Restaurant Week - Winter 2008

[Walrus]

Is this a record -- three posts in a row (and yet still only a lowly ventworm)?!

It just occurred to me that the strong differences in opinion -- seen here, on Tom's chat, and I'm sure anywhere else that foodies congregate -- may have to do with people's interpretations of what RW offers.

I think restaurants during RW offer a lower-priced meal. Others may see it as a discounted meal. I think this difference is key.

If I were expecting to get a discount on a really expensive meal and then the meal wasn't very good, I wouldn't be that impressed with the restaurant or inclined to return (e.g., the DR.com meal we had at Galileo persuaded me that I was missing nothing by not going there). If, on the other hand, I'm expecting a lower-priced meal at a restaurant, my expectations would be on par with the prices being asked for the meal. In my opinion, there's a reason that something costs, say, $100, and if I purchase the cheaper version of the item for $30, I'm not going to expect it to be of the same quality as the $100 item. Hence my not being upset when the stitching unravels on my Old Navy t-shirt, but being pretty unhappy when the buttons fall off my expensive, designer coat.

Does that make sense?

[Tweaked]

Does that make sense?

No...

if you are buying Old Navy versus Banana Republic (both owned by the same company), I would expect better quality out of Banana Republic. If BR is having a sale then I still expect BR quality.

Idealy, a restaurant that participates in RW should strive to produce food with the same quality and care as it strives for the other 50 weeks of the year. Just because they are offering a RW "special menu" at prices below what they normally charge should they just mail it in during RW?

Now I realize that at some restaurants, esp. the high end restaurants, they might use less luxurious ingredients during RW, for example, Corduroy doing a confit of chicken v. confit of duck, but I expect Tom Power to cook with the same skill and care. RW provides me a snap shot of what Corduroy is about as a restaurant and if I like it, then hopefully I'll go back.

Contrast that with DC Coast last night, where the pumpkin soup was flavorless and had the consistency of dish water. I might forgive a kitchen at prime time during RW if my steak comes out medium instead of medium rare, they are probably slammed, but soup...clearly something that is not made a la minute...flavorless and dish watery soup tells me the kitchen can't make soup!

[Walrus]

See that's where I disagree. I don't think that any kitchen, under the rare and awesome pressures of Restaurant Week, can be expected to put out work with the same care and quality of the work that they put out during a regular week. I agree that some restaurants accomplish amazing things during RW -- I just don't think you should go in expecting it to be amazing.

If I'm planning to pay $30 for a meal, I would expect that meal to be worth $30. I would be very happy indeed if it turned out to be worth $60 or $100, and I would be unhappy if it were worth $15. But my expectation is for a $30 meal.

It's just not the same to me as buying merchandise on sale. If I went in with a 50% off coupon, I would expect the meal to be worth the provided price, but the same way you don't get the best stuff in the Banana Republic sale bin, I wouldn't expect to get the best stuff during RW. Again, not saying it doesn't happen -- just saying it shouldn't be expected (demanded?) to happen.

But, I'm happy to agree to disagree and let this all go

[Waitman]

See that's where I disagree. I don't think that any kitchen, under the rare and awesome pressures of Restaurant Week, can be expected to put out work with the same care and quality of the work that they put out during a regular week. I agree that some restaurants accomplish amazing things during RW -- I just don't think you should go in expecting it to be amazing.

If I'm planning to pay $30 for a meal, I would expect that meal to be worth $30. I would be very happy indeed if it turned out to be worth $60 or $100, and I would be unhappy if it were worth $15. But my expectation is for a $30 meal.

It's just not the same to me as buying merchandise on sale. If I went in with a 50% off coupon, I would expect the meal to be worth the provided price, but the same way you don't get the best stuff in the Banana Republic sale bin, I wouldn't expect to get the best stuff during RW. Again, not saying it doesn't happen -- just saying it shouldn't be expected (demanded?) to happen.

