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Just Jim

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Everything posted by Just Jim

  1. Oh, knives for sure. Of course that's an easy choice. Fire in the middle of the night? Grab my knives and run. No thought required, since I sleep with them.
  2. During high school a friend and I would cut school, pick up some milanos, get baked and hang out at the arcade, playing pinball and munching away. I would always call friends for my math and English homework, and I never cut on test day. That's how I maintained the highest grades in those two classes while totally goofing off. My other classes suffered, but Milanos! Do you blame me?
  3. I recently picked one of these up. Getting a good price on brisket and pork chops, I purchased enough for two meals, sealed and froze half, and they worked like a charm. I also prepped an immense amount of veggies for stir fry, sealed and refrigerated enough for another meal, and forgot about them for over a week, and they were as perfect as the day I cut them. The downside is that the sealer itself takes a little finnegaling, it doesn't always want to start vaccuuming immediately, I have to play with it a bit. But that could just be user error.
  4. Was there supposed to be a link in there? I currently use a Messermeister Suitcase looking thing, tons of room. They also have a model with wheels and a pull out handle, but that seems a bit over the top. For the knives I don't bring to work, I have a large toolbox. Then I also have a decent sized Messermeister knife roll to quickly throw in the car for private functions or just visiting the family. I'm sure I'm not the only one who is invited for, say, Thanksgiving dinner and is put to work. In those cases, typically, their knives kind of suck, so having my own tools handy is good.
  5. Yea I was young and dumb. ← I was young and dumb once too. Now I'm older. I hear you. I hate to think how miserable I would be if I had to approach every situation with distrust. I'd rather assume the best initially and be disappointed by a few than the alternative. At least you received a learning experience from it.
  6. No. There should be no expectation on either side that a free dessert of lesser value compensates for an entree. Simply put, the entree wasn't acceptable, and should not be charged to the customer, and the customer should have the expectation that this is how the situation will be handled. The comp'd dessert would be a good tool to rebuild goodwill, in the hopes that the customer would return. It is not a substitute for an unacceptable entree. Management dropped the ball, and they have lost a customer.
  7. Waffle "Hose" is right. You definitely got hosed.
  8. That will probably create pressure on your front door. ← So what do you suggest? some sort of window in the kitchen area? Also I forgot to mention there is an underground storage room with elevator shaft and stairs and outdoor access... I think most of the pressure incoming from the makeup air will be alleviated by this underground space... ← Your A/C does not create any pressure. It only recirculates indoor air. ← Exactly. It doesn't make up any air. Relying on it to do so will create pressure. To the point, the hood is creating pressure, and without the makeup air...... Myself, I would have a low mounted blower blowing air in. This will push the cooler air up and the hot air out.
  9. That will probably create pressure on your front door.
  10. Hard to give a complete answer without seeing the menu. I assume the oven is fullsized, not one of the little ones that are under a 4 burner, that only hold a half sheet. If it's convection instead of convention you will have more options, especially for baking. I would want either a 60" or 72" cold table, or two smaller ones. A set of cold drawers under the grill is nice. A pass bar deep enough to hold 2 1/2 plates deep , with appropriately sized heat lamp(s). A warming lamp for the fry station is worth considering. Freezer? A tall, 2 door reach-in, if you are doing any pre-fab items like frozen fries, or for home-made specialty items, like almond prawns. As far as extracting heat, the hoods alone could work, depending on where your make up air is coming from. If it's built into the hood system, it will not offer any cooling benefits. If it's on the other side of the cooks, it will be pulled across them to the hood, offering some cooling. BTW, good to hear that this is a concern, most places pass this by. A hot, sticky cook is a grumpy cook.
  11. This was on the menu board at a local Mexican joint, Cocina Michoacana: Mexican/American food Swedish Pancakes Always cracked me up
  12. I think that about sums it up... the customer has the money, the server should expect a cut. The amount of work is not relevant.Following that example, then if I have the means, I should be happy paying $50 for the steak on the menu priced at $25.No, I don't buy that. Who's on first? My "A" plus your "B" does not equal your "C". How does paying $200 for a $200 dollar bottle of wine compare to paying $50 for a $25 steak? He's simply commenting on the logic of saying that if "the customer has the money, the server should expect a cut. The amount of work is not relevant." Going on that premise, the server, regardless as to what he or she does, "deserves" to be tipped according to how much money the customer has. In other words, a "redistribution of wealth" system. The customer is loaded? Then I deserve part of what you have, just because you have it and I don't. You're really loaded? Then fork over an extra $25 bucks for the $25 steak. You shouldn't care. You've got it, you can afford it, so what's the problem? "Just Jim" is just carrying out the "if the customer has the money" theory to the next logical step. Glancing over the clothing, jewelry, car, etc., of the customer, determing their means, and then figuring the tip based solely on that. Obviously ridiculous. Although that's exactly what was said. ← Thank you Jaymes, that is exactly what I meant.
  13. I think that about sums it up... the customer has the money, the server should expect a cut. The amount of work is not relevant. ← Following that example, then if I have the means, I should be happy paying $50 for the steak on the menu priced at $25. No, I don't buy that.
  14. Just Jim

