Grape of the Week

  I have decided to do a grape of the week, not sure why, but I just decided. Maybe it's because we just got a "talking to" about being somewhat aware of how our wine list is set up. The list is broken down into different sections, ie; California reds, Italian whites, Northern Italy; and then each section is seeded lightest to fullest. Apparently one of our servers did not know this and to make a long story short no one really knew anything because the big cheese was out of town and the manager from the OTHER place downstairs ended up talking to the table. Which he knows nothing about wine. Which the whole thing is rather embarrassing. Which now we have to show up early and learn more about the wines on our list. Fine by me, I know a thing or two about the world of grapes. So maybe I decided to be nice and share some of my wisdom with you. Don't get used to the nice part.
  I think Old World wines can be intimidating to people who aren't used to them. Understanding a French or Italian wine label can be a bit much if you aren't familiar with the wines. They don't always tell you what's in the bottle. Burgundy isn't a grape, it's a region. That white wine from Burgundy is a chardonnay, that red wine from Burgundy is a pinot noir. In Italy, that bottle of Barolo is made from nebbiolo, and that Barbera is made from.....barbera.
  What??? Yes it's confusing. But that's ok, you'll get over it. I think barbera is a nice grape to start with for the grape of the week. When you see barbera on the label, you are drinking barbera. If you've never had an Italian red before, barbera is a good grape to start with.
  Most barbera is grown in the Piedmont region, which is in northwest Italy. The top of the boot. It is a pretty easy drinking wine. Characteristically, barberas are a bit more fruit forward, and not too tannic at all. Think red and blackberries, maybe some cherry, and a bit of toast or smoke from barrel aging. The lack of tannins are what will make barbera appealing to a novice red wine drinker. Don't know what tannins are? Tannins are what make your cheeks suck in when you taste a wine. Pucker up.
  As far as food, I feel that barberas tend to lend themselves well to quite a few different foods. Of course red meat, but not anything big like a ribeye, which could overwhelm the poor little barbera. Heartier seafood like salmon, or tuna would be ok. Just stay away from anything spicy, or too acidic, like vinaigrettes or tomato sauce. Barberas are pretty acidic, it would just be an awful, acidic mess in your mouth. Trust me.

More Good Things...Sleeping Beauty

 I have to drive a bit over an hour to get to work. For some reason, I had to listen to Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty. It's been in my head for awile. It was perfect for the ride to work; got me a bit more centered. Don't be a hater, everyone could use a little more classical music in their lives. Plus...it's Sleeping Beauty! If you've seen the Disney movie, you've heard the music. Enjoy!

