deangold

Our lovely winter weather?

I have not tasted this wine, but there is no intrinsic reason why it cannot be good. Take the most popular restaurant chardonnay like Sonoma Cutrer Russian River Ranches. Most if it is sold as wine by the glass. Why should you pay over $2.00 a bottle for the package when the customer will never see it? The frieght per liter of wine is almost twice as much for a case of wine (the glass is 1/3+ the weight of the total case of wine and the cardboard adds more). So bag in the box is good for the environment. For the cast bulk of wine that is drunk within days after it is sold, this is a good answer.

GF is Rockville si quite the guilty pleasure of mine. It is very good most of the time. It is in a bit of a funk right now but the last visit showed signs of improvement. Still I have a ahrd time when it comes to paying the bill (it seems thay always miscount the Caprihinia's I drink or the glasses have a hole in them or something!0 even at GF. With the base being $45 an evening of carnivore pleasures becomes very expensive indeed!

When in Roma a few years back, we went to Agata e Romeo. First off we had to let them know we were referred by Massimo, one of my wine salesmen in LA before they would take our reservation. Our cabbie assured us there was no restaurant at the address we gave him. There was no sign, just a number plaque with the name "Agata e Romeo" inscribed on the bronze. When we arrived, the door was locked and only opened after we identified ourselves and they confirmed that we had a reservation. Upon entry, we were asked if we had a cell phone and were shown the cupboard that all cell phones were deposited into before the diners would be sat. You can get away with a little more demandingness of your diners if you have a worldwide reputation and only have 7 tables, but I sometimes wish all restaurants could do this. I mean aside from a Doctor, who really needs to be available at all times? By the way, the meal was superb (except for the pedestrain cheese tray) in the Nuova Cucina style.

I would definitely start looking for 2004 reds from Italy as well as the Rhone. So far what I ahve had has been pretty fantastic- some Barbara's from Piemonte, some reds from Campania (Aglianico mainnly), Lagrein from Alto Adige (the Cantina de Tramin is particular yummy but probably doesn't fit this category).

They don't make them on premise. They are pretty ok for commercial product but not made with a lotta love!

Dino is going the prix fixe route. We are offering an early seating (reservations available from 5pm until 7pm) choice of 2 menus, either $60 or 75 and a late seating (reservations after 7:30pm) menu for $85. Wine pairings will be available. Please check out our website for the actual menus.

In Phoenix??? My favorite!

Just say you're a friend of Jena and Barbara's. Or call for a resie!

Sysco has their place in the world. I buy glasses from Libbey, Arcoroc etc, cleaning solutions for my dishwasher etc. These come from Adams Burch but they could just as easily come from Sysco. But never shall a piece of food come from someone like that. In the rare instances that a large purveyor even has some food productof quality, it hurts the little guy who searches out these fine products and make a business carrying a wide array of them if I cherry pick and buy one or two items from Sysco etc. I need to support my network of suppliers as best I can to assure they will continue to be there for me. I am conscious of where my money goes. When you chose to eat at a large national chain, be conscious of what your dollar decision iis doing. You are supporting corporate farming and making it harder for the independent food distributors to make it in a market. Also with highly processed food, you are contributing to the degradation of our nations taste buds. Imagine growing up thinking that what McDs serves is really a hamburger. I was lucky enough to grow up in the day of the corner burger joint. Today they are few and far between. The 5 guys guys may be getting rich, but they have indeed sold out what made them special. Not shame on them, but shame on those of us who patronize them and accept rude service and poorly cooked and presented products like at the G Town location.

Why that would be self promotion

In every jurisdiction I have seen numbers for, sales tax revenue goes up after the passing of a smoking ban. There is a shift from bar to restaurant of a few points but the total effect is more food and beverage based business.

Have been to Alle Testiere before but not this year. Seafood salad with pomegranite seeds comes to mind as something superb I had there.

We finally have our correct lunch/brunch menu up on our website. The new year's menu is there as well as our pre theater Menu della Sera.

