then ask the second, and the third, and the 50th and the 100th. Keep asking until you find one who says, "No, Europeans (and the rest) are GREAT! I love seeing a tour bus full of them roll in. When that happens, I know my rent is going to be paid!" Eventually, you will tire of getting the same answer over and over. Your countrymen don't tip. Or they tip poorly. Or they tip, but do so grudgingly. (EDIT -- There are a few who cheerfully tip their servers and other people in tipped positions. A FEW who don't see the whole business as some sort of legal thievery, personally directed at them. A FEW. But not very many. Like I said before, roughly 15% -- and maybe 5% are cheerful about it.) Do I like the status quo? No. Do I think there's a better way? Yes. Does that give me reason to stiff the bartender who just made my Old Fashioned or the server who hustled, serving me my meal? No.

Congratulations, you've just stereotyped an entire nation. No, I won't return the favour. As it is, this thread is dangerously clsoe to be locked,and that is not my intention. If you go back to the firt post, by the orginal poster, you will find he asks the question, "When is it permissble not to tip?". As a self described "food writer" he was upset by being seated under a noisy airconditioner and felt he didn't have to tip. Go back to that post and find out what country and what city he is from. If I can't get anyone to acknowledge that the current tippig system is lousy, how can you educate the O.P. to tip? I didn't say I agreed with the joke. Only that I've heard it in every tourist town bar and restaurant I've worked in for the last quarter century or so. And I have acknowledged that I think the current system is ridiculous. But how does that excuse people from cheating their server and bartender out of deserved income? And, I'll ask again, what do you pay your servers? You've said you have several kitchens. So I'm assuming you have servers. If you do, what are they making an hour? I'd like to know.

You've mentioned in another thread you give your cooks knives to use in your kitchens. What are you paying your servers? Do you make it clear on the menu that they're paid a living wage and do not require tips?

I assure you that my particular generalizations are based on direct experience or observation. I have lived in tourist towns for most of my life. I have spent most of my life in restaurants. I also speak a few languages, and am often called upon for translation. I'm here to say that the majority of foreign visitors to the Florida Keys and Las Vegas do not tip, or they do not tip nearly enough. (Five dollars on a $400 meal, for instance.) They do not seem to care about our customs. And not only are they ignorant about this custom, they are WILLFULLY ignorant. Nothing is going to convince them that we tip our servers and bartenders here. NOTHING. Do we have American tightwads who make up any excuse whatsoever to avoid tipping? Sure. Every country has their share of inconsiderate tightwads. But it is my direct, first-hand personal experience that 15% of Americans are bad tippers, and 15% of Europeans are good tippers. And every server in every tourist town in America will back me up on this.

Greens? You mean there's a kind of bacon that doesn't come pre-cooked in a box? While I think the idea is laughable, consider who they're trying to reach -- the fatties with a cart full of Hot Pockets, Cool Ranch Doritos and 2-liters of Coke. AND NOTHING ELSE. You see them in the market every time you shop. Nobody is getting to these people. Otherwise they wouldn't have a cart full of Hot Pockets, Cool Ranch Doritos and soda.

We have one in Las Vegas. They do some things much better and much less expensive than Whole Foods. Some of their prices (bread, for instance) are ridiculous. At least here. They're certainly worth including in your rotation of markets.

I don't see how foreign visitors who think it is always 100% permissible to not tip isn't relevant to the discussion. EDIT -- I mean, that's the topic title, after all. Maybe this thread will convince just ONE visitor that we're not trying to pull the wool over their eyes. That our servers really DO make $2.33 an hour. And they need to be tipped to make a living. Most of us DON'T like that system. But that's how it is. Kind of like our screwed up healthcare and tax systems.

There is the issue of fairness and equity in travel. When we travel, my wife often has to wear uncomfortable clothes or otherwise "cover up" to a degree we find ridiculous. In some countries, shorts even on men are considered rude. So I don't wear them when I visit those countries. I don't know how many times we've had to purchase a hat of some kind to enter a place of worship as to not completely offend everyone inside. We do all of this -- and we do our absolute best to learn the customs BEFORE we travel. Our custom is tipping servers and bartenders 15-20%. I don't particularly like that custom. I actually prefer the European way. But there is absolute zero chance of waiters and busers and bartenders ever making a living wage without tips in this country. I can't think of a single restaurant in the entire country that pays their staff a living wage and adjusts menu prices accordingly. (If one exists, please let me know about it.) So I find it particularly irksome that Mrs. Scoop and I try to learn and follow foreign customs when we travel to their countries, yet they feel no compunction whatsoever ignoring our tip custom when visiting the United States. I may be more vocal about it than most, but I've also lived in tourist towns for most of my life. I've seen how servers and bartenders are treated by visitors, and it does not sit right with me.

So, did you buy the ham?

Is that the best you can do? C'mon, really? You've got employers thumbing thir noses at labour standards and paying below minimum wages, in some States waitrons can and do call the Police because customers don't tip, and save for a few infrastructure requirements, there are no standards at ALL in the hospitality industry, and you can't admit that there might be a teensy probem with current tipping practices and social custom? Maybe if we all close our eyes and squueze them tightly the whole problem will dissapear--like the metric system, eh? I'm a "lifer" in the hosptiality industry. I fight for what I think is right, and the current tipping system is not right. I think there's a HUGE problem with the current system. But that doesn't give me license to cheat someone out of their income, just because I don't agree with the system. I also think our healthcare system is screwed up beyond recognition. That doesn't mean I stiff the dentist's office out of a co-pay when I get my teeth cleaned.