But, I'm happy to agree to disagree and let this all go

I'm not sure if I agree or not. Restaurant Week is supposed to be something of a "special." The clear implication is that your $30 meal is worth more than $30. Otherwise there's no point, is there? Because you can get a $30 meal for $30, under less trying conditions, any time.

[Walrus]

I'm not sure if I agree or not. Restaurant Week is supposed to be something of a "special." The clear implication is that your $30 meal is worth more than $30. Otherwise there's no point, is there? Because you can get a $30 meal for $30, under less trying conditions, any time.

That's a really good point.

However, I'd argue that in many of the restaurants, on a normal week, you wouldn't be able to buy three courses for $30. So there's implicit value, but I still don't know that I'd expect the same quality of food/service/etc. on a night during RW that I would during regular service. I'd be thrilled to receive it, but the expectation just wouldn't be there. So if I got a $30 meal, I'd be ok with that. If I didn't think it was worth the $30 (dishwasher soup?!), I wouldn't. If it was worth more than $30, then I'd feel that I was ahead

There's a reason I don't play the RW game. It seems like an awful lot of work for a $30 meal. I'd rather save my lunch money and go out for what I know will be a fabulous meal once a month than have 5 rolls of the die with the millions of other gamblers out there, all searching for the dream restaurant: a place that despite the demands of the week has it going on all cylinders the night I'm there and offers me a $100 experience for $30.08.

It's all luck. Good restaurants have bad nights, bad restaurants have good ones. I would hope that, the same way most of us wouldn't eliminate a restaurant based on one bad experience, people wouldn't eliminate a restaurant because of RW.

I hope Don (and the rest of the Rockweilers) don't mind continuing this discussion -- I certainly didn't intend to monopolize the conversation! But I think it's a really interesting topic!

[DonRocks]

I hope Don (and the rest of the Rockweilers) don't mind continuing this discussion

[That's what the thread's here for!]

[DanielK]

I would hope that, the same way most of us wouldn't eliminate a restaurant based on one bad experience, people wouldn't eliminate a restaurant because of RW.

I think that most of the people who are taking advantage of RW are not food board people - they're infrequent fine diners, who are taking advantage of a semi-annual sale. I think most of them ARE expecting the $40 or $50 experience for $30. Whether it's a reasonable expectation or not is immaterial - it's the reality that restauranteurs have to deal with.

If a restaurant is willing to participate, they should be thinking of the long-term implications, not the balance sheet for that week. If they serve a $30 meal for $30, most people will walk away thinking "that was nice, but do I want to come back next month and spend $50 for the same meal?" No repeat diners there, so the restaurant made their $1 profit and that's the end.

Converting those people to regular diners has to be the goal for participating. So you present the $40 or $50 experience, break even on the week, and expect that next month you'll have a couple more regulars.

[dcs]

See that's where I disagree. I don't think that any kitchen, under the rare and awesome pressures of Restaurant Week, can be expected to put out work with the same care and quality of the work that they put out during a regular week. I agree that some restaurants accomplish amazing things during RW -- I just don't think you should go in expecting it to be amazing.

I don't understand. How does/can a chef "lay back" during RW and not cook on par with his/her usual ability? Most of these places, the good ones at least, are probably not dramatically more busy than usual. Couple that with a more limited RW menu and this should be like rolling off a log.

[Dave Pressley]

See that's where I disagree. I don't think that any kitchen, under the rare and awesome pressures of Restaurant Week, can be expected to put out work with the same care and quality of the work that they put out during a regular week.