While there are some towns that ignore it wholesale, the truth is that most Italian restaurants are obseving the ban fully. And now they have speeding radar on the Autostrada! The rental car companies will enforce the speeding tickets by charging your credit card the full amount of the fine. I fear that playing pinball with Fiat Puntos (Punti) is a pastime of the past for me...

Out of Town Scampi Crudo with olio and salt La Cantina Venezia Dinner at Anice Stellato, Venezia Bistecca alla Fiorentina Il Pozzo, Sant'Angelo, in Colle Toscana Testa Lupa NYC Steamed Juicy Pork Buns Yeah Dumpling House, NYC In Town Ankimo Kaz Sushi Bistro Szechuan Dry Fried Beef Joe's Noodle House Cod Fritters 2 Amy's At Dino (where I have eated the great majority of my meals this year) Formaggio di Fossa and Erborinati (cave aged cheeses) Robiola Incavolta Osso Buco Ribolita

If its stuff I really like you could always store it in my wine cellar! I still have about half of my stuff in LA!

Yes. and a damn good one indeed!

Make mine a Hangar One Kaffir Lime Martini

I htink that as Mark and others pointed out, my mistake was in using this forum for venting. When I wrote the original I was shaking with anger at the situation, not th customers. This was the first time in 11 years in the restaurnat business that I have actually "thrown" somebody out. But in any case, I should not have posted. That said, as an owner of a restaurant, and as a manager of retail and restaurants for 13 of the last 20 years, I have always stived to bend over backwards for my customers. The customers in question in the no merlot incident are a perfect exapmle. The waiter was upset but I got involved because it was obvious to me that they were expecting a different kind of experience than we offer. The wait took this personally, something that many a waiter does. I didn't. I diffused the situation by giving theem merlot on the house, figuring out how to make them something off the menu etc. The wait learned a valuable lesson... that was my point. The no lines comment was a mere aside, not a qualification. They were within their right as customers to want what they wanted. By the end of the night, tey were happy with what we offered. As to the waiter, she now feels empowered that she was part of turning the table around from upset to happy. She is a better waiter for having learned the lesson. Since I have opened Dino, I have given away hundreds of dishes, bottle of wine and gift cards to customers who were upset. I have comped the entire tiocket somewhere between 5 and 10 times. Were these customers right and us wrong? No. The customers were unhappy. That is all. They came in expecting one this and did not get it. Their expectations may not have been what we are trying to deliver, but the fact is that they are in my restaurant and unhappy and I need to try to do something to make them happy because that is what is right. There are some instances where the waiter does not get it, thinking that if I give an upset customer something "for free" or "for complaining" that means that the waiter or the restaurant is wrong. That is not the case. The customer is getting something because they are unhappy and it is our job to make them happy. My waiters now will come to me immediately when a customer is upset rather than try to handle it themselves just because they know how often we actually make friends of people who start out upset. Having said that, I do not feel good about the situation last Saturday. I failed in that I could not find a way to diffuse that situation before it dvolved into a spot where I could see no other choice but to refuse service. But I should have kept my feeling to myself. As those of you who know me know, I am very opinionated. FOr better or worse. This definitely was "for worse".