No, they haven't changed. I have heard this joke in every restaurant and brewpub where I worked: What's the difference between a Canuck and a Canoe? You can get a canoe to tip.

Pah. There is not one dull knife at our place. My wife wants me to replace the communal Wusthof with a Japanese chef's knife. Just 'cuz. She's seen what I do with my knives, and she wants "in." Guess who gets to sharpen? But who cares. She's gone from the Wusthofs to "How about you buy me a knife like yours" in a matter of a couple years. Edge geometry is EVERYTHING.

And as much as the "we won't tip" crowd wants to latch on to this as an excuse to not tip, it does not justify their tightwadness. Pay up, and whatever the server, bartender etc. does with the money is on them. Not the tipper (or lack thereof).

Just shake the hell out of the kettle before reboiling. Or add more water. Or zap it with a stone and O2 tank borrowed from your beer-making equipment. Any of those will return dissolved oxygen into the mix. No need to pour perfectly good water down the drain. If anything, I'd pour that water into the ice-cube trays for making drinks. Lack of dissolved O2 is a bonus in those situations.

A year? My wife and I can plow through one in a month if properly motivated. Like buying one for pennies on the dollar at a discount grocery store. And with the money saved, buy a decent carving knife. I'm of the mind that a slicer is not the right tool for the job. There's a lot of down, straight and up carving. A slicer is only going to get you 50% of the way through the ham, then you'll need that knife anyway.

Arrgh.... I'd know it if I was there. It wasn't in Chinatown. It was close to the pizza joints in Little Italy. And I remember looking to my right and seeing an arch of some sort. Then we walked a couple minutes and it was wall-to-wall pizzerias. That doesn't help matters. I'll ask my in-laws. EDIT -- I think the original Bowery Bank was close by. Arrgh. Damn my long-term memory. It's weird. I can find my wife's favorite place in Venice even if you dropped me into the city randomly. I can't find a Dim Sum joint in New York.

I would give my left [censored] to have water as good as yours, Steve. Reboil away!

Actually, no. It doesn't need to be refrigerated. In Italy and Spain, they generally keep the hams they're slicing under glass. They shave away the top 1/32" and then work from there. Just buy the thing, and hope it hasn't been mistreated. Keep in mind, a Parma ham will take damned near anything you dish out. Even if it's one of the made-in-America hams from places like Applegate Farms, that's still a steal. I wouldn't have posted this question -- I would have posted a "look what I scored at the grocery store today" thread. (Unless it was somehow spoiled/inedible. Then I'd keep mum, but still not be too upset. We're talking about two twenties and a fiver. I've done far dumber things with that amount of money.) EDIT -- You're in MONTANA. Ambient temperature and humidity is FINE for that ham. When does that store open? Be there.

I would ask for a taste. And if it tasted even half-way good, I would take that $3/pound proscuitto under my arm, cackling the whole way out of the store like Snidley Whiplash. Proscuitto-wrapped asparagus, proscuitto in frittata, proscuitto pizzas, proscuitto and wine. I can blow through a proscuitto. No worries. EDIT -- Even if they wouldn't give me a taste. I'd buy it anyway. $45 for a whole ham? That's almost 90% off what I pay for made-in-Parma proscuitto at the local deli.

Arrgh... this is killing me. I know a great, inexpensive Dim Sum joint on Columbus. Last time I was there (with my Chinese in-laws), the bill was around $50 for four people. We all left full and happy. It was a short walk up Columbus to "Little Italy." Any New Yorkers care to jog my memory? Speaking of Little Italy, how mobile are you? If you have the ability, spend some time on Arthur Ave. in the Bronx. There is no end of excellent, inexpensive food there. Next time I'm in the area, I plan to spend my entire trip in and around Arthur Ave. (Woo hoo! We're going to the Bronx! Never thought I'd type THAT in my lifetime.)

The local Albertson's once advertised Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque (apologies for not bothering with the accent marks today -- just got out of the dentist chair) for the sale price of regular non-vintage Perrier Jouet. I bought every bottle. I think it was 40 bottles all told. Savings of around $3,000. That was a good day.

And what really sticks in my craw about this is, these same people living outside the US, when American tourists visit their country practically DEMAND that we know every obscure custom. If we don't, we're branded "ugly Americans" and treated like lepers. Yet, no problems coming to the States, not tipping at all, and justifying it with, "Well, that's not how we do things in Australia/England/Germany/etc." (I'm not directing this at Jenni, or anyone else. Just an observation about what is expected of me abroad, compared to their expectations of the United States.) Naturally, a lot of visitors "get" the fact their server makes $2.33 an hour, and tip well. But in my experience, that number is maybe 15 percent. The other 85% don't care, even if they are made aware. In fact, I have read a German guide to Florida that flat out said tourists can save a lot of money on vacation by not tipping. "They won't like it. But they can't do anything about it. If the tip is added to your bill, ask for a manager to remove it. He has to."

Just used the usuba for a couple hours breaking down pineapples. Probably not what the Japanese designed the knife for, but it worked very well. There isn't all that much difference between skinning pineapples and katsuramaki. Ran through several cases in a couple hours. EDIT "Does anyone know any good links or videos for Japanese knife/cutting techniques?" Just search on Youtube for katsuramaki. That will get you started -- there'll be plenty of other related videos.

Tuna Poke. Best. Salad. Ever. If by salad you insist on leafy greens, Spinach salad -- with lots of home-cured bacon and backyard eggs.