Amateur Night

[Sneakeater]

I went, alone, to see Jenufa at the Met last night.

Now, as much it might seem like some kind of purposive anti-Valentine's Day gesture to go see this depressing story of unwed infanticide (in Czech, no less), it wasn't like that at all. It was the only performance in this current run I was free for.

I hadn't thought much about problems with dinner beforehand. I mean, I realized it might be hard to get into places, but I usually dine alone at the bar before performances, and I didn't think the Valentine's Day throngs would have any effect on that.

What I didn't think of was the dread problem of Valentine's Day menus.

I plopped down at the bar at my usual pre-opera haunt, Picholine -- no problem getting a bar seat -- only to be told (after they let me order a cocktail, I must say) that all they were serving was their Valentine's Day menu. No bar menu, and not the normal main menu. The Valentine's Day menu seemed to have been specially designed to cherry-pick the most boring items off their normal menu (and to serve boring, simplified versions of those, as well). (I guess it was really the easiest items to prepare -- the bartender explained to me that with the usual influx of customers on Valentine's Day a limited menu was all the kitchen could handle.) And the premium charged was, of course, ridiculous. They told me I could order dishes off the menu a la carte if I wanted, but I was just too disgusted. I left.

I then endured the familiar ritual of wandering around the Lincoln Center area looking for a place -- anyplace -- to buy something to eat, however bad. No seats at O'Neal's. No seats at the antipasto bar at Fiorella's. No seats at Josephina's. No seats at Rosa Mexicana. I looked wistfully at the future home of Bar Boulud, opening this Spring. I reflected that by 2010 I might even be able to get in there one night.

Finally, I decided to bite the bullet and walk over to Cafe Gray. Plenty of bar seats. They, too, had a special (overpriced) Valentine's Day menu -- but Gray Kunz couldn't cook boringly if you put a gun to his head. I ordered two items off it -- a turbot en papillote and veal and mushrooms -- and they were both absolutely delicious. No fall-off in execution, as is often reported on "special" nights like Valentine's and New Year's -- although the weather kept the place from being as mobbed as might otherwise be. I'm mildly pissed off that there were no mignardaises with my coffee, though.

Edited February 15, 2007 by Sneakeater (log)

[oakapple]

I think restaurants are telling us a half-truth. Certainly it's true that Valentine's Day is one of the busiest nights of the year. But there are many successful restaurants (like Babbo) that are full almost every night of the year, and manage to serve a full menu. So it's unclear why so many of them have to pare down the choices to such a pronounced degree.

The reason for the higher price is obvious: they do it because they can.

My girlfriend and I dined at Country last night. They charged their usual price for the tasting menu, but that was all you could get, and they charged my credit card a month in advance. Although it was a very good meal, I nevertheless felt it was a mldly "dumbed down" version of what their best efforts would be like.

We could understand why, since there were probably a lot of people there for whom this is a once-a-year kind of thing. At the table next to us, there was a guy who looked like a Wall Street trader. He paid in cash, from a wad of bills about two inches thick. His date looked like a 22-year-old Swedish au pair, and she seemed thoroughly bored with the food.

[Sneakeater]

We could understand why, since there were probably a lot of people there for whom this is a once-a-year kind of thing. At the table next to us, there was a guy who looked like a Wall Street trader. He paid in cash, from a wad of bills about two inches thick. His date looked like a 22-year-old Swedish au pair, and she seemed thoroughly bored with the food.

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It's funny you should say that. When advising the bartender at Picholine of my decision not to order anything off the price-inflated, dumbed-down Valentine's menu, I was on the verge of saying, "You know as well as I do that I'm not someone who goes out to eat only once or twice a year, and there's no way in the world I'm going to pay a premium for a more boring version of your normal menu."

But my relations with that bartender are nothing but cordial, and I figured there was no reason to be argumentative.

Edited February 15, 2007 by Sneakeater (log)

[Sneakeater]

His date looked like a 22-year-old Swedish au pair, and she seemed thoroughly bored with the food.

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It's lucky you never see me on dates.

[JohnL]

Valentine's Day is for me, not special at all. it has become routine and boring. It is for most an obligation to buy sappy greeting cards, insipid chocolates, mass produced roses, industrial grade Champagne, tawdry lingerie....

And worst of all--to go out to dinner! The one time all year (ok there's New Years eve) when perfectly good restaurants clean up on mundane boring buffet quality food.