I would disagree with this particular point. During a normal week, a restaurant has XX appetizers, XX entrees and XX desserts, then they get the opportunity to pare down their menu for the RW menu. That's much easier to do quality control! You're reducing your menu by some fraction and probably doing more Winter food large batch cooking (hearty soups, root vegetable purees, braised meats, etc.) so pickups are quicker and tables are turned faster. When you do large batch cooking compared to "a la minute", the chef and sous chefs should have their hands on everything so the food tastes spot on (if it doesn't taste great at that point, that's a different story). Maybe a large problem is that some chefs and restaurant operators out there aren't putting enough passion and brain power into proper menu planning and thinking about the ease of execution during RW? Line cooks just get put in the position of just having to cook the same pieces of meat, fish, pasta, etc., but just at a lot faster pace. Servers are just simply given the same sections (that are now full during each turn) and are pressured by management to ramp up service to a nearly impossible speed. That's when things get messy!

At the end of the day though, a restaurant can only get SO slammed because they only have X tables and the ability to turn them Y times. They should be doing simple math to figure out if their kitchen and waitstaff can handle the load, then write the menu and staff the house accordingly, both in the kitchen and on the dining room floor. Otherwise, they should save themselves the cost (monetarily and loss of return guests) and not participate.

[Dark Wing]

I don't understand. How does/can a chef "lay back" during RW and not cook on par with his/her usual ability? Most of these places, the good ones at least, are probably not dramatically more busy than usual. Couple that with a more limited RW menu and this should be like rolling off a log.

Because they're barely recovering from lunch, and then they start getting slammed again at 6 PM. By the time nine o'clock rolls around, when they're usually winding down from their one big dinner crush, they're gearing up for yet another onslaught. Try masturbating twice in the afternoon, then having sex three times later that night, and you'll see what the problem is.

[dcs]

Because they're barely recovering from lunch, and then they start getting slammed again at 6 PM. By the time nine o'clock rolls around, when they're usually winding down from their one big dinner crush, they're gearing up for yet another onslaught. Try masturbating twice in the afternoon, then having sex three times later that night, and you'll see what the problem is.

OK. I'm in.

[dcs]

Funny thing, and I am not sure this is related. I just got back from visiting with H&R Block, and they told me that my taxes this year would not be prepared with the usual care and exactitude because so many people we seeking the same service at the same low price at the same time.

[Heather]

Because they're barely recovering from lunch, and then they start getting slammed again at 6 PM. By the time nine o'clock rolls around, when they're usually winding down from their one big dinner crush, they're gearing up for yet another onslaught. Try masturbating twice in the afternoon, then having sex three times later that night, and you'll see what the problem is.

And it better be as good the third time as it was the first...

[Banco]

Because they're barely recovering from lunch, and then they start getting slammed again at 6 PM. By the time nine o'clock rolls around, when they're usually winding down from their one big dinner crush, they're gearing up for yet another onslaught. Try masturbating twice in the afternoon, then having sex three times later that night, and you'll see what the problem is.

Sorry, I do that often and I just don't see the problem.

[Walrus]

I would disagree with this particular point. During a normal week, a restaurant has XX appetizers, XX entrees and XX desserts, then they get the opportunity to pare down their menu for the RW menu. That's much easier to do quality control! You're reducing your menu by some fraction and probably doing more Winter food large batch cooking (hearty soups, root vegetable purees, braised meats, etc.) so pickups are quicker and tables are turned faster. When you do large batch cooking compared to "a la minute", the chef and sous chefs should have their hands on everything so the food tastes spot on (if it doesn't taste great at that point, that's a different story). Maybe a large problem is that some chefs and restaurant operators out there aren't putting enough passion and brain power into proper menu planning and thinking about the ease of execution during RW? Line cooks just get put in the position of just having to cook the same pieces of meat, fish, pasta, etc., but just at a lot faster pace. Servers are just simply given the same sections (that are now full during each turn) and are pressured by management to ramp up service to a nearly impossible speed. That's when things get messy!

At the end of the day though, a restaurant can only get SO slammed because they only have X tables and the ability to turn them Y times. They should be doing simple math to figure out if their kitchen and waitstaff can handle the load, then write the menu and staff the house accordingly, both in the kitchen and on the dining room floor. Otherwise, they should save themselves the cost (monetarily and loss of return guests) and not participate.

