Musings from a Restaurant Maven

I am a curse to Fresh Mex fast casual restaurants

noreply@blogger.com (Restaurant Maven) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 22:01:00 +0000

I love Fresh Mex food. You know, the places where you can get a burrito filled with whatever you want? Problem is, I am picky, too. I don't like Chipotle because their meats are too spicy (except for the carnitas -- but who wants to eat pork every day?). I don't like Q'doba because, well, I just don't like the food there -- the rice and beans taste funny to me. So I'm always on the lookout for new to the area Fresh Mex restaurants.

Salsarita's opened up about a year and a half ago down the street a bit from where I work. I went there at least three times a week. And, I always brought new folks with me. I wanted them to enjoy it too. Now, it was never really crowded, but I was hopeful that maybe it was more of a dinner place and that's why it was so empty around lunchtime. About six months later, it closed. No warning, one day it was there, the next day it was gone. And, there are no other Salsarita's in the area. Sigh.

Then, in November, another Fresh Mex place opened near my work -- Panchero's. Their claim to fame is freshly-made tortillas. They were great! I felt that I had finally found a place to replace Salsarita's in my lunchtime repertoire. I had the burrito, I had the burrito bowl, I had the tacos. All were delicious and the toppings were great, especially the grilled corn salsa. Again, I brought my co-workers, my friends, my family. I was even two stamps away from a free burrito. Then, they were gone. Vanished overnight. The entire place cleaned out, closed down. They had only been open two months. I checked and there are two more Panchero's in the area but both are at least a 40-minute drive from me.

How can Chipotle's continue to thrive and grow and these other franchisees wither and die? Were they both bad locations? Neither one had a lot of walk-by traffic. But I couldn't help thinking that if it was an established brand, such as Chipotle, that both locations would have done well. We'll just have to see what goes into those locations (yeah, the Salsarita's still sits empty). And I'll keep looking for new Fresh Mex.

Why so blue, menu?

noreply@blogger.com (Restaurant Maven) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 03:24:00 +0000

Have you ever been to Joe's Crab Shack? It is a casual, table-service restaurant featuring beachy food and drinks and an eclectic, kitschy, "found objects" decor. I like their food, and their decor, and I used to like their menu, too. It had a beachy look which matched everything else in the restaurant. There were fun graphics of driftwood, the ocean, sunsets, etc.

Then, a few months ago, Joe's Crab Shack changed their menu. The look... not the offerings. It is now blue. A sky blue, maybe a little lighter. And that is about it. No fun graphics. And they have just about removed any photos of the food. Uh, I don't know if they did any testing of this menu or if there was a real reason for it but, psst, blue is a proven appetite suppressant. I am not making that up, go ahead Google "blue color" and "appetite". People have done studies on it. There is even a blue light blub that you can get for your refrigerator if you are dieting. So I'm just astounded that a restaurant would remove all the fun from their menu, plus all the appetizing photos, and replace it all with plain blue. I can only imagine that Joe's Crab Shack is starting to see a decline in same store sales, and all the marketing folks are blaming it on the economy, or the war, or the price of gas, because of course it can't be the new menu we designed. That would be crazy!

Disney's Victoria and Albert's Restaurant Bans Children... so what?

noreply@blogger.com (Restaurant Maven) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 02:54:00 +0000

There has been quite a lot of press recently from the announcement that Walt Disney World's Victoria and Albert's restaurant, a 5-star designated restaurant, has decided to "ban" children under 10 from dining there. Now, I should reveal that I am a current Disney Cast Member although I have nothing to do with the restaurants or any decisions they make. However, when I heard that announcement I thought it was a good decision.

For those who have never dined at Victoria and Albert's (I have, twice), it is a very high-end restaurant with an ever-changing prix fixe daily menu that runs over $100 per person, even without any drinks. It is comprised of several courses served over a 2-hour period. They also have a strict dress code requiring gentlemen to wear a jacket (and if you don't, the "community" jacket will be provided for you to wear that night). I am quite sure they do not have a children's menu and I believe when they have made reservations in the past, they have always discouraged guests from bringing their children. Apparently, some guests didn't take the hint and must have brought their children. And some of those children must have acted up and other guests must have taken notice. And so, the recent "ban" was enacted.

