Couple o' things

This was a long time ago, when we just started to get busy, a couple came in, they had called for reservations, we told that we weren't taking reservations, which to them meant we didn't take them but instead meant, we were full and we no longer taking them for the night. They came in and were asked if they had reservations which made them angry. They waited then, for a table, which was in the back which they, for some reason thought was the smoking section. Rather than take the table, they marched out, stopping at the front desk to tell me that they will never ever come back. Began to rant about the smoking section (there was no one even smoking in the restaurant, which is only allowed at the bar.), the ill-informed employees. "And we have a lot of friends we're telling!!" I wondered, at the time, who would be friends with people like this.

I have hung about 80 percent of the fish. At least 80% of the ones that are made. It took forever and my feet hurt. But they're kinda cute.

Fish

It has been a long time since I posted on this thing. I think about it a lot but mostly am not happy enough about what's happening in the restaurant to want to write anything funny or interesting. 

Right now I am attempting to make a school of fish that I imagined would be miles long and swerve through the ceiling of the place. Instead what I have is about 3 feet of fish. Guess I have to work harder at it.

Key Lime Pie

Apparently there is some "thing" about key lime pie. People are in search of the best. I even had a reporter call me while writing an article about the best Key lime pie and had heard we had really good key lime pie. We buy it from a supplier. I don't know about it being good. I can't say I like it very much. But it's what we have and people seem to like it. So we're having a promotion and are offering the key lime pie since it would be less trouble than our other desserts which we make ourselves. So then the supplier calls us 2 days before the week long dining event and tells us they don't have any at the moment. 

As it turns out. You can make key lime pretty easily. I'm  not sure who makes the best or how because there is only one recipe. It can only be key lime juice, sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks, nothing more, nothing less. Making it is not hard. But juicing key limes is. They are really small. 

The event is underway and I have already made 6 of them. And they serve 30 people. My fingers are dry from the acid in the limes.

Fixing chairs, living in the moment

In the never ending battle against the destruction of the cheap furniture I purchased to furnish the place, it is already time to repaint. This is not a terrible job but it is tedious and informs me of how much needs to be done and redone. Yesterday I started to paint (I bought 12 new chairs to augment the 150 odd chairs I already have and the new ones need to be painted). I listened to a book on tape, well, on my iPhone really, while I painted. It has speakers. It is a lecture by Echardt Tolle about living a life of inner peace. As far as I could tell this involves not thinking about anything but the here and now. I'm not sure how you plan for dinner and he doesn't address this issue or anything like it, at least I don't think I heard him address it, I have to admit, I did day dream quite a bit during this talk. But the bar manager came walking in while he was talking about Jesus and his crucifixion. (he is not religious, other than being Buddhist but merely refers to it in the lecture) So the bar manager walks in as he's exhorting us to imagine "Jesus Christ crucified on the cross" living in the moment. The manager looked at me but said nothing.

The noose is looser

It's been a harrowing few months but we are getting very close to paying all our debts and actually making money. The days of sitting on the edge of my bed with my eyes wide open digging my fingernails into my forehead seem like a distant memory. On the other hand, you never know what's going to happen next and I can't count my chickens. They aren't hatched.

I took a day off

Actually 2, 3 if you count Sunday. I went to Las Vegas. I've never been there before. My friend Karen arranged it all. I just showed up at my front door and off we went. We stayed at the Palazzo which was very nice and went to see Louis Black, who wasn't. I learned to play craps and lost a little money but it was fun. Eating in restaurants is no longer the same for me. I was VERY conscious of bad service in a really expensive steak place we ate in. Aware of food temperature, saltiness, graininess in the "mac 'n cheese" that cost $14. On the other hand, I no longer feel any need to complain about it. Bad food and good service still gets a tip. Good food and bad service doesn't. The cooks don't get tips.

It's a party

It's a party and everyone's invited. Just not me. From appearances only, it seems I am having a good time going from table to table, talking and laughing (mostly). People don't seem to realize though, it's work. A friend in the design business commented this week, well, at least you're having a constant party. I'm not. It's a job. What they can't see is that the ice machine is broken, the vent over the stove is clogged, the convection in the oven isn't working, the cooler's down, the walk in cooler is frosted up. The list goes on. They also don't see that there's a french fry on the floor that's going to get stepped on and there's no busser around (probably out in the alley smoking, is my guess) to pick it up before it gets ground into the carpeting so I will have to do it. I'm also seeing that someone is looking for their waiter (in the server room texting someone making plans for later that evening) and that there are 3 people at the door and there's no hostess. Unfortunately, when this kind of thing is happening, my family and friends get short shrift. I have no problem being distracted when I'm with them. When it's a customer though, they get my full attention. Hey, it why we have family and friends.

Here's a few of my friends having fun without me.