starfish

opentable notes cannot be shared with other restaurants. the system is not designed to function that way. making reservations over the web saves a significant amount of staff time - this really only applies to small restaurants that do not have a dedicated person to answer the phones during operating hours. that being said, if you don't see the slot you would like on the web, it never hurts to call. humans are smarter than computers and can sometimes find a way to accommodate your party. in every business there are times when it becomes necessary to fire a client/customer/guest. this is reserved for the most sever instance of asshole whose money is not worth the aggravation required to earn it. consider this example from another industry... an attorney has a client that constantly calls to inquire about pressing a nuisance law suit that will not earn that firm substantial contingency fees. this client calls four times a week to explain their latest grievance. each call takes 30minutes. at the conclusion of each call the attorney decides it is not worth the time to press forward. how long would it take for that attorney to stop accepting this person's calls? if a guest is known to be boorish, mistreat the staff, disturb other diners, etc. would it not be a smart business practice to fire this guest? during a recent visit to notti bianche, members of this board were moved to another table because the table next to them had a person that was talking rather loudly on a cell phone. i made the decision to move them, thinking it was the path of least resistance for all parties. but what if cell-phone guy came back and did the same thing the next night, next week, and continued to do so. how long would it take for this man’s behavior to impact the experience of my other guests, the morale of my staff, the regard in which my staff holds me because i allowed this behavior to continue? how long would it take for this person’s behavior to impact my bottom line? what if while disturbing others, and screwing with the making of everyone’s risotto, this guest only ordered a salad and a coke. what if this guest kept a table for over 2hours each visit to do so? it is only for these extreme examples that one would be 86’d from my place.

the old ebbit express does a passable job as a sort of upscale carry out place.

the two are mutually exclusive???? go early have a cocktail in the bar. grab your glass and wander out to the lawn. take pictures of yourself looking glam with a cocktail in hand and sun setting over your shoulder. wave at the sailors in the marina looking jealously at you because they know that you are about to experience culinary bliss. head to the dining room to complete the full package.

not questioning the truth of this matter, but at some restaurants, this is often code language for someone screwed up the ordering, or the prep, or any number of things.

i am a big fan of the sandwiches at "so's your mom" 1831 columbia road. one of these days rocks will accept my sandwich and pool challenge - smoked turkey, bacon, avocado on toasted croissant, followed by several games of one-hand one pocket at bedrock billiards which happens to be a few doors down on columbia

metropolitan in annapolis has a great list with really fun wines at very reasonable prices. the prices change from reasonable to insanely low on sunday nights with thier 1/2 price wine night. if i recall correctly, mendocino also does 1/2 off on sunday nights. i am also a very big fan of thier list.

i have worked in places where that has happened - and i have heard tell of much worse. eta: the delay in the wine could be explained by a need to brief the clueless manager. any manager who doesn't notice that a guest has been w/o food for 30minutes must be stealing thier paycheck. unless s/he was fixing some ugly problem that kept them off the floor for that length of time. which could be another potential explanation for the whole thing.

so far we have only laid blame on the service staff. three more entirely plausible scenarios: 1 - the server who rang the order somehow slighted the person running the expediting station. as a form of retribution that server's ticket - your ticket was accidentally on purpose lost. 2 - the fact that i am using my assistant manager's computer right now because my brand new laptop is fried is testimony to the occasional fallibility of computers. pos machines aren't perfect - your ticket could have disappeared into a technological black hole. 3 - the person running the expo station was new/hungover/under-caffinated/whatever and therefore slightly off his/her game that day and your ticket didn't get fired when it was supposed to. as others have noted, it is nearly impossible to know what really happened. maybe it was one of the servers, maybe it was the kitchen, maybe it was the computer. ultimately, i believe that the restaurant showed their concern for your dining experience and your business by doing the right thing. i think you did the right thing as well.

i know that we all think of ourselves as an affable and approachable lot, however, i have heard from more than a few people that one's first post can be a little intimidating to write. i think that it would come easier after an introduction. since i have a few friends who have recently joined the board, i have been thinking about this a bit recently. therefore, i am nominating this thread as the place to say hello. all of you lurkers, members without a post, etc, feel free to drop a line or two here. say hello. i swear it gets easier after your first one. still not sure? ok, i'll start... good day to everyone. i am new to the board. i am danny, i manage a little italian restaurant in foggy bottom. i found this board after a friend mentioned it to me, and am very happy to be here. i hope to be an active part of this community. thanks, don and everyone else for letting me play in your sandbox.