This could only happen in Walt Disney World, I believe. I would hope that when parents are in their hometown, they would not think of bringing their 4-year-old with them to an exclusive, expensive, 5-star restaurant, no matter how well-behaved they believe their child to be. I know I wouldn't dream of taking my 4-year-old to a place like that. And now, the ban makes sure of that at Victoria and Albert's.

An encounter with a pushy waiter at a upscale steak restaurant

noreply@blogger.com (Restaurant Maven) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 03:49:00 +0000

I recently dined at an upscale steak restaurant in the Dallas, TX area. You know the kind of steak restaurant I'm talking about. The ones where everything is a la carte and the shrimp cocktail is almost $20. We were there for a business dinner and I'm sure our waiter could smell our expense account a mile away. Now, I've had semi-pushy waiters at places like this before. They will "recommend" the priciest items on the menu, and ask if they can prepare a suite of appetizers for the whole table, and insist on pouring the bottled water versus tap water. But, they've also always been pretty polite and will say things like "good choice!" and "that's one of my favorite entrees, too", and will generally back off if the table doesn't want the three tiers of seafood as the appetizer. This guy was different. I don't know if he couldn't "read" the mood at the table well or if he is just generally a pushy guy. His first gaffe was to bring the wine list to the table and immediately recommend that we order a magnum of wine (that's a HUGE bottle equivalent to two bottles of wine for those of you who don't know). There were only eight of us at the table, most were driving home, we had just had cocktails at the bar, and we had also just decided before the waiter appeared that that only four of us would be drinking wine and we would probably just have one glass a piece. Our designated wine orderer said exactly that back to the waiter. He STILL insisted that we should order a magnum because it was a better value. Our wine orderer declined again and said just one regular-sized bottle would be fine. Our waiter then turned and walked away and was clearly upset by this!

The worst happened when it was my turn to order. Let me preface this with a short history of my appetite up to this point. I had eaten a very large lunch and was still feeling the effects of it. I had a cream-based, and somewhat filling, cocktail at the bar (okay, yes, it was a choco-tini). We had just ordered a round of appetizers for everyone which was going to come as individual plates for each person and included two large shrimp, a crab cake and a bacon-wrapped scallop. And, the bread was really good and I had already helped myself to a few slices. So, I knew I was not going to be too hungry when my entree arrived. I couldn't even think about eating a huge hunk of steak at this point so I decided to go for seafood. The waiter had said the lobster tails came in 6 oz and 14 oz sizes and the 6 oz sounded about right for me. As he rounded the table to me, he asked what I wanted for dinner. I told him I would like the 6 oz lobster tail. He stared blankly at me. I waited. He recovered and asked if I wanted a filet mignon with that. Um, no, just the lobster tail. He paused and then asked again if I would like the 14 oz instead. No, I insisted, the 6 oz would be fine. He was clearly flustered and asked, well, then what did I want with the lobster tail? I answered that whatever normally comes with it is fine. I quickly skimmed the menu and mentioned that the menu said it comes with potatoes and vegetables. He started, recalculated, and then asked if I wanted their signature salad as well to start with. Um, no, since we will be getting the appetizers, I'll be fine. He then moved on to the next person, clearly exasperated. After he left the table, I breathed a sigh of relief. And then I said to everyone that I think he didn't like my order. Everyone agreed, he had clearly been upset with what I ordered.

Luckily, I didn't have to deal with him much after that as a whole league of servers delivered our food to us, refilled our water glasses, and took care of us. And, the food was really good, the lobster was done perfectly, still very moist and tasty. Also, I was the only one who finished my whole meal and didn't need a doggie bag.

Are you a skimmer... or a beginning to end menu reader?

noreply@blogger.com (Restaurant Maven) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 01:39:00 +0000

My husband is a skimmer. He can pick up a menu, quickly scan the offerings, and then will stop as soon as he sees an entree that he thinks he will like. He will then put the menu down and wait the extra 10 minutes as I review, item by item, the entire menu from beginning to end. He can't understand what takes me so long and I can't understand why he doesn't want to review all that the restaurant has to offer. I want to make sure that I have chosen the very best item for me, without question. (Also, if there is an interesting dessert, I want to be sure and save room for it!) I also like the fun adjectives they use to describe a dish. The more upscale the restaurant, the more upscale the description. Suddenly, a simple Caesar Salad becomes, "Crisp whole leaf romaine hearts tossed with Grana Padana parmesan cheese and garlic croutons." (Yes, that is a REAL description from a upscale restaurant's menu.) So, are you a skimmer, or a reader like me?

