nwyles

In the Vancouver Forum, we are having a discussion about the Health Dept. and the website that they have that lists all of the reports and violations. THe last time I was in L.A., I saw a bunch of certificates in the windows of some establishments listing if they were an "A", "B" or "C" restaurant. Is that rating system still in effect ? Was it city or state wide ? What did you think of it and did a restaurants cleanliness rating affect your choice of dining there or not. I recall thinking that it was brilliant and somewhat self policing - who wanted to be a "C" restaurant and who wanted to eat in one. Does anyone have any insight or experience with this ?

It is a statement of your professional attitude that you show with your own knives. Tell them to fuck off. Communial kitchen knives are for them, and yours are for you. If someone is doing a specific job and you lend them a tool to make it easier, that just shows you are a good guy. They need to be respectful that they are your tools. Do not worry about offending. If they are any type of serious kitchen guy, they will understand. IF they are not, it is better that they do not use your knives as they probably do not show the or you the respect you are due.

The "New Black" refers to that New Yorkers often wear black, and fashion trendsetters are always trying to replace it, such as "Brown is the New Black" or "White is the New Black." It simply refers to trends. ←

In my place, that is called double dipping. If there is an auto grat on the bill, anything extra is questioned by me, the owner, and I have fired someone for this. I always make this very clear with an auto grat.

Sure. Who wants to try this out? Let me know how it works out. I will be ready to jump in with both feet when the reports start coming in.

That is the normal procedure. It is just the restaurants with the huge lists of violations that end up getting the record cleaned up as well. I have not cruised the full list in a while but try and find one with more than ten violations ?

With respect, I think this is crap. A tip is a gratuity - first and foremost. It is a gratuity for service - preferably good service. It is not a gratuity for someone merely living and breathing and turning up for work. Like you Neil, I am happy to leave seriously large tips when the service is seriously good. Equally I am happy to leave seriously low tips when the service is seriously bad. And if it is indeed "the custom" in North America for a restaurant to try to offload personnel costs onto the diners by means of a "compulsory" or "customary" 20% "living and breathing" tip - then I would encourage any and all reasonable protest against this kind of mendacity. (i.e., The mendacity of a restaurant owner saying to his customers "we won't pay our guys a decent wage - but sure hope that you tip them handsomely - regardless of how competent or incompetent these guys may be".) ← No , you are quite correct. A tip is a gratuity and the quantity should be based on the level of service. I just ran in a guy this last week who held to the statement " I don't believe in tipping" - he really was just using it as a cover for him being a cheap asshole. I just got my goat a little. As for the paying of a decent wage, the wage I pay the service staff is offset by the gratuity - true, but it also allows me to pay the kitchen what they deserve. Wages there go from $10.00 to $20.00 per hour exclusive of tip pool which ends up between $2.00 and $3.00 per hour. The whole tipping and tip pool is a touchy subject but it is the system that I work in and I do my best to do right by all involved.

And I'm sure if you ran eGullet numbers ... I'm thinking Ling's Gingerbread bill alone ... they would more than make up for how the E-Card might "shortchange" you! A. ← Ling would put the numbers right off of the chart - I would have to remove her from the equation in order to find any true meaning. Neil

Read upthread - we were both responding at the same time. Also - I had a chap come back into the kitchen to meet me the other day to tell me how much he loved the restaurant. He said that his introduction to it was through the E-card and that they had been back 10 times since. That is how you hope it would work. I have run the numbers on all of the e-card figures - I actually do it about every quarter just to check. The e-card diners spend slightly more than the average cheque and are mostly groups of 4 or more with one card. The numbers work out every time. It is just the occasional Mr. and Mrs. Water in the mix that sour people on it. It is unfortunate that is usually the lasting impression that some servers and other industry folk have but like I said, if you run the numbers ( and I have lots to run ) , it works out in everyone's favour.

Now where did you hear that ? I do not recall any "party", only a friendly gathering around the teapot to congratulate the winners.

I accept the card so much that I do not really care of the circumstances. 3500 redemptions in one year is lots. My mother could use it and I would not really care. What does irk me sometimes is the attempted double dip - show up with an e-card and a gift certificate and something else like a corp. discount. I do not stand for that. It is one or the other - I will not be ripped off. You will not mistake my generosity for foolishness. Do not try and manipulate the system - use it in good faith and the spirit it was intended. As for the tipping aspect - I do not really get into that with the staff but I understand that they run the chances of good and bad equally with or without he card. You are either a good tipper or not. Those who tip on the discounted amount certainly know they are doing it just as much as the under 10% tipper knows they are doing it. The card does not really make a difference in that dept.

