kimberli9

They are specified. We have a Cotes du Rhone, a Barbera, a French Rose, a Russian River Zin, a Paso Robles Cab, a Petite Sirah, and a California red blend. That was one of my motivating factors for wanting to do canapes, because I could do six different ones to pair with the wines.

David, I might just make you haul your cookies up to Carmel next month so you can see how we did!!

My new-ish (10 months) restaurant has been invited to participate in a local, annual charity event, where restaurants are paired up with beverage distributors for an evening of food and wine sampling. The other restaurants that participate are the "big fish" in the area, and most of them have been doing it for years, so this is kind of a big deal for us. (there are about 10-12 restaurants invited each year) I'm paired up with a great bev guy, so my table is going to have six amazing wines. Now, the onus is on me to figure out what the heck to cook. I've got it in my head that I want to do traditional, honest-to-god French canapes. I have seen the descriptions of what everyone has done the last couple years, and it's all pretty much the same kind of new-American-esque, small bite food that you see everywhere. And damnit, I want to be different. So is this a good idea, or a bad idea? I'm in the exurbs of the heartland, so I don't want to do anything too "out there," or not enough people will brave my offerings. My restaurant is an Italian-themed steak house, so I understand this is a bit of an anomaly, but we do a lot of catering events in all styles of food. This is an amazing opportunity for me to get exposure for the restaurant and for our catering endeavor, and I just want to do the right thing (well, and something stellar and amazing and memorable and...) help?

...bump heads with my sous, ram style, while wearing stock pots on our heads, after consuming a few too many cocktails during kitchen cleaning. (the first 3 hits went fine, but on the fourth, my elbows buckled and the edge of the pot came down on the bridge of my nose. I have two black eyes and a very sore head this AM...)

What about "My Big, Fat Greek Wedding?"

This is an interesting topic for me. I recently opened a neighborhood establishment in an exurb of Indianapolis. It's small, and the feel is somewhat upscale, but comfortable. Recently, I had a few minutes of free time from the kitchen, so I went into the bar and popped open my laptop to work on my website. A friend was visiting, and he proceeded to dress me down for using my laptop in the bar. His reason was that people want to come in to relax, interact, unwind, etc., and seeing someone work on a laptop -- in his opinion -- might remind someone of work, at the very place they go to forget about it. I personally never felt it was a big deal if someone comes in and works on their laptop for a while and has a drink, and I'm pretty conscious of the "vibe" I want to have. But my friend's comment, like many of those posted here, really makes me wonder. I think the issue up for debate is whether someone working discreetly on their laptop is detrimental to the atmosphere of the type of establishment in question. I don't think it does, but now I wonder if I'm misguided in that belief... kim