KatieLoeb

Actaully Sam, I think it's more the brilliant advertising campaign that focused on that bottle and it's distinctive shape than anything else. This is where good purchasing comes in. Even if something is trendy for a short while, if it's really trash it'll eventually collapse under it's own weight, or when the "next big thing" comes around, which usually doesn't take too long. If my staff (my eyes and ears out on the floor) tell me that lots of customers are asking for Eau du Merde, then dammit, I'll buy it and stock it for at least a short while. The minute sales drop off it's never reordered. Granted this might be because my restaurant has a particularly small dining room and bar area and extremely limited storage space, both under the bar (our bar is a 16 seat oval in the middle of the room with no shelves behind it) and in the liquor room (which coincidentally doubles as my OFFICE, believe it or not), but I think that's good policy for any Beverage Manager to follow. As for having a particular spirit being the sole reason any customer would come to your bar, I find that unlikely. People go to bars to drink. If you don't have the spirit du jour they're after, they'll order something else. The only time I think that's valid is if someone is on a mission to drink a particular rare cognac, anejo rum or single malt scotch and know that you have it. Or as occasionally happens to me, I'll be jonesing for a Calvados Sidecar and will go to a bar that I know stocks Calvados, since not all of them do, at least in my neck of the woods.

The Vientiane folks are the people that used to own the infamous "Blue Tent" in West Philly. Health Department shut them down for running an unlicensed restaurant and they got all kinds of community support and guidance to help them open and legally license Cafe Vientiane. CV is the only place in Philly that I'm aware of that bills itself as Laotian cusine. Except when you look at the menu there's only ONE Laotian dish on it! The rest is pure Thai. Pffft!

Precisely my point. He's happy to go off and self promote while the restaurant collapses into rubble around him. Happy to fire the guy that's covering HIS ass while he's off self-promoting, and then can't seem to grasp why his investor might be a bit peeved that there's no "EXECUTIVE CHEF" oversight going on while the numbers spin wildly out of control. The job title comes with certain responsibilities. He ignored them. It came back and bit him on the ass. Pretty straightforward and utterly predictable sequence of events from where I'm sitting.

I've had the priviledge of seeing Chef Blank's library first hand. It's impeccably catalogued and impressive in it's breadth. The University (proudly, my Alma Mater) is indeed fortunate.

Interesting. My problem is the waitstaff stealing the pens off MY desk!

I was thinking a tiny and descreet device attached to the inside of the salt and peppers that beeped or set off alarms when the offending customers went through the well hidden and well decorated security devices at the front door (like in a clothing store at the mall that forgets to remove that nasty security pin) might be amusing and a serious deterrent to any other hopeful kleptomaniacs.

Tommy: I get what you're saying, and I'm certainly grasping that it's TV, but I still think you can't possibly edit enough to make someone look that egotistical and irredeemable without their assistance. Even if he were a stand-up guy and a pleasure to work with in the past, it still doesn't discredit his own actions and preposterous posturing once the cameras started rolling. I'm not saying that Rocco is the anti-Christ, I'm just saying that it's within the realm of possibility that his desire for fame and celebrity got the best of him (and that seems pretty obvious I think) and he's evolved into a jackass. I think he has/had enormous talent - that's clear from his rise to respected and "important" chef in the highly competitive NYC restaurant scene at such a young age. No one can take that away from him. But his desire to spend his time on self-promotion rather than on the nuts and bolts of running a high level restaurant kitchen speaks for itself, TV show or not. His ability to use his poor long suffering mother for his own selfish purposes is reprehensible, no matter what business he's in. His complete inability to accept any responsibilty for the failure of Rocco's all along that painful path does not speak well of him in the present tense. Your reputation is what others think of you. Your character is far more important and what you'll be remembered for long after your reputation fades.

Did you catch any of the episodes of The Restaurant?? Seems obvious what the "problem" is. Whether Chef Rocco can dig himself out of the hole he's dug himself with a backhoe remains to be seen. Regardless of his previous credibility and obvious talent, he's proven himself a public spectacle of ego and irresponsiblilty and cesspool of ethics and the poster boy for selfishness. I don't think there's a potential backer left that would want to have to babysit Rocco and his enormous ego through any type of business deal, or at least any one that Rocco would sign on for that didn't hem him in so tight he couldn't scratch an itch when he had one. Of course if he makes enough money selling sausages and cookware on QVC he won't need the next Jeffrey Chowderow to back his next ego project and can go it alone. That might be the best thing for all concerned anyway, if the last project was any indication.

Speaking as one who's in charge of such things, the liability issue is very much a reality. Heaven forbid you slice open a finger with your newly taught brunoise skills and require stiches. If you aren't on the payroll, then the business is stuck with your ER bill. Not a pretty picture. The catering idea that Carrot Top brings up is deinitely worth exploring. The work is seasonal, you can decide which parties fit into your schedule or not and you'll learn a lot about high volume food prep and presentation in a short period of time. Most catering companies are so strapped at certain high volume times of the year that the hiring criteria are usually something along the lines of "Can you plate 200 salads? Do you walk erect? Do you have a pulse? Great - you're hired!" No prior "professional" experience won't work against you if you make it clear that it's your first entry level professional kitchen experience. If you're good, punctual, reliable and take direction well you'll advance quickly. Defintely an avenue worth pursuing and with a greater likelihood of getting hired and seeing some "action" than a high level restaurant kitchen.

