Post: #1

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...paign=1490

Second most expensive bottle of wine has a huge markup because they know you will pick it.


FTA:

And there is an ‘art form’ to allocating tables, with VIPs and pretty women given the best, while ‘fat Russian men and Japanese bankers’ are hidden at the back, she claims.

And behind the scenes, use of cocaine amongst staff is ‘everywhere’, she says.


JNF:

They say women are more likely to book so menus are designed for them. That's why I eat at a place for losers. Never seen a woman there and I've been there 50 times.

Post: #2

(07-15-2013 10:58 AM)JimNortonFan Wrote:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...paign=1490

Second most expensive bottle of wine has a huge markup because they know you will pick it.

I heard that too.

There is a lot of "science" behind menus and wine lists.

Post: #3

(07-15-2013 11:12 AM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

(07-15-2013 10:58 AM)JimNortonFan Wrote:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...paign=1490

Second most expensive bottle of wine has a huge markup because they know you will pick it.

I heard that too.

There is a lot of "science" behind menus and wine lists.

That should be the second cheapest wine bottle.

Second Cheapest Syndrome:

Quote:From the Harvard Law Record: "Restaurant owners will often price the wine they buy cheapest at wholesale as the second-cheapest wine on the menu. Why? Because people generally don't order the cheapest wine and thus often turn to the second cheapest. Price that one higher, and you get a bigger marginal profit. Presto—restauranteur as microeconomist!"

There's a lot of shady stuff going on behind the scenes of restaurants, bars and clubs. Work there for a while, and you'll know better than to treat the staff like shit.

I dare to say becoming a bartender at a cool spot is one of the smartest choices any young aspiring player can make. Quick learning school with easy entry, you make some money, get a cool crew and people will start to recognize you.

Post: #4

Nothing shocking here. Just a bunch of good business strategies with a few dirty secrets that probably are true about quite a few environments (cocaine).

Post: #5

Restaurant menu folders are more filthier than the toilet floors.

Post: #6

Sounds like a high-end pizza and wine joint is the way to go if you're set on the restaurant industry.

Post: #7

(07-15-2013 04:24 PM)sixsix Wrote:  There's a lot of shady stuff going on behind the scenes of restaurants, bars and clubs. Work there for a while, and you'll know better than to treat the staff like shit.

You have to be mentally ill to mistreat a restaurant staff. No possible good can come from it.

Post: #8

Oh man, you know I'm gonna have a field day with this one. That article is written like some over-sensationlist drivel but there's a few valid points. I'll go through the list:



1. Well I fucking hope so. That means the chef or cooks are actually tasting the food before it goes out. In high end restaurants they have a stash of plastic tasting spoons that they use once and then throw out. In my kitchen we keep the tasting spoons in scalding hot water. So yes, okay, you might get a few microns of one of my guys' saliva (or if you're lucky, mine) but we all breath the same air and if you ever use a public bathroom you're inhaling vaporized shit from someone else's digestive tract. Get over it.

2. From a food cost perspective, true. Same with pasta. But good pizza is incredibly labor intensive and requires a ton of storage. That's not cheap.

3. Not if you buy the shit that I do. Good quality veggies just keep getting more and more expensive.

4. Depends on the restaurant. This is a pretty good strategy actually. The REAL "fuck you" is wine-by-the-glass. Most restaurants don't have the equipment or know-how to properly preserve wine over a couple days, so they charge PER GLASS what the entire BOTTLE costs them to reduce losses. Sometimes even more. I've known places that buy the bottle for 7-8 bucks and then charge $12-14 per glass. You actually save money by buying the more expensive stuff, where the markup is around 1.5 times. A typical markup is 2.5-3 times.

5. Depends on the restaurant. I would never serve second rate anything. When I run specials it's to showcase something that's seasonal or rare. Any good restaurant does the same. If you're going to places that have a ".99" in their pricing, yeah, avoid the specials. Surf and Turf for 12.99? Pass.

6. No shit. Why wouldn't they? Not just rude customers but customers that stiff on tips. Restaurants are like someone's home. If you go to someone's house and piss on the rug, think they're gonna want you back? Just because you pay doesn't give you the right to act like a piece of shit.

7. No shit? What do you expect, for the server to tell the customer the truth? That the saute cook didn't show up to work because he's a recovering addict and his wife called to say he was booked at 3 AM?

8. Unfortunately, true. Most people don't know the difference so someone ordering a $14 syrah might not get that syrah, but a glass of the $8 syrah.

9. I wouldn't eat at a place that had wine under a spotlight anyway. What is this, 1992?

10. Maybe in the UK or in a hybrid nightclub/restaurant. Again, don't go to these places and they'll go out of business and these stupid lists will stop getting published.

