table for one..

like most people who blog about food, i have a passion about food. the culinary world has so many different aspects that you can enjoy. there's cooking, writing, eating and looking. it uses all your senses and that's what i love most about food. i often eat alone as most of my friends and family are usually working when i get a spare minute to eat. so i've learned how to dine alone and when i do, i am able to truly enjoy my meal. but today this entry is about a bad experience.... 

sometimes servers look at a one top as a pain. a single person eating probably wont eat as much or even tip as much. sadly some servers judge their single diners a bit too fast. i usually tip well all the time. today i went to a restaurant that many people told me was 'amazing' 'one of the best' and i decided to try it out. 

• i was promptly seated  and greeted with a smile. (so far so good) i get a cute table in the middle of the place. my server comes and ask how i'm doing i say fine, i want water to drink. he goes and gets it. i have to ask for the specials after staring at the menu for 5 minutes. but i now start to notice that he greeted everyone else and told them the specials... odd. 
  
• i ask if the ravioli is homemade and he says yes, i get it. simple as that. my salad that comes with the pasta arrives shortly.. its wet. dripping with dressing. not tossed but just lots of dressing. the greens were wet. i don't complain because I'm going to take what this 'amazing' restaurant is giving me. sadly the salad dressing ruined the whole salad dish for me but i politely eat it all and drink lots of water. 
• *good point: they put sunflower seeds in the salad. i love sunflower seeds. 
• my ravioli comes. the thing is okay, nothing super special about it, and for some reason it reminded me of the stuff you can get at Costco. which of course makes me think it might not be homemade. but I'm going to give it to the restaurant this time. 
• i'm excited to get dessert because i saw my server ask another one top if he was having dessert.
• after i finish my meal a nice girl comes by and takes my plate away. i wait patiently for my server to come back and ask me if i want dessert. sadly that DIDN'T HAPPEN. i was given the check. 
• therefore, i paid and left. 
• i did ask the nice girl if they only served dessert at dinner, she said no we have dessert for lunch as well... with that i say thank you and leave. 
• if you're not going to offer me dessert i wont know if you have it since its on a separate menu. 

so with that i experience diner discrimination in service. if you serve you know the routine very well. the more the person eats the more the total will be and usually people take the percentage of the total to tip you. if you follow the correct processes you would have provided decent service. if you go above and beyond then you get more added to your tip. in Pennsylvania servers get half the amount of minimum wage and tips as their pay. so tips is usually what they are trying to get most of their rent money from. maybe my server didn't need the money or maybe he didn't like me because i was a girl, or i was sitting alone. nonetheless i receive crap service. as a former server i always give my best service to everyone who comes in and eat, the dining experience is both great service and great food. today i had half ass service and okay food. nothing 'amazing' as everyone said. everyone else that ate at the restaurant seemed to be known by name and the servers were friendly. sadly i didn't feel the welcoming vibe from my server and that was the only interaction that i was given from anyone. and believe me i sat with a smile hoping i would get a bit better service. i did not. 

now i can only wonder if the dessert could have save the day. i went on yelp and gave them 3 stars. i wont be going back but i'm sad to have receive that type of service as a food lover. 

i hope your culinary adventures bring you to better service and food than i had today. 

eat extraordinary everyday. 

fresh fresh fresh...

live scallops: they bite unless you eat them

what makes food great? mind blowing? memorable? its all about how great it taste. and to do that you have to respect the product, treat it and cook it and serve it with the utmost respect. and that's how you get great food. people for centuries have taken that into account. how our society has turned food into something fast and mediocre is just sad. people used to stand in lines just to walk past the kings and queens eating lunch, a glimpse into what these royals ate was what drove them to make recipes that somewhat resemble what they saw. i love that! i love how people used to love food more than war. well i love food more than war, hey given the choice between perfectly made eclair or a hand grenade I'll pick chocolate with sweet cream filling any day of the week. maybe all the war lords just need a good cook meal and maybe a hug. who knows.. but that's just going on to way too serious of a topic of my liking. 

orange clam: it is really both man and woman in appearance

back to food. good food starts with great products and then of course the chef, the guy/girl should do their best to bring out the best flavors and not mess it up. yes, some so called chefs mess things up and make people hate something that actually started out really really good. point being sushi. its fish, yes just fish. an actual creature that was swimming a few hours/days ago is now sitting on your place. he/she has not been cooked by the chef and there isnt some

generic sauce on it (thats goes to all those places who have taught people that ponzu or spicy mayo is a substitute for soy sauce and dunking your fish in: yes, people do ask for ponzu or spicy mayo, that doesn't say you know how to eat sushi, it only says that you pay for overpriced, over sauced fish and probably don't know what salmon or tuna actually taste like. stop telling people you eat sushi, you eat sauce). real sushi, you place that piece of fish in your mouth and it melts your tongue into a burst of life and stars... i'm not sure about you but that's the type of experience i have on a regular basis when i'm eating sushi. if you're not getting that same feeling, you should reconsider your sushi place. give me a ring and i'll bring you where the food transcends earth. people have often why i'm so passionate about food and my reasoning is that it makes me feel better about life. it not only provides sustenance for me but it makes me feel happy, builds relationships with those who i dine with and those who serve/prepare my food. its how relationships are built between people. hell there was a trade based solely on spices, spices that made food better. if something as small as saffron was more valuable than gold then i think those priorities of that world is one of the reasons why i love history and history that involves the foods that people ate. foods that made a difference in everyday life. 

golden eye snapper: he was delicious

i was able to be at my favorite sushi spot recently during the slow times and i was able to take some cool pictures of the fish/seafood that had just came in. yes they let me go back and see what they are cutting and this is why i love this place. i know the food is fresh. so fresh sometimes the things are still moving or alive. live scallops , live abalone, live sweet shrimp, live giant clam, and fresh whole salmon and golden eye snapper. these are not only delicious but are soo beautiful when they are whole, its amazing how fresh these things are. the owner was playing with one of the scallops and almost got bit! scallops shutting on a sushi chef's finger might have been a funny and ironic story. but thankful it didnt happen. 

salmon

so there you go. why i love sushi and why i love food in a nutshell. i dont take life seriously but i do take my food seriously. eat what is good and eat with people who love food as much as you do and life will be a bit more pleasant regardless of other issues. if i wasn't in love i would be content with being in love with food. i'll have more post coming up from my week in los angeles. 

eat extraordinary everyday!