Carlovski

I briefly mentioned this in the other thread, but if that's what your customers want, then give it to them (A bit of friendly advice from the somellier as to alternatives they might like to try is fine though!). Education should be the province of wine tasting courses and maybe matched food/wine pairing menus. Of course you could also try a bit of a steeper markup on those offending bottles, find out if your customers REALLY like it!

I'm interested. Greek food gets quite a lot of unfair criticism, but I like it. Might not have the haute cuisine tradition of other countries, but there is a great range of comforting hearty home cooked stuff (Which is normally available in Tavernas, but get used to eating room temperature food) and the simple stuff, simply grilled meats and especially fish can be great.

So Mark. Don't mince words. Tell us how you really feel... No really, I understand this completely. If one more bubble-headed amateur twit asks me for a glass of White Zinfandel (Do you see White Zinfandel on the list in your hand?? Can you read???!!!???) I'm getting the automatic, not the shotgun! Of course you could see it the other way - you are in a service industry, if people want Pinot Grigio or White Zin, then maybe you should stock it? Back to the topic, Let's take the insurance company standpoint. Young males pay more for car insurance. Old people pay more for health insurance. It's not Prejudice, it's based on statistics. On average, who more often chooses the wine? And pays the bill? Of course the best solution is have a wine list for everyone.

Things seem to work a lot differently over in the states, where as here we are more concerned about the provenance of the meat (When I say we, I mean Egulleters, not the population in general!), in the states it is the USDA specification that seems to rule. The designation of Prime status is all about the all important marbling. And then the top butchers and steakhouses get the best pick as well. SO perhaps SOME of the beef in this country is equivalent, it's just that we don't grade it quite the same, so it's harder to find the beef you want. Don't know if the different style of Butchery makes much difference as well.

For cuisines I am familiar with, I am a fairly freestyle cook, even if I am working to a recipe, and invariably fiddle with it. If I am cooking something where I have little experince or knowledge on the style of cooking I am a lot more restrained, and follow the recipe. Also, some cuisines, and cooking styles are more tinker friendly than others, you can fiddle with most casseroles and braises depending on your mood, pasta sauces I quite often make up as I go along, but you have to be a bit more careful when you are dealing with Sichuan Peppercorns and chilles, a lot more scope for producing something completely inedible.

You definitely need quite a lot, the trick is to allow the potatoes to absorb as much oil as they can. You could reserve the oil for your next tortilla. I doubt it would keep to well though, it is almost certainly going to contain quite a bit of solids from the potato and onions, unless you filter it.

On a little side issue, does anyone else find the increasing need to have a credit card to do anything annoying?

Woh! No idea how that happened. Is it possible that some sort of Electric current was generated in the diffuser? That could possible do it, I cant see how any domestic ring could produce enough heat to melt aluminium.

I thought. that sounds quite good, until I read the salmon was actually baked WITH the mayonnaise!

I'd second the Nigel Slater shout. I also love Dear Francesca by Mary Contini, as enjoyable to read as it is to cook from. Anything by Simon Hopkinson is worth reading too. More specialised ones which I have become obsessed with recently are Sichuan Cooking - Fuchsia Dunlop Thai Food - David Thompson Moro - The Cookbook

But what if she loses her nose? Or gets a good whack on the head?

Is there anyone other than Lawyers and IT bods on eGullet?

I was really hoping that they would be cooking something like a 'Turfoieduckenuffle', to borrow from a different thread. You know something properly extravagant. Maybe stuffed into a swan.

To the list of basics I would also add Cinnamon sticks, mace, saffron and dried chillies. If you really want to extend his range then to that I would add Amchoor, Panch Poran mix, Chat masala (I know you can make these yourself, but the preprepared stuff is easier, and sometimes better!) and ajwain seeds. Could also add a range of dried dals (Some of which are used almost as a spice - so not cheating!), gram flour and chapati flour

I know that Ketchup makers (Well Heinz at least) took the preservative out of it several years ago - and that's when the refrigerate labels came on. I't does infuriate me when things like Jars of pickles say things like 'refrigerate after opening, consume within 3 days' on it - Why even bother with the pickling then?, it's all about covering the companies backs, much like cooking instructions on supermarket meat. I was comparing two lots of curry paste the other day, a supermarket one which said refrigerate and use within 2-3 days, and a Mae Ploy one (In the big plastic tub) which I have happily had in my cupboard, opened for weeks. Although to be fair, its one brave bacteria that tries to live on that stuff!