11. Bullshit. How is a menu designed for a woman anyway? I've personally designed dozens of menus and I don't give a fuck how a woman reads it. What, women read top to bottom whereas men read bottom to top? Stupid.

12. No, there are desserts that are meant to be split because it's a great way for the pastry chef to showcase something special like "Apple Pie for 2" or "Grand Marnier Souffle for 2"

13. Maybe, if they're failing or again, operated by nightclub owners. Good restaurants are operated by honest, hardworking people.

14. Good restaurants don't have "bad tables", and if anyone gets them, it's customers that are being rude assholes that don't tip. Looks have nothing to do with it, and the people that get the best tables are the ones that spend a shit-ton of money. 90% of restaurants have better things to do, like making money, than give a shit what you look like, as long as you're not dressed like a slob.

15. That's a bold statement. Michelin is a bit outdated and caters to people who just want "pretty" food as opposed to "tasty" food. There are many, many chefs in the world right now that have actively banned Michelin inspectors from their restaurant, opting out of the politics and asskissing involved with earning a Michelin star.

16. Bullshit, never seen this in any restaurant I've worked. If you're eating in some bottom-of-the-barrel diner that's on their last legs, yeah stuff like this might happen.

17. At least in L.A., the flake rate is very high across the board.

18. Not as much as it used to be. With the current celebrity chef culture and glorified image of kitchen life, many more workers are taking it seriously. It's not the shitshow it used to be. That said, I've done my share.

19. True

20. I'm surprised it's that high. Most women are useless crybabies in the kitchen. It's the rare cookie that can hang.

Post: #9

(07-15-2013 06:47 PM)thedude3737 Wrote:  14. Good restaurants don't have "bad tables", and if anyone gets them, it's customers that are being rude assholes that don't tip. Looks have nothing to do with it, and the people that get the best tables are the ones that spend a shit-ton of money. 90% of restaurants have better things to do, like making money, than give a shit what you look like, as long as you're not dressed like a slob.

thedude, thanks for your insights, as you know I dig your info, because I spend a lot of time in restaurants.

I have noticed that I usually get a sick table when I show up (many times without reso) dressed sharp with a fly girl.

I can't tell you how many times I have gone to a restaurant with a fly girl and gotten the best table, and said to the girl, something along the lines of, "I always get the best table..." or "They knew we coming so they saved the best table for us..." or something along those lines to get some momentum for the night going. (Usually that move alone seals the deal more or less, and I just have to walk the girl down the canyon and not screw up from there.)

I think managers and hostesses will give you preferential treatment; it has happened to me far too often to be a coincidence. Either that or I need to play the Lotto more often.

Thoughts?

I will defer to you.

---


Also, what would you say is the most popular reservation time in LA?

Post: #10

(07-15-2013 07:22 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

(07-15-2013 06:47 PM)thedude3737 Wrote:  14. Good restaurants don't have "bad tables", and if anyone gets them, it's customers that are being rude assholes that don't tip. Looks have nothing to do with it, and the people that get the best tables are the ones that spend a shit-ton of money. 90% of restaurants have better things to do, like making money, than give a shit what you look like, as long as you're not dressed like a slob.

thedude, thanks for your insights, as you know I dig your info, because I spend a lot of time in restaurants.

I have noticed that I usually get a sick table when I show up (many times without reso) dressed sharp with a fly girl.

I can't tell you how many times I have gone to a restaurant with a fly girl and gotten the best table, and said to the girl, something along the lines of, "I always get the best table..." or "They knew we coming so they saved the best table for us..." or something along those lines to get some momentum for the night going. (Usually that move alone seals the deal more or less, and I just have to walk the girl down the canyon and not screw up from there.)

I think managers and hostesses will give you preferential treatment; it has happened to me far too often to be a coincidence. Either that or I need to play the Lotto more often.

Thoughts?

I will defer to you.

---


Also, what would you say is the most popular reservation time in LA?

You can never tell in L.A. The trust fund baby dressed in a $5,000 suit might not have any clue about tipping etiquette and only leave 10%. The guy dressed in ratty jeans and a baseball cap might be the 3rd biggest writer in Hollywood and be in the mood for a '82 Petrus that night. It's hard to tell who's going to drop the major coin, but ultimately, that's what restaurants care about, and those are the guests that really get taken care of. There's hot ass everywhere; unless the girl you're with is exceptional in some way it's unlikely that just having her on your arm is going to get you a better table.

If you're the complete package; suited down, smoking hot girl, rolling up in a Maserati, yeah I can see you getting a nice table in the middle of the dining room or a banquette with a view. But I still reject the idea that getting a good table depends on looks. I'd say knowing people at the restaurant or having a reputation of dropping coin/tipping well is worth way more.

People eat early in L.A. compared to other cities. Prime time is 7:30-8:30. Most places start dinner service at 6, and some even at 5.