Gabe D.

I would agree with the above recommendations, and add a couple: Joe's Farm Grill in nearby Gilbert - great burgers, etc. - very cool setting. La Grande Orange in Phoenix - great pizza and baked goods. Great gelato place next door. Chelsea's Kitchen in Phoenix - more upscale, but not fine dining - great food. If you want to go downtown, of course, there's Pizzeria Bianco - Best pizza in... I don't know... the world?

I knew I was pressing my luck with the knob - I think the instructions said nothing over 350. I'm glad to know that my results weren't typical - I'll see if Target will replace it.

I just tried this no-knead technique and unfortunately, I'll be the first one (that I've seen) to post of equipment failure. I used my relatively new Chefmate enameled cast iron dutch oven (from Target) and when I pulled the bread out, I found several large cracks in the enamel on the inside of the pot. Also, even though I double wrapped the lid handle in heavy duty aluminum foil, it is now warped and "bubbly" looking. The good news is that it was a relatively cheap, and now I get to shop for a new one.

We're new to the area, so I can't be much help - except to say that my wife and I took our girls to the Farm at South Mountain for breakfast a month-or-so ago, and it was very good - even the coffee was very good. We got there right when they opened, and were the only ones there, but 15 minutes later, the parking lot was full and there was a wait. The good thing is, there's plenty of room for the kids to run around while waiting.

Isn't this a problem that solves itself? How does a restaurant that keeps its waitstaff from getting any gratuity manage to maintain a staff, and thereby, stay in business for very long. Surely, the waitstaff knows that they're getting screwed, and that they could avoid the screwing by working somewhere else.

I don't work in the industry, but I eat out enough to have an opinion here. I agree with those who say that good service doesn't necessarily equal good tips, and vice versa. For the most part, people are going to tip whatever they normally tip unless the service is either extremely good or extremely bad. I usually tip 20%, and even though I'm a decent tipper, I wouldn't say that I receive good or bad service at restaurants in any different proportion than I receive from employees of bookstores, banks, doctor's offices, etc. Clearly, servers can be motivated and compenstated by other means than the gratuity. The gratuity system is completely antiquated, and my only guesses as to why it's still around are: 1) it allows restaurants to shirk responsibility for a significant portion of their employees; and 2) servers generally aren't doing to bad under it either.