"When Jason Met Rachel" Pretty much like When Harry Met Sally, except THAT scene is played by Jason getting overexcited by the perfect pastrami sandwich.

One of those zesters with the 4 little holes is pretty useful - you can get nice long fine strips of zest, and if you want it fine, you can simply chop it. A microplane grater is great for grating ginger, garlic and nutmeg as well as parmesan. A tiny little whisk is just the thing for knocking up small amounts of dressing. And of course, everyone needs a masher. Even if you prefer to use a ricer or mouli-legumes for mash, it's always handy to have something to squidge stuff down with!

Why does house wine always tend to be of such low quality? Surely, with a bit of thought, and intelligent pricing it could be best buy for the customer, and provide a decent amount of profit for the restauranteur. There is plenty of drinkable, food friendly wine of decent quality (And the occasional Gem) in the £5-£8 price bracket (I'm talking in the UK here BTW), and even for a bit cheaper than that. And that's buying a single bottle, retail. Surely a restaurant, and especially a chain, or part of an empire could negoitiate a lower price for a load of cases. Why not clear out those mid priced wines - the ones people choose just so they aren't being seen to be choosing the cheapest (I wonder what the sales figure are like for the '2nd cheapest chardonnay'?), keep the more expensive wines and have a selection of interesting, well chosen wines, at the same price point at a quid or two more than the usual house plonk?

I think the coconut milk maybe an example where the convenience version is better - the canning company probably has a better (Or at least more suitable) blender and probably gets fresher coconuts than you do. If you have ready access to fresh coconuts, you probably are better of using for something where the texture can come through - normally the thing which is lost most preserving/packaging process. A nice fresh coconut chutney would be good!

Sounds like you all have had some great experiences. One thing though, a lot of the stories of good service seem to revolve around dishes/whole meals being comped, extra freebies etc. Is it necessary to get something for nothing to be great service? Not every restaurant can afford to do that sort of thing, but some of them do have wonderful staff. I do remember once, as a Kid on holiday in Greece having a drink in a small Taverna in Greece, in the small town up from where we were staying. It was getting late, and to our dismay, all the Taxi's had gone home. The waiter in the Taverna heard us, and insisted on driving home on his scooter, getting his car (Or he may have had to borrow one, can't rememember), coming back, then driving us home. We haden't even eaten there, and only had a couple of drinks. He refused to take any money, and unfortunately we never got to go back to the Taverna as it was getting to the end of our Holiday.

It's not always as easy as that, if that butcher is going to cut up an animal into a particular set of pieces then cutting a different piece from a different school of butchery may stop him producing the cuts of meat he would normally sell. Unless you are going to buy the whole animal, or at least buy the whole section, it may not be worthwhile him doing it.

That's the sure fire sign! I have a certain fondness for the vinyl tablecloths though.

Their management forced friendliness, warmth and kind attentiveness to your every need translated into providing something to call them is no indication of the food that is being served. Ahem. . Good point. What I meant to moan about is the pre canned greetings masquerading as warm and friendly service.

Any item is descibed as 'The Chef's' - who the hells else is it? The salad dressing (indeed anything else on the menu) is described as special, or secret You can pay extra to have it on a 'sizzler' The waiter/waitress tells you their name Any other good signs?

This sounds like a great venture - makes me want to move to Canada! Regarding the market concept, have you considered extending the concept into wine - have a well stocked wine shop, with expert staff, and allow diners to buy there wine from the shop and drink witht there meal for a modest corkage? There are several smaller scale places which do this sort of wine shop/restaurant combination.