Cookbook of the day – La Methode

La Methode by Jacques Pépin Publisher Pocket (September 15, 1984)   ISBN 10: 0671504959 ISBN 13: 978-0671504953 Recently, we discussed Pépin’s companion to this volume, La Technique. This is the “continuation” of that first volume. There really isn’t much distinction between the two volumes – it’s not like the first only talks about “techniques” and this one [...]

Obama sells out to the Belgians

http://www.huliq.com/1/84258/obama-beer-summit-feature-red-light-and-blue This offends me on so many levels. First of all, Bud Lite? Plueeze. You can’t give a few calories to the cause of righteous beer drinking and plausable summit holding? Are you going to drink White Zinfandel at the next French state dinner? Second, how on earth can you drink a Belgian beer that [...]

Uniform check reminder

Well kids, it’s that time again – the end of the month. Time to look closely at your uniform. Which items are getting threadbare? Which items aren’t bad enough to toss so they should be relegated to the “emergency” pile? How are the shoes holding up? Do they need a shine or some preventive maintenance? Are the [...]

Recession puts dent in U.S. restaurant count

Recession puts dent in U.S. restaurant count  By Sarah E.  Lockyer       PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. (July  27, 2009) The total number of restaurant locations in the United States shrunk during the past year, as smaller chains and independents in particular had difficulty weathering the economic storm. According to the latest NPD Group ReCount, which [...]

Plea to guests

Let’s say that you have a large party (let’s say more than 6). If you know that some aren’t going to make it, please let your host (or your waiter) know the new number of people so that, say, a handsome waiter with a great blog about waiting tables can remove the other table in his [...]

Why tipping?

A month into doing this blog, I posted the article “Why tipping”? Since then, I’ve had many new readers embrace this blog (I’m on track to have well over 3,000 hits this month, which isn’t too bad for my modest little effort). Anywho, I thought now would be a good time to reprint the article [...]

My foolproof way of cooking basmati rice

When I watch Top Chef, I’m amazed how many times rice is the downfall of a cheftestant. I rarely have to cook mass quantities of rice, so it’s possible that it’s more difficult to cook rice for 10 or more people. But if you have to cook rice for less than 10 people, rice isn’t [...]

Morton’s settles wage-and-hour claims

  Morton’s settles wage-and-hour claims By Mark  Brandau     CHICAGO (July  24, 2009) Morton’s Restaurant Group, the Chicago-based parent of the 78-unit Morton’s The Steakhouse chain, announced the settlement of several wage-and-hour claims dating back to 2003, including a class-action suit filed against the company in 2005.  Morton’s denied the allegations of the claims, [...]

Cookbook of the day – Dr. BBQ’s Big Time Barbecue Cookbook

Dr. BBQ’sBig-Time Barbecue Cookbook: A Real Barbecue ChamQpion Brings the Tasty Recipes and Juicy Stories of the Barbecue Circuit to Your Backyard by Ray Lampe Publisher St. Martin’s Griffin (April 14, 2005)   ISBN 10: 0312339798 ISBN 13: 978-0312339791 If the hyperbole and chest thumping of Paul Kirk (The Baron of BBQ) turns you off, but [...]

Sidework Pt. 2

In part one, we tried to paint sidework with some broad brushes.  I’m not going to list all possible tasks that you might have to do on a typical shift. Every restaurant has its own unique needs and it would be impossible to list them all. Besides, you’ll find out soon enough what they are. [...]