I prefer to celebrate by cooking a really great meal opening a special bottle of wine and having a quiet dinner at home!

but then if I were married or had a girlfriend.................

[RobinsonCuisine]

Valentine's Day is more of a problem because every table is two people. Which means the server has to give the same speech etc that they ordinarliy give to a mix of 2, 3 4,5 and 6 people. It takes a great deal of time, taxes the kitchen etc. Add to that the unrealistic expectations of the day, the number of "once a year" diners and you get an idea of why it is such a mess.

Its one of the few days in the year when restaurant professionals question why they went into the business.

[Genny]

Valentine's Day is for me, not special at all. it has become routine and boring. It is for most an obligation to buy sappy greeting cards, insipid chocolates, mass produced roses, industrial grade Champagne, tawdry lingerie....

And worst of all--to go out to dinner! The one time all year (ok there's New Years eve) when perfectly good restaurants clean up on mundane boring buffet quality food.

I prefer to celebrate by cooking a really great meal opening a special bottle of wine and having a quiet dinner at home!

but then if I were married or had a girlfriend.................

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Oh JohnL, bah humbug! You say tawdry lingerie like its a bad thing!

I refuse to go out on Valentine's because I hate the crowds and crappy service. I let the amatures have at it. We had a nice meal at home with a great steak, broiled tomatoes, roasted broccoli and a fabulous chianti.

[H. du Bois]

I'm amazed you were able to find your way to good food at all on a night like that (Valentine's Day and Mother's Day are so not worth dining out).

Would the mignardises have softened the blow of the depressing unwed infanticide in Czech?

[Sneakeater]

See, that's why I felt so trapped. It was like, I wanted to go to this opera, and this was the only night I could do it. And, going there straight from work, well, I had to eat. What was I to do? Go to Gray's Papaya?

But it could be worse. Look at the Eleven Madison Park thread for a guy who has the misfortune to have his birthday fall on Valentine's Day.

[Sneakeater]

Would the mignardises have softened the blow of the depressing unwed infanticide in Czech?

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Maybe if they gave them to the infant.

[johnder]

You could have always just had cheese and wine at Picholine. That has been many a after-opera dinner form. Not the healthiest, but tasty.

[Sneakeater]

They offered that to me, but it was freezing out, and I wanted FOOD.

(Which I got, eventually. I'm not complaining.)

Edited February 15, 2007 by Sneakeater (log)

[johnder]

True -- cheese warms the soul, but not on a night like last night.

[JohnL]

Valentine's Day is more of a problem because every table is two people.  Which means the server has to give the same speech etc that they ordinarliy give to a mix of 2, 3 4,5 and 6 people.  It takes a great deal of time, taxes the kitchen etc.  Add to that the unrealistic expectations of the day, the number of "once a year" diners and you get an idea of why it is such a mess.

Its one of the few days in the year when restaurant professionals question why they went into the business.

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This is exactly what Mike Colameco said on his radio program (food talk) last Saturday.

All those terrible twos!

[H. du Bois]

I'm usually stuck with ordering the smoked salmon during the intermission (not enough time to eat out first). It does the job, but ...

[Sneakeater]

After twenty-five years of frequent operagoing, I just can't do that anymore. I just can't.

[Porthos]

Valentine's Day is for me, not special at all. it has become routine and boring. It is for most an obligation to buy sappy greeting cards, insipid chocolates, mass produced roses, industrial grade Champagne, tawdry lingerie....

And worst of all--to go out to dinner!

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My wife and I have given up on eating out for Valentine's Day because of the crowds.

We were low-brow plus this year. We actually "celebrated" Tuesday evening with our 25 and 19 year-old daughters. Dinner: Meatloaf in the shape of a heart, Au Gratin potatoes, green beans and Cherry Cheesecake for dessert. Didn't even open any wine. What made the meal special was being together. Last night we (don't shoot me for this) had a frozen spinach and feta pizza. My sweetie had an 8:00 appt which didn't leave time for any real cooking.

My wife and I are very much in love after 28 years of marriage and we still date so Valentine's Day doesn't mean as much to us as some. She only gets flowers just because - never for a significant day. Chocolates sometimes.

Edited 'cause my typing is getting worse by the hour...

Edited February 15, 2007 by Porthos (log)

[phaelon56]

I think restaurants are telling us a half-truth. Certainly it's true that Valentine's Day is one of the busiest nights of the year. But there are many successful restaurants (like Babbo) that are full almost every night of the year, and manage to serve a full menu. So it's unclear why so many of them have to pare down the choices to such a pronounced degree.

