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Category: Restaurants

I hate it when a good restaurant goes away

The Wooden Table in Greenwood Village was our go-to “nice” restaurant

We discovered the Wooden Table shortly after its opening; we’d enjoyed the previous restaurant in that space, and gave its replacement a try — and fell in love with the place. A stable but evolving menu of rich meats and pastas (my faves were the Cavatelli with Duck Confit Carbonara, and the Pappardelle with Venison Bolognese), a stellar cocktail menu, and wait- and bar staff that were always pleasant and helpful.

It didn’t look like much from the outside (sitting in an upscale shopping center), and the inside was spare, but the Wooden Table was our “nice restaurant” of choice, the place to go for  birthdays and various celebrations, just Margie and I or with family and visitors. Yelp says I checked in there 28 times over the last five years or so. We actually just went a few weeks ago, for our anniversary, and I’m really glad we did.

I’m sure we’ll find another place to go — Denver has a lot of fine restaurants — but I’ll always have fond memories of the place.

Many thanks to the owners, chefs, and staff at the Wooden Table. You’ve been a good part of a lot of good times.

McMonster

Currently eating at the world’s largest McDonald’s. Very hi-tech and modern. And big.




We visited the largest McDonald’s in the US and ate pizza, pasta, and a Belgian waffle — here’s what it’s like
Florida is home to some of the most magical places on Earth: Disney World, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter… and America’s largest McDonald’s.

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In-N-Out Comes (finally!) to Colorado

Colorado is apparently an interesting bird when it comes to national chains. Denver (the population core) is a remarkable distance away from other major population centers, leaving supply and distribution networks as a significant barrier.

But, over time, as we’ve lived here, those barriers have slowly fallen. Trader Joe’s. IKEA. And, it seems, finally, the one thing that people (or California immigrants) have jonesed after for so long …

In-N-Out Burgers is finally arriving. Albeit, initially, down in Colorado Springs.

To be sure, there’s also been some melodrama over the chain reaching out to Colorado, as the family elders that owned the company long resisted departing from California. With various deaths and legal battles, the “Go East, Burger Folk! Go East!” contingent in the family seems to have triumphed.

Hopefully it will be an expansion that pays off, rather than breaking the company.

In-N-Out, as a California thing, is probably more admired from loss and nostalgia amongst California immigrants than is warranted. That said, it beats the heck out of Burger King, in particular in its burgers. (Its fries are fresh, but not my favorites). While I have no doubt the initial stores will be mobbed, it will not be a slam-dunk that they will have massive success and victory here; there are a lot of burger places already, and I’m honestly not sure that I would go to an In-N-Out before I’d go to, say, a Sonic.

There’s also a sense of loss as one more very localized chain becomes a more national one. There’s something to be said for saying, “Hey, going to California is cool, because that’s where you can find In-N-Outs.” If they’re available everywhere, then the cachet suffers (see also: Coors).




In-N-Out is coming to Colorado, for real this time – Denverite

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How to order drinks

TL;DR:

1. Don't hold up the line of other people ordering.
1a. Figure out in advance what your go-to bar drink is and, unless solicited to think of something new and exciting, order it.
2. Be nice to your bar tender and wait staff.

Um … yeah, that pretty much makes perfect sense. See, also: "Don't be a dick," a/k/a "Do unto others at the bar as you would have done unto yourself."




How to Order a Drink Without Looking Like a N00b
And you thought it was so easy.

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Another restaurant at the no-tipping point

It's one thing for a hoity-toity restaurant group in NYC to experiment with getting rid of tips. It's another for a run-of-the-mill full service chain to do so.

'Servers will be paid a wage starting at $14 an hour, though the exact amount will vary from server to server on the basis of their past performance, according to the chain’s parent company, Ignite Restaurant Group. The money to pay the waiters and waitresses is being generated by a price increase of 12 percent to 15 percent, Ignite CEO Ray Blanchette told investors late last week.

[…] Ignite expects the switch to a wage to reduce server turnover. A $14 hourly wage sounds much better than $2.13, which is the wage they’d get, sans tips, at competing restaurants, noted Blanchette. It’s also a yellow light to servers who know they’ll likely start with the least-lucrative shifts if they move to another restaurant.'

The cost should be a wash or even a benefit for patrons who would tip 15-20%, and it should also reduce contention between waitstaff about assisting at large tables. In theory, at least.

The model is being tested in 18 cities, not across the entire Crab Shack line.




Joe’s Crab Shack chain tries no-tipping
The casual-dining concept is paying servers at some stores instead of expecting customers to leave gratuities.

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What Would Jesus Brand?