Steaks on the Water

 So. Yesterday was Father's Day and of course I spent it working at the crabhouse. I had been dreading it all week, because the band that was scheduled brings in an impatient, sloppy-drunk, trashy kind of crowd. It's always a minor nightmare when they play, especially for the servers outside, because these people just spread out all over the place, and sit, and just keep the waitresses running. They're the type of people that can't get their beers fast enough. Yeah.
 But yesterday wasn't that bad. Phew! At least for me. Of course there were the usual frustrations; the hostesses suck, cheap people,( one of my friends got $8 on a $130 check. YES! ), and we ran out of crabs, which pisses people off. But it wasn't that bad.
  I had a table of three that had come in for crabs, and of course we had run out. The mom was a wee bit pissy, "I guess I'll have to get steak since you've run out of crabs", she sneered. Because it's my fault we've run out of crabs. That didn't upset me. What upset me was that she was thinking about ordering a steak. And we don't do steaks well. And I'm not talking about the temperature.
  This woman is on the verge. She's disappointed because she had come down specifically for the crabs, and we had run out of them. Now she's thinking about getting a steak instead. Please don't do that lady. All of my tables have been nice and enjoyed their day, you could be a potential day-ruiner. So of course I try to steer her away from the steaks and towards the seafood. We only cook steaks one way: brown. Rare, medium-rare, medium; they all come out looking the same. So when people come into the crabhouse and order a steak, I cringe.
  So the lady orders a T-bone. Medium-rare. Poor thing. Of course when they finally get their dinners, and I go back to check, her steak is over-done. It's more medium-well. Now, I've noticed that most people who come into the crabhouse and order steaks, order them well-done. Which is perfect, because that's how they will come out anyway. Sometimes they order them medium-rare or medium, and they come out well-done, and they don't send them back. I don't think they really notice a wildly overdone steak. Surprisingly, I've never had to return a steak at this place.
  Not this time. I tell her I will get her a new steak, she says ok. My problem isn't that she is returning the steak, my problem is that the kitchen is going to argue with me over how done the steak is. And THAT pisses me off. True to form, the kitchen argues with me about the steak. "She's crazy, that's medium-rare!". Me: "No, that's medium-well". Jerk: "That's medium-rare, she doesn't know what she wants, I'll give her a rare steak". In case you haven't noticed, this a-hole in the kitchen doesn't understand that it's about the guest, not him. I'm thinking that his rare is probably more like a medium, so maybe this lady has a fighting chance at getting something close to what she had ordered. This guy is still fussing that the steak is medium-rare, this lady doesn't know what she's talking about, etc, etc. I told him that I work in a steakhouse, don't argue with me about temperatures. I sell steaks more expensive than you, so shut the hell up. Moron.
  I'm really dreading this re-order. I know it's going to take a bit of time, ( we don't exactly have a state of the art kitchen ), and it's probably going to be wrong. Great. The lady is being nice, and I don't want to ruin that. It had been a good day so far and I wanted it to stay that way. So the new steak is finally ready, I take it out, ask her to check and make sure it's done ok, she cuts into it and.....it is! Phew! Disaster averted. Looks like I can keep having a good day. : )
 

Hot Dogs

 Yes!!! Summertime is hot dog time! I have this weird fascination with how different parts of the country, and the world, top the venerable hot dog. Here are a few of my favorites. YUM!!!!

  Chicago
 The best!!!! There is absolutely nothing like a Chicago dawg. A bunch of stuff I love on a bun. Tomatoes, neon green relish that looks like it could glow in the dark, and a pickle spear; and that's just the beginning! Want to make your own Chicago dog? Go here, they will tell you how to make a dawg right. http://www.hotdogchicagostyle.com/makeyourown.php . Oh, and go Cubs!!

  New York
 Ok. Being an East Coaster with a dad from New Jersey, I grew up eating hot dogs with sauerkraut and mustard. Deeeee-lish. A hot dog without mustard is pretty close to a sin. There is also nothing like a Coney Island dog. Chili, onions AND mustard? Helloooo? It's fabulous! There's just one catch: the chili has to be just right. There are a ton of Coney Island hot dog sauce recipes out there; this one is pretty good http://www.grouprecipes.com/31717/coney-island-hot-dog-sauce.html

  Venezuelan
 When I first came across this one I freaked. I put potato chips on my sammys!!! All the time! And mayo?? Oh no, it is all too, too good. The cabbage makes it not sooooo bad for you ; ). My only concern....ketchup. Ketchup does NOT belong on a hot dog. Unless you're two, and even then it's questionable behavior. So if you want to make this for your kids and you don't want them to grow up to be Communists, leave the ketchup off.
 http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/george-duran/venezuelan-hot-dogs-recipe/index.html


   Sweden
  This is another one I freaked over. Mashed potatoes, shrimp salad, OH. MY. LORD. I have a fascination with Scandinavian food, and this sent me over the edge. Trust me, this is a tasty dog, ya. Just try it, you'll see. Now finding a proper Swedish hot dog recipe that I liked was kind of tough, but I did find this yummy raksallad, ( shrimp salad ) recipe. Interesting Scandinavian food site.
http://www.scandinaviafood.com/swedish-raksallad-recipe.php. I love the way the Scandies eat : )


 This is just the tip of the iceberg. Check out this Bon Appetit article on hot dogs around the world. Be sure to check out the Trailer Park. That could probably become another favorite : )
http://www.bonappetit.com/blogsandforums/blogs/bafoodist/2009/06/around-the-world-in-80-hot-dog.html
 Woot!!!

