nwyles

My flatware supplier had a scoop in the showroom from Europe that was $80.00 It was filled with a gas that heated up from the heat from your hand and the ice cream slid right out. It was a little pricy and was not dishwasher safe at all. If it was heated too much, the gas overheated and it just became a regular scoop. Too rich for my blood but the perfect gift for the chef who has everything. If anyone is really serious about this, www.puddifoot.com should get you a bit more info or at least contact info - ask for Jason

I am not one thinks the customer is always right etc. , but they still are the customer. I own my restaurant and have learned a thing or two as we bumped along. Here is a little gem that never fails to make me smile. A few months after we opened, I put a dish on the menu - Black and Blue Ahi with ponzu and wasabi mayo - served up like sashimi and very popular. People were having multiple orders, one table had 12 orders one night. Next week I put it on the special sheet again and did so for the next 5 weeks. The next week I decided to try something else on the special. I felt I was shortchanging my guests by not coming up with new stuff etc. I needed to spread my wings and show them what I could do etc. A regular guest walks in and says " hey, where is the tuna ?" I told him that it was time to make something new and quite frankly, I had got a little tired of making it. He says to me " I did not get tired of eating it ! " I changed the menu the next day. I realized it was not about me or my ego, it was about making my guests happy and comfortable. If this was what kept them coming back, who was I to deny them that ? No reasonable offer refused ! A guy wants an all egg white omelete for dinner on a Friday night. In my head I think " what the fuck is this all about ? " but I proceed to make it. I charged him $25. He did not flinch. Next week same thing. Oh well, I am here to run a business. I can certainly find a use for all of the yolks ! If I was just the Chef here, I might have told him no but as the owner / chef, hey, good food cost on that item ! He still comes here after 8 years but now has discovered lamb shanks ! Thank God, cuz' I hate making omeletes If it is not too much trouble to do something a little extra or different to please your guest, why not ? Why did you get in this business anyways ? To stamp your feet, tell everybody how much you know, hear me roar for I am the Chef and you will have it my way ? Time to change jobs !

Last three places I have eaten were in the Magic Kingdom. I realized early on that it was about what the kids wanted to eat so it was very limited. We found a restaurant that served two mini cheeseburgers and fries for kids so Matthew was in heaven. We ate there four nights - pretty good but very expensive. Everything in Walt's world was $$ - it was $2.00 USD for an apple ! Matthew ate four as we were cruising around each day . What can you do ? No, don't eat that apple, have some popcorn instead ! Jochaim of Patina fame has opened a couple of places in Downtown Disney. What a sell-out ! Joan and I have had a couple of fantastic meals at Patina but this place was crap ! There was nothing redeeming about it. Indifferent service, no managemnet contact after sending two things back - those of you who know me know that this does not happen very often, I am a fairly easy going diner as long as I do not have to do the dishes. Brown, wilted lettuce for a Caesar. Deep Fried veal for a scallopini. Canned tomato sauce for gnocchi ( store bought ) the bread was crap - as this was a big woodburning pizza place, you think someone could have come up with a decent bread - there were full baskets on every table - nobody was eating it and no one seemed to care. Really poor - I mean you are a somewhat captive audience as you are on a resort but other people were doing nice food. A small thing but believe me it was a little bit of an issue at the time - they brought two pieces of paper for the kids to draw on but only one fucking crayon - did they like they scremin' baby express right in the middle of the restaurant ? Good thing Joan comes prepared, she whipped a pack of crayons out of her purse before either kid noticed. I mean this is the Magic Kingdom - all of the restaurants and / or outlets were very kid friendly, they thought of everything except this place. Short sinks and urinals everywhere, except here etc. Oh well enough of that. Happy New Year Neil

← I think we have little cult status as we hosted a large egullet event and yes it really is that yummy ! Don't be shy, come on in. Let me know who you are. I always like to put names and faces together. We have a big menu so I am sure that you will find something that tickles your fancy. The food is large portions of comfort food and the service is friendly - fairly straightforward. My personal style is a kinder softer gentler soup Nazi - do not upset me or " NO GINGERBREAD FOR YOU ! ONE MONTH ! OUT !

