clokwurk
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Posts posted by clokwurk
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I'm researching an article on US restaurants and the free, takehome, edible gifts they give diners. Anyone know of any? Looking for places the are NOT in NYC, but elsewhere across the country. Love to hear about baking mixes, drink mixes, cookies, breads etc that eateries give you as you leave after dining. If you know of any, love to hear who, what and where!
Thanks.
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.
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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.
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I "echo" Fat Guy's comment, that would be awesome!
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I wonder whether mandatory use of a handheld device would be considered Ageism? At barely 50, I find it difficult to make quick notes using my Palm Pilot qwerty keypad & styus. Really, I can hardly imagine using a similar device to effectively take multiple orders. Especially in the low light of many dining rooms. Yes, I DO use multi-focal contact lenses!
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!
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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).
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$, 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.
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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.
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All good ones.
I hate "Is this you first time here?". Who frigging cares what they have to say next. It won't matter.
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.
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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).
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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.
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you would think that a hamburger from Trotters would be mindblowing
not 1/2 assed, served with a side of attitude.
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Endy - What would you suggest is a dish that you can judge a chinese restaurant on? I just enjoy general tsao chicken and figured I would give it a shot.
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?
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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
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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.
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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
"Behind You"
in Restaurant Life
Posted · Edited by clokwurk (log)
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.