    Goldfish

    Mmmm, goldfish. Place one in the mouth, line the seam up between the upper and lower teeth, bite down until it cracks in half. 2 thin goldfish shells = more air = more flavor. Cheez-its. My favorite thing is to make a tuna or chicken salad, then eat it using cheez-its as a scoop.
  15. This makes sense in theory, but am I the only one who tastes something . . odd and different when you drink a Coke or Pepsi out of a glass bottle? ← I don't know. Could it be.......goodness?
  16. Glass doesn't impart any flavor, so you taste the beverage in the way it is intended. Cans are my next choice, although sometimes you get that metallic feel on the lips. Plastics are a mixed bag, and last on my list. Why a mixed bag? Some of them are fairly benign in imparting flavor, but some (Welch's comes to mind) taste, well, plastic-y. Not all glass beverages use cane sugar, but I've had some, and they taste better, to me at least. I'm sure it's just because i'm no longer used to it. It does take me back to my childhood.
  17. It's not about winning or losing. Don't get all butt hurt. And if it's so pointless, why have you invested so much time and emotion over it? In your situation, with the policy clearly explained on the menu, then it is acceptable for Management to question the customer in the manner in which you laid out. That doesn't translate into a server being able to do the same, especially in an establishment that doesn't clearly explain that particular restaurant's policy. I know that in CA (not sure about elsewhere), the IRS operates under the assumption you are making 8%. That is all that many servers claim, regardless of their actual tipped income. As long as those servers are recieving the 8% they are claiming, they shouldn't whine.
  18. I think you summed that up very well.
  19. Wolfgang Puck's Instant Mocha. Puck usually puts out a quality product, so I thought I'd give this a try. It's a self-contained product that, when you press the little bubble underneath, cracks a seal and causes a chemical reaction, heating the contents. The chemicals are in a thin core around the inner core of beverage. This was horrid. Think of cheap chocolate, instant coffee and powdered milk. Then wish his product were even that good. Really suprised he lent his name to this. Others must feel the same as I do, as I haven't seen it since.
  20. Once you're comfortable, you go by feel. Early on professionally, or as a novice home cook, measurements help to build confidence. Like many, I am an eyeball cook. If it looks right, it's right, if it doesn't, it isn't. When pressed to put a recipe down on paper, I make the dish as usual, but measure each ingredient as I add it. When you get to the point when all of your ingredients are in, but are now in the tweaking, or adjustment, stage, you adjust your notes. What was once: "worcestershire - 3 T", might look like: "worcestershire - 3 T +1 T +1T" when you are finished. Then you add up all of your adjustments, and voila!, a recipe. But that's when I am pressured to do so. Usually it's an ingredient list and method. When asked how much red bell pepper, I usually respond with "well, do you love red bell pepper? If so, use more than if you only like it a little", and so on.
  21. Not exactly kitchen related, but that's allways where it happened....someone would tell the new guy to ask me how my father danced, said I was very proud of him. They come up and say "how does your father dance?' I'd get the red face going and scream "That's f'd up, you know my dad doesn't have any legs!" and move towards them. (I'm 6'2", 300 lbs). I had one dishwasher backpedaling off of the line as fast as he could, and I'm trying not to bust out laughing.
  22. As I said in response to this post on another board, I think the difference in quality is minimal. If there is that big of a difference in quality, it's the cook that needs improving, not the system. Also, the trade off isn't worth it. What is now easier for the cook is harder for the FOH. They now have to make a trip for each diner, rather than each table. If the food is only marginally better, but the service goes downhill, will I, the diner, be happy? No. And let's say you realize a tangible savings, and were able to pass it on to me. Would I be happy as my partner finishes their Tempura Prawns as I wait for my Well Done Filet (not that I order leather, just hypothetically speaking)? Again, no, I would not enjoy this scenario. If I were dining alone, then yes, because the meal is now less expensive with no change in service. But I rarely dine alone. I hate the Steve Martin-esque spotlight.
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