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.

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Food Guy Or Food Snob?

I have always been the guy friends have gone to with food related questions. Or maybe the food snob. A classic example of this was when my buddy Jerry asked me “What is the best Italian restaurant in Memphis?”

Jerry has run major arenas across the United States. He asked me the question when he was running the Pyramid in Memphis. My immediate response is that there is no REAL Italian restaurant in Memphis. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great restaurants in Memphis that call themselves Italian restaurants, but they are not Italian restaurants by my New York standards.

That sounds a little snobby, but you have to recognize where I come from. In my grammar school class there were 35 kids and 32 were Italian. (Patsy Frachetti, Tommy Palumbo, Georgy DeLeo, Danny Monteforte, my best friend Tony Ciafone and on and on). There is a reason my nickname was mayonnaise. I was certainly the white guy. In this community there was some fantastic Italian food. Growing up with this background changes your perspective.

Jerry explained that he had a major concert artist coming to perform at the Pyramid and it was in his contract that the crew needed to be fed a meal catered by “the best Italian restaurant” in town. I struggled and reluctantly offered Macaroni Grill as an option. Jerry countered that he couldn’t offer a chain restaurant as the best option. I agreed and asked who was coming in that would even know? It was Neil Diamond from Brooklyn NY.

The solution was easy. Give him barbecue. Jerry stated that Neil Diamond is Jewish and worried that pork BBQ would be a problem. My experience is that even Jews that keep a Kosher home enjoy Memphis BBQ when they are in town visiting. It is like my friend Tuvi from Jerusalem told me: ”When in Rome do as the Romans do”.

In the end Neil Diamond and his crew loved their Memphis BBQ and Jerry got kudos from Neil and his management.

The supper club moral of this story is…serve food that you know tastes good and that your guests will enjoy.

The Featured Image is Chicken Curry Salad which is a great summer staple. Try it as a lighter option the next time you have an impromptu get together. It is a great way to use leftover chicken and come up with a quick dinner. I serve knowing it tastes good and my guests will enjoy it.

What Is New And Exciting

A great thing about supper clubs is that they can be a venue for you to try things you have never had before. With someone else writing the menu there is a good chance you get to taste something’s that are completely new.

I can remember the first time I really had truffles. While I had eaten dishes that said they had truffles in them I had never experienced real truffles until we visited Tuscany. Our first night in Montepulciano we ate at Ristorante La Grotta. As we were looking at our menus as a waiter came by with a plate of Tagliderini al Tartufo. The aroma was amazing, but also hard to describe. It certainly was not like anything we had ever smelled or eaten before.

The next day we went on a truffle hunt with an old man in his 80’s and his two dogs. After a few hours our guide had found us a large handful of white truffles that we took back to the kitchens of Il Podere Casale where the chef made up a 4 course meal with each course featuring the wonderful truffles we found that day.

I once saw an old friend at a corporate event and in passing asked “What is new and exciting”. To which he replied: “Like my wife says, it may not be new, but it is still exciting”. Truffles like we had in Tuscany will always be exciting. Given the cost of truffles in the U.S. I doubt I will be writing supper club recipes for them. The great thing about supper clubs is that they are a great venue for that “first time” experience.

We are developing a menu for our next supper club and we wanted something new for a first course to fit our Italian theme that was a the light side. I came up with a Melon Citrus Napolean that combines watermelon and grapefruit slices with prosciutto, olive oil and balsamic. Check out the recipe.