In general, I find that I am a good tipper. I have tipped up to 100 % for excellent service in an enviroment that perhaps would not attract people with that caliber of skill. I never really worry about pre or post tax figures - I just take into account how I was treated and if anyone ever had to go the extra mile. I always add an extra $5 to $10 if I am dining with kids and some extra cleanup is involved. I get annoyed at people who say they do not believe in tipping, or that the industry should just pay better etc. That is the custom in North America. We all live with it. I think it is just a catch-all phrase for really saying you are a cheap prick. Do you think that my making your little stand that you are going to change the industry. Bear in mind that you benefit from the sometimes low wages in the form of low prices. Try saying " I do not believe in taxes " and refuse to pay them. See how far you get with that. This is the dining custom that has evolved here. Deal with it. If you do not believe in tips, do not dine out. Make your stand at home.

Come on ! I have large blown up copies ! I live for that.

Took the kids to Victoria this weekend - a little R & R. Lots of fun. Here is the list of places that we went. White Spot on B.C. - the kids love it ! Pirate packs all round. They were soooooo excited about a White Spot on a ferry. Dinner - the Keg on Fort Street. All good. Had the classics - escargot, prawn cocktail, prime rib, teriyaki steaks etc. What really caught me by surprise was how inexpensive it was. Maybe I am just used to paying Vancouver prices. Breakfast - Smitty's - The restaurant that specializes in pancakes. It is what it is. The service was lacking and bordering on rude at points but it was just breakfast. We let it go and got on with the day. Lunch - Rotten Ronnie's - The pressure of a four year old ! I caved. Dinner - Milestones - A comedy of errors too numerous to mention. Slow, cold food and drinks - beer was warm - dinners came before appitizers - I knew that the guy who took our order was our server, but he did not deliver a thing - I ordered a second warm beer from the busser. Our server came by to see that we had all of our food on the table at once and wondered aloud " How did that happen". He just did not get it. I give off a certain vibe when I am not happy - the manager looked over to see me scowling and quickly averted his eyes and looked away and then found some busy work at the bar to do. I do not know why we keep going back ? Convienence ? Geography ? Glutton for punishment ? So many good things going on there but the service really, really sucks on a consistant basis. I need to finish quickly as the kids are now awake. A duo of White Spot visits capped the trip. One in Victoria for breakfast and then lunch on the ferry, arriving back in town just in time for the Van Mag Awards.

Ah, the E-card. I have been accepting this for a couple of years now. All in all, a good thing. There are a few occasions that make me shake my head but for the most part, it introduces people to the restaurant who might not have been before. Like anything else, you get good tables and bad but the one thing that just baffles me every year is the number of guys who show up on Valentine's day with this and get in a snit when they find out that they can not use it on that day. This year was the topper - I had one chap storm out only to call back and tell me how I ruined his Valentine's Day and now they had nowhere to eat. I wanted to tell him that his Valentine's Day was ruined because he was a loser, but I did not. I did let him know that had he cooled his jets for a second, he would of realized that he did have a place to eat, that he did have reservations on Valentine's Day but he blew it by storming out and I have given tha table away. I told him that although his dinner might have cost him a MAX $22.00 more than he thought, he did have the other 360 some odd days in the year to use his card. I don't think that this helped him in that moment because I could her his date screaming at him in the background. I doubt the evening ended up as he had hoped. The other one is the maximum number of cards per party - three - period - that is it - three. The lady who berated me because I would not accept 10 cards for a party of twenty. She had everything - I have told all of my friends we are coming there - it is my birthday - what if I book ten tables of two next to each other ? - that was a classic ! - I told her that because she had already shown her hand and outlined how she was going to try and take advantage of me, I would not accept the reservation. She told me how much money she was going to spend and how I was going to suffer financial loss because of it. I told her I was willing to take that chance. It was touch and go there for a second, but I pulled through ! Now, like I said, a good thing. These are just a couple of examples of difficulties I had had this year. We have had 3500 e-card redemptions this year, so in that amount, you are bound to find a couple of losers. As a note to the Dining Diva - please re-read the above part about maximum number of cards - As much as I am fond of the egulleters, a table of twenty sporting ten Entertainment cards would only end up in me writing another post about " A funny thing happened at the restaurant today.........". Anyways, now that I know who you are and your evil plans, I will be watching for you all the time, ever vigilant, standing guard against the egullet army !

Wow - Hats off to Jamie for pulling off a fantastic "cut and paste" job to get that post up at 2:00 a.m. I dared not touch the keyboard until I woke with a swollen head at about 5:30. A few too many cleansing ales on my part at a rowdy post awards bash at Chambar! I do not think I will be running any marathons today !

I monitor this site quite often. I am not sure how it is managed but I did see one restaurant with a scathing report with 23 violations and a closure threatened. It was disgusting to read. The next day I dialed in to see it again or see what had happened and now the restaurant was listed with 0 violations and no record of the previous report. I thought that the public deserved to know what condition that restaurant was in. What was listed there was more than a one day clean-up, and show a lack of concern about cleanliness and food safety. This is not the first time that I have seen this. I have seen it for a more high profile restaurant in my neighbourhood as well. What is up with that ?

