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Friday, May 10, 2002
A Friday Five about restaurants from a few weeks ago:
1. What is your favorite restaurant and why? As far as all-around restaurant experiences go, I'd have to say Kopi. I know of no other place that allows me to lounge for several hours against pillows on their floor, that knows my name and favorite dish, and whose owner seems to enjoy his job and have a life outside of it. As far as quality, the best meal I've had in Chicago was at Grace.
2. What fast food restaurant are you partial to? I never, ever eat fast food... unless I'm face-to-face with an In-N-Out Double Double Cheeseburger, Animal Style.
3. What are your standards and rules for tipping? I start with a base amount. If I'm paying with cash, I double the tax, add it to the total, and round it up to the next dollar or two. If I'm using plastic, I take 20% of the total and subtract a dollar or two. From there, it can go down (long waits, rude service) or up (charm, friendliness) depending on a variety of factors.
4. Do you usually order an appetizer and/or dessert? No, though lately I've taken to ordering two appetizers instead of one entree. If I'm with a large party, especially at a Greek restaurant, I'll order an appetizer for the whole table. If I'm at Serendipity, I'll get the Frozen Hot Chocloate, and possibly nothing else. It is Unquestionably The Best Dessert In The Whole Freakin' World.
5. What do you usually order to drink at a restaurant? For breakfast, orange juice. For lunch, iced tea. For dinner, wine. If I'm feeling saucy, a mixture of all three.
posted by sandor weisz at 2:40 PM | 3 comments
Tuesday, May 07, 2002
Calvin Trillin recently profiled a Greenwich Village restaurant, a favorite among locals, that's been fighting the good fight between popularity and integrity for twenty years:
"When Kenny gets a phone call from a restaurant guidebook that wants to include Shopsin's, he sometimes says that the place is no longer in operation, identifying himself as someone who just happens to be there moving out the fixtures. ... To Kenny's way of thinking, a complimentary mention is worse than a knock. It brings review-trotters -- the sort of people who go to a restaurant because somebody told them to. Kenny finds that review-trotters are often 'petulant and demanding.'"
While reading, I found myself alternating between two thoughts: "Next time I'm in New York, I've gotta remember to visit this place.", then "No, no, if I respect Kenny's business, I must also respect his wish to keep this place private." (If you're wondering why a place desiring anonymity would agree to a profile in a major magazine, it's answered at the end of the article.)
I encountered a similar mindset when I met Bob from Pizzetta 211. It was because of a chance encounter with him, the manager of the place, that I learned of its existence. When I looked up the restaurant on Vindigo in Bob's presence, and came up empty, he was relieved. In business for only a year, they already had a following in the neighborhood that packed their tables on a daily basis. Any extra publicity would only bring in the "petulant and demanding."
There are no simple answers to this. Restricting reviews to prevent the customers we don't want smacks of elitism. Are we going into business to make money or are we going into business to have a good time? Surely both are feasible; balancing the two will take generous amounts of tolerance.
(Thanks to Jason for the link.)
posted by sandor weisz at 11:18 PM | 2 comments
Monday, May 06, 2002
I was prepping the kitchen for breakfast at the Cafe on Thursday when a gentleman came in to volunteer his services. He was slated to serve, but had arrived early and wanted to put his cooking chops to work. I assigned him the task of making the pancake batter. As he got to work, an exchange of small talk revealed what he did with his life when he wasn't feeding the homeless. This nice man, to whom I had given the lowly task of adding water to pre-fab pancake mix, was, in real life, a franchise owner of several International Houses of Pancakes. I was as if I had asked Norman Rockwell to fill in a paint-by-numbers.
After withstanding a flurry of my mea culpas, the gracious Pancake Man began to reveal to us the IHOP kitchen customs that he's used to. At the Cafe, we pour our pancake mix from a pitcher; at IHOP, they use a gun. Our omelette batter consists of egg and maybe a little milk; at IHOP, they inject a few shots of pancake mix to make 'em fluffy. (Shhh! That one's a secret.) When Pancake Man took his spot waiting tables, he'd put in his orders using IHOP lingo. "3 wrecked" meant three eggs scrambled. "62 OM" meant six eggs, over medium, on two plates. I was waiting to see "Adam and Eve on a raft," which I know from movies is lingo for something, though for what I wasn't sure. I'd probably have just sent back an apple.
While its likely that kitchen lingo speeds up operation -- "wrecked" has one syllable; "scrambled" has two -- I'm sure it also exists to give the staff an extra boost of comaraderie. Either way, we must come up with a language entirely our own for our kitchen. Something with both function and flair. Maybe we'd associate each dish with a Chicago icon? For example: "Gimme a Green Line, no Elia!" would mean "I'd like an order of the Milanese Asparagus, hold the salt, please."
posted by sandor weisz at 3:32 PM | Comment?
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