When a Party Takes On a Life Of Its Own

Have you ever hosted a party that became larger than life? My wife and I hosted a neighborhood New Years Eve party for over 25 years. We started when we lived in Delaware and our Supper Club friends were an integral part of it. When we moved to Tennessee we continued the tradition.

The party started out at about 25 people. Our Supper Club and neighborhood in Memphis is a lot larger. I should have known we were in trouble when during the course of the year we got alcohol induced queries about what someone needed to do to get an invite.

Credit to my wife. She saw the storm coming and wanted to curtail our efforts long before I did. My theory has always been the more the merrier. I “say” I can cook for 50 as easy as 15. But I was wrong. The party got up to 40 people and simply, got out of control. There were people there that we barely knew and Susan felt she wasn’t able to enjoy the time with her friends.

I need to explain that the party was a pretty big deal. We started out with drinks and grilled pizzas. Then we had a sit down dinner with 3 entrees and at least 5 sides. We always had a “game” with a version of the Newlyweds Game being the most infamous. Of course there would be desserts and a champagne toast.

The logistics of pulling the party off was a challenge that I liked. Organizing the food prep, renting tables/chairs (one long table wound through the house), renting China (who has China for 40?). Susan being smarter than me was quick to point out that we were out control. Not to mention the cost. One might guess why the party was popular. It was certainly a lot cheaper to go to the Kenny’s than restaurant options.

Finally Susan put her foot down and said the party needed to kept to 20 people. That was fine but the unintended consequence was that there were over 20 people that got cut from the list that didn’t quite understand and are still mad at us today. Oh well.

Four years ago our niece’s wedding saved us. The wedding scheduled on New Years Eve forced us out the NYE party business. It was sort of like the Chinese bamboo shoots under the fingernails. Boy does it feel good when you pull them out. Now we are just thankful not to be hosting the NYE party.

As final message to Supper Clubbers:
• Listen to your wife. Woman’s instincts on people are probably better
• Beware of unintended consequences
• Apologies to those who got cut. You are right. Susan is a sweetheart and I am an asshole.

If you enjoy this blog and similar other stories/supper club lessons subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and be on the look out for my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs due out from Morgan James Publishing on January 30, 2018.

A Free Dessert Isn’t Worth It

We have all been to a restaurant with someone who always seems to find something wrong. The worst part is that there are those that find something wrong simply to get something for free. It drives me nuts. If you are complaining in an effort to get a free dessert, something is wrong.

Years ago we moved to northern California. While we were on a house-hunting trip we were staying at a very nice hotel with a really good restaurant. In the middle of our meal the table across from us have a major issue. The customer claimed to have found a cockroach in their salad. There was a blow-up with the waiter and then the manager. After the offended party had left in a huff, the manager came up to us and explained that it was the fifth time he had the same incident happen. It turned out the “Offended” party had replicated a scene from the movie “Victor Victoria” that had recently played in theatres. Maybe the people at the table across from us were just bad actors.

The sad part is that the easiest way for managers of a restaurant or anyone in a service industry to deal with an unruly customer is to give them something for nothing. It is almost like we are being trained to complain. Social media is compounding the problem as complainers have a larger platform to hear their complaints and management is more than motivated to make complaints go away.

When I have a problem at a restaurant I will go out my way to try to explain that I am complaining to let the restaurant know about a problem and that I do not want something for nothing. This has actually worked against me. I once took customers to a very nice restaurant. There were 5 of us and we ordered a bottle of wine. The waiter “over-poured” the wine for 4 guests and then came to me with “you will want another bottle of wine”. The waiter then tried to “up-sell” a few more times through the course of the dinner. It was a situation where I didn’t want to make an issue in front of my customers. The issue just stayed with me. The next day I called the restaurant and got the manager. I told him that I wanted him to be aware but I did not want something for nothing. He handled the situation very well finally he said to me “I know that if I don’t give you something to come back you won’t”. He was right I didn’t accept something and I didn’t go back for 5 years. It became my problem.

I don’t have a solution to the problem. I do know that I make a practice of avoiding known offenders (you know who you are). I also go out of my way to complement good service. I am one of those relics that will still send hand-written notes. I send lots of notes. I also try to use social media to be positive. If you look for good stuff you can find it. In most cases it is easier to be nice. And besides, you probably are better off without the extra calories associated with a free dessert.

If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are sold.

Signature Drinks

One of the keys to kicking off a Supper Club or dinner party is getting guests a drink as quickly as possible as they arrive. It doesn’t need to be a “signature” drink. It doesn’t even have to be alcoholic. There is just something welcoming about giving guests a drink.

Signatures drinks are great for Supper Clubs. The first time I made Mint Mojitos for a Supper Club it was a huge hit. In the spring my mint crop is prodigious so I thought I would give it a try. Initially, our guests were less than receptive. Being wine drinkers they were a little leery of something rum based. A few sips in and they were hooked. I have also used champagne cocktails along the same lines. My brother in law makes cocktails based in fresh fruit juice that are great. Doing something different sets the right mood and gets your guests thinking that there are in for special culinary evening.

Signature drinks are one of the keys for a successful wedding reception. For whatever reason my wife and I have been to a lot of weddings over the last few years. There is nothing worse than having to wait on a long line to get that first drink at a wedding reception. About 80% of the time that is the case. It doesn’t seem to matter how simple or elaborate a wedding is. If there is a long line to get drinks it sets the wrong mood.

We went to a wedding last summer of the daughter of a friend who is a corporate titan. My buddy spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the wedding and that didn’t prevent the 30 – person line-up to get a drink. It is pretty simple; all you need to do is to have the wait staff walk around with trays of drinks. The drinks don’t even need to be all that special. Red and white wine would be great. The key is to get the wedding or any party started on the right foot.

Having been to a lot of weddings one witnesses all types of strange things. One of the funniest things I have ever seen was people trying to eat poorly prepared oysters. This was at a very elaborate wedding where our hosts spent a lot of money for a beautiful raw bar. Oysters have two muscles attachments one for the upper shell and one for the lower shell. The caterer had cut only one of the two muscles. The poor guests had waited on line to get their drinks. Then they went straight to the raw bar. Just picture a group of people dressed in their finest trying to balance a drink and eat an oyster sabotaged by still having the muscle attached to the shell. It was hysterical. Not to mention the one poor guy that lost the oyster’s cocktail sauce down the front of his light blue suit.

For other tips on Supper Clubs and entertaining keep reading my blog at www.impromptufridaynights.com and be on the lookout for the book Impromptu Friday Nights – A Guide to Supper Clubs due out from Morgan James Publishing January 30, 2018