Tipping

 Ooooh, this can be a touchy subject! There are a few ideas out there on how to tip properly, and everybody thinks they are right. The bottom line, servers rely on tips to make their money, end of conversation. A server in the U.S. is paid an hourly rate that is way below minimum wage, no tips, no money. Remember that if you are a non-tipping sort.
 Not to toot my own horn, but I'm a solid 20% server. There will be the occasional "bad" tip, but there are usually enough good tips to make that bad one completely inconsequential. I like to say that for every bad tip, there is a stellar tip. So it balances out. I have worked with quite a few servers who go completely apeshit when they don't get 20% all of the time. This drives me batty! Remember, you need to work for that tip. Maybe you're not as fabulous as you think you are. If I get a bad tip, I usually deserved it.
  In general; 18% seems to be the standard. If the service was fantastic, leave more, if it wasn't, leave less. Do not leave NOTHING. You might have had a horrible time with your server, but if you leave no tip, then you are taking money out of the pockets of the support staff. Bussers, bartenders, foodrunners all get their money from the server, don't punish them because your service was awful.
  Now, some people are just plain cheap. They suck. I hope they get hit with a big kharma bat. As in they lose their cushy job and they have to wait tables. But that's just me. But, there are a select few that I will allow to leave a crappy tip. Here they are.

  Old People
 When old people were young, the industry standard for tipping was probably 10%. Deal with it. They probably lived through the Great Depression and are very frugal as a result. Be nice, they're old. Be happy they are leaving you anything. As long as they are sweet, I can handle a 10% tip from old people. It's a little harder to take when they are cantankerous, but, they ARE old.

  Foreigners
 In some parts of Europe, the servers are paid a decent wage, therefore tipping is not neccessary. In Japan, it's considered downright rude. So some Europeans don't tip as well as some American servers think they should. I can't tell you how many people I have worked with who grooooaaaan when they hear British accents at their table. I understand the whole "when in Rome" thing and, "they should know how to tip when they come here". I do. But, they are leaving you something, in the U.K. you don't really have to tip at all. So be happy with what you get. Did you ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe, you got that 10% tip from the Britishers because you didn't take care of them as well as you should have? Hmmm? You automatically think "cheap tippers" so you give "cheap service". Think about it.

 In my eyes, those are the only two groups that are allowed to tip cheaply. Everybody else needs to ante up. So be nice, and be sure to tip your waiter : )

Good Things

 Here are some things I enjoy, I hope you do as well! : )

 Who doesn't like to read? And if you don't, well poo on you.  Here are a couple of my latest faves.






The Secret Diary of a Princess, by Melanie Clegg. I am a big fan of Melanie's blog, Madame Guillotine, and I finally succumbed to the occassional posting of  "buy my stupid book". What a treat! As the title suggests, it is the secret diary of a princess, the princess being a young Marie Antoinette. It's a nice little peek into what her life was like as a young girl in Austria. I was loathe to put the book down when I had to leave and couldn't wait to get home to continue reading it. That's a good thing. Another sign that it's a good read; I thought it ended too soon. Be sure to check it out. Also be sure to check out Madame Guillotine  http://madameguillotine.org.uk/ , it's a fun blog for history buffs, Ripperologists, and gin drinkers. To start.








Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll. Never read this classic? You need to. While the Disney movie is cute, the book is better. Duh.












