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Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
I'd imagine that knowingly allowing sick individuals to work would be some sort of health code violation. Anyone remember Typhoid Mary?
Which Rice Cooker Should I Buy to Cook In?
Need to reinforce wookie's point. Traditional Asian families eat rice every day, usually three times a day. Growing up, my mother would make a huge 10 cup pot so that we kids could have rice all day long - whenever we were hungry. She'd fire up the rice cooker for a fresh batch each night for dinner. If Asian's had to make a pot of rice everytime they ate (or had to steam it in a tray in the oven!) they'd never get anything done. Think of the rice cooker as the Asian equivalent of the sliced loaves of bread sold in supermarkets. It provides easy sustanance whenever you need it.
Honestly, if you're goal is to cook with your rice cooker - and not to actually use it frequently to make rice - I'm not sure, it's worth the cost. A pot on a stove will accomplish the same thing. However, if you already have one - experiment away!
Which Rice Cooker Should I Buy to Cook In?
Stay away from American brand rice cookers (black & decker et al.) - they are far inferior to the Asian brands. My boyfriend had one and the rice always stuck to the bowl and it did a bad job of keeping the rice warm.
Zojirushi is the brand most often sold in New York's asian markets. Everyone in my family has a Zojirushi. I've been told Panasonic also makes a good cooker.
My mother has used this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-NSRNC-18A-Automatic-Cooker-Imprint/dp/B00005YXC1/ref=pd_sim_k_1
for years to cook all sorts of things...you just have to get used to the floral pattern. She even took it on vacation to Disneyworld and Paris. Don't try to seperate a korean mother and her rice cooker.
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Eleven Madison Park
Laurelie, if you were 22 at the time that you went to EMP, I'm not surprised that they carded you. And I'm surprised you've never been carded anywhere else in the city. I'm 33 and I still get carded from time to time. It's NYC law to card anyone younger than 40. I'm not trying to blame you, but if you got very defensive when asked for ID, that may have tainted the way you experienced the rest of the evening.
As for my own experience with EMP, my fiancee and I are getting married later this year and our plan is to hold a very intimate dinner for family and friends in one of the private dining areas of a 4 star resturant. As part of our research, we had dinner at each 4 star (and 4-star level) resturant in the city in very quick succession - Per Se, Daniel, Le Bernardin et. al - and also had a viewing of each private dining room. EMP ended up blowing away the competition. Besides having the most stunning and beautiful private dining space (Per Se's is a little windowless, shoebox of a space - what's the point of being in the Time Warner Building?), the food was exceptional (way more fun and accessible than Daniel's while still feeling decadent), the service impeccable, and the atmosphere a nice balance of attentiveness and casualness.
The portions may be smaller than what most American's are accustomed to but given how many appetizers and other items you recieve inbetween the three courses, one cannot possibly leave hungry. Our meal consisted of:
- 5 small appetizers (including foie gras, sweetbreads, and a radish dipped in butter)
- a dozen cheese puffs (yum)
- amuse bouche of microgastronomy "tomato & mozzarella" - SO GOOD
- 2nd amuse bouche of lobster bisque
- assortment of bread (try the lemon thyme) with two kinds of butter - cow and goat
- our appetizers (course 1 - we had the gnocchi & shrimp roll)
- our main course (course 2 - suckling pig & halibut)
- a palette cleanser (a strawberry whipped thing)
- our desserts (course 3 - chocolate peanut butter palatte & cherry "cobbler")
- gratis mini-macaroons (as many as you want)
- gratis cognac (I don't drink but my fiancee said it was very good) - and they left the whole bottle to allow us to linger
Plus we got a small box of fruit pate when we left. All this for far less than what we paid at Daniel or Per Se. And Chef Humm visited our table towards the end of dinner to see how we were doing.
It was such a magical experience. I was thrilled to see EMP receive 4 stars this past week. So deserved.
Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
I'd imagine that knowingly allowing sick individuals to work would be some sort of health code violation. Anyone remember Typhoid Mary?
Which Rice Cooker Should I Buy to Cook In?