Yellow is sweet talking its way into the sugar box

noreply@blogger.com (Restaurant Maven) — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 02:28:00 +0000

Have you noticed the color change happening at your local restaurant? Pink, Blue, and White are being joined by Yellow. Yes, Splenda packets are now showing up in greater numbers at most restaurants now. I've even seen them in those skinny stick-like packs, too. I'm just surprised that both Blue (Equal) and Pink (Sweet-n-Low) are still around, actually. I guess there are still enough Blue and Pink fans out there that restaurants don't dare get rid of those sugar substitutes.

I actually used to be a sugar only gal. Only the real stuff for me - Pink and Blue tasted funny. But, I'm also a big iced tea fan (see my previous post here), and regular sugar doesn't dissolve well in iced tea. And don't even get me started on Brown (those raw sugar packets that you occasionally see). So I decided to try Yellow. The advertising said it tastes just like sugar, right? Actually, I think they are right. One Yellow pack is much more sweet than one White pack but, to me, it has the same taste - no funky aftertaste. And, since it is much finer, it dissolves very nicely in iced tea. I, for one, am happy to see Yellow join the "Sugar Pack."

My leftovers get left over

noreply@blogger.com (Restaurant Maven) — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 23:06:00 +0000

I rarely eat leftovers I bring home from restaurants. Yet, I feel compelled to ask for a "to-go" box if I liked my meal. I'm concerned that the server, or even the chef, will think I didn't like my meal if I don't ask for the remainder to go. And, with portion sizes being as large as they are, I also rarely finish my meal. So, what happens is I bring home the leftover food and put it in the refrigerator with full intentions of having it for lunch the next day or maybe as an appetizer for tomorrow's dinner. That never happens. I don't like to eat the same food two days in a row. Plus, I worry that the food won't taste as good reheated. The leftovers eventually get forgotten and I find them weeks later still in the fridge and throw them out without opening the container. Because of this, my husband has forbid me from bringing home leftovers any more. I actually like the policy because now I have something to tell the server when he or she asks if I'd like the rest of my meal to go: "No, my husband won't let me bring home leftovers anymore because they end up rotting in the fridge." I always add, "But I really liked my food" at the end, with a quick smile. You know, so they don't go and tell the chef that I hated my food. Because I'm really concerned about that for some weird reason.

Give me fresh-brewed iced tea or give me... uh... I guess just water

noreply@blogger.com (Restaurant Maven) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 00:46:00 +0000

Is making fresh-brewed iced tea at a restaurant really that hard? Yes, you have to have employees that know how to make it and re-make it throughout the day. True story - I recently ate at [nameless] restaurant and poured myself a cup of their fresh-brewed iced tea. I put in my sugar and tasted it - yuck! It tasted... skunky. I was convinced they had actually used a mix and put it in the "fresh-brewed" canister for unsuspecting consumers. So I asked - "hey, is this really fresh-brewed iced tea?" The answer, and I swear I am not making this up, "yeah, why? We made it fresh last night." I wrinkled my nose and asked if they could make a fresh batch. They did and it tasted 100 times better - wow, I wonder how many people had drank the skunky tea before I got there?

I also can't stand iced tea from the fountain such as Nestea - it just tastes fake. I can't imagine that it is more expensive for the tea bags than syrup for the soda fountain. Tea should make pretty good margins. But, again, you have to have employees that make it fresh (see example above) and I've found very few fast-food restaurants that bother.

I, for one, will choose to eat elsewhere if a restaurant doesn't offer fresh-brewed iced tea (well, unless the restaurant has a really great menu that has entrees I can't find anywhere else - which is rare). And, here in the South, I really love my sweet tea. I recently tried McDonald's (yes, a fast-food restaurant!) sweet tea which comes in a huge cup for only $1. Niiiiice. See? If McDonald's can do it, anybody can do it!