Hey pal, that new best friend is my wife. I think you have explaining to do. I did not get even a black truffle. What is up with that ?

Obviously didn't sweep the front entrance out properly. ← Hey, dirt does not take a holiday. But I must be softening in my old age, I did not fire anyone on Xmas Eve this year.

Good, no parasitic jackasses allowed. Pumping ? Well, maybe. I just don't want to see you torn between two lovers ! As for the restaurant, I'll get back to you on that - lots of Xmas stuff to do. Places like "C" come to mind but more later ! Neil

Hey ed. , this looks like a research project ! It would appear that it is a thinnly veiled attempt to pump the egullet community for info. Say it isn't so ! You wouldn't be trying to fill up waiterblog with egulletisms would you ? I read the whole site the other night and all of the restaurants have no comments - are looking to fill that up from the mighty gullet ? What is this really about ? Are you trying to get someone to slag a restaurant or are you trying to get an egulleter professional to "out" themselves by their response ? N

One of the best and most consistant rooms in the city. Food prices are very reasonable, but as you always have two starters, a main and dessert with wine as well as an amuse, two cocktails, sparkling water, champagne cocktail and foie gras every time, the bill can add up ( oh wait, that's what I always eat )

I got a call from Liquor control this morning. As suspected, bringing a bottle into the restaurant is in contravention of the Liquor Act. They have posted some clarification on the website as Ontario now allows this. They wanted to state that B.C. does not yet support this. No news if it will or not in the future. More to follow. N

This is exciting news! So just what does Andre have to do to get Chambar firing on all cylinders? A. Forum Narc ← Hey man, why are you so heavy ! You are really bumming me out. Seriously , I had a server not follow my instructions today - I counted to ten and I was still very mad so that is why I wrote the post. By the time I was finished, everything was better. I skipped therapy and went right to egullet ! I am better now.

Ummm, my restaurant is in your route. I have not had a Kolachy. Brian Fowke is there every other day and the p*&%k never thinks to bring me one. I am alsways stuck in the restaurant Arne, what is up with that ? Am I dead to you ? ← All hail King Arne - guess who showed up at my doorstep with not one but two Kolachy's ! Arne, that's right , you guessed it, Arne. And he was rewarded with a big chunk of pastrami that had been marinating for 6 weeks. Now I need to actually break out of my place and go get some more - so very good. P.S. Are they any good when served cold ? N

James , you are the man ! In my enlightened dicatorship it is slightly different but yet still the same. Rule #1. First the guest, then the rest. Seems simple doesn't it. When I was a younger man, I would let ego get in the way. Now, I have realized it is not about me or what I want, it is about the guests and how we can make them happy. I need to remind myself of this every once in a while but it is just "refreshing the basics" Rule #2. Restaurants can't be run from home offices. Period. Rule #3. It is like George Orwell's 1984. Everyone is equal but some of us are more equal than others. Some can handle the big tables and big sections but everyone has something to contribute to the overall fabric of the staff. If everyone were the same, it would not be any fun would it ? Rule #4 What gets checked gets done. There are checklists for opening and closing the restaurant. Start at the top and work your way down. What affects the guest gets done first. This is a constant battle royale. The guests are not impacted by the fact that you do not have a backup of sliced limes but they certainly notice if the walkway has not been swept or the washrooms have no toilet paper. I am relentless in this. I often wonder what the breaking point is for the staff - how many days in a row are they going to hear this before they finally get it. It has been seven and a half years , and I still am saying everyday " have you sewpt outside yet ? " I'll let you know when the breaking point is. Rule #5 This one sounds real heavy handed but it is very, very simple. "As long as you do exactly as I tell you, you will never, ever be wrong !!!" I might be wrong but as I pay the price in all cases, that's Ok. If anything goes wrong, incorrect wine, overcooked food, waited too long for a table, next table too loud, too hot, too cold, anything, it comes out of my pocket, not the staff's. I am also big enough to admit when I am wrong. ( I sound like the Fonz - I was wr wr wr wr wr wrong - ok there I said it, now get back to work or I will send you to bed without any gruel ! ) I have tried letting the restaurant run as a somewhat democratic society but have realized that the enlightened dictatorship is the best way to go. I have everything on the line here, my restaurant, my house, my future and my family's future. Although I agree with James that the service industry needs to be taken seriously, most servers do not take it seriously. ( There are a exceptions - I do not want to invoke a riot ) They still show up without equipment, coming in at 11:59 and 59 seconds for a Noon shift in a crumpled shirt without any pens etc. The few serious service professionals are cherished and held onto. We do whatever we can to keep them as long as we can. Lots of people use the service industry as a stepping stone on the path of life, but if you decide to stand on that stone for a few years, take it seriously. Do the job to the best of your ability. I am not going to sway in the way I want things done. For every rule there is a reason, and one day I might tell you that reason but 8:00 on Friday night is not the time for you to tell me the way you did it at _________________ ( insert any other restaurant's name here ). Two years from now people do not remember that the blond waiter was an idiot and he screwed up their night, all they remember is that they are not coming back to your restaurant. ( BTW, the blond waiter left a year and a half ago and the only constant in the restaurant is the owner. ) Ok , I have to get back to work now ! More on this later, I am sure. Neil