I've re-discovered Absolutely Fabulous. How could I forget Patsy and Eddy? This show is so wrong, but it's so right. I have to admit, Eddy is the type of mother I will be. Everybody needs a little AbFab in their life, laughter is good for you. : )

Server types

  I'm not sure how it is in the "real" world, but in the restaurant world you come across some very interesting people. This is not about them. This is about that annoying sub-sect of server types that pop up in every restaurant everywhere. You might have to deal with only one, or you may have the pleasure of having several of these types at the same time. I work in two restaurants so I get to see these types every day. Yay me.

 The Table Hog
 Ok. This bitch tries to snag every table that walks in. She harrasses the hostesses and constantly hovers  over them to make sure the seating is "right". This chick is the reason we can't take requests outside of our sections. She had an absolute hissy fit when one of the outside girls had a request that wanted to sit inside. A little background; we don't really have sections, you are either inside, in the bar, or outside. All of the tables get rotated amongst the servers, the same goes for parties. Since we don't have actual sections, and it's all rotated anyway, nobody is really losing a table. Besides, a request is a request. But bitch-breath had to have a cow, and demanded that she take the next table outside. Which meant that that foul piece of humanity was using our computer on our side. Eww.
 Table hogs are not cool, I believe in kharma. This particular chick spends most of her time worrying about what's going on with everyone else, and not enough time taking care of her tables. And then makes no money because her service sucks. Khaaaarrrrrmmaaaa. You keep right on snagging tables honey.

  The Know-it-All
 This jag-off is annoying as hell. The Know-it-All, to put it simply, knows everything there is to know about the restaurant business. The rest of us are intellectual gnats, and we should listen to everything he says.
 With a frickin' grain of salt peppered with an eye-roll!  Really?? This guy is maybe 25 tops, and has really only worked at a couple of other nice restaurants, and one that pretended to be nice. Proof that he's an idiot: I listened to him try and impress one of the newer servers with his wine knowledge, he's one of those that goes for the big names and the expensive bottles. And you know how I feel about those types. When someone starts spouting off about "we sold the Shafer at Morton's", that is a big red flag. A lot of places sell Shafer.
 This guy is an expert in how things should be run. Want to know what I say to that? Send in a frickin' resume. Don't call us, we'll call you.
  Once again, we have someone who spends more time making sure everyone knows that he knows everything about "the biz". Shutup. Come talk to me when you've been doing this as long as myself and quite a few others have. By the way; the guy who knows so much about wine opened the wrong, more expensive wine for one of his tables. Hello void for the difference in price. Yeeeaaaah. Leaving my comments to myself right now : )

  The Newbie
 I'm not talking about "new" people. I'm talking about people who are new to the art of waiting tables. As in maybe worked in one other restaurant years ago. Why did you stop waiting tables way back when? Let me answer for you; it was probably because you sucked at it. No biggie, as hard as it might be to believe, there are some things even I can't do. So if you don't have what it takes to do well, ( patience, time-management, the ability to think at least three steps ahead of your guests, the ability to do multiple tasks at once, to name a few ), that's ok. Just stop pretending that you do a good job. Realize that this is not the job for you and move on. Please. It used to be somewhat amusing to watch you go down in flames, but now it's not. Most people learn from their mistakes, you obviously do not. You're 20 minute menu dissertation is fine when you have one table, it is wildly inappropriate when you've been triple sat. I'm just saying.

 Bartenders
 These people are definitely their own breed. I make it a point to get along with the bartenders; it's just good business sense. But some of them are a little too closely related to the Know-it-Alls for my comfort. This stems from the fact that bartenders are extremely touchy about how they make their drinks. I get that, I truly do. I've bartended quite a bit and I'm extremely touchy about how I make my drinks. At the nice restaurant we have a lot of specialty cocktails, the bartenders do a good job making sure that the drink tastes the same no matter who makes it. At the crabhouse....forget about it. They all do their own thing. Your first margarita can be fine, your second will have orange juice in it because someone else made it, and if you say anything the second bartender will inform you that she's been putting o.j. in her margaritas for 20 years. SHUTUP!!!!! Just give me a margarita without o.j.!!! You cow!!! So annoying.