As for frozen pastries, Tim Horton's has moved in that direction as well. I am not sure if that has been covered elsewhere or is a blinding flash of the obvious. Neptune Foods put in a 200,000 square foot freezer just to accomodate all of those "Fresh Doughnuts". I have not been to a TH in a while - what is their catch line ? "Fresh Baked" ? "Oven Fresh" ? "Oven Baked" ? "Previously Frozen" ? "Mass produced in Ontario" ? "Trucked out with Techron" ? "Now available at better gas stations with Sushi !"

Just a coffee on the bill.

One of the guys at our table ordered a coffee after dinner and was very impressed that it came as an Americano. This is a move that I have been considering and trying to impliment at the HSG but old waiter habits are hard to break. It is a small thing but I think that it exceeds the guests expectations. I would certainly be happy having that than a cup of coffee that has been sitting in a thermos for an hour. Alistair, any thoughts on that ?

Booked a table of 10 for wife and friends on her birthday. Arrive at 8:30 - place is packed - had to elbow our way up to the hostess. Table is ready right away. Seated in the back section - I had never been back there - both times previous we were up in the front. - Nice look, great feel. Some really nice light fixtures, fantastic tables. Side note - one large booth in the corner - the power booth - sat empty all night - rumour had it that a four piece band from Ireland might appear for dinner - That would have been very, very, cool, but alas, they did not show. Spoke to Sean Heather today - there was a table set aside for an Irish band at the Heather - that was for tonight ( Sat. ) so I do not know if they showed there. This is my third visit. The first two were Ok - there were some service issues, nothing major. I would imagine that hitting the ground at about Mach 3 will do that. The food has always been stellar and tonight did not dissappoint. Chef Nico delivers. Hot, interesting, nicely plated, fresh, all good. Really. What really stood out was the service. It was spot on. There when you needed etc. I was watching the room all night and that was what was going on all over the place. The perfect amount of staff on to make everybody happy. Nobody was running, everyone working as a team. Smooth. Comfortable. They read the table well. We were there to have fun, 10 friends who have not seen each other in awhile. No flourishes and fanfare with each meal delivered, announcing every farmer who had a hand in the growing of the vegetables, everyone scared to eat it because it is so pretty - this is not that kind of place - the food was fantastic and lots of it. It was devoured, right to the last lick of sauce. We had fun. It lived up to it's name. A good time all round. Lots of beers and wine, water glasses always full etc. Chef Nico is either a genius or so cruel. Those mussels are crying out for a loaf of bread to mop up all of the sauce. It is offered as a side. Clever, very clever. There has been lots of chatter on this board about Chambar. Most good, some not so good. The reality is that this restaurant is still in it's infancy and is already hitting it's stride. This city has not seen many restaurants open up with the sort of, I do not know - hype, anticiapation, longing, curiosity - wow - these guys really delivered. Chambar is here to stay. They are not a flash in the pan type of place. There food is a clear hit and the service matches. Kudos to Nico and Karri and staff for a job well done.

I was informed that I had won an Horourable Mention by Pino as I entered the festival this afternoon at 3:00. To my surprise, I won a bronze ! I must say that I am very, very pleased. Rumour has it this award comes with a $10,000 cheque ! Where do I pick it up ? I am heading off to Chambar this evening and I could use a couple of bucks as I am hosting for my wife's birthday. I will place this on my mantle at home, next to the award I won as a six year old in soccer as most improved player. Congrats to all winners - Sean Sherwood, Len @ C, D. Hawksworth, EatBC, Vikram Vij, Alex@Chi, Kari@ Chambar Neil

Hey, until I met you in person, I thought you were Jamie's alter ego. Like Clark Kent and Superman, never seen in the same place at the same time, but somehow connected. I think a round on you is in order for releasing the beast of F. Morris Chatters. Can you put the genie back in the bottle ? I fear it is too late. I think that Maw is nearly done production of the next issue of Van Mag, so he is going to unleash F. Morris with a furious vengence real soon.

I am sooooo jealous - I have to go to the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival Buyers afternoon today........crowds one tenth the size of the regular nights - no people bumping into you, no one pushing past you to get their oz. of wine - what fun is that ! Only quasi civilized wine tasting ! Seriously, speaking of egulleters everywhere, there is not a day goes by that at least two are not in the restaurant - sometimes at the same time - Last night, myself and Chef Fowke, HKDave, Editor@Waiterblog, PaoPao and newbie, DiningDiva and I saw Daddy-A pressing his face up on the window in the morning - this is all on one day. I am starting to consider restraining orders.