The Dining Guy

Why settle for the same old boring cocktails! Here at Eight Wine Bar we have spent long days and many sleepless nights creating the ultimate in mixology and culinary combinations!

PURITY

One sip of this combination and you will feel pure at heart again. We combine Iceberg Vodka (the world’s purist), lemon zest, and champagne and serve it alongside a piece of lemon flavored wedding cake. Who needs to be born again when you can just sip on a bit of purity.

NOT GRANDPA’S MANHATTAN

If Manhattan’s were always made like this, the world would be a much calmer place. We marinate our cherries in hickory smoked chips and Bulleit Bourbon, add a dash of orange bitters and shake. Why stop there when you can garnish it with double smoked prosciutto and a cheese stick.

CHOCOLATE DESIRE

Any fool can make a chocolate martini. But not every fool combines 360 Double Chocolate Vodka, Vanilla Vodka, fresh vanilla bean, and serves it alongside a dark chocolate dipped strawberry crusted in pretzel dust and sea salt. Who knows chocolate now Mr. Hershey?

CARIBBEAN CHILL

Wish your toes were in the sand right now? This may be the closest to it we can get you to this evening. We have spiced up a traditional Rum Runner with a little boutique style. Married together are Kraken Spiced Rum, banana liqueur, cassis, and blueberry juice. What would the islands be without a side of plantain crisps to garnish your senses.

SOCCER MOM

This cocktail sneaks up on you like a soccer mom in the big city. It is smooth, tasty, yet highly dangerous. We combine gin, pineapple juice, ginger simple syrup, and top it with bubbles. And of course what soccer mom doesn’t suck on a pineapple Popsicle crusted in ginger snap crumbs to tease the on-lookers.

FRENCH PRESS

This may be the closest any of us will get to a sidewalk café in Paris tonight! We combine Grand Marnier, hazelnut liqueur, cream, and a hint of cinnamon. We have the French now time for the press as we accompany this cocktail with an espresso crème brûlée.

BITE ME BACK CEASAR

The days of the classic ceasar have gone the way of the disco ball. Ceasar’s are meant to awaken your senses so we have marinated banana peppers in Asian ginger beer, crusted our rim in sea salt and chilis, added some scotch bonnet simple syrup and finished it off with a pair of oysters on the side.

DON JUST KNOWS

There is no better taste after a long day than a smooth tequila. Unless you infuse it with cloves, combine it with Agave nectar ice cubes and just the right amount of Don Julio Reposado that is! Did we forget to mention a spicy salsa is there to make the pair complete.

I have found myself in many a conversation lately on whether sex appeal sells. Unless you live in a fantasy world where money grows on trees and billiards is an exciting sport IT DOES.

When was the last nightclub, cocktail lounge, or pub you walked out of saying: “my those plumb ladies in the long dresses and turtle necks served a great pint. Married, single, straight, or gay I guarantee you have walked out saying “damn that bartender was sexy and did you see where she hid her corkscrew”.

Fact of the matter is sex sells no matter what you are buying. I am much more likely to buy an over priced suit or car from a beautiful sales girl as opposed to a 50yr old man. It may seem wrong and so politically incorrect but hell that is the world we live in.

All of us in the business realize our dashing good looks aren’t lasting forever hence why we migrate to management before our sex appeal evaporates.

The problem these days is being able to balance sex appeal with smarts. I like to call the approach “Smart yet Provocative”.

I always look to hire a person who can tease the imagination of the guest and then seal the deal with what is above the cleavage line. Of course there are some business models that just hire HOT and SEXY because it works in their market. Admit it or not, when was the last time you walked into a strip club ordered a beer and asked the server their views on the turmoil in the middle east.

The old sex sells logic may be used by business operators but it is you the customer that maintains its existence in the market place. As the customer becomes more knowledgeable and demands a more informed employee, one thing stands pat: Sex Appeal Sells. You will find more employers looking for a smarter employee but don’t kid yourself a beer will always taste better poured by a sexy cleavage bearing bartender.

Agree with my view or not, just remember where you’ve drawn your line in the sand because Sex Appeal will always blur it.

Cheers

Loyalty is a word that Liquor company’s preach and beat their employee’s over the head with when it comes to building brands.
The reality is I seldom buy a product because of the brand. I always do however buy because of the person that represents it.

