Cookbook of the day – An Encyclopedia of the Wines and Domaines of France

An Encyclopedia of the Wines and Domaines of France: France’s Top Domains and Their Wines by Clive Coates MW (Master of Wine) Publisher Mitchell Beazley; illustrated edition edition (October 1, 2005) ISBN 10: 1840009926 ISBN 13: 978-1840009927 I have the original edition of this book (2000), which has the above pictured cover. It has been [...]

Poll finds around 75% of restaurants in Memphis and Nashville will ban guns

“Walt Baker, CEO of the Tennessee Hospitality Association, said his group has received about 100 responses to a statewide survey of 650 restaurant owners. He said 78 percent of the respondents said they would ban guns on their premises. Of the other 22 percent, about half were concerned that posting signs would hurt business by [...]

Starbucks to rebrand selected locations to offer beer and wine

From Restaurants & Institutions: Starbucks location to serve booze UPI, July 17, 2009 Friday 12:42 PM EST “Starbucks said one of its Seattle stores will serve a variety of beer and wine as part of its effort to rebrand the location as a locally-oriented cafe. The store, set to reopen next week after renovations under [...]

Note to guests – pens are not party favors or complimentary gifts from waiters.

That is all.

Cookbook of the day – Wine

Wine: A Comprehensive Look at the World’s Best Wines by Christian Callec Publisher  (October 7, 2003) ISBN 10: 0517221659 ISBN 13: 978-0517221655 This book is one of those books that was designed from the outset to be marketed as a “remainder”, those less expensive books that you find on the budget tables of bookstores. It’s a [...]

A few tips if you’re looking for a job as a waiter, but have never waited tables pt.2

This is all about the interview. And yes, I managed a restaurant for 4 years. It’s 4:15 on a Friday night and I’m putting my floor chart together. I’m going to have a pre-shift meeting in about 20 minutes and I’m coordinating with the kitchen to find out what we might be short of and [...]

Foodie guilty pleasures

Yep, foodies also enjoy things that are either bad for them, overly processed, filled with preservatives, bad on the waistline, the heart, the stomach and skin, and they are loathe to share these things so not to be stoned by a judgmental foodie public and set off into the culinary wilderness. But I am of stout heart and unafraid. [...]

A few tips if you’re looking for a job as a waiter, but have never waited tables pt.1

These days, it’s getting harder to get a job as a waiter, just like any other type of job. When you’ve been in the industry awhile, you have your ear to the ground. You’ve developed industry contacts, you and/or your restaurant has a rep, you have some standing in the restaurant community. It’s easier for [...]

“How’s yer book coming”?

At a standstill. Thank you for asking.

“The stuff that I wish I had written” for the day

From bitter waiter (see perma-link in blogroll.) “And they never hesitated to ask me for water refills.   In new glasses.  With a side of lemon, dead puppies, and crushed dreams”. I guess you have to read the rest of the post for this to resonate: http://tinyurl.com/bitter-waiter It’s too many syllables for haiku, but I wish I had written it nonetheless…