I really like your post. My only thought it, when was the last time any of us had batch food that was as refined and elegant as a la minute cuisine? Wouldn't you be disappointed if you ate at Citronelle and got a serving from a pan of lasagne being kept warm rather than your own, carefully prepared dish? Soup aside, of course!

I agree with your thoughts about line cooks and servers. It was also pointed out to me last night that perhaps the restaurants that have the most trouble are simply overbooking, and that an easy solution is to just accept fewer reservations. Of course, RW is hardly a bank-busting money-maker as it is, so maybe they're just trying to scrape a profit out of the week.

I think that any restaurant that does RW should seriously consider where the balance needs to be between immediate profits and earning future business and to cut the as closely as possible to making less profit now for the possibility of greater gains with return business after RW. (This would mean, in my opinion, taking on only as many people as the staff can comfortably handle and making the menu as interesting yet simple for the kitchen as possible.)

In return, the diners should think about what their expectations are and try to bring them into line with the realm of reality. Maybe it would help if they all saw the RW menu contrasted with the regular menu? So they can feel good about getting a bargain but at the same time see what glories they could expect if they returned when it wasn't RW?

[Walrus]

Funny thing, and I am not sure this is related. I just got back from visiting with H&R Block, and they told me that my taxes this year would not be prepared with the usual care and exactitude because so many people we seeking the same service at the same low price at the same time.

Ha ha! But as I'm sure you know, a completely separate situation. The entire tax industry spends every year preparing for one or two months. Do you suggest that restaurants do the same? I much prefer the results when kitchens and chefs and FOH staff are allowed room for creativity and complexity throughout the year!

[deangold]

Just a recap of last night at Dino from an inside perspective...

I just spent an hour looking at our sales last night and this week in general to gain perspective of what RW does for us. Here is the result of my efforts regarding last night:

Best Friday cover count since August 10, last RW

Best dollar Friday since last January 19 (the Friday after RW but during the extension) about 33% over average

Number of no show reservations: 10 accounting for 26 covers. Normal for a Friday night is 1-3 no show reservations.

Number of cancellations made on Friday - 6 accounting for 24 covers. 3 of them were made after 6pm

Number of reservations showing up 15 or more minutes late - too numerous to count: at least 15 reservations

Number of reservations who had to wait more than 15 minutes for their reservation: 5 or so, all caused by the no show problems early in the night.

Number of reservations who had to wait more than 30 minutes: 2 caused by my mis-estimating the number of "campers" we would have.

Number of walk ins accommodated 34, a little low for a Friday night but a goodly number given the fully booked situation we started out with.

Number of additional walk ins we could have accommodated if all the no shows had called and all the late reservations had shown up on time: 20 or so, we had at least that many inquire and then decide not to wait.

Number of regulars in last night: 2 tables of frequent regulars, 4 tables of infrequent regulars out of 65 tables sat. Typically these two categories would make up 20-25-30% of our tables.

Dollar average per customer: well above average, almost 10% higher than usual. This cannot be accounted for thru alcohol sales as they were fairly normal or just a little bit higher than normal. I did see some tables add an extra dish to their RW experience. Also we sold a huge number of Bistecca (We sold last night what we thought we would sell for the entire weekend!!!) which carries an upcharge, but again this and the alcohol only account for about half of the increase of per customer sales. Needs to be analyzed more thoroughly! Could be that we had virtually no "snackers"- folks who come in for a cheese plate or an app and a glass of wine, usually early and late.

FWIW

[Dave Pressley]

Wouldn't you be disappointed if you ate at Citronelle and got a serving from a pan of lasagne being kept warm rather than your own, carefully prepared dish? Soup aside, of course!

I doubt it. I bet Michel Richard could probably put out the world's best lasagna if he wanted to. I was hinting that more restaurant should take advantage of those cooking techniques to make their menus easier to work with--not to make the entire menu from them. Of course, a la minute cooking is necessary to have a complete menu. Otherwise, you'd end up with a menu more suitable to a retirement home.