It seems that now more than ever in the massive race for liquor supremacy, the powers at be think a simple swapping of a local rep carries little to no weight in a clients purchase.

Time for a reality check if you can get out from behind your big desk and join the real people my dear executive.

I buy and so do many others because we trust the person selling the product not the brand on the business card.

I have bought product that I likely never would have tried because the person not the company representing it, is a solid, loyal, and trustworthy brand in their own right.

I have done business with the big guys not because I like their massive portfolios and blank check books but because a person I respect and trust has now chosen such a company to continue their career growth with.

I have also gone through the growing pains with new start-ups because I believe in the person who is building the brand.

Not so long ago I was carrying 4 by the glass wines from a company that unless a longtime friend and representative wasn’t working for them I never would have given a second glance to.
When the company suddenly acquired another and found itself with excess sales force the low men on the time served flow chart were shown the door.
It took me all of 24hrs to remove these wines from my list.

What took 4 weeks to happen was a phone call from their head office asking why the wines were no longer being offered. When I simply stated “I was never buying your product because of the brand but because I respected the person selling it”.
The response was all to familiar, “we are restructuring and will have a new rep calling on your account and they will be by to meet you soon.”

Let’s just say I never made time in my day for this to happen. And every time I bump into the powers at be in this company it’s pleasant, but they still can’t understand why a simple rep made all the difference.

Don’t get me wrong I have played this game way to long and hard to think an open check book doesn’t buy loyalty in some cases. I have earned respect, by being loyal to my rep’s and in turn have a rolodex full of people willing to help out whenever I need anything.

We are in a world where a few big players control most of the market. I just hope as much corporate support is placed behind building grass root rep client relationships as they do building a brand for this person to hawk!

Cheers

Okay people I have to say not much surprises me in this day and age but this past weekend was yet again a head shaking event. I was at a wine auction looking for a few bottles to round out a clients flight collection. Five years ago this would have been one of those Wam Bam Thank-You Mam type of events unfortunately that is not the case these days.

The world of wine buying has changed drastically and has some of us in the business wondering who the hell this new breed of buyers are trying to impress. Ten years ago while manging a legendary hotel restaurant I found myself opening a magnum of Chateau Palmer for $32,000. This buyer was not interested in the liquid in the bottle but more in the price and the fact he could display the empty on his mantel and tell his like minded friends how much he spent on it so he could close a business deal.

At the time I filed this under idiots with to much money and more ego than palate.

My how the tables have turned, I found myself being out bid time and time again by buyers not interested in filling a collection or the history of the wine and its maker. But for the mere fact it was expensive. You would think they were bidding on a rare painting that was going to hang from their wall for all to see.

Like I have always stated I can drink the best wines in the world or a cold beer in the dirtiest pub on earth and I will be equally happy. Not because of the price but because I understand the experience each brings to the table.

Don’t get me wrong there are buyers out there who have a passion for wine and will pay anything for it. The people I am targeting here are the EGO Collectors who when asked about the wine 5 years from now will not mention its character, taste, or growth, but only the price they paid for it.

This type of person wears a price tag like a badge of honor. I just hope the rest of the wine drinking world will continue to wear a badge that represents: Style, Taste,Growth,Quality,and Passion.

When you are sitting back sipping and enjoying the great $20 find you made out of plastic cups on a patio, I guarantee you will be in a much better place than the EGO Collector ever hoped to be.

Cheers

The word trendy is being toss around like a Charlie Sheen intern as of late (sorry had to say it). Every time I read a review about a new restaurant, up and coming chef, or new food network program trendy seems to be somewhere in the description.
It would appear that every guest, food blogger, and new operator wants to be on the next trend wagon.
Maybe we should as an industry ask this collective group to start living up to our definition of Trendy instead of jumping through hoops that lead to nowhere a majority of the time.
I comprised a small list for every trend seeking guest, blogger, and TV exec out there wanting to know what we in the business really think is NOT TRENDY!

A RESTAURANTS GUIDE TO BEING TRENDY!

