Let them do their thing!

[Matt Deckard]

If you are at a place that is renouned for giving the customer what he wants then get what you want. Though when you are at a place where there is a master at work... well you are there to get what the master is acclaimed for making.

You're at the Spago... Let Wolfgang make what Wolfgang makes. Don't tell him to make you a quarterpounder.

Trader Vic's makes a Mai Tai... order the Mai Tai, not a Gin Gimlet (though that is what I order).

You walked into Holland and Holland to buy a shotgun, not a blazer.

The Edison Bar has atmosphere, though take note that the food needs work.

You don't hale a cab in LA and you don't buy the hamburger at California Pizza Kitchen.

Places have their specialities and when you order off their menu, don't expect to get them at their best.

Not all Bartenders know what you like, though they know what they know how to make and that is why they are the talk of th town... what they make is special and good and when you walk into the joint you didn't go their to get what you wanted, you went to see what the fuss was about so you ask for the special... be it the flaming Moe or the Flaming Homer.

Anyho, just an observation for those who go to Taco Bell and order a hamburger.

 

[Nathan Flowers]

.

Never order the fish at a steakhouse (or vice versa), I always say.

 

[LizzieMaine]

My 88-year-old great-aunt likes to go to Chinese restaurants, but she hates Chinese food. So she always orders a toasted-cheese sandwich. The waiters know better by now than to argue with her.

 

[Fletch]

My mom grew up in a restaurant family, so she's a real rough customer. Her specialty is ordering something she knows isn't likely to be good. If they do it well, she knows it's a good joint. (If they don't, however, she tells nobody but the family.)

 

[Matt Deckard]

Taco Bell still makes better tacos than hamburgers... regardless of how well they make tacos.

Let them do their thing.

 

[Twitch]

Seems primary to me as well Matt. But I guess the crossover advertising has some effect on people. Beyond fast food it seems every retail outlet tries to carry what competitors do in order to syphon off some customers.

Sometimes in the end the crossover merchandising is so intense that neither entity survives because they've lost their identities. They can't be all things to all people whether its fast food or hardware.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Taco Bell still makes better tacos than hamburgers... regardless of how well they make tacos.

Let them do their thing.

but they do make some pretty darn good pizza....


In the wise wise words of "Demolition Man's Lenina Huxley "After the Franchise wars, all restaurants are Taco Bell'

 

[Ben]

I'm not sure what prompted this rant, but I have to say, your Taco Bell must be really special if you are worried about a master not getting his due.

 

[Feng_Li]

My 88-year-old great-aunt likes to go to Chinese restaurants, but she hates Chinese food. So she always orders a toasted-cheese sandwich. The waiters know better by now than to argue with her.

Frankly, I'd be amazed to learn a Chinese restaurant even had cheese in the kitchen.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I think they send across to the Italian place for it. lol

 

[J. M. Stovall]

McDonald's coffee beats Starbucks in all taste tests, but I've yet to try it myself.

 

[carter]

Not all Bartenders know what you like, though they know what they know how to make...

Oh Matt, how I wish that were true.

Regrettably, the demise of the traditionl Bartender cum mixologist looms in the land of Franchise.

However, in the Border Lands the crafty Independent still harkens to the craft.

Having been in the business of bar slightly longer than some Loungers have been in the business of life......,

My advice upon one's initial foray, into an establishment serving libations, is to have a seat, order some water or tea, peruse the menu, and watch the bartender. Are they confident, knowledgable, crisp, efficient, and fluid in motion, clean, neat, and able to carry on a conversation? Do they appear to have a regular clientele? If so, give them a try. Otherwise, find another bar or tender or both.

Your next good time may be just around the corner.

 

[Katie Brookes]

here are a few i learned the hard way:

don't get anything at the Cheesecake Factory other than cheesecake. or drinks.

don't get Chinese food in Italy. ever.

if you're at Fenton's Creamery you're going to be getting an icecream sundae bigger than your head, yet they have a dinner menu... don't be tricked, you wanted icecream for dinner, there is no obligation to get real food

 

[Senator Jack]

Oh Matt, how I wish that were true.

Regrettably, the demise of the traditionl Bartender cum mixologist looms in the land of Franchise.

However, in the Border Lands the crafty Independent still harkens to the craft.

Having been in the business of bar slightly longer than some Loungers have been in the business of life......,

My advice upon one's initial foray, into an establishment serving libations, is to have a seat, order some water or tea, peruse the menu, and watch the bartender. Are they confident, knowledgable, crisp, efficient, and fluid in motion, clean, neat, and able to carry on a conversation? Do they appear to have a regular clientele? If so, give them a try. Otherwise, find another bar or tender or both.

Your next good time may be just around the corner.

Umm...it's what inspired this rant. Great cocktails, the best in NY, and they went unenjoyed.

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[AlanC]

McDonald's coffee beats Starbucks in all taste tests, but I've yet to try it myself.

That's not a high threshold to reach. I've had the McDonald's coffee, and it is better, but again, that's not necessarily saying a lot.

 

[Doh!]

If only I could order a Mai Tai at Trader Vic's. I miss that place.

(I know, I know, they supposedly serve drinks by the pool or something but it just ain't the same.)

 

[Twitch]

Carter- how true. There are no more real bartenders. A friend of mine could produce probably a couple hundred drinks from memory but the job category itself ended up typically as a place he applied once- " we don't need someone who can make 100 drinks. All we get calls for is the same 12 or so."

This is a prime example of why Americans won't do the job anymore- the pay offered is too low. Goes hand in hand with outsourcing- why pay a professional guy professional wages when we can get by on the cheap.

 

[Diamondback]

don't get anything at the Cheesecake Factory other than cheesecake. or drinks.

Oh, I don't know, I had some meals at TCF in Vegas that were fairly good... but they were also accompanied by breaking my "avoid the sweets" guideline with a slice of whatever the "special" cheesecake of the time was.

But that's just my experience at one particular place, YMMV.