The Starbucks Paper Cup Kerfuffle is silly not just because the idea that "white, green, and red without any words or symbols in it clearly doesn't mean Christmas, but if there were snowflakes and sleighs it would be fine, but without them it's a slap in the face to all Christians" is so ludicrously zany …

… but because that idea is actually kind of un-Christian.

At church on Sunday, the Gospel reading was Mark 12:38-44, which reads, in part:

'Teaching in the temple, Jesus said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."'

Jesus has a number of messages in the Gospels, but one that keeps cropping up is disdain, if not condemnation, for outward piety, for wearing the trappings of spiritual fervor, especially while not actually caring for those in need.

Would Jesus really get ticked off at a "Christmas cup" that didn't have secular symbols of Christmas on it? Or would He get more ticked off at people who felt smugly religious by walking around with coffee in paper cups that have snow men on them, thereby proving they are good Christians both for doing so and because they've compelled some sort of overt acknowledgement of the celebration birth of Christ?

I mean, really: did Jesus instruct all of His apostles to celebrate His birthday every year as proof of their devotion and cultural hegemony? Did He condemn those people who didn't do so to be no true followers of His Father? Did He claim that businesses who didn't wish their customers a "Happy Jesus' Birthday" were opposed to Him and should be sent off to the Lake of Fire?

In fact, who does get mentioned as being sent off to the Lake of Fire in the Gospels? (HInt: it has nothing to do with coffee cups.)

Anyway, get back to me on those Biblical citations. I'll be here waiting, and having a Pumpkin Spice Latte in a red, green, and white (but clearly not, therefore, "Christmassy") cup.

(No, I actually won't, because Starbucks is ghastly expensive except as an occasional treat. But you get the idea.)

 

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A Happy Birthday Dinner

Happy Birthday to +Margie Kleerup. As a special gift I got her another sushi restaurant to visit when I'm out of town. Except I might be willing to visit it when I'm in town, too (though not for the sushi).




Dave H.’s review of Blue Sushi Sake Grill
I am not a sushi fan, but my wife is, so for her birthday we went to this new eatery in a long-vacant corner of the Streets at Southglenn. And,…

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How McDonald's changed the English language

According to this article …

http://logophilius.blogspot.com/2015/10/how-mcdonalds-marketing-made-us-grimace.html

… until the early/mid-1970s, "grimace" was pronounced "grih-MAYS" (rhymes with "face"). But when McDonald's introduced "The Evil Grimace" to their McDonaldLand commercials, they chose to pronounce it "GRIM-miss" — which pronunciation stuck (probably given the fact that it's not a word that's spoken aloud very often).

[http://mcdonalds.wikia.com/wiki/Grimace]

And, yes, it was the "Evil Grimace" originally (for drink-stealing values of evil), and he had an extra set of arms. Just like the Hamburglar was scarier looking when first introduced, too.

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A major restaurant group eliminates tipping (huzzah)

Tipping is useful only for (a) a customer feeling like they can punish (or reward) particularly bad (or good) service, and (b) keeping labor costs down for restaurants when they are not busy.

But it's an institution that is mostly unique (in the US) to the world of dining*. We don't tip a particularly pleasant clerk at a clothing store, for example.

And it's a horribly broken mechanism for improving service. Tipping rates and practices vary significantly between individual customers. Many don't vary the tip much at all. And tipping (or not tipping) the waitstaff excludes significant portions of the service chain in a restaurant that play a role in the customer experience, whereas pooling tips takes most of the remainder of the customer control out of their hands.

So, yes, assuming a 15% average tip rate, I'd rather restaurants simply pay more for their labor (something above the appalling federal minimum for tippable workers) and pass the costs to the customers (who are on average already paying for it). As a customer, if I find the service at a place is awful (or great), I have any number of other ways to do something about it, from complaining (lauding) to the manager, to the Internet, to simply not returning (or coming back again soon) — exactly as I can and do with other commercial establishments.

[* There are also tipping rules for bartenders, hair dressers, bellcaps, and a few other niche professions, including your mail man, your garbage man, and the paper boy; arguably most of the same arguments here apply, to the extent that people still do these things.]




Danny Meyer Eliminates Tipping — What Should You Do?
New York restaurateur Danny Meyer announced today that his Union Square Hospitality Group is eliminating tipping entirely, making them the first major U.S. restaurant group to do this. Some other notable players, including Ivar’s, a landmark seafood restaurant with locations in and around Seattle, have made similar moves recently. And Meyer is not equivocating. […]

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One of our favorite restaurants is closing its doors

Le Central was one of the first nice places I ate in Denver, and its provincial French fare was always extremely tasty. It was a standard place for us to take people when the visited.