1. Asking for substitutions is not Trendy.
2. Unless we have family style dining or small sharing plates on the menu, splitting mains is not a Trendy thing to do.
3. Always wanting to dine at 7pm and accepting no alternatives is not Trendy.
4. Drinking tap water and nothing else is only Trendy if you are at home taking up your own seats.
5. Asking for salt before you taste the dish is as about as Trendy as boy bands getting back together at 40.
6. Talking on your phone or not having it on vibrate in a restaurant is far from Trendy.
7. Asking the price of specials really isn’t Trendy it’s just cheap frankly!
8. Tipping less than 15% is not Trendy. Once again it’s cheap and insulting.
9. Sniffing a rubber cork or screw top is as Trendy as holding your child up and sniffing the diaper.
10. Cosmo’s are no longer trendy they are just old like the cast of Sex In The City.
11. Asking for individual bills is not Trendy. It just means you need to dine with more trustworthy people.
12. Singing happy birthday, is only Trendy if you are also allowed to draw on the table clothes.
13. Alerting the server to your food allergy is only Trendy if you actually have one. Not liking something is not an allergy people.
14. Bringing your own cake to dinner in a restaurant that has a desert menu, is only Trendy if your kids made it!
15. Taking photo’s of plates, with bright flashes is not Trendy it is plain disruptive to real diners!

Fact of the matter is Trendy dining is what a restaurant with a creative chef, open attitude to change, a staff that believes in their product, and the regulars it attracts make it. This could be new cutting edge products, and techniques or just simply old school classics done well with love.

The Trendy Train normally has a short life span, if you really feel the need to be Trendy ignore the norm and set your own Trend!

Cheers

I have found myself talking a lot about the VIBE that a restaurant must create for itself to survive in today’s cut throat market.
This can be said for many if not all businesses in today’s world. But let’s stay on point here. No one including myself wants to hear me talk about how the dark lighting and loud music makes Abercrombie & Finch a marketing power house because of the VIBE they create.

By definition VIBE is :”a distinctive emotional aura experienced instinctively; “that place gave me bad vibrations”; “it gave me a nostalgic vibe”

Creating a Vibe is easy: Creating the correct Vibe is difficult. You have to decide as a company what type of clientele you are after, then decide what their needs and preferences are before they do.
In essence you have to tug at their emotions so they feel the Vibe you have created.

If you set the wrong Vibe you will be sitting with an empty location or attract a clientele that you weren’t targeting. No one likes to fail and in our business failure is common.

Here is a short list of suggestions to help you achieve the VIBE and clientele you are after.

1. Know your location: Not many of us can sell $15 martini’s in an area that doesn’t house big business, and lots of disposable income.
2. See the customer you want and ask them what would keep them coming back.
3. If your staff doesn’t buy into your concept neither will the guest.
4. Consistency is king: if your atmosphere is consistent the customer will return time and again. Service, food and drink quality, comfort, lighting, music all must jive to create the right VIBE.
5. Be flexible: Realize change is never done. In today’s market the Vibe you created last month might not be cool or hip this month. People who are afraid to change get left behind.
6. Start with a few: Getting the right clientele to believe in the Vibe you are creating will in turn bring followers.
7. Yes trendy is in these days: that being said being a leader and not a follower is even trendier. Set your own trends to stand apart from the pack.
8. Listen: take the time to listen to your employees. They are the first line of contact and defense. Believe it or not they tend to know more about what the customer needs and wants than the person signing checks in the office.

We all have our favorite restaurants, clubs, and watering holes. You may never have looked at it in a Vibe sense before.
But guess what you continue to go back because they have a VIBE you enjoy!

Cheers

My wine is to good for the likes of you! This may seem snobbish, rude and elitist at first glance but I assure you it’s nothing of the sort. Come to think of it my single malt collection, tequila collection, and rum collection are also to good for you.

Now let’s clarify before I get inundated with PC people who think I am being unfair.
I simply mean that no matter if it’s a great $10 bottle or an over priced Napa Cabernet I am sick and tired of pouring good wine for people who don’t appreciate it.

I just think being the nice guy and sharing my many great finds with people who could just as easily be drinking the next Fuzion has caught up with me.

It has never been about the monetary value in this regard it’s about understanding and appreciating what someone has offered to share with you. My collection is full of great value wine, that I have found over the years. Let’s face it any idiot can find a great bottle at $50 plus, the real gems are below this price because instead of 2 btls you have a case to enjoy and can still afford dinner to go with it.
I fear the next person who shares a bottle of my vino and attempts to return the favor my opening a bottle of the next great fade will get it placed in a place not even a mother could love.

