An interesting post in Frank Bruni's blog recently regarding, I guess, checking your guest check, and where does the restaurant's responsibility end and the customer's take over. A table - or customer at a table - ordered a bottle of wine from the wine list that was priced at $2000. However, it wasn't until they got the check did they realize the wine - a bottle of Screaming Eagle, which is a major cult wine - cost this much. They are annoyed, but pay the check, vowing to never return to the restaurant in question again. The comments seems to lay the blame 99% on the customer. My own experience leads me to agree with the ones that say that it is very hard to tell a customer that they may have ordered something that is out of their price range; I mean really, how the heck do you do that without insulting someone?? Especially in a "fancy" restaurant where you might assume everyone can afford everything on the menu, since they are eating there in the first place? Anyway, it reminds me of the time I was waiting tables at a "fancy" (for Annapolis anyway) place and a customer ordered a $70 bottle of wine, which, at the time, might as well have cost 2 grand in my book. I got the bottle from the bartender, presented it to the customer for the okay, opened it, served it, they drank it. When the check was presented and the price of the wine they ordered was noted, they were aghast - they hadn't ordered this wine at all, they'd ordered a bottle of white wine, not red...the management did something to appease them and nothing to appease me - it was considered my fault, since I had brought the wrong bottle to the table. Red versus white...hmmm...
Anyway. Other news - we've hired a new fellow for the kitchen; might not be a sous-chef right now, but that's what he wants to be and so he'll start as first cook and we'll see if he can move into the position. So far he is exhibiting lots of energy and interest and right now that is as important to us as anything else.
649 Fritters as of 11 AM Thursday morning. Perhaps we should have a contest to see who gets the 1000th fritter?
No problems with "refills" lately, except for some smart alecs who want "refills" on their MacCallans and gimlets...sure, we can do that, just like we refill the sodas, right?
I am betting that the Blue Jays win the Super Bowl on Sunday...oh, they're not? Oh, it's football? Oh. Well, can I have some more guacamole then?
Off we go!
Anyway. Other news - we've hired a new fellow for the kitchen; might not be a sous-chef right now, but that's what he wants to be and so he'll start as first cook and we'll see if he can move into the position. So far he is exhibiting lots of energy and interest and right now that is as important to us as anything else.
649 Fritters as of 11 AM Thursday morning. Perhaps we should have a contest to see who gets the 1000th fritter?
No problems with "refills" lately, except for some smart alecs who want "refills" on their MacCallans and gimlets...sure, we can do that, just like we refill the sodas, right?
I am betting that the Blue Jays win the Super Bowl on Sunday...oh, they're not? Oh, it's football? Oh. Well, can I have some more guacamole then?
Off we go!
Barbara,
ReplyDeleteThe Frank Bruni's blog story about the $2000 bottle of wine reminds me of a cute story when Judy and I were traveling along the Italian Riviera. It was 1995 and we had walked 1.5 hours to the hillside sea resort of Vernassa. After searching the town and finding the perfect spot for lunch we soon established a new standard of dining excellence. We ordered lunch and a bottle of 1986 Briocco Rocche Barolo. It was fabulous! That is until we got the bill. Seems as though I had a decimal place off whe I was doing the conversion of Lira to Dollars. What I thought was a cheap bottle of good wine turned out to be a pricey bottle of VERY excellent wine. The new standard we established was for the wine to cost more than the meal - it is worth it once in a while.
R