Ummm, my restaurant is in your route. I have not had a Kolachy. Brian Fowke is there every other day and the p*&%k never thinks to bring me one. I am alsways stuck in the restaurant Arne, what is up with that ? Am I dead to you ?

I was able to read between the lines in your post. Welcome to Vancouver , Vancouver Lee. Marcello's Nat's My buddy owns Pizza Pizzaz on Granville Island. I have always had great slices there but they are free for me so I do not know if that sways my decision. Good luck on the quest to find the perfect pizza !

Ok , before this thread starts to get out of hand , a couple of things. The rules are fairly clear. Bringing your own booze into a restaurant is not legal. They are there for a couple of reasons - A few years back , a small restaurant on "The Drive" was selling his own homemade wine as housewine. He got busted. Another restaurant was making border runs, bringing in cheap vodka for the U.S. -busted. The basic reasoning is control of the product and taxes made on it. The gub-ment makes it coming and going on booze so they want to keep strict control on it. Common sense application - Grandma and Grandpa on their 50th wedding anniversary ask to bring in a bottle of champagne from their wedding to drink with dinner. Although in contravention of the strict adherence of the rules, this is not the application that they were intended for. It is a no-win situation. There is not the manpower to police this and nobody really cares. Imagine a hypothetical Dr. David Cooper having a fine bottle that although purchased from the liquor board, it was 30 years ago on his 40th birthday. The Gub-ment made their money off of it at the time and the vintage is no longer available. Same as above ! No one cares. This is not the spirit of the rules and regs. Rico Suave wants to bring his own case of Vodka to his Xmas party - piss off ! Boris Yeltsin brings a bottle of vodka from Russia for him and Bill Clinton to drink a toast with. I do not recall either of those guys spending time in the local slammer for that. ( standing up and drinking is a violation as well - so standing and offering a toast is illegal ) There are restaurants around town that allow you to bring in wine as their list is not so good but the food is. We are not talking about wild raves here, we are talking about a bottle of wine with dinner. These are not the situations that the rules were written for. I will follow up with my local inspector for some more guideance and report back to the team ! CHeers

Probably some grumpy old man with an old garden hoe scraping whatever settled on the surface of the crystalizer, be it bird crap or leaves, into a bin to sell to unsuspecting North Americans

I am not sure but will add something ( bracing myself to be shot down ) but I thought that fleur de sel was what was scraped off of the top dried sea salt - it being the "cream" of the batch. The lighter and finer crystals that rise to the top.

Is it Franz's run ? Please tell me it is as I am short one glass from my wine sampling set. Shit , I see that Mr. Maw has it. Perhaps he would put the wine sampling cup on ebay ?