Alas …

'Bonjour,

It has been a great opportunity and pleasure to serve Denver for 34 years. I want to thank you for your patronage. To raise a loving family and run a succesful restaurant in Colorado was a rare privilege. I realize how lucky I am. I took the chance to open a French restaurant , with no business plan,serving affordable food and wines on Salvation Army chairs, with friendly non-professional service, no dress code, reservation or credit card and you loved it.

I am very grateful; I could not have done it without an incredible staff and your willingness to try something different. I am glad to be part of your (mostly) good memories, and to have been the stage of so many dates and celebrations

Being 65 and a grand father with 40 +years in the restaurant business ( 1 restaurateur year = 3 human years) it is time to stop, the 13 of September should be the last day but keep in touch we may decide to close earlier.

Merci, Robert Tournier'

I fully understand the reasoning, but we will definitely miss the place. Merci, sir, for all the fine meals we enjoyed there.

 

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A chicken that may not come to DIA to roost

I stopped (reluctantly, from a taste perspective) going to Chick-fil-A back in 2012 when it became clear that the company was involved in far-Right shenanigans, particularly with company profits going to fund anti-gay causes.

That controversy has died down some, but the Denver City Council, faced with a franchise application at Denver International Airport, has had concerns over it bring the proposal to a halt.

On the one hand, I'd rather the social aspects of the matter were handled more directly by people choosing (or not) to visit the hypothetical Chick-fil-A. Having the government penalize someone for their religious / political opinion is not a good thing (whether I agree with that opinion or not).

On the other hand, the government is involved here, not as censor, but as landlord and marketer. It may not be legit for them to say, "We don't like your beliefs so we will not do business with you," but is it legit for them to say, "We are concerned with how this reflects on the airport and how some visitors might feel about it," and reject it on that basis?

(Leaving aside the service level concerns over Chick-fil-A being closed on Sundays.)

I dunno. I just know that if they open up, that will be one more place where I don't go to Chick-fil-A.




Chick-fil-A location at DIA paused after Denver Council cites chain’s LGBT stances
Denver City Council members considering Chick-fil-A’s potential return to Denver International Airport say the chain’s stance on same-sex marriage is a w

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So, what's for dinner tonight?

It's abominalicious!




Long John Silver’s Introduces New Golden Fried Abomination From The Deep
LOUISVILLE, KY—Calling it an “exciting new menu item dragged from the darkest reaches of the salty abyss,” executives at seafood restaurant chain Long John Silver’s introduced their latest fast-food offering Thursday, the Golden Fried Abomination From The Deep.

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An auspicious start to our evening out

An auspicious start to our evening out #47 #chirp

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An essential part of any visit to Pomona College

An essential part of any visit to Pomona College #PomonaAW15

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An Anniversary Dinner

Which was kind of an awkward pose, but a very pleasant overall experience (downtown at +Panzano with +Margie Kleerup).

 

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Anticipation (for who’s join me for dinner soon)

Anticipation (for who’s join me for dinner soon)

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Tinkering with Lack of Greatness

Aw, but the surrounding failing shopping center is part and parcel of the Casa Bonita experience!

Originally shared by +The Denver Post:

"We want to create something unique."

STORY: http://dpo.st/1y7XnP7




Changes underway for strip mall housing Lakewood’s Casa Bonita
The historic JCRS shopping center housing Casa Bonita in Lakewood has been renamed Lamar Station Plaza

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And for your dining pleasure

There are a lot of arguably cool things about small town living. But give me the restaurant selection of a major metro area any day.

This one is also for +Margie Kleerup, in honor of her old days in the Greater Mentone Area.

Originally shared by +Matthew Inman:

 

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Keep the shit off the table, please

Y'know, once upon a time, no restaurants had changing tables in the bathrooms, and I can recall having to deal with that situation a few times with my own kid back in the day. What do you do? Cope (and save the poo flinging for the follow-up letter).

Chad & Wife seem to have a few… entitlement problems. And some distasteful habits.




Chipotle Lacks Diaper Changing Table, Mom Changes Toddler On The Dining Table Instead
Chipotle has a kids’ menu with tiny quesadillas and organic milk, and offers high chairs in its dining rooms. They seemed to Chad like an establishment that welcomes and accommodates families with …

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Zink Kitchen + Bar on #Yelp: H…

Zink Kitchen + Bar on #Yelp Hotel restaurants can be hit or miss, but this one does a tasty, classy job. Service wa… http://t.co/MDSDbtg0JD