September 2, 2008

Happy Birthday Movie-man Sandy

The Big 4-0. Yikes.
Cocktails begin at 7pm.

Sandy's Birthday Menu: Italian Feast
Casalnova Prosecco (2 btl)

Antipasto platter of cured meats and marinated vegetables
Prosciutto e Melone
Fried Calamari

Masi Masianco (Pinot Grigio- Verduzzo blend)
Anselmi Soave

Lasagna Florentine
Braciole w/ wild mushrooms on top of Polenta squares browned in oil
Escarole saute'd w/ garlic & olive oil
Rigatoni topped with Bolognaise

1990 Badia Coltibuono Sangioveto
1994 Michele Castellani "Monte Cristi" Amarone Classico
1999 Terra Rossa- Brunello di Montalcino
2001 Selvapiana "Bucerchiale" Chianti Rufina Reserva
2001 Sentito Croatina-Lombardy

Chocolate Birthday Cake

Poggio Basso Grappa
Luigi Francolli Grappa di Moscato


Everything was fantastic. Great food and great conversation. The chocolate cake was phenomenal and that's from someone who doesn't like cake. Thanks Sandy for bringing your friend Sherri and introducing her to all of us crazy foodies.

Comping a meal

So I've been going to this restaurant for 13 years now. Since January 1 of 2008, I've gone 71 times. My check isn't that much about $11 before tip. However, 2 times a month I take a friend to lunch there and the check is $30 - $35 before tip. I have yet to be comped anything this year. In past years, my meal was comped about every 10 - 12 visits and on most visits my drink wasn't put on the bill, saving me $2 every time although costing them about 10 cents. A small price to pay for good will. Here's the deal. I can spend my $11 - 12 anywhere. I go to this particular restaurant because of the service and food. The service has been dropping off over the last couple years as long time employees have quit and the new servers just don't have the same personalities. The food has also been better in past years. Three times this year alone I've been served rancid Mandarin Oranges as a side dish. Yum. It's sad to watch an established place flounder about. I'm friends with the general manager, all the managers and some of the staff, although not as many as in the past. I bring some of them home made cookies on their birthdays and each manager gets a $25 gift card for Christmas. It's interesting how little the good will I show them translates into the good will they show me. I guess it's time I take my $11, fresh baked cookies and Christmas gift cards to another establishment that will appreciate my patronage.

Rachael Ray earns $18M a year

According to a Forbes article, http://www.forbes.com/wineandfood/2008/08/08/celebrity-chef-earners-forbeslife-cx_cv_0808food.html, little ole "EVOO" (Rachael Ray) earns a cool $18 million a year. Not bad for a cook, right? The sad part is, everyone else listed in the article who makes less, and in most cases a lot less, are better cooks by miles. Mario Batali who I consider one of the best celebrity chefs around makes a paltry $3 million. I'm not a fan of Emeril but his name wasn't even mentioned in the article. Rachael's high salary is largely due in part to her being backed by Oprah. Remember Dr. Phil? It's just another example of how it's not what you know, it's who you know. Rachael didn't claw and climb her way up the chef ladder and yet there she sits perched on top of the money pile thanks to good ole Oprah. Rachael turns 40 on August 25th, 2008 so I guess I should wish her a happy birthday. What do you get someone that makes $18 million a year? A very large money clip. Maybe her 13th book will be "How to invest your millions". I'm sure she'll sell a bunch of copies to all her foodie viewers. No doubt they all need to know what to do with their millions.

September 16, 2008

Happy Birthday Chef Tahya. "39"

Menu for the birthday dinner:

2005 Crauford "Highland" Sauvignon Blanc
Assorted Cheeses and crackers
Fig and Proscuitto Flatbreads
Leftover Turkey Sub sandwich (thanks Ramin)



1995 Saintsbury "Reserve" Pinot Noir
1996 Domaine Carneros Pinot Noir
1996 Steele Pinot Noir
2005 Reininger "Helix" Merlot
2005 Saint Laurent Merlot
2006 Substance "Me" Merlot
2003 Garretson "The Craic" Syrah
2003 Torbreck Cuvee Juveniles

Sauteed Spinach with toasted almonds and golden raisins
Oven roasted new potatoes
Pork Loin stuffed with dried apples, dried cranberries and spices

NV Nicolas Feuillatte Rose'
Assorted pastries from Scratch Pastry shop Scratch Pastries



NV BV Muscat de Beaulieu

Cigars on the Patio

August 12, 2008

Tuesday night at Chef T's with a Steak House theme
Hanging out with Chef Tahya, Movie-man Sandy & Baseball Mike.
Our dinner started out with Charcuterie of sliced meats which included spanish chorizo, serrano ham and spanish dry cured pork loin. We also enjoyed an appetizer of grilled spiced rubbed lamb rack. Tahya used the following spices on the lamb: mustard, black pepper, tumeric, coriander, allspice, cumin, ginger and cinnamon which he left on the lamb for 3 days. Just before grilling, Tahya added salt, sugar and m.s.g. We enjoyed a dinner salad of Romaine lettuce, slices of red onion, button mushrooms, carrot, english cucumber and yellow bell pepper and topped with Blue Cheese Dressing. Next were N.Y. Strip Steaks rubbed with Garlic salt, Onion Salt, Paprika and dried Thyme then grilled. We added a salt rubbed baked potato with condiments of Sour Cream, Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Bacon crumbles, Sweet Butter pats and Chives. Dessert was Chef Tahya's Bread Pudding with Caramel drizzle.

The wines we enjoyed were all 1996 California Cabernet Sauvignon:

Gallo Sonoma Barelli Creek Vyd.
Ch. Montelena Estate
La Jota "15th Anniversary"
Whitehall Lane Reserve
Stonestreet "Christopher's Block"
Dominus Napanook (corked)

Finished up the evening with great cigars from Baseball Mike.

Thanks everyone.

Olive Garden

So my family and I went to the Olive Garden on Saturday evening. I've already been ribbed enough about the fact that I eat at the Olive Garden but it's my mother-in-laws favorite and she pays, so whatta ya gonna do... Anyways, my wife and mother-in-law order the Tour of Italy which basically is like a small combo with 3 different items. The server tells them that the restaurant is OUT of Lasagna. So, we're at an Italian restaurant that has run out of Lasagna. That reminds me of the time I drove through El Pollo Loco in Mesa and they were out of Chicken. No Lie. They told me to come back in about half an hour. But I digress... So the waiter tells them that they can substitute something for the Lasagna. They both chose the Ravioli. The plates arrive and there they are, 3 cute little Ravioli. 3 Ravioli for a chunk of Lasagna. Hardly what I would call a FAIR trade. Here's the rub. When the check arrives there is a $1.00 charge for substituting the Ravioli for the Lasagna. But they were out of Lasagna. How can you charge a buck to sub something for something that you don't even have. An oversight on the servers part I'm sure... But, Alan, the manager came by and offered to lower the price of their meals since they weren't happy with the 3 measly Ravioli. In the end it worked out, but we shouldn't have had to go through all that in the first place. I'll rant about the challenge of running out of stuff later.

Tips

Why do most, if not all, restaurant customers compute tips on the price of the food purchased? Tips are paid to reflect the level of SERVICE received, not the level of money removed from your wallet based on the price of the item ordered. Here's the deal-e-o. STOP giving your money away. Stop, Stop, Stop. When you go to a restaurant, don't even look at the check when you're computing the tip. Just decide how much the level of service you received was worth monetarily and tip accordingly. And STOP tipping coffee barista's and clerks at Circle K / 7-Eleven. They are paid an hourly wage to do their job. Those tip jars are tantamount to begging.