←

I think you may have answered your own questions. Successful restaurants that are full nearly every night are staffed and organized accordingly.

Less successful places that still hang in there for years by having a moderate but steady flow of regulars and a bump up in covers on weekend nights may have learned from sad experience that in order to maintain some semblance of quality - not to mention avoiding pissing people off by running out of too many items - they need to have a limited menu.

Add to that the fact that your regulars are quite often going to be the very people who don't dine out on Valentine's or Day New Year's Eve. It then becomes far more difficult to to plan purchasing unless you limit the menu.

As for pricing... too bad it's not like it was when I worked in Ithaca - a college town. If you went out to eat on Commencement Weekend, Homecoming Weekend, Parent's Weekend etc. most of the better local dining establishments would provide you with their standard menu (and the regular prices) if you informed them of the fact that you were a local.

But for Valentine's day and New year's Eve? Forget about it - the price was the price and the "special menu" was the only one available.

[oakapple]

But for Valentine's day and New year's Eve? Forget about it - the price was the price and the "special menu" was the only one available.

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In that sense, Country was a pretty good deal last night. They served a tasting menu for $135, which is their usual price.

Not that they didn't get their pound of flesh in other ways. The four-course prix fixe at $110 was unavailable, and they billed my cc for $270 a month in advance. But at least it was the same price that they charge for a tasting menu every night of the week.

[Sneakeater]

Picholine

Normal Seven-Course Tasting Menu: $110

Four-or-Five (I forget) Course Valentine's Day Menu: $150

Ugh.

[Nathan]

I think restaurants are telling us a half-truth. Certainly it's true that Valentine's Day is one of the busiest nights of the year. But there are many successful restaurants (like Babbo) that are full almost every night of the year, and manage to serve a full menu. So it's unclear why so many of them have to pare down the choices to such a pronounced degree.

The reason for the higher price is obvious: they do it because they can.

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of course it's b.s. (at the popular restaurants). heck, as I pointed out on the EMP thread, they'll do more covers on a regular weekend (a. they'll turn fewer tables; b. couples sitting at four and six tops).

the whole thing is cynical.

[Shellygirl]

Sometimes, no matter how hard one tries to rebel against conventionality, a person can find themselves in a position where eating out on “amateur night” becomes a necessity (i.e. at the very beginning of a relationship, perhaps with a European au pair). In this case, the solution is simple. Go small. Use it as an excuse to finally check out the tiny 20 seat little nook around the corner.

I’m not quite sure why today’s posts are filled with disgruntled foodies who know full well what February 14th holds in store for them at their favorite hotspots. As I have said, which I’m quite aware is not a revelation, securing a reservation at a cozy spot with a decent menu is absolutely the way to go. Its far more romantic than any of the biggies, and will be much less likely to alter the menu or change their prices. As far as service goes, you can be assured that you will get the same dedicated, but super slow service you can find any other night.

Let the public have one night and you just enjoy the rest of the year, and just revel in the fact that they’re getting screwed.

[Eatmywords]

I think restaurants are telling us a half-truth. Certainly it's true that Valentine's Day is one of the busiest nights of the year. But there are many successful restaurants (like Babbo) that are full almost every night of the year, and manage to serve a full menu. So it's unclear why so many of them have to pare down the choices to such a pronounced degree.

The reason for the higher price is obvious: they do it because they can.

←

of course it's b.s. (at the popular restaurants). heck, as I pointed out on the EMP thread, they'll do more covers on a regular weekend (a. they'll turn fewer tables; b. couples sitting at four and six tops).

the whole thing is cynical.

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Not necessarily true.....I don't have the stats but many of the "popular" restaurants do more covers on Valentine's day than the avg Fri/Sat. -Deuces don't linger as long. Couples will accept early/late slots. Courses come faster (easier to time a room of deuces than muti sized parties) and as for seating deuces at 4tops and larger, most find a way to turn just about the entire room into deuces.

[Sneakeater]

One of today's foodies was disgruntled because he HAD to get something to eat. It's not his fault that the only night he could get to Jenufa was Valentine's Day. He'd have avoided it if he could.

[Sneakeater]

just revel in the fact that they’re getting screwed.

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On Valentine's Day, the last thing you want to think about is how other peopleare getting screwed, but you're not.

Edited February 16, 2007 by Sneakeater (log)