Too many times I have sat there savoring my glass as my guests or worst yet, friends of my guest top up their glass as if the bottle is full of tap water.
I compare it to ordering the Chef’s house aged tenderloin well done and then asking for ketchup!

The art of pairing has shifted focus in my house. Instead of pairing the wine with food I now pair it with the person drinking it. Of course if you are the type who still thinks price equals quality I will sell you anything your little money driven heart desires.

I have begun to choose my drinking companions and dinner invitees more carefully as I like my wine have aged. Your guests do not have to have the same passion or palate as you but they should at least have admission to the ballpark. The more we drink wine the more infatuated we become with it’s character, finesse, and development. This could be a $5 bottle you smuggled home in your suitcase from vacation or a fine vintage you picked up as a steal at a silent auction after a drunken golf tourney.

I am not saying you have to join your guests in their lack of appreciation by showing up with a bottle of fade wine yourself. Just remember it’s much easier to live with yourself knowing you didn’t waste a bottle on someone who didn’t deserve it whether they be family, a boss, or your next conquest.

Cheers

Preparation is the key whether you are planning a wartime battle plan, a family vacation, or just a weekend with the in-laws. So why should a restaurant expect things to be any different.
Let’s face it, the reason the majority of us love the highs and lows of our business is because they are unpredictable and never the same day in and day out.

We get slammed when we least expect it and we are slow when we do expect it! What gives we ask?
The point is if you are not always prep-ed and ready you will lose immediate money and more importantly long-term money because the customer will leave and never come back.
I encounter this situation way to often when I visit an establishment with what I call absent owners or mangers worth what you are not paying them.

If you open at 5pm for dinner you can’t have the staff waltz in at 430 and expect a fully prepared for action restaurant when the doors open.
Mind you there is a bit of flexibility when front of house is involved but when it comes to the kitchen prep is king. The reason your food takes so long to arrive most times is not because the kitchen or floor is under staffed, they are normally just under prep-ed.
I once worked in a restaurant where prep cooks arrived at 8am for a 5pm dinner service just to make sure the proper par levels of vegetables, stocks, deserts,protein and the such were ready. This insured a smooth service, and the chef was not taking someone’s head off at 7pm while the customer was waiting for the sides to accompany his or her sea bass.
Of course par levels are great but yes there will be times when you can’t predict the run on a certain item. Kinda like my coconut rum frenzy just the other day! Who knew in the middle of winter Malibu and pineapple would be a party’s drink of choice?

Facts are facts in the restaurant business just like any other. So for those of you who find yourself constantly in the “we are out of this and that” game here are a few things you should always make sure you have ready and prep-ed.
A prep list is kinda like Santa’s wish list. Make it check it and then check it again. You will always find yourself adding or subtracting to this list depending on your location, clientele, and business volume.

THE NEVER RUN OUT OF PREP LIST!

1. BOOZE: Make sure you have par levels for all well liquor, beer and wine by the glass.
2. ICE: If you don’t have a working on site ice maker get one. There is nothing worse that a Vodka soda with a couple of cubes. Think ahead and when your staff is standing around bag some ice and put it in the freezer in case a situation arises.
3. Bar fruit: A lemon or lime last for more that a day no need to make a day to day purchase.
4. Bread: In the worst of times a good bread basket will quell the riots.
5. Root Vegetables: There is never a time when your kitchen should be out of carrots,cerlary, onions, potatoes, etc. You require these items for stocks, daily veg and so on.
6. Non Specials: I expect you to run low or out of a special. However there is no excuse to have regular menu items run dry. If you have supply problems take it off the menu.
7. Glassware: Have enough glassware for the number of seats in your restaurant at minimum. Nothing says unprofessional like mix matched glassware on the same table. Or the “we are waiting on the dish washer” excuse.
8. Napkins & Table Clothes: If you are a cloth napkin place make sure your par levels are there. Napkins don’t go bad. And if you are looking at your table cloths and saying “we can stretch it for another day” GIVE UP NOW!
9. Signature Items: They are signatures for a reason, they get ordered so make sure you have the levels on hand. Nothing worst than a first time customer showing up for a signature dish that is sold out.
10. Business cards: The “they are at the printers excuse” once again is lame and unprofessional.

