New link posted – Steakhouse Blues

http://www.steakhouseblues.blogspot.com/ I highly recommend this blog from “old school steakhouse general manager–80 hours a week putting out fires [sometimes literally], correcting grammar, opening wine, directing traffic, trying not to kill everyone, and happily receiving the financial tributes of our adoring guests one benjamin at a time“ It’s not often that a post on a blog almost [...]

Cookbook of the day – Cooking With Fire and Smoke

Cooking With Fire and Smoke by Philip Stephen Schulz Simon & Schuster (May 15, 1991) ISBN-10: 0671733095 ISBN-13: 978-0671733094 Well, it’s the Sunday after memorial day and many people are dusting off the grill and icing down the beer, inviting their friends and family over for the communal event that we call “barbeque”. This is [...]

Sometimes it’s the little things…

Grabbing a handful of forks or plates and having exactly the number you need to set a bunch of tables, especially when you make a conscious effort to estimate the number that you’re going to need. A child’s delight at being in the proximity of a live lobster. A table saying, “We know you want to get out of [...]

A primer for would-be “Top chef” contestants

  It’s hard to go wrong with bacon.  Even with ice cream. Never, ever tell a judge what you couldn’t put in a dish because of a screw-up unless you have to (it’s a listed ingredient). They might not miss it. Always taste your dish right before service, especially for the presence (or lack thereof) [...]

Cookbook of the day – Frank Stitt’s Southern Table

Frank Stitt’s Southern Table – Recipes and Gracious Traditions From Highland Bar and Grill by Frank Stitt, foreword by Pat Conroy Artisan, NY ISBN-10: 1579652468 ISBN-13: 978-1579652463 Frank Stitt is a celebrity chef. But not the kind that America and the world knows about because he judges Top Chef, or competes on Iron Chef, or has [...]

Selling the sizzle…

This is an old school advertising term that applies in spades to waiters and waiter-wannabes. Originally, the term probably came from the mouth of a mid-60s chain-smoking, chiseled jaw, (m)ad man describing how he could make a client’s product or service pop by making it as mouthwatering as a sizzling steak on the Weber. The actual [...]

Wine topic of the day – Super Tuscans

This is a very misunderstood concept (as is Italian wine in general). I recently overheard it said that they were cabernets and cabernet blends, at which point another said, “No they are Italian varietals of very high quality” and the conversation touched on the “fact” that they were anything but sangiovese and that’s what made [...]

Tennessee governor vetos “handguns in bars and restaurants” bill

Gov. Phil Bredesen has used his 6th veto against HB 962, a bill intended to allow registered right-to-carry gun owners to take their guns into establishments that sell alcohol, a right not currently granted to them. My opinion? Guns and alcohol don’t mix. Ask Plaxico Burress if you don’t believe me. I prefer my shooters in [...]

Cookbook of the day – A Taste Of Persia

  A Taste Of Persia by Najmieh K. Batmanglij Publisher: Mage Publishers; 2nd edition (December 20, 2006) ISBN-10: 1933823135 ISBN-13: 978-1933823133 As you are probably becoming aware, I’m a sucker for a good history lesson with my cookbooks. This one has a crackerjack one that opens the book. Westerners normally have a very minor acquaintance [...]

Some terms that a new waiter needs to know pt.2

Walk-in – That big cold room where they keep the perishable food. It’s only called a walk-in if you can walk into it. Otherwise, it’s a reach-in or a refrigerator. Alternately, it’s a table that hasn’t made a reservation and has, wait for it…walked in and wanted a table. Get it? Tray Jack – a [...]