This, a new discovery, a pop-up restaurant operating weekends (Fri? Sat? Sun? Evenings...) in the Radio Cafe. I was sucked in by the beef tartar.
And, a hurried trip to town after work on Saturday - and it was worth it, every bit. The soup, Congee's not my thing so I tried the BBQ pork, also apparently not my thing. But the tartar, a $7.00 open faced sandwich with a golf-ball sized scoop of tartar on it - was worth the trip. Sadly only until the end of July, but I'm going to try and pop in every weekend...
Link: https://www.congeeboy.net/
And, relooking at the menu, there's a few other tasty treats I might have to try...
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Now, freshly back and laundered from a few days up in high places and time for a civilized dinner before I'm off to the Balfour Work Camp.
Pitchfork, a charming little "fine dining" place in Nelson. I sit at the bar (no reservation), have a steak, blue rare.
Service, fine, steak, fine, not exceptional.
But I'm presented with the debit machine and looking at the tipping options I just about flip my lid. This is what's killing tipping culture:
"Tip Assist". First - the "Lowest Option" - default 18% - which is in reality 20%, because you're tipping on taxes as well.
Now, in my world, 20% is a great tip. Everything done well, exceptional service, etc, etc.
Here, it's the worst tip. After that you can tip 20% all the way up to 30% - and the machine makes you feel as if an 18% (really 20%) tip is "not enough" or "Cheap".
This is what's killing the the restaurant industry. Tipping, in itself a controversial subject, is made worse by owners expecting people to treat their waiters like their doctor or dentist - I mean, really, if you can't make a living wage on 15%-20% tips then you're in the wrong industry.
There are a whole host of other issues - housing/rent to be paid, etc, etc - but those are problems everyone faces and are systemic to the economy at the moment, and are not the problem of customers. As food prices and costs rise, so do a servers tips, and so - this is comparatively a well indexed or hedged against inflation profession.
Anyways, every time I see a machine that goes above 20% I'm calling bullshit. It's the basest form of gouging and begging and does the entire industry a great disservice.
Oh - and even though where I work the highest option is 20% a good many customers tip higher. That's nice, but it's not the expectation. This is getting fucking ridiculous.
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A new vegan cafe opened kitty-corner to Oso Negro, have been a couple of times.
Surprisingly good and hearty. Reasonably priced - $15.00 for a sandwich/wrap and side - (or thereabouts) - good and nourishing.
While I refuse to give up meat (I've done that before) - I accept that eating a lot less meat is a good thing. And they do make the alternatives tasty....
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The Keg, Downtown Calgary
Now - having a couple of posts ago recounted a friend's ordeal I'll compare it with my own application to the Keg Downtown. Typically I avoid chains, preferring the quality and uniqueness of owner/operated restaurants, but beggars can't be choosers and if I had to move up in a restaurant my research indicated that The Keg treats it's management pretty well.
So I pop in and drop off a resume. The hostess takes it and invites me to complete an application. This, I find generally, a bit repetitive, but I understand they need it for their paperwork, and so I sit on a bench and fill it in, then return to the front desk to submit it.
The hostess is on the phone, a well groomed/dressed young waiter takes over and receives my resume, asks me to wait a moment while he finds a manager. The manager introduces himself, walks me into a quiet corner, sits down, reviews my resume. Well dressed as well, perhaps half my age. It's short, there's nothing to ask, my experience and qualifications are apparent, he'll pass it on, thanks me for my interest.
Now - simple things, small things, the smallest of attentions paid by the people you're "prospectively" going to work with/for. Done right, and it's remarkable - because - in all the places I've applied - so seldom has it been done right, and I appreciate it. Maybe 5 minutes of their time, yet not the complete devaluation of your interest that most other employers dismiss you with.
Compare this to Joey Tomatoes.
The Keg. Hospitality done right.
Which recounts one other good story in Calgary - I applied once to a job in Bridgeland, locally famous (now defunct I believe) Italian Trattoria. The hostess took the resume to the owner, who returned and walked me upstairs to his office. Now, I didn't know the owner, only his reputation, which was formidable (think of the last Italian place I worked at), yet he was hospitable, offered me coffee, then apologized - he wasn't hiring at the moment, but then took the time to get on the phone and call a few other Italian restaurants he knew of in the neighborhood to see if they were looking.
Again, Hospitality done right. You notice it because in Calgary - and the world at large, in general, - it isn't.
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