Moral of the story here is: In order to survive in the crazy restaurant world you need to have the same motto as the boy scouts “BE PREPARED”.

Cheers

Why in the hell would you open a restaurant! The simple answer is the majority of us restaurant lifers have some chemical in balance that makes us enjoy the constant strains, pressures, and day to day bullshit. It makes us feel alive, and needed. Call it our drug of choice if you must!

Don’t let me talk you out of throwing away you perfectly good money as you attempt to open what you think is the next great thing!

The facts really do speak for themselves. 80% of new restaurants fail within the first year. This may answer your question as to why the bank just laughed at you and your new concept. But hell if you have some family or friends that you would enjoy never speaking to again by all means let them invest in your idea.

Do you enjoy those quite nights with your partner, kids, or friends? If so you can kiss them good-bye when your restaurant door swings open. If you think owning a restaurant is just about being the money guy, your the sucker we pros see coming a mile away.

You know the saying by our friend 50 cent ” Get Rich or Die Trying”? If so you will end up on the dying end of this one, if you live in a dream world where owning restaurants make you rich! The fact is our passion is not driven by the money because there are very few really rich restaurant owners out there who have stacked away a pretty retirement on the restaurant business alone.
The reason you see some guys open multiple restaurants or bank-role others, is more because of EGO than profit margins.

You will also learn very quickly that friends and trends are both very fickle. The emerging trend today that you just invested heavily in could be gone faster than a boy band can re-unite. Customers always want the next best thing and very few stay loyal to the same old shit month after month. Those friends you envision packing your seats, booking events, and bringing other friends, will of course be there for the honeymoon stage, when the free drinks and apps are flowing! Once they realize you are running a business and the friend discount isn’t as sweet as their small minded view thinks it should be they will quickly find reasons to become less frequent visitors.

If I haven’t yet persuaded you that burning your money instead of opening a restaurant could be more satisfying, then perhaps: You may indeed be cut out for this business!

The fact still remains after all the negatives, those of us who have been through the restaurant trenches wouldn’t have it any other way!

Cheers

We all love a regular customer! And all wish we had more no matter our level of success!
They are a consistent revenue source they generally bring new customers to you, they put asses in chairs which always looks good and of course are our cheapest and best form of advertising.

While the majority of regulars are spoken highly of there is a fraction of the group that we would all rather not have to deal with.
A regular becomes one not only out of convenience  but because they feel a  comfort level with the service and product you provide.
The ability to get a last minute table, the leeway to specially order a favorite dish, and that extra top up of wine doesn’t hurt either.

Like all things in life when something feels to comfortable there is a small percentage that will abuse it. I like to think this is not done will ill intent or any forethought to the outcome it delivers. It’s what happens when people feel comfortable in their surroundings.

I am speaking of that regular who after a couple of pops begins to speak louder or about topics with their guests that are better suited for the locker room than the dining room. There is barely a conversation that would make me feel uncomfortable, but the same doesn’t go for the couple two tables away who are out for a nice meal in your restaurant for the first time. When this table walked in they had the potential to be your next regular. Unfortunately they leave not remembering the great food and service but the loud and rude conversation two tables away that you did nothing to stop. Do you really think they will chance this again with loved ones or business colleagues in tow? No matter how amazing the food and service was the answer is NO!

This is a situation that is hard to handle with a regular. You don’t want to come off as insulting or seem ungrateful for the business they have given you. Recession or not, a regular will be there through it all so kid gloves are required.

If you find yourself in one of these situations try the following:

• Seat this regular in an area that seems private but in a VIP way and not a broom closet way.
• If you have large tables in that evening BINGO. There is nothing that muffles sound better than 8 soccer moms bitching about their husbands and nanny’s.
• If you hear the conversation turning south at a regulars table. There is too approaches I like to use.
• 1. Have the kitchen plate up tonight’s special as a sample it will have them feeling pampered when you ask for feedback and the bad conversation will subside.
• 2. Insert yourself into the conversation by taking it in another direction. If they are a regular it won’t seem odd or out of place that you jumped into the flow of conversation.

Hopefully this is not a situation you will have to deal with on a daily bases because it takes time away from the other parts of controlled K-OS we deal with. But if it does I hope this helps. Just remember if your next walk-in comes in acting like a comfy regular you have a chance to stop it before it starts.

Cheers