There were some real zingers…

Then last night I had a perfect ear of corn.  It had been smeared with a careful and measured amount of salt and butter.  But the patience was worthwhile because in that single first bite it was that corn, that corn.  Bliss.

what was I saying…

In any event I arrived home, sat down to polish up my work, and voila.  Puff, it was gone, nothing but smiles and giggles at this moment.

So if you don’t mind I’m gonna just drift off here to the thought of perfect corn…perfect corn.

Had a buddy to the space yesterday to go over my current plans.  He is a serious executive who has been with a few national chains, he and I enjoy getting together and sharing our different perspectives on restaurants.  I mentioned that I was not planning on having banquettes this time ’round as they can, depending on the context, lend too much of a suburban feel to restos, he was not impressed with that comment.  (Paraphrasing) “Not to fucking foo-foo, for shit’s sake–can’t make any money with that in this market.” Was his overriding advice.

Cue Sly & The Family Stone…

Seems someone bought the unnamed Asian restaurant, painted it in a springtime institutional green and put out free samples for passersby.  But what really got me intrigued was the long line down the skyway, the unusually high number of employees at work and the sign above the (served) buffet that read, “EVERYTHING $1, NO EXCEPTIONS”.  Come again?   Well, it seems that the folks at BAMBOO have decided to fuse those two great American institutions…the Chinese Buffet and The Dollar Store…into one frightening concept.  Just walk down the line, name out your 2,3,4,5 items and each scoop or eggroll or (2 chicken wings!) is a buck.  NO EXCEPTIONS.

You know that annoying guy in the cube across from yours that thinks Subway is the best sandwich ever, who digs CiCi’s pizza buffet and who knows which skyway joints have $3 lunch specials on which days?  Well he was there, and so were all his friends and so were all their friends.  And they were all wearing frayed khakis, clunky shoes and ill-fitting polos.  I can’t imagine that BAMBOO is doing too well in terms of margins…but in terms of sheer lunchtime volume they are right in the sweet spot of those cube dwellers.  How did it taste?  Well, let’s just say that it’s really not “passable” any more.  But you should see how much I got for $4!!!

2.  Dill pickle, wrapped in “tin foil”

3.  Apple or grapes

4.  Fruit roll up/snacks

5.  Capri Sun

7.  Pepperidge Farms cookie–usually Sausalito

My mommy made my lunch until the day that I graduated from high school.  First day of school in Minneapolis today brought me back.  Looking for some “reusable school lunch transporter” inspiration for the little ones this year.  Back in the day I was told the heavies at Zaroff’s Deli packed the best lunches…the winner must prevail!!!  Happy 2010-2011 school year!

Not sure how I feel about the whole acceptance of MSG.  Plenty of articles seem to be very critical of the stuff, including this one by Dr. Joseph Mercola.

Do we really have enough info on this chemical?  Are most consumers aware that restos seem to be using this much more than in recent years?  Is this one of those that comes back to haunt us?

1. The folks down at the city whose job it is to analyze our construction plans and insure that we know and understand the applicable codes are going over the plans in detail.  This process can take some time, but we have had such a great response so far, and are well prepared, that we feel confident the process will continue to go smoothly.
2. Heidi spoke with the Whittier Alliance Board members last night, the reaction was very positive.
3. We are waiting for chair samples to arrive.  Many, many chairs have been looked at and considered, we believe we have narrowed it down to one.
4. Meeting with contractor and architect today to finalize construction details.
5. Many of the other quotes, for everything from glassware to water pitchers have been received and are being looked at.
6. We are in the planning stages for the October 15th book launch, and party.
7. The whole team is working on equipment both large and small and securing quotes on all of those items.

The construction work will commence in earnest when the plans receive approval, until then we continue to plan for everything from training to how to change the light bulbs and where to keep them, so that on the day we open we can spend all of our time cooking and serving you.  (That last line was a little cheesy, I’ll admit. but true!)  For the opening date click here.

For whatever reason, whether famous chef, cookbook author, or one of a few chefs in the country with a highly prized Three Michelin starred resto–Thomas Keller runs restaurants that are hospitable to everyone, regardless of age.