I think that any restaurant that does RW should seriously consider where the balance needs to be between immediate profits and earning future business

Absolutely agree with you there.

[gourmetgrazer]

Dollar average per customer: well above average, almost 10% higher than usual. This cannot be accounted for thru alcohol sales as they were fairly normal or just a little bit higher than normal.

The simple quetsion is, "what is the average per person check at Dino outrside of RW?" if it is less than 30.08, you are obviously going to do better. Moderately priced restaurants are going to see less of a drop in margin than more expensive ones. It's the restaurants choice to participate, and I would expect that they would deliver the same level of quality and service regardless of RW.

H&R Block is kind of like the Olive Garden of Tax Preparation so the analagy doesn't hold water.

[deangold]

The simple quetsion is, "what is the average per person check at Dino outrside of RW?"

I am not sure if I made this clear in the OP. It is 10% higher than our normal RW check average. Our normal RW check average goes up over a non RW week,but not enough to offset the increased RW food cost (same menu, lower retail, higher food cost). So it is only the increase in numbers and revenue that makes RW so profitable for us.

[Anonymouze]

We went to a restaurant yesterday for restaurant week with my father. They offered at noon yesterday lunch which is normally 27.00 pp on avg 30.00 and offered for that 3.00 more to add a crabcake (which already comes with your meal) or soup or a dip appetizer and a glass of wine, or beer or alcohol free drink. For me personally that would not be worth 3.00 more since you get drinks with free refilles for 1.50 and I'm not into alcohol. The food was neither here or there, nothing special but my father was visiting and we wanted to take him to DC to the harbor area by Jefferson memorial to pick up some stuff. (He picked up some hot crab bisque 2 large containers to take home to NJ - there's a great place for that there!)

If there are any good restaurant week places out in VA please feel free to pop me a note. I'm not into the hassle of parking in DC.

[deangold]

There's nothing worse than someone pointing out a problem without offering a solution. So I'm proposing a "Restaurant Week In Perpetuity" thread, detailing self-composed three-course dinners that can be enjoyed for $30 or less, week-in and week-out.

Cheers,

Rocks.

Dino is going to offer Restaurant Week every Monday and Tuesday starting in February. We will extend this offer for 90 days and see how it is recieved. This will replace the Menu della Sera. The deal is just like RW- 3 courses with some upcharges. More details to follow!

[Heather]

If there are any good restaurant week places out in VA please feel free to pop me a note. I'm not into the hassle of parking in DC.

Does Virginia do a Restaurant Week?

[DonRocks]

I got permission to repost this PM to me ANONYMOUSLY - it was written by a casual acquaintance whom I contacted, asking his thoughts about Restaurant Week. I laughed out loud at this for ten minutes:

its not that it was bad; we, the staff did a great job. it's that insetual ass hole fuck wad mother fucking cock sucker prick that doesnt show for their reservation, and then posts bad fucking comments about the restaurant that he/she frequents once a year or two that burn my ass and chafe my balls

other than that it was a lovely restaurant week

[monavano]

Does Virginia do a Restaurant Week?

From what I gather, NoVa is lumped in with DC RW. Other regions such as Richmond have a separate RW.

Farrah Olivia- January 31

Jaleo- January 27

Domaso Trattoria- through January

Willow-January 22-26

[collije]

Dino is going to offer Restaurant Week every Monday and Tuesday starting in February. We will extend this offer for 90 days and see how it is recieved. This will replace the Menu della Sera. The deal is just like RW- 3 courses with some upcharges. More details to follow!

That's a nice offer Dean, hope this one sticks!

[Nadya]

I got permission to repost this PM to me ANONYMOUSLY - it was written by a casual acquaintance whom I contacted, asking his thoughts about Restaurant Week. I laughed out loud at this for ten minutes:

And that's the reason some of us are freaking DELIRIOUS to be done with this, from both sides, done, jamais de ma vie, khalas!