Food for Thought

Simply Salt

The delicate white crystals sitting in shakers on practically every dining table in the western world is another “taken for granted” product (like black pepper) that we know as salt. Hard to believe, but salt was actually being used long before history was recorded. Read more...

The Chef-fields and the Mc-Servers

Back of House

The age-old feud continues in a revealing look at the relationship between front-of-the house, and back-of-the-house restaurant employees. I have been meaning to write this story for years now, as this situation is one that just doesn’t go away. Read more...

Suggestive Up Selling

Front of House

You and your guests are sitting down for dinner, looking through nicely worded menu selections, only to have the server rave on and on about how great the most expensive dish on the menu is. Okay, we get it! Up selling is a necessary “evil” of this business. Read more...

Want a Free Tip?

Front of House

When I was a younger server in the late 80′s and early 90′s, I worked at a very strict restaurant run by insane people with fanatical ideas of what great service was…or so I thought at the time.There were some rules that probably would not fly today.. Read more...

Black Pepper…and Salt too!

Side Dishes

Admit it! Don’t you take black pepper for granted? I know I always did. It was simply there, and that was that. Right? Pepper is everywhere! It is found in peppershakers on every table in every restaurant…and salt too! Read more...

A Real San Francisco Treat

National

Established 1896, this is the location for: fresh mozzarella, imported Italian wines, dry-aged beef, daily-made sausages, dry-cured salamis and most famously… sandwiches! Molinari’s in San Francisco has mastered the “American Sandwich” in a classically Italian way. Read more...

Don’t be a Skater!

Front of House

Lazy waiters, known as skaters, quickly become very unpopular among restaurant and club staffs, and eventually management find out who the lazy ones are. Things can get pretty rough for the skaters, and they usually end up getting fired…or beat up out by the dumpster. Read more...

The Crutch

Front of House

As I worked my way up from dishwasher, to bus boy, and then on to many famous restaurants as a server, Captain, Sommelier and owner, I was becoming a “People Specialist” without even realizing it. Most want to “get out of service end of the biz” and think about that all the time. Read more...

A Holiday “Appe-Teaser”

Appetizers

In South Africa the holiday spirit runs high, but our warmer festivities aren’t as well branded as our Northern Hemisphere counterparts. Try this festive cocktail for Christmas or New Year’s Eve! Read more...

No, It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken

Appetizers

Some of the most unusual creatures that crawl, swim and fly on and over the Earth are made into meals around the world. These foods remind me of the worst episode of Fear Factor ever made.. Read more...

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