“Right this way Hollywood”, said the Maître d’ to my 4 year old as we walked in.  To which he responded “Hey, I’m not a Hollywood, I’m an Aaron!”  The Maître d’ wheeled around, faced Aaron and laughed, “I had no idea.”  Aaron then blurted out, no this table, I like this table.”  He said pointing to a random two top we were walking past.  I interjected, “Aaron let him decided where he has place for us, and please use your please and thank yous.”

“Not at all sir, this is a great table, fantastic choice, let me just push another one up to it, and voila, enough for your whole family. Please enjoy.”

And so it was, service that not only accommodated us with children, they treated our kids like little customers, they actually spoke to them directly, listened for their responses, and all without the usual look to the parents for assistance or impatience. So much so that as Heidi and I began with our salads, Aaron asked for his “mac ‘n roni right away, please”, to which the server responded, I’ll ask the chef to speed it up, and sure enough a few minutes later it arrived at the table.

At one point, when Heidi and I were finishing our entrées the server came to the table and requested the two boys follow her.  They disappeared out of sight toward the front of the resto for several minutes, then returned with stamped pieces of paper, just as they arrived back at the table Aaron excitedly waving the piece of paper around dropped it.  Without missing a beat, she brought him back to the front, despite a full and busy section, despite the fact that this customer wasn’t drinking wine, or eating much, made it right for him.

This behavior is not accidental, and while none of us should be surprised that Mr. Keller runs extraordinary restos, this aspect was especially significant to us.  In our travels over the summer, and visits to some fantastic spots, Bouchon remains a highlight. While bloggers and writers comment on whether children should or should not dine in fancy places, Mr. Keller makes sure that whatever the results of the debate, his guests–all of them–are treated with the utmost respect.

Perhaps this is why: The reality is that the vast majority of decent restos don’t make much money on food.  Even if the COG on paper runs at a good %, by the time it’s purchased, stored, prepped, trimmed, served, and the garbage thrown away–you will have not made much money at all.  So often when clever folks figure out a way to charge more for it, they do.

Lately the catch phrase, or “buzz” word is “Farm to Table” restaurants. Granted, it’s a very tough thing to define, Stacy Pampuch defined it recently this way on Twitter, “no third party handling” (which I understand as: no food coming off broad line trucks, straight from the farmer, no “corp” trucks).  In her defense 140 characters is not a lot of space to explain such a convoluted concept, not to mention that defining this concept is like hitting a moving target.  Much like making your own club up, the rules need to be big enough to keep your people in, and “them” out.

It would be nice if solving the worlds problems were just that easy.  Let’s look at a couple of the assumptions this movement implies:

• If something is local, does it imply a higher standard?  Then why do we buy cherries from Washington, crab from Maryland, or olive oil from Italy?  Is it perhaps because they do are very good job at cultivation specialty ingredients indigenous to their regions?  Just because a local farmer grew it does not mean that it’s the best.  An assumption we reject roundly when it comes to grapes.
• If something arrives on a non “corp” truck can we assume that its carbon footprint is less heavy?  A farmer that drives a truck that gets four miles to the gallon, and pops around town delivering a few items here and there could leave a terrible carbon foot print.  Generally the big broad lines (“corp”) run so efficiently that they do a much better job with this piece.  They often drive better trucks, that get better mileage, are maintained better, and have union drivers.  Can you imagine the environmental impact of no third party deliveries if these practices were adopted on a broader scale?  Then wouldn’t BP love it if we adopted this philosophy.
• If only certain restos are “Farm To Table” then can we assume that there are restos that don’t serve food that was grown on a farm? Frankly every resto serves food that is “farm to table” on some level–even McDonalds.
• If we want our dining choices to matter, shouldn’t we support restos that make an effort to source ingredients locally?  Then we must also assume that because a farmer is local, they must be dedicated to growing food that is environmentally sound, that they employ the best labor practices, that they operate in a conscientious way–more so than farmers from “elsewhere”.  Isn’t making the assumption that we are better than others prejudicial?

In my opinion what matters most is the HOW.  How a resto prepares it’s food, the quality that goes into the labor, and the ingredients (whether local or not), the care and attention dedicated to detail.  How it conducts it’s affairs, who it sources its ingredients from is a part of that, but can also be very misleading.  Believe the latest hype if you must, but know that it’s mostly just that, and know that the primary source of profit for all of us including the folks peddling this latest gem often-very often-comes from Bordeaux.