Not going for a repeat of your Thanksgiving dinner Neil?? Champagne at the Wedgewood? Now that's damned civilized ... just gotta figure out where to ditch the kids! A. ← Thanksgiving dinner was from a high end food shop on the Granville rise. I was sick for two days. Must have been my reheating technique. Don't get me started dammit.

That is the total beauty of it. They supply the bread , mayo and cranberries ! Someone in marketing is thinking. I have always found the dessert to be a little lacking but I always have a few orders of gingerbread pudding on hand to deal with that . I posted somewhere else about this. I think U.S. Thanksgiving thread. Tha Pan tells you what time to pick it up ( within your requested time window ). It is hot and ready to go. Evertyhing comes in a great big box which I set outside the back door to toss all of the packaging in afterwards. It comes with warming instructions( as if I needed that - I eat it in the car on the way home ! ) No muss, no fuss, great dinner, minimum stress and no mise en place. No turkey in the bathtub thawing etc. I love it. The day becomes about spending time with family and friends and not about peeling carrots and spuds.

We have had great luck ordering our dinner from the Pan Pacific and bringing it home. I know that is not what you are looking for but try them. One of the regular restaurants in the hotel might be open. Honestly , I would jump at the chance to have Xmas dinner at the Wedgewood. New Chef , great room , really does it up right. We are going to pop in there on Xmas Eve for some champagne. So looking forward to it. Neil

Keith , there are difficult customers at times, but at the same time there are great ones. I hope I did not come off sounding that way ! I welcome one and all. We certainly do not know what everybody's economic situation is or what the circustances are around their evening. I know that I as the owner have to look at the bigger picture and not at the microcosim of each table. Sometimes you fall into the trap and let the staff's attitude ensnare you. I have to be very aware of this in such a small restaurant. I use this board to sound out any frustrations as it is not something I want the staff to pick up on and have that attitude permeate throught the dining room. Alas , I am just a man and not a machine ! I felt that we gave a great offering last year for Dine Out and I think I rode that wave of goodwill right into the summer. I tripled my entree count during the Dine Out promotion last year and January is not that bad of a month traditionally. I for one say bring it on . ( Keith - remind me to tell you about the guy who thought he could do whatever he wanted in the dining room because of how much money he spent vs. the two old ladies at the next table drinkig tea - I did have to set him straight on that issue ) Cheers

Great post Jamie. I have been reading the Seattle 25 for $25 thread. Heated debate there about the pressure to order wine, sparkling water vs. tap blah blah blah. A slightly different setup for that event. Sunday to Thursday for four weeks, no weekends. For the restaurant , a great plan - introduce people into the restaurant at slower times yet still able to take care of your regular guests who are yearlong faithfuls on the weekend. An interesting read. Lots of people chiming in about lack of service or at least a lower standard because they are on the discount menu , not ordering wine etc. Dine Out is a great oppourtunity for restaurants to make some new friends and really show people what they have to offer. I am saddened by the fact that some restaurants have opted out but I totally understand the reasoning. Running a business at a loss or break even does nothing for the long term health of the business. Although the cashflow is great, eventually you have to pay for that stuff. I was not in the first year and we did very well as so many dining rooms were so booked up and last year we decided to go in and it worked very well for us. We are going to run into the "Uber-bargain " hunter , ( Mr. and Mrs. Water , table for two @ 7:00 , can we have a big booth please ? )insisting on unlimited bread, only water to drink and then asking if coffee is included ( or hot water with lemon , which is a whole other thread in general food topics ). They are out there in non Dine Out times and we are able to shrug them off then. I would hope that we are able to hold our heads up high and do a great job this year. It is normally a slow time of year and this event enables restaurants to keep all of their staff employed. The spinoff from this event is huge - suppliers of all types - linen, meat, seafood, grocery, the liquor store clerks, valets etc, right down to the parking Nazis who patrol Yaletown. Good luck to all in making your reservations. I know that some restaurants only book a portion of their restaurant for this and leave the rest for regular guests. You do stand a chance of getting tables at some of the choice restaurants if you just show up( bird in the hand vs. an empty table ) . Just have a backup plan in place as you might get turned away.