Ok, I stole this one from a bumper sticker. I don’t usually get much out of bumper stickers, but this one caught me off guard and really cracked me up (fortunately, it didn’t really crack me up because I was on my bike and that would have been bad). The actual bumper sticker reads: “Keep…
Category: bar
Write it Down
Please When I was younger (much younger), and a bit more tolerant of the unseasoned diner (yes there was a time–although my kids would never believe that), I worked at a posh, (that word was used at one time), Beverly Hills steak house. Tableside service. Salad tossing. Beef carving. Desserts flambe. I could memorize a party of eights’…
Urgency
One thing customers need to see at most of the restaurants they eat at is a sense of urgency by those helping them. When people go out, they want to at least feel that the staff is actually there to lend a hand. It’s not my problem Now I never liked waiting on customers who feel the need…
Controlling Costs
Back In May, I published a post titled: “10 Reasons Why Restaurants Fail.” https://tabletalkpdx.com/2013/05/11/10-reasons-why-restaurants-fail/ One of those reasons is not controlling costs. It is about time that I re-visit this. One thing great chefs know is that if you want to play this restaurant game, you have to treat it as a business. Yes, it is…
Which Would You Do?
I would like to tell two stories and let you decide for yourself. Scenario one: A friend of mine stops to get a latte at a local coffee house. She doesn’t see the cash only sign and proceeds to order from the barista. She receives her coffee and attempts to hand her credit/debit card to the…
Who’s Watching the Door?
I recently had the chance to visit the great state of Hawai’i for my darling wife’s birthday (I did bring my wife this time). We had a fabulous time and managed to eat out at a few ‘fancy’ restaurants. It can be a challenge mentally going from no-sales tax Portland, to over-priced resort world, but…
Front vs. Back?
I visited a new place in town the other night with my dear wife. I like going to new places (who doesn’t), seeing what’s happening in town, watching the different approaches to the same old business. I love this most of all My favorite part of going into a new restaurant has to be the…
Teamwork
Unfortunately, there are many restaurant servers who forget that there is no ‘I’ in team. So often they are focused only on their own section, apparently unable to see anything else. Almost like a horse with blinders, they just plow ahead. I don’t mean to pick on just servers, I was one for many years…
Preset
I have talked before about the importance of mise en place for the front of the house. This definitely falls under that category. Whether you own a fine dining establishment, or just a local neighborhood joint, pre-setting of silverware and other things is still very important. It actually makes the whole experience better for the…
Work Ethic
Because of my resposibilities here at the culinary school, I am often asked to speak to students who are about to leave the nest and go out into the real world. I find myself returning to this same theme over and over again. I see this all the time in this business: Those who work…
How About a Best Service Shout Out?
Every year we get the pleasure of reading about all of the ‘best’ restaurants in town. The Oregonian and Willamette Week bless us with their ideas of which restaurants really stand out for one reason or another. I am not here to judge their results, or the qualifications of those doing the judging (sounds like I…
Take Care of your Staff
It’s an old saying, but take care of your employees and they will take care of you. You want to get customers in and coming back? Make an effort to make your staff a happy one. It starts with you. You can be that boss who stays in the office, never engages the employees, OR you…
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