[CH] Eat the rich, Rael
Greg Metcalfe (biosphere@proaxis.com)
Fri, 16 Jan 1998 14:55:02 -0800
Holy Gawd! 5-6 yrs ago, there was a short-lived Cajun restaurant around
here. Died due to tax troubles or something. I cooked for them a couple of
times, just for bubbles and grins. Heh, this is Oregon: there's immense
Dungeness crab, and all these other great ingredients, etc., and it was fun
to figure out how to adapt on the fly. For fun. No way would it have been
fun for a living - this is another case of a fairly spicy cuisine having to
succeed in a mostly 'no chiles allowed' environment.
This place seated mabe 75, I was only there on 'average' nights, and never
met the Rael equivalent of Satan's Chicken Lady. It was only mostly tough
because I wasn't in enough to get to know my way around the kitchen well,
which can leave you floundering like, well, a flounder. But I learned a
couple of things. Some food writers, etc., tell you to send it back if it's
not just the way you want it. Before I did that short stint as a 'guest
cook' I was a firm believer in that. Consumer rights, and that sort of thing.
Now, if I'm in a place that's usually pretty good, and I get something
that's not up to par, I just remember those days, grin, and bear it. Heh,
sometimes the world just goes freakin' nuts. Of course, if it's just
innedible, that's a different story. But I let a lot of things slide that I
wouldn't have before. A quick glance around the room serves as enough of a
guideline, with a couple of thoughts about the past history of the place.
I usually just joke about it with the server. If it's a genuine Day From
Hell, they know that I know that we all know that even Mars knows. And that
you understand. Great way to get The Real Word on what's fresh next time
you're in, if you're a regular. You've built some good will. If it's not a
Day From Hell, (and again, you're a regular) they'll probably insist that
the problem get fixed. Either way, a sense of humor can pay dividends. Just
don't get so friendly that they ask you into the kitchen now and then!
TTYL,
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Greg Metcalfe
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http://www.proaxis.com/~biosphere
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