To Serve And Be Served

Here is an easy question, what is the worst service you ever received in a restaurant?  Since I live in the land of box format eateries i.e.(Applebee's, O'Charleys, etc)  I have a million different stories of bad service.  Most involve a waiter or waitress not simply listening and having about the attention span of an ant.  They are more interested in getting back to their phone so they can OMG to their boyfriend about how much they hate their job.  Meanwhile I am wondering if my drink will ever be refilled.  To get bad service usually means that either you got a bad server or the kitchen is a train wreck. Either way your probably not going back to that restaurant for a long time if ever.

Since I have been at Culinary school I have seen all ends of this endless circle of excellence and disaster.  I have worked in the school kitchen and I have served in the dining room class.  If your not in the industry then you just expect to get great service and great food every time, right?  Before the doors open this is the wish of everyone working, trust me.  To have a perfect service is an expectation that you will dream about, but will never happen.  What separates a good restaurants from bad one is how they can work together to overcome the train wreck and make it seamless to the customer.

Yeah so the cook is hungover, too bad cook and make it taste good.  Yeah so the waitress just had her boyfriend break with her, so what you better have a smile on your face and treat each table like its your grandma or Sister Ann from St. freaking Mary's.  Is this harsh?  Heck yeah it is, and that is what makes this industry one of the hardest to work in on a daily basis.  Because the customers coming into your restaurant don't care about any of your sob stories, they just want their drink refilled and their food correct and hot and served with a smile.

So if you are in the industry and you thought this post was uncalled for then I would say, the world need ditch diggers too.  As for you Mr. or Mrs customer I would tell you to not pay for crap.  If you feel your food sucked don't pay for it, because your food and your dining experience shouldn't be like a slap from a clown.

BBQ Sauce On The Brain

When the weather takes a nasty turn I find myself inside and I think about condiments.  My favorite one is BBQ sauce, yes I consider it a condiment and I like to use it on almost everything.  Here is a recipe for a pretty darn good BBQ sauce.  It calls for 2 bottles of beer I should suggest two for the recipe and two to drink while making. 

Yield: 8 servings
Bacon, smoked, diced (or one ham hock)	8 Oz
Onion, large, smoked, coarsely chopped	1 each
Garlic cloves, smoked, chopped	4 each
Ancho chilies, stems and seeds removed	2 each
Arból chiles, stems removed	2 each
Cracked black pepper	1 TBS
Worcestershire sauce	2 TBS
Beer, 12-Oz bottles	2 each
Ketchup	2 C
Hot pepper sauce	6 dashes
Lemons, juice of	2 each
Kosher salt	2 tsp
Instructions:
1. Place bacon in a small sauce pot and cook over medium heat until crisp. Add smoked onions and garlic and sauté until translucent. Add ancho and arból chiles to pot and cook until chiles start to toast. Add cracked black pepper and deglaze pan with Worcestershire sauce and beer. Reduce sauce until it starts to thicken, then add ketchup and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 15 minutes. Season sauce with hot pepper sauce, lemon juice and kosher salt. Strain barbeque sauce through a chinois and reserve.

The Thin Line

With the new year if gives us time to reflect and look forward.  Hopefully in a positive manner, hopefully its an opportunity to get excited about the challenges ahead and the unseen rewards of just being alive.  For me I always look to be positive and hope for the best but then I come to, and realize with everything there is a thin line of BS that most people want to ignore.  Well I am the one who looks for that line first and then I go from there and evaluate. 

This is not the best way to muddle through things including food and all things culinary because will make you one grumpy person.  I can't just watch a simple cooking show without first ripping it apart with my cranky suggestions or culinary corrections.  I am not proud of this, but after one year at Culinary school I consider myself a genius of all things food.  I am kidding, I am no genius of anything, to be a genius you have to be a smart I am just cynical.  Which along with my sarcasm makes for a pretty hilarious time when watching the Food Network.  Hey I would love to make the jack these folks make for making grilled cheese ten different ways but for now I will sit on my fat butt and enjoy myself by looking for the thin line of BS.

Cooking With Friends

A few weeks back my friend Bill Early asked me to help cater a dinner for about 70 folks, I immediately said, "hellz yeah."  So while you are watching boring football I will be making some awesome food with friends.  If we take pictures of the food I will update this post later. 

Here is the menu:

• Prosciutto di parma with aged manchego and Arugula on Crostini
• Seasonal Bruschetta
• Seared scallop with caramelized brussels sprouts with vinaigrette
• Quinoa cake with aged balsamic, seasonal vegetables and fried sweet potato matchsticks
• Bison Slider with aged goat cheese on mini bun
• Chocolate Chiffon Tart and Fresh fruit tarts

Run And Tell That

Well hello, figured I would leave you with the standard end of the year review post. You know the one where I talk about all the boring stuff that happen to me during this year that you don't care to be reminded about. Also it would be where I would tell you all the cool stuff I am going to do for the next year. Which would include loosing weight and spending more with friends.

Let's review why this post would be boring and would probably make you want to punch me in my throat. First, my life is not that exciting, and it would be embarrassing to try to make it more exciting than it needs to be for you and I. Secondly, I find that looking back just makes you just remember what you failed to do to make it better. So what does that leave us? How should I continue this post and keep your attention? I say lets just sit down and enjoy this video that will always remind me of 2010. It helps us all remember that something dumb is normally the funniest.