clokwurk

That got me an interesting look at the market the other day as I was squeezing past a rather large lady in the isle. I was immediately laughing in my head that an innocent habit made me instantly guilty of rude public behavior.

My restaurant near Charleston, SC. typically sends guests home with a delicious cake intended for morning coffee. It's a nice touch and costs little to nothing to make other than a little labor. What better way to seal in the memory of a great evening.

YES! This is probably my biggest restaurant pet peeve. Drives me bonkers. ← So right, its so dated, dated, dated. Put the things way. Jmahl Then tell people to stop asking for it! When an occasional guest comes in and IMMEDIATELY asks for *The Pepper Experience* when the salad course arrives all my guessing is resolved and I know immediately the sum of their past culinary misfortune.

I "echo" Fat Guy's comment, that would be awesome!

All of the ones I've seen used in Japan are just touch pads with different dishes on each key. You don't have to type in anything. But I imagine the letters on the keys are quite small, so it would be difficult for some people to use. This assumes the waiter is a machine and takes in no more data than -App, -Entree, -Dessert. I have not seen this technology correctly adapted to the living, breathing river of a meal, short or long. Communication, inevitably is face to face - FoH or BoH. A trend like this looks ideal on paper and to the short-sighted, busy waiter. No experience, well conceived, can be distilled into 1's and 0's. We don't have to reinvent the wheel every time a restaurant opens up!

Read your tables people! This is one of many moments through an experience where we servers have an opportunity to show our value and earn our reward units(read: gratuity).

$, and don't be stingy. Remember the expo, line cooks, prep, steward. Your shiny $100 bill will look like $5 after it's pooled. Otherwise, a thoughtful, hand-written note will go far for morale if they really have souls of a chef. AND, You will most likely be remembered when when you return.

If you get the opportunity to experience this, DO IT. You won't get another chance until another one opens up close to the one that just bent belly up.

I sometimes ask a form of this question so that I don't insult them by guiding them (even broadly) around a menu/wine list they might have seen before. It opens up necessary dialog to many who might not offer up the fact they might be a bit turned around in a new environment. Ultimately, it's reading the guest. But you are right, most times I hear this, there is no connecting response.

I'm not a parlor trick. You are not there to watch me do magic. You do not come to my restaurant to be impressed by me. You come for the food and come back (typically) because the service complimented your food experience. Servers only memorize when it is inconvenient(in the weeds),ill-prepared, or showing off. True professionals write the order and often take notes that typically contain more information about the service aspect than the order (special occasions, likes, pairing options, speed, gifts, etc).

By the way, it's difficult to fully enjoy any nuanced-based cuisine when your pallet is numbed by a liquid that is anywhere close to freezing point. This includes white wine, of course.

you would think that a hamburger from Trotters would be mindblowing not 1/2 assed, served with a side of attitude.

Raechel Ray infiltrates Iron Chef America!

no doubt, choosing something you enjoy is good, but "General Tso chicken" is kinda like...I dunno, going to Romagna Mia and asking for pepperoni pizza...or a California roll at Hiro. It's not Chinese food, so not only are you going to get crappy food, you're also going to be treated like...a "tourist" I guess, I'm not sure how to express what I mean. Sort of a "oh, you're looking for chop suey, I guess we can throw together some slop for you.". whether or not such treatment is fair/polite/etc. is not my argument here, just that it will happen. ← completely irrelevent. You put an item on your menu and contend that people should expect something less than your best effort?

this may be a crazy idea...but are all of the dishes/ramekins the same thickness? Even in a water bath they might be prone to cooking unevenly. Sysco dishes aren't exactly perfect. : P

Krispy Kreme, No question. At least you don't need an entire gallon of milk to wash it down like DD's. On a side note, my rating system for food of this nature is mostly based on the resist success rate after the first one consumed.

Great questions. I have often thought about this subject. I believe one can sum it up in one statement: Knowledge vs. Adventure. Broad-stroking here... most people (not just Americans) are inherently drawn to what they know...safe areas. With wine it is the international verietals: Cab., Pinot, Merlot etc. I have not met one person that has ever been drawn to Spanish wines without some form of a guide i.e. print (The Wine Dictator) or an enthusiastic personality that was bent on sharing the value of the Spanish bounty. Ignorance is bliss as they say and who can blame them for not entering the deep waters that represent only poverty in trade for a more expensive "white zin". Skipping over all the twisted, latent, preconceived notions of old world wine (boring Bordeaux/Burgundy), once someone is exposed to these Spanish gems (pennies on the relative dollar) one might say value comes into play...but this isnt exactly the case...in fact, our protagonist has always thought they were getting a good deal on that case of Yellow Tail but now there is zero buyer's remorse...that sexy Rioja suggested by an informed retailer or astute server has them stirred and suddenly the weekly BBQ at Bob's house gets really interesting. I've found that, initially, Spanish wine is met with skepticism. But it's rarely about knowing whats in the glass..its simply about having a sense of adventure. Honestly, I'm shocked that there arent more Spanish wine freaks out there but even here in Nashville, interest in Spanish wine has exploded. Value is at the center of every single wine sale, period (no, Mad Dog does not count) and Spanish wines represent an astounding value (and of course there are always exceptions). Knowledge/exposure, passed from educated industry, is crux in this culture. The very people we label as being pedestrian wine drinkers are the core consumers of value wines no matter where they are sourced. Untapped, they lay dormant like the insect before a summer feast. Once awakened, a giant it will become. Initially, Spanish wine is met with skepticism but given a nudge it is embraced with enthusiasm. Maybe a broad question...hell, this is defintely an incomplete answer. There is so much more to this matter. I'm certain rebuttals will be plenty. clok