Good point and probably spot on. I've always wondered what I would do if one or the pair of salt and peppers went missing before the dessert course? Dare one confront the kleptomaniacal customer? Is there a diplomatic way to search the offenders? What's the proper way to handle this circumstance?

Linda: Where in PA are you? I'm in Philly, but could certainly call my distributors on your bahalf and find out where their products are available either in Jersey or in which PLCB Specialty shops. The Besserat de Bellefon I recommended upthread is definitely an SLO in PA, but I could see how hard it is to find for you. Feel free to PM if I can assist in your celebratory toasting!

With no insult to Mr. Ruhlman or to Chef Keller intended, the reports on Bouchon that I've heard from friends that have been as well as several reports here on eGullet are that Bouchon is quite the disappointment. None of the people I know bear any resemblance to the Jack Nicholson character. In fact, they are folks whose taste I generally trust which makes this all the more difficult to wrap my head around.

Virtually anyone I know that drinks Jack Daniels drinks a Jack & Coke, so I doubt that tiny difference will matter or be detectable to anyone as this cocktail is normally served on the rocks. Anyone that's drinking Jack Daniels neat needs to be introduced to better liquor. By force if necessary.

Today there were two Free Range chicken breasts left over. Too few to run as a special so I got one and the evening manager had one. Served with a lovely sliced heirloom tomatoes on the side, drizzled with good olive oil and sea salt and nothing more. It was delicious! Staff meal today was good too - I had one bite 'cuz it looked so appetizing. Tuna Noodle casserole made with penne pasta, good tuna chunks, really good cheeses and lots of fresh mushrooms. Good crunchy cheese crust on top. Yum!

I have actually set pieces of toast aflame in the toaster oven through my inattention. Seems the instant that toaster oven door closes, the bread slices are wiped from my mind as though surgically removed. This doesn't happen with anything else - just toast.

I've seen the chefs butchering a whole swordfish and that quite often has BIG NASTY worms in it. They look more like a smooth caterpillar . They just pull them out with a needlenosed pliers and keep going. Ever notice that swordfish sometimes has little "pockets" in a steak? That where the worm was. I never eat swordfish anymore. Too skeeved.

If there were a new trendy vodka called "Eau du Merde" that claimed to be distilled from the water runoff from French pastures, the customers would ask for it and my bar would be declared tragically unhip for not carrying it. It's a burden, but my attitude is if they'll pay for it, they may have it, within reason. I refuse to carry Red Bull because I think it's too trendy/trashy for my bar and the people that drink it tend to projectile vomit in technicolor shades of red. Our decor is far too expensive for that and the projectile vomiting isn't something I'd like to promote.

I agree with you, and for the price and for "recreational use" in my home, I'd certainly be buying Luksossowa or Denaka in the teens rather than the mid to high twenty dollar price range. But for my day job, I have to stock a bar for the "see and be seen sipping a martini" crowd, and that which is trendy does enter the equation. If customers are asking for it, then I need to have it and charge accordingly for it.

Didn't you mean "Did The Restaurant turn people OFF to Union Pacific"??

Brie and Fig jam. Camenbert and sliced apples or pears. Horseradish cheddar and apple butter. Good multi grain bread.

2 oz. vodka 1.5 oz. kahlua shot of espresso Pour over ice in a shaker and shake it like it's someone you can't stand. Strain and enjoy.

Melissa beat me to the punch. LocalWineEvents.com rocks no matter where you live. It's pretty comprehensive. On a separate note, that Two Hands wine dinner this Thursday 9/30 in Raleigh looks great. I had dinner with Michael Twelftrees, the winemaker at Two Hands a few months ago. He's a really interesting fellow to chat with and their wines are delicious. I just finished my last bottle of the Yesterday's Hero Grenache recently and have a hankering to go pick up a bit more. All of the Shiraz of theirs I have tried has been spectacularly luscious and I'm particularly fond of the "Angel's Share" shiraz. The "Brave Faces" Shiraz/Grenache blend is a fine example of how well those varietals can thrive in Barossa and the resulting wine is a lovely balance of red fruits with background of spices and herbs. It's truly delicious. The menu for the dinner looks pretty good too!

I always marinate London Broil in red wine, seasonings of choice and lots of meat tenderizer overnight in a Ziplock bag with as much air sucked out of it as possible. Sort of a third world MacGyver vacuum seal, if you will. Then I make it the same way I make roast beef. Bung it into a blazing oven that at 475 degrees for 15 minutes and then turn it down to 375 until the meat themometer reads RARE. Pull it out and let it sit while it carryover cooks to perfect MED RARE. Voila. If you really want a crispy crust you can run it under the broiler for a minute or two at the end, but I find the oven sear doesn't run the risk of getting it so tough.

Actually the Level is pretty good. I was skeptical until I tasted it and it is at least as smooth as Belvedere or Grey Goose. Still not as good as the Zyr though. I stock the Level at my bar and it sells reasonably well. As the brand recognition grows I expect sales will increase accordingly. In fact, I'm banking on it.

Even though it's terrifically out of season, I always think of Julia baking a Buche de Noel every holidays. You could definitely do the Buche de Noel for dessert! And lots of gin martinis...