Flight Savor Fare

“Things we hate about restaurants”

1. When they charge top dollar for a single glass of wine and its too warm.

2. When the server chats you up so much, you don’t have time to talk to your dinner partner.

3. When the restrooms are messy or worse, not clean.

4. When all the men go to the restroom 6 times a night and you know they are stopping in the bar to “check the score.” (Well, that’s not the restaurant’s fault except that they have a tv at all.)

5. Music so loud that I have to yell at the person next to me or music is so low, I can hear the conversation two tables over.

So, what are your complaints about restaurants? Would love to hear back!

After this, we must talk about something more positive!

Dirty tables going uncleaned.

We AGREE. Completely

“Offering up freshly ground pepper, grated cheese, or anything else for a dish before I’ve even had time to taste it.”

Andrew, surely you know yourself well enough to know that nothing is ever salty enough or cheesy enough for you. Again, chef thinks it’s perfect the way it was prepared. That’s why you won’t find salt and pepper shakers on the table, but some people like lots of freshly ground pepper. Enough said.

Nostalgia MSH-105 16-Ounce Retro-Style Martini Shaker — only $28 from Amazon.

Do you think they even had blenders back in the ’50′s much less this thing? I wonder how hard it is to clean after each martini. Hmmmm….must order one.

“Removal of one single piece of cutlery or plate before everyone is finished eating. It’s disruptive and rude.”

Not even the amuse bouche spoons? Empty martini glasses? Some people think the service is poor if dirty dishes aren’t immediately whisked away. I’m married to one.

“Waiters who say one of three things:

‘Hi, my name is X and I’ll be your waiter tonight.’
‘Have you dined with us before?’
‘Everything on the menu is great.’

So, what would you like them to say, Andrew Knowlton?

Is it because we’re in a small town where people actually request their favorite server? Where servers recognize their “regulars?” What is wrong with introducing yourself? Asking if you’ve ever dined with us before is a great way to make a connection i.e. “So, then you may have had the tuna that is our signature dish?”

And why, although my spouse does it all the time, would you ask the server what to order? He doesn’t know you can’t stand mushrooms or your aversion to anything the least spicy. Obviously, if the chef has it on the menu, he thinks it’s really good! Unless you’re one of those people who goes to a seafood restaurant and orders steak, or a Thai restaurant and orders a burger. Chef has put those on the menu for the “one in every crowd.”

Instead, ask the server what the signature dishes are or the specials of the day. Then, he or she doesn’t have to hear your whole life story to help you order dinner.

In April’s issue Andrew Knowlton, Restaurant Editor of Bon Appetit, lists 5 things he hates about restaurants. It’s interesting because fine dining restaurants are struggling all over the country just to survive and some have converted to Family Style dining — take Savoy in Asheville, for instance, now a casual Italian restaurant called Vinnie’s. Most of the things Andrew “hates” about restaurants stem from financial considerations. Fine dining has what one writer calls “a razor-thin profit margin.” Take a look at some of Andrew’s points and see if you agree.
1. “No one to greet you as you arrive or say thanks for coming as you leave.

Well, Andrew, as a restaurant owner trying to make it through these trying economic times, let me just say that that gracious person is going to be making $10/hour plus. She or he may well be there to greet you, but after everyone has been seated, she will probably be released, so hopefully, you’ve tipped your server well and he or she tells you, speaking for all of us, how grateful we are you’ve come out to support us.

Our main goal is to maintain the quality of the food, the presentation and the service. But the white tablecloths and the flowers are always hanging on by a thread!

What do you think?

tomorrow: Number 2

Liza chose Portuguese over Spanish and really wanted to go to Portugal for her semester abroad, but the Euro and her Mom conspired to send her to Rio de Janiero instead! Ah, pobrecita! It wasn’t long before “Mom” decided she needed to go down to Rio and check things out and Sam came along.

We stayed at the Copacabana Palace, a beautiful old grand dame and loved everything about it, but Liza soon found that the beach favored by students was Leblon, a few miles down the boardwalk. Leblon is also the name of the most famous cachaca, both here and in Brazil. Cachaca, labeled Brazilian Rum here in the states, is the liquor you use to make Caipirinhas. That’s pronounced “kai-pur-een-ya” and while both cachaça and rum are derived from sugar cane, cachaça takes the actual cane sugar juice and ferments and distills it, while rum is derived from molasses.

With the Olympics and the World Cup choosing Rio for their games, you’re going to want to learn about Brazil and its culture.

Start by checking out Leblon’s website and get a free muddler. Watch the hang gliding video — Rio from the air — it’s beautiful.

Flight celebrated Valentine’s Day Thursday through Sunday with roses and chocolate and ….love.

by serving the wine produced by Susana Balbo, Laura Catena and Anabelle Sielecki.

Actually, the wine produced by these Argentine women, is so delicious, you really don’t care who made it, but you do come away after reading this article, believing — I’m sure this is sexist — that woman are more concerned with quality, not quantity as perhaps their male counterparts are, or at least, were.

Women Change Focus of Wine Making in Argentina

“Susana Balbo (pictured above) is to Argentine wine what Martha Stewart is to homemaking and Oprah Winfrey is to media in the United States. Together with Laura Catena and Anabelle Sielecki, she has helped to change the focus of the Argentina’s centuries-old industry from quantity to quality.”