It is true that my post in this this thread hve been about the (thankfully) few customers who have crossed the line. What amazed me is that in the 10 years I have been out of the restaurant game, the decline in behavior of the few. On Saturday night, we had more than a handful of folk show up for their reservations at the time they originally requested, not the time they were given. But they did not cross any lines in any way, they had a drink or waited and were seated as soon as they could be accomodated. We had a "famous face" call for a last minute reservation. We were able to accomodate them not because they were famous (in fact they called not using their famous name), but because there were these nice sounding people on the phone and they were asking if they could be squeezed in. We said yes and discovered that they were celebrities only on arrival. They were a blast. They let me explain the menu, help them chose a wine (nothing expensive, but a real gem), help them order. They were a fun group in the restaurant and wound up buying Dino tee shirts. I wish I had hundreds more customers like them. not because they are famous, but because they are the kind of people I want in my restaurant. People I can share my passion for food with. That same night, we had a table who started out upset that I didn't have merlot or syrah by the glass. They wanted to know why we didn't ahve spaghetti with garlic and olive oil as a side dish. etc. I opened a bottle of merlot for them, leaving it on the table saying "drink what you want of it, its on me" and letting them know we could make them pappardelle with garlic and oil (we actually DON"T have spaghetti in house). At the end, they called me over and iunsisted that they pay for the merlot as they thought it was fantastic and they were as happy as could be. Again, they were upset at first and we turned them around because they gave us a chance. Their wait was amazed that they were as nice as they were given how upset they started out. Again, that why I am in the business. To turn people on to something they may never have been exposed to before or, if they are familiar with what we are doing, to let them enjoy what we are doing. Dino is a passion and a mission, not just a business. Customers who let us share that with them our our lifeblood. Customers who come in wtih fixed, narrow expectations can be dissapointed at Dino I think the best etiquette that a customer can show is to be open to what the restaurant they are at is offering.

There is an add on to this story.... I wrote that after the incident in order to get my mind back on taking care of the poeple who came to Dino to enjoy themselves. At the end of the night, as we were winding down and I was able to chat with some tables, the 2 couples come back down Connecticut avenue. The two men who got into it with me begin to walk along the windows giving me the bird. One of them grabs his crotch in full view of some customers. They grabbed some poor man by the shoulder and were gesticualting wildly at me probably telling him that I was evil incarnate. He looked like he wished there was a cop around! My customers who saw this were aghast at the entire thing. I got another laugh from it. I can only imagine what it would have been like to seat these people and how miserable they would have made the server. As I have always said, some poeple come to a business to partake of what it offers and have a good time. Some people come because shopping/dining there is cheaper than getting therapy!

Sometimes thisng are so bad its funney. Party calls for a ressie at 8:30. I take the ressie at 9:30pm, the first time I have available. I call and confirm it today for 9:30pm. 2 of the party arrive at 8:30 or so and say they have a reservation for 9. I tell them its at 9:30 and the person says "That fucker. He couldn't ahve made it at 9:30" I walk away. The rest of the party completes at 9:10 saying they have a 9pm resie. They are into it with my GM so I go over and say that the resie was at 9:30 and not 9:00. The gentleman tells me "It was at 9pm." There is no way it was at 9:00pm. I would have had to take it ont he wrong line and misread it when I confirmed it. No matter what I said he said it was at 9:00pm. I finally said that I did nto ahve a table right now and that I would do the best I could for them. He repeated for the 5th or 6th time by now "It was at 9:00pm". I finally said that I am th owner of the restaurant, that I took the reseravtion personally and that I confirmed it as well. He said again "It was at 9:00pm" I finally said I felt he was calling me a liar. He said "I'm not" but his companion, who had been angrily interjecting all along said that he, the companion, was calling me a liar. He repeated that 4 times before I invited them to eat elsewhere. They left yelling fuck you at the top of their lungs. Other customers who witnessed this were laughing at their behavior. This from a well dressed party of 4 in their 50's or late 40's. The irony is that if they hadn't ben so intent on yelling at me and calling me a liar, they would have had their table in 10 or 15 minutes.

Each year Brunello's Consorzio hosts a trade tasting with about 80 or so Brunellos available for tasting. Of the 80, I usually find 20 or so really good wines, regardless of vintage. And these are wines that retail for $50 a bottle on up! There is far more crap on the market than anything else! And the next part of the market is souless, mediocre wine. Good wine is far and few between!

As one who would like to get to a profit margin, I can assure you of the truth of the saying if you want to make a small fortune in the restaurant business, start with a large one. I am doing this because I don't have a job any more. The most stressful day here at Dino is more fun than my last 6 years at Whole Foods. And hell, I don't have to worry about my investments any more!