Ron Johnson
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Posts posted by Ron Johnson
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Why would you eat someplace you know you won't like? Sometimes you get stuck going places yu don't want to. Sometimes it's a crowd, sometimes it's to make the other person happy.
True.
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But I don't know where all the stuff about "entitlement", and being "insulting" to the chef, comes in.
If I am a chef and I have worked very hard to put together a great menu, and some guy walks into my restaurant for the first time and says, "I really expect a lot more than the average joe, so I dont want whats on your menu, I want you to cook me something really good." I would be insulted on some level. Probably not personally, but possibly professionally. Obviously, the implication is that my menu items are not suitable for someone who considers himself a "gourmand".
However, I am not really that fired up about this topic, just thought I would throw in my $0.02 on it.
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Are you saying Menus aren't just for tourists?
I'm trying Gavin!
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Chances are I choose a particular restaurant BECAUSE I like or anticipate liking at least one dish that is on the menu. In fact, I can think of no time I have ever chosen to eat at a restaurant where I knew that I did not like anything on the menu on the basis that I would be able to order something off the menu.
What happened to Wilfrid today at Le Cirque is not really what we are talking about. He ordered something that is generally on the menu, but wasn't today because of extenuating circumstances. However, they had it and were happy to provide it to him.
There is no doubt that it feels good to be the beneficiary of special treatment. We all like that, but it shoud be delivered unsolicited. The best treat you can get from the kitchen is when you don't have to ask for it. When you have developed a relationship with a restaurant or the server picks up on your enthusiasm for the cuisine and communicates this fact to the chef, that is when you should be on the receiving end of some special treatment by the kitchen. The idea that one is entitled to such treatment and comes to expect it is ridiculous. Only more ridiculous is the concept of criticizing a restaurant where one is unhappy with the manner in which the restaurant reacted to the diner's sense of entitlement for special treatment. Presumably, a chef has worked very hard on his menu, and it reflects his best efforts to put some cuisine forward of which he is proud and that is suggestive of his background and training. It is insulting for the diner to casually dismiss this fact and imply that these efforts are unsatisfactory to him/her by telling the chef to cook something else specifically for that diner or his/her table.
The thing is, we all hear anecdotes about the table who received special treatment from this chef or that chef at some well-known restaurant. We want that treatment as well, but we are unwilling to take the time to develop a relationship with the restaurant or are unable to communicate our appreciation of the cuisine to the server that might result in the occurrence of such treatment. Instead, we attempt to shortcut the process and demand special treatment NOW!
Sometimes the best that a restaurant has to offer is ON the menu. Maybe its our egos that refuse to let us acknowledge that fact.
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I have been wanting to try Torta del Casar. You eat with spoon, correct?
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Please note that I am not posting about the relative merit of Spanish cheeses vs. French cheeses or any other such nonsense.
Well put Vanessa.
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R & G Lounge is my favorite chinese restaurant in San Francisco. Check that, its my favorite in California.
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Close. It means he loved hating it.
Of course, I also loved reading his take on the place. Cat food . . . priceless.
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Let me just throw in here, as it seems a convenient place, that making a vodka martini, shaken over ice, but replacing the vermouth with Amaretto - perhaps a touch more Amaretto than you would add vermouth - can make one happy.
Whats the name of this lovely-sounding little delicacy?
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Robert,
Did you not like L'Impero primarily because you found the quality of the preparation of the food to be uninspiring and at the same level as so many other restaurants in NYC, or because it holds itself out to be an Italian restaurant yet you found it to be not authentic due to its use of so many "local" ingredients which one would not find in Italy?
These seem to be very different criticisms.
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Or, you can go somewhere that serves good coffee.
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He said twice a month, remember. And half 422,000 is, er, about 230,000.
Actually, I said:
"I would say about once per month each. Maybe twice."
Just to be clear, of course.
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Correlation is not causation.
Simple, yet brilliant. This is why it is crucial to have at least one smug scientific bastard on your site.
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NZ sb's are lovely, very different from California, bordeaux, or Loire. I have not heard anything bad about the 2002, but have not actually tried it yet. I think the Villa Maria should be a fine choice.
Cheers.
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So, whats the excuse for all the fat Europeans? Clearly, its not portion size or leftovers.
Drink.
Well, if nothing else, at least the Europeans have their priorities in order.
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Normal espresso macchiato is on the menu over there too. Maybe they look at you and decide that's not what you're after
That must be it.
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I don't know what happens over there, but if I go into Starbucks in the UK and order a macchiato, I get a macchiato.
You are a fortunate man.
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Ok, we seem to have nailed down the reasons for obesity in america.
So, whats the excuse for all the fat Europeans? Clearly, its not portion size or leftovers.
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A macchiato is not supposed to have caramel syrup in it.
Other than that I have no opinion on Starbucks. Nor does it at SB. But if you order a 'caramel macchiato', you're on your own.
Right, but thats what they give you if you order a macchiato. Its to the point now that when you go to "regular" coffee houses and order a macchiato, the barista says, "Now, you know ours don't have caramel in them, right?"
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Ron, can I move to your Europe?
No, apparently there is already a shortage of 2 stars as it is. Sorry.
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Cutting molasses with butter is for tourists.
Actually, its the best way to tell the locals from the tourists. Also real southerners will swirl a pat of butter into their grits before they add salt and pepper. The tourists are the ones eating straight sorghum and making weird faces.
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A macchiato is not supposed to have caramel syrup in it.
Other than that I have no opinion on Starbucks. -
Round these parts, churches often make sorghum molasses as a fund raiser in the fall--is that the same as cane syrup?
No, it is much thicker and darker with a much stronger flavor. Sometimes referred to as "blackstrap" molasses. Usually you have to swirl a pat of butter into the pool of sorghum on your plate before you spread it on your biscuits or the flavor is too intense.
Off the Menu at 15 Restaurants
in Restaurant Life
Posted
Because Steve, I worked in the kitchen of a restaurant and I saw the reaction of the chef to people doing this. Thats how I know how they react. That is why it is not pure conjecture.
I also waited tables for years and had these requests made to me, so thats how I know how I reacted when I had to pass this along to the sous. I was there. That is why it is not pure conjecture.
As fas as passing judgment, thats all we do on this forum. We pass judgment on food, wine, restaurants, chefs, publications, locations, cities, airlines, hotels, smells, tastes, colors, each other, and anything else that is related to food. Its what a forum is, a chance to share opinions and debate the merits of those opinions. It doesn't have to be personal, or should it be. Sometimes two people just dont think the same way about the same thing.