  I have more, but of course I have to go to....work. Yay!
 



 

Pizza cravings

Bacchus loooves pizza

  I have been craving good, East coast pizza for the longest time. I had tried the Chicago-style pizza when I was out there; it was ok, but nothing compares to a good, East Coast thin-crust pizza. Those supposed "thin" crusts from Chicago are a farce. When we were kids we would spend our summers with our grandparents in Neptune, NJ, ( exit 7A, thank you ); the pizza was outstanding. Our Aunt Lois would always take us to Carmen's,http://www.peteandeldas.com/ The crust was so thin you had to fold up a slice to eat it. It's because of New Jersey pizza that I became a pizza snob at a very, very young age.
  After being away from the East coast for ages, I was ready for some real pizza. Not this deep-dish, hoofhoff that pretends to be real pizza. I want a pie that was hand-tossed by a guy named Vinnie with a New Joisey accent. I dig that. But, being in Southern Maryland, there are no guys named Vinnie, and no real pizza. So sad. For a time I was seriously contemplating driving up to Jersey to get my fix.
  So, I was extremely excited when I found out that our next sister restaurant in the area was to be...a pizza place!!! Laaaaa!http://www.fiorellapizzeria.com/ Now this is what I'm talking about. This is pizza like you'd get in Rome, super thin, a little crispy, and yum. But I'm not picky. And of course it's made in an oven that was imported from Italy. Molto bella. I'm not sure if there's a guy named Vinnie there, but that's something I can do without if I absolutely have to. *sigh*. It's not your average pizza joint, it is a little frou-frou, but it's ok to treat yourself, and it's a hell of a lot closer than New Jersey. Or Rome. ; )

 

Pirates...sort of



No pirates here...I think

 I am a huge, huge history buff. I can tolerate most history, but like most buffs I have particular "areas" that I'm crazily interested in. One of these is naval history, and, of course, pirates.
 Arrrrgh. Not sure where this came from. The water has always fascinated me, I can't get enough of the rivers and their stories around here. This area is rich in history; I grew up pretty much around the corner from Maryland's first capital, John Wilkes Booth ran through Charles County after shooting Abraham Lincoln, and Mount Vernon and D.C. are right up the road. That's just the tip of the iceberg. We are surrounded by water in Southern Maryland, and it's played a major part in it's history. The only thing I'm pretty sure we didn't have was pirates.

Christ Church in Chaptico.

 When you are young and fascinated with pirates, it is highly disappointing when you discover that they didn't run around your area. The British overran Chaptico on their way up the Potomac to Washington D.C. during the War of 1812? Borrrriing. The first Catholic mass was held on St. Clements Island when the colonists first landed in Maryland. Were the colonists pirates? No. Snooze. Why do I have to live in such a stupid state? Why couldn't I have been raised somewhere cool and piratey, like Tortuga?
 Imagine my delight when I discovered that pirates ran around the Outer Banks. Crazy! I thought the only thing that area was good for was the lost colony at Roanoke. ( I got a t-shirt there that says, Don't ask the locals for directions, they already lost one colony. ). Blackbeard was there? YES!!! Now we're talking! I can make it to Nags Head in about 4 hours. So close! The Outer Banks is one of my favorite places, if you haven't been, you need to go! http://www.outerbanks.org/
 Pirates are mysterious creatures, maybe that is part of the allure. The Royal Navy kept records, pirates really didn't. I enjoy researching them; I find out as much as I can and it's just not enough. Right now I'm reading Under the Black Flag by David Cordingly and enjoying it immensely. I just wish it had more pictures : )
 I have a pirate necklace that I wear when I can tell it's going to be "one of those days". One of the first places I'm going to visit when I go to Savannah will be the Pirate's House. Duh.http://www.thepirateshouse.com/ If I had a boat it would have a pirate flag. Of course. And I will most definitely buy more books about pirates. Maybe I will write my own ; )