In search of a medium-sized, one-person dessert

noreply@blogger.com (Restaurant Maven) — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 02:44:00 +0000

I've had a hard time finding "normal" sized desserts at restaurants lately. You know, one that is sized for one person at a reasonable price. Restaurants seem to be either like The Palm Restaurant with enormous desserts for around $10 that I swear must weigh about 5 pounds a piece, or like Seasons 52 with $2 shot glass desserts with enough for about 3 bites. I am a sweet freak and I'm usually the only one left at the table after a meal that wants dessert (hint: I purposely don't eat all of my meal to leave room for dessert. Yeah, I like sweets that much). So, when the server has to strain to bring a huge dessert tray over with a hunk of 15-layer cake and a creme brulees the size of a platter, I'm likely not going to order dessert. Even though I want to. Because I don't want to pay more than the cost of my meal to get a dessert that I know I'm not even going to halfway finish. The shot glass dessert is a little better because then you get to try samples of different desserts. But it is a bit embarrassing to order four or five of the little desserts when everyone else is ordering one or two -- although, I got over it. I just wish more restaurants would offer desserts that are not too big and not too small but just right. I guess Goldilocks and I will have to keep looking.

Waiting to get a table at a chain restaurant

noreply@blogger.com (Restaurant Maven) — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 02:53:00 +0000

My husband hates to wait. He especially hates to wait for a table at a crowded restaurant. His thought is, why should we wait to get a table at this chain restaurant when there is probably an open table down the street at that local non-chain restaurant. And, it's mostly true. Typically, we wait for a table at Carrabba's, or PF Changs, or Outback Steakhouse, or Olive Garden. But if we leave after 10 minutes of waiting, as that is my husband's limit on waiting for a table, we have usually been able to find a table at another local mom-and-pop restaurant. Is the chain restaurant really that good that we all need to wait for a table? Shouldn't we branch out and try that local independent restaurant?

Putting "Suggested Tip Amounts" on Restaurant Checks

noreply@blogger.com (Restaurant Maven) — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 23:24:00 +0000

I originally thought it was tacky when a restaurant would put suggested tip amounts at the bottom of your check. You know, 15% would be this much, 20% would be this much, etc. However, I am bad at math. Especially at a restaurant after I've had a heavy meal and a glass of wine or a martini. So I've actually come to appreciate these helpful calculations as long as they are realistic. For example, I like when 15%/18%/20% are listed but not when the listing starts with 20% - too presumptuous. My husband thinks it is all ridiculous as he can do percentages quickly in his head. What do you all think?

Parents who sit at separate tables from their children at restaurants

noreply@blogger.com (Restaurant Maven) — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 17:40:00 +0000

I just came from a less than enjoyable experience at a local fast-casual restaurant. It wasn't the restaurant's fault - it was the group of parents next to us that decided they wanted all the adults to sit together so they could chat. So, they parked their nine children, all under 10 by my guess, at two separate tables near them. I just don't understand that. Why would you put your young children at a table all by themselves? The kids were loud, kept getting up and moving around chairs, and, worst of all, were helping themselves to the hot sauce bar (despite the sign that clearly stated no children were allowed at the hot bar). That lead to little girls squealing that their lips were hot and trying to dig out the ice from their drinks to soothe their lips. Meanwhile, the parents were talking amongst themselves oblivious to all of this. You know, I have two young kids myself and I would never do this. They always sit at the same table with me and most of the time I make sure there is an adult sitting in between them - they have a tendency to fight if they sit together. Parents, if you want to have adult conversation at a restaurant, then get a babysitter and leave the kids at home.

My New Blog - Musings from a Restaurant Maven

noreply@blogger.com (Restaurant Maven) — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 03:31:00 +0000

Now, what, you may ask, qualifies me as a Restaurant Maven? I am not a gourmet cook, I don't spontaneously come up with fantastic recipes, but I do eat out. Quite a lot actually. And not just at white tablecloth restaurants and not just at fast-food restaurants. My dining out runs the gamut from fast-casual to quick-service to 3-hour six course extravaganzas. I'll be sharing my musings in this blog. I may talk about the latest food trends or a great customer service experience I had. In fact, I'm not really sure what I going to talk about in this blog yet but I'm sure I'll figure it out along the way.