shameless, guiltless too. the way i see it i was doing them a favor. offering a rope to people drowning in the sea of corporate-crappy-coffee

great article, nadya. probably the most helpful one yet. i especially liked the only thing that i would have also noted is that the same rules of courtesy apply to what one writes in the reservation notes that apply to speaking on the phone or in person. don't know about you but i am much more inclined to accommodate a request that reads "a quiet table would be greatly appreciated, thank you for whatever you can do in this regard" than one that just says "quiet table" without the simple courtesy of a thank you. great job. edited to fix atrocious spelling/typing, and to add that i hope that second paragraph is taken in the spirit it is intended. it is a great article!

i am very firmly in the camp of: "starbucks is an evil life force that is teaching the world to enjoy crappy coffee; and i would have no issue if everyone of those green monuments to mediocrity as a step-up burned to the ground" that being said, due to a severe caffeine fit, immediate proximity, and extreme time pressures, i swallowed my hypocrisy and got a large iced americano from the one on spoutrun parkway this morning. the young lady behind the register, and the gentleman at the espresso machine could have taught the staff of any number of restaurants a thing or two about service. i was so impressed that after i left, i came back to compliment both of them, and get the email address of their district manager. of course i also slipped both of them my business card with an invitation to give me a call if they ever want to work in a restaurant.

by the by, i was in that area this morning. the parking lot is currently under constrution and at least 25% of the capacity is lost. just a heads up to anyone that might be heading there this weekend....expect more than the normal level of parking drama.

ah yes, spring when a chef's desires get restless and menus change with the frequency of rabbits in heat and overworked gm's struggle to keep everything current. the website will be current in a couple of days. sorry for the inconveinence.

so you were looking for ways for us to put our numbers to good use for the larger community... may i propose the 1st annual dr.com tennis tournament and gala. i am only partly joking.

in my experience, tunnicliff's has always been a pretty good place to drink after dinner.

i will be leaving from the restaurant. so if anyone realizes that we forgot to think of somethingor running out of something, give me a call as i will probably have it on hand.

bedrock has been my "cheers" for longer than i care to admit. while i agree with you that the juklebox is pretty decent, it doesn't hold a candle to how cool it was back in the mid-late 90s. --- [The following posts have been split into separate threads]: Solly's U Street Tavern (ferment everything) The Red Derby (Meaghan) Zoo Bar (edwinsux) The Big Hunt (The Hersch) Dan's Cafe (u-bet!)

as someone that has memory issues, i would have no objections to name tags. since i presume i am in the minority on this one, i am asking for amnesty for my forgetfullness now.

i am not sure there could ever be enough piggy on a menu.

i am mostly in agreement with you. however, i think it a bit unfair to not say anything while at the restaurant, not provide ample time for a restaurant to respond to your letter, and then blast away on the sietsema chat or some other forum. yes, management's response will be indicative of how much they care, but give them a chance to actually respond. i will add that a big part of a managers job is knowing where problems exist and to be proactive in fixing them. do we miss things - of course. but good managers, more often than not, would have caught a "night-ruining" issue, before it gets to that point.

it is that time of the month already. legacy libations shall begin to flow at 5pm. hope to see you all there.

the most logical market - in my one-track mind - is for restaurants. in a small place like notti bianche, the glass cost/breakage is in the $1000s/year. unbreakable glassware would be a no-brainer for me. however, i am not inclined to sacrifice quality for durablility. when these glasses hit stateside, i will give them a very hard look.

notti bianche is celebrating our 1st anniversary tonight (the actual date was saturday, but the party is after we close tonight). i want to thank all of you for contributing to our success. we serve at the pleasure of each of our guests, but it is with added pleasure that we serve those with a greater understanding of all of the love and hardwork that goes into a good restaurant. thank you all. eta: we are closed this evening for a private event.

anybody else going to zoofari tonight? notti bianche will be there serving something that tony told me about but don't remeber, and we will also be pouring "suco di vino".