boneface

If you have to ask whether or not you deserve one,... you don't. That being said, if you kicked ass at your last job, you know it. If you are leaving on good terms, and your former boss didn't offer it, then ask. He may have forgotten in his haste to hire someone else. At that point, it is not considered rude to ask for a letter of recommendation.... Oh, and btw- When I see a resume, application, and letter of recommendation come in at the same time, I look at all three. This may be more than I do for any other combination of the three. However, although it may get you a quicker interview, it doesn't make it any easier...

I, as an FOH manager, have been guilty of the AC fake out. I live in the deep south, with more humidity than any place you've been in this country. (Although, I feel for the one earlier from Ponchatrain, but you still fall short...) I break out the keys, unlock the box, and mess with the AC. However, I leave it exactly where it is at, because it's never cold in my restaurant. People sometimes feel that it is, but I never have the air set lower than 72 degrees, and it never gets that low, because the AC units are 15 years old and can't hold that temperature when it is 102 degrees outside. I will however, turn off a fan or something else if I have a customer that is too cold... Do you honestly think that you can control the temp in a busy, large dining room? If you stick around for 4 hours, maybe you will notice a difference, in as big of a restaurant that I run... Maybe not, as the guest count changes the temperature way more than the AC units... If I can keep a vent from blowing on someone, turn off an overhead fan, possibly even move the table, I will do it to make them happy. But messing with the AC does nothing.... As for it being too hot in a restaurant, where I live, you can't do much about it. Either your restaurant is under powered or it's just too damn hot. I guarantee you that if it could be cooler, the staff would already have done something about it. They sweat more than you....

I work at a place that does good fries, and the supplier isn't all of the problem. Potatoes develop their sugars as they age, so be sure to test what you are getting in. They sell testing kits and whatnot, just google it and you should find what you need. If you can't find the right supplier, and you have a B&M place, you can store your potatoes and let them develop. Last note, at least for the stand, two fryers are not a necessity. You can blanch the fries way earlier in the day and store them to be finished to order. Until then, good luck! I think the search for the perfect burger may be the most honorable quest a man can go on.

My position now takes me more to the FOH than the BOH, and I can say, if things are gonna get hairy, you can fix them if you know about it ahead of time. Offer bread, soup, salads, anything the table hasn't had that is quick to appease them if they are antsy. If that doesn't work, tell them to save room for a dessert on the house. If they are still not happy, at least you did your best. Hopefully the food will overwhelm them... That being said, as a BOH person at heart, sometimes if you are 15 minutes into a dish that should have been out at 12 minutes, and you know re-cooking it will take 12 more minutes, and you think it MIGHT pass, you might send it out. It sucks but it happens. Re-plate it, juice it up, and hope for the best... One day I hope to not have to lower my degree of quality like that, but where I work, it's a necessity occasionally....

Aww jeez, I have a thousand, and the more I move the more I learn. (And the more the new guys look at me like I'm stupid....) Hot on your back, on your back- These get twisted into the most sexual thing possible. i.e. Coming hot on your back, On your back, hot and creamy...etc... I love Reggae for an item ordered like it is printed on the menu, but some people don't get it.... I use the term Backup a lot, meaning taking a tray of food following another tray, very similar is... One Hand, Two Hands...referring to how many hands required to take out a particular order. Hockey pucks= well done steaks Pretty much any foreign word for shit. Shitzen, caca, mierde etc... I live in the south, so mullets mean rednecks, and by the same token... I'll be the first to say it. No offense to anyone, and anyone in the industry can tell you that they have heard it as well.... Canadians or Celebrities meaning a table full of black people... Sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings....Just trying to be honest....

Tell you what, though. I'd bet you that when New Orleans dining culture comes back in full swing again that it will again be one of the most respected in the country, just as it was before. Why? Because the culture and the people there expect it. I'd say that if I'm wrong I'd eat my hat but that might be more rewarding than eating some of the things I've had to eat here lately. ← I live down here, and I can say, after dining at one of the Brennan's places recently, good food does not always = good service. The food was ok, but the service was some of the worst I have ever received.

In my opinion, if you are already making your living providing the type of product you love, then continue to do that. I, personally am starting culinary school after 11 years in the business. I am doing it so that I can shore up any holes in my learning process, and, yes, to have the "piece of paper" that says I cook well. Ask yourself the following: Will going to pastry school improve the product I make? Will pastry school advance my career? When I come out, will I be doing anything differently? And finally, if you answered yes to the other questions: Is it worth the money?

Most everyone down here likes them shaken until they freeze, and I don't know whether to attribute that to a lack of knowledge or to the incredibly high temperature and humidity outside. I know brewpubs down here that serve their ales in room temperature glasses. But, when it's 100+ degrees, room temperature is not what I crave. Therefore, I give people what they want, which is head splitting cold martinis with ice slivers in them.....