As many of you who read this blog know, I can come across a bit high and mighty. The one thing I feel that has allowed me to sound like that, has been the fact that all this time I knew (and I assumed you did too) that I was full of it.

As I chronicle these experiences eating out, I am constantly reminded of my many shortcomings. Of all the things I could have done better.

I was wrong

So often I came up woefully short. I would be so focused on one thing, that I would let other things slip through the cracks. I would get lost on trying to make sure that the over-booked reservations worked out well, but I would lose sight of the fact that the kitchen was buried. Or I wouldn’t notice that a waiter was sinking. Or that one of the bussers was not holding up their end.

And still am…

I’m sure to many of you I come across as the reformed cigarette smoker. That guy who used to smoke like crazy, but now doesn’t, and walks around with the ‘how dare you’ attitude with other smokers.

You probably feel it is easy to sit atop a perch and pontificate about this restaurant shortcoming, or that one, and you’d be right  🙂  but there is more to it than that.

For one thing

For one thing, I am in a position here that requires me to be hyper-critical of service and restaurant experiences. I have students and consulting clients to answer to.

That’s what this blog is about after all…

The whole point of this blog is to point out those errors. To give restaurateurs a chance to learn from my mistakes and improve the quality of their own restaurants. Just remember to take all of these posts with a grain of salt.

I am not, as many of you already know, holier than thou. Especially those of you who have had the pleasure (?) of working with me. BUT, I do have something to contribute. I do want to improve the eating experience of the Portland diner.

In summation:

So, don’t forget that I am a flawed human being just trying to help out a little bit. Please continue to read my posts, but remember that I, too, have made plenty of bonehead mistakes over the years, and will probably continue to do so.