Need to reinforce wookie's point. Traditional Asian families eat rice every day, usually three times a day. Growing up, my mother would make a huge 10 cup pot so that we kids could have rice all day long - whenever we were hungry. She'd fire up the rice cooker for a fresh batch each night for dinner. If Asian's had to make a pot of rice everytime they ate (or had to steam it in a tray in the oven!) they'd never get anything done. Think of the rice cooker as the Asian equivalent of the sliced loaves of bread sold in supermarkets. It provides easy sustanance whenever you need it.
Honestly, if you're goal is to cook with your rice cooker - and not to actually use it frequently to make rice - I'm not sure, it's worth the cost. A pot on a stove will accomplish the same thing. However, if you already have one - experiment away!
Which Rice Cooker Should I Buy to Cook In?
Stay away from American brand rice cookers (black & decker et al.) - they are far inferior to the Asian brands. My boyfriend had one and the rice always stuck to the bowl and it did a bad job of keeping the rice warm.
Zojirushi is the brand most often sold in New York's asian markets. Everyone in my family has a Zojirushi. I've been told Panasonic also makes a good cooker.
My mother has used this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-NSRNC-18A-Automatic-Cooker-Imprint/dp/B00005YXC1/ref=pd_sim_k_1
for years to cook all sorts of things...you just have to get used to the floral pattern. She even took it on vacation to Disneyworld and Paris. Don't try to seperate a korean mother and her rice cooker.
Shopsin's: Comical Rudeness
Most people in the service industry are nice because they "have to be" not because they want to. Having grown up in a small family business, I am witness to how oblivious customers are of their behavior and how rude they can be. People expect waiters and customer service people to completely bow down to them for minimum wage. Americans treat service people like shit and they don't even know it. Kenny Shopsin is just acting out in a way a lot of people in the service industry want to. Better to have Kenny yell at you to get out then have him spit in your food or worse.
That's the thing people don't get about New Yorkers - we don't shield our true feelings. If we don't like you, you know it but if we do, you also know it as well. I lived in the South, I was always frustrated with how people would be nice to your face but totally talked smack about you behind your back.
I was a regular at the Shopsin's on Bedford and I was always treated well, never yelled at or kicked out, and yes, they even accomodated my allergies.
Dining in Portugal: Piling on the Not-So-Freebies
My boyfriend and I encountered the "couever" during our first lunch. We wised up by our second day and asked them to take all the plates away even before they hit the table. Portuguese food is good if simple. I was dreaming about garlic and spices by the time we ended our vacation.
Seriously Delicious Holiday Giveaway: Garrison Confections Ultimate Chocolate Cooler
Depends in what context. For complex confections, dark. For just nibbling, milk.
Cook the Book: 'The Bacon Cookbook'
Does bacon as is count as a dish? If so, BACON!
Seriously Delicious Holiday Giveaway: D'Artagnan Heritage Smoked Ham
horseradish mayo, brie, lettuce on a crusty baguette.
Seriously Delicious Giveaway: Zingerman's Gift Certificate
Anything soft, oozy, and creamy. St. Andre Brie!
Seriously Delicious Holiday Giveaway: Bacon of the Month Club
Thick, pliant, with some crispy edges.
Seriously Delicious Holiday Food Giveaway: Russ & Daughters
Dim sum or a pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese, whitefish salad, and slices of red onion. Yum!
Eleven Madison Park
laurelie - i have had inconsistent danny meyer service experiences as well so i hear you. i know he is famous for hospitality, but i've never found service to be consistently good at his restaurants. given that hospitality is danny meyer's self-proclaimed focus, i'm usually disapointed.
still - i will give EMP a try - some of these reviews food-wise here sound amazing. jboylee, congratulations and thanks for the menu breakdown - sounds delicious.
Eleven Madison Park
Went last Saturday night .It was an abousolutely orgasmic experience. Definitely worth 4 stars.
Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
If restaurant owners were smart, they would hire an extra cook person and work all the cooks plus the extra a shorter week, maybe longer day,and they would always have back up, and everyone needs a break, just take it and make them cover for you, or hold up a dinner for 10 minutes, who cares.
you cooks deserve it, thats hard work.
Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
it's like being a soldier in a war .... soldiers never call in sick.
it's a love-hate relationship. you can't live with it or without it....
the restaurant biz.... just one of those things.
Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
$150,000 a year would mean over $11,000 a month. $11,000 a month would mean over $2500 a week. $2500 a week would mean close to $350 a day, working every day. Not likely. My best week ever in serving was a $1000 week, but other times I walked away with $30 in my pocket and a free meal.
Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
po0pie what are you smoking? I was considered a lifer, in the biz 20 years in management. Those rules (non rules) apply to everyone except the GM and the owner. Sick, what's that? Waiters making $150K a year, pipe dream even in NYC (perhaps staff makes that at Per Se but I doubt that). I still live and work in NYC but in a different industry and I get weekends, holidays, sick days, personal days and yes vacations - time off, how glorious. When floor staff is out everyone pitches in if you can't bribe, cajole or guilt someone into working a double or changing their one day off per week plans. Try getting 2 days off per week and get them together, rare but I was lucky in a few establishments. Restaurant is tough, especially in the US where staff are treated less then dirt by a majority of management and by many customers. In Europe people go to school to become waiters. They are certified, get health benefits, and generous time off and don't forget the TIP is included on the check. It is a true profession there. Here it is your back up to what your real agenda is - actor - dancer - singer - writer - musician - artist - etc. in a majority of the NYC restaurants (high end establishments usually have what is termed as professional staff). No one has yet address what a waiter gets paid, outside the tip, per hour. When I left the industry in 2002 waiters were making $2.15 per hour. I know it has gone up because the minimum wage has gone up but wait staff NEVER makes minimum wage. The difference is supposed to be made up by the tip. You do the math...........
I was always well liked by my staff where ever I worked. My management philosophy was satisfy the customer and that meant helping out on the floor where ever I was needed. I was never above my staff, I was a working participant.
Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
Really??? Professional waiters make $150,000 a year??? I don't buy that for a second. Maybe, MAYBE, at the highest of high end places in NYC. Anywhere else- I doubt it.
Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
There's a lot of sympathy here, which is great, but also consider that many of these "lifers" or professional waiters make upwards of $150,000 per year. The entry-level financial analyst makes less than half that, and even though that occupation allows sick days, they're often still at home, crummily hung over a computer screen doing some sort of mental labor.
Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
@ddvierra68 - You might not want to look behind the scenes at your grocery store either. I've worked a number now and my latest current stint is no different than the rest. Zero breaks, zero call-ins. Calling in is a pretty good way to get fired. They'll just replace you with someone off the street that doesn't feel that they should take the day off when they're vomiting. And, if they don't fire you (probably because they can't - yay union) there will be harassment for the next few weeks due to your not showing for "a little illness." If you'd like a window on this - atm in my bakery department the girl who's currently in the spotlight for not showing - her dad died. There are no breaks for death. What are you thinking!? Get those fat-laden sugar bombs on the shelves. We have America to kill people! Ah. Retail food service. Gotta love it.
I feel especially bad for the "lifers" as we call them. Those people who aren't like myself college students just taking a job to get by. These people are going to deal with this for the rest of their lives. (Or until they get really sick and miss a few days or their family members die....)
Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
@twosavoie: You also forgot to note that the person who didn't tip when he didn't get his glass filled from being completely empty after 5 minutes was in a restaurant that had NO customers.
Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
I've been a waitress--and when I was hospitalized with a severe infection, I was darn sure I wouldn't have a job when I got out. I did, but I got stuck with the crappy shifts for weeks...
Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
I have never worked in the restaurant business and this horrifies me. I can only comment from the customer's point of view and I DEFINITELY do not want ANYONE who is sick near me, let alone, near my food! I can't believe you guys don't get breaks either!!! This is shocking - I guess I better not ever look "behind the scenes", I'd probably never eat out again...
Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
I did get a break at the restaurant at which I worked when I was in high school, but that was only because child labor laws require minors to take a break. As soon as I turned 18, break time was over. The worst part of the no break policy is that the later it gets, the busier it gets.
Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
Yep. That's the way it is. Last week there was a question on Serious Eats about the worst table you had ever had. Someone took the opportunity to say that her husband doesn't tip if his glass is empty for 5 minutes. The next day, at work, I was hyper aware of how long it took me to make refills. At the height of our rush I dropped a glass from above my head. On the way down it sliced open my leg (I wear shorts). It wasn't bad, but it kept bleeding. My first thought? How can I get back out there? People are waiting for their drinks, food needs to be run... It just kept bleeding though, even through the bandage I was eventually able to get from my manager. Yuk. And, I'm sure that my tips weren't as good on the tables I had then because people had to wait.
When I tell people that you can't call in sick, they are horrified. But, until guests start complaining to management (who can't call in sick either) and corporate, it will continue. Restaurants have to have a body on the floor, even if that body is half dead. Nobody wants that guy to have to wait that 5 minutes. The health inspector is there for an hour once every three months. It is really not a preventative.
Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
I used to work in a bakey where, on top of serving bread and pastries to customers, I was responsible for measuring, slicing and pounding slabs of butter for the hundreds of croissants we made.
One week, I had pneumonia -- the kind that comes with fever, chills and endless phlegmy cough. I called the night before my shift and told the manager I was sick; she didn't even consider getting a replacement, just said I was expected at 11 a.m., sick or no.
I felt bad for everyone who bought food there the next day.
(Now, at my "real" job, it's slightly different. I'm encouraged to stay home when I'm sick, but I don't get sick pay, so I always go in to work, even if I'm useless and contagious. It's my revenge.)
Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
Thanks for making me appreciate my job even more!
Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
This occurs in patient care as well. Most of us drag ourselves in to work even though we're infectious -- of course, there are some people who stub their toe and call off too. The other downside is that even during weather (tornado, snow, hurricane) emergencies when all vehicles are ordered off the streets, we are still required to go in to work...
Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
I am currently plotting my way out of the industry. This kind of stuff of one of the major reasons why. I too have been asked numerous times about breaks. I laugh heartily every time. It's kind of funny but not really. I want to have a family that I can see at regular hours & go on vacation with. In the overwhelming majority of restaurants that's not an option. Therefore, long term the biz if not for me.
Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
only if you were wearing latex pants and pink hair extensions while sneezing and coughing, would you be considered a 'hot mess'.
Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
This is sort of a dirty little secret about the restaurant industry. Yes, it's unsanitary and horrible, but it happens every day, everywhere. I've never heard of a restaurant that doesn't operate this way.
No breaks, no sick time, no vacations. That seems to be the industry standard.
Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
Heh, I don't work food industry, but I do work in a job that consists of me being the only employee on site (and manager on duty) from 11pm to 7am- so I don't have the convenience of co-workers to call up. The earlier I know I'm missing a shift the better- a good week advance is typically what's needed, so calling in sick is one of the last things on my list, especially since it usually ends in the general manager having to cover my shift after being there all day.
Served: No Sick Days in the Restaurant Biz
I worked for a place for five years, and called in sick once. That was because I had a serious throat infection and couldn't swallow or breathe. The owner was unhappy. Seriously unhappy.
I also gave them three month's notice when I left. Mind, I was leaving the country to get a Master's degree. Didn't matter. They were still unhappy.
I worked a full shift behind the bar with a dislocated knee. I put on an apron and washed dishes when no one else was around to do it. I am still the only person at that joint who has done every single job.
But at least I'm not bitter...
Which Rice Cooker Should I Buy to Cook In?
We're looking at getting this one:
Because it gets fantastic ratings and because it does a better job at combining rice cooker and slow cooker.
Which Rice Cooker Should I Buy to Cook In?
ditto for Megs915: the Cuisinart 4 cup was a hostess gift and left it in the box until the one day i tried it out....now i put up rice each and every day without a thought....does stick sometimes but not enough to purchase a Zojirushi for big bucks....i cannot believe that rice can be this easy.....
Which Rice Cooker Should I Buy to Cook In?
I would suggest having a look at this post too: http://www.justhungry.com/answering-some-rice-cooker-questions
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Laurelie, if you were 22 at the time that you went to EMP, I'm not surprised that they carded you. And I'm surprised you've never been carded anywhere else in the city. I'm 33 and I still get carded from time to time. It's NYC law to card anyone younger than 40. I'm not trying to blame you, but if you got very defensive when asked for ID, that may have tainted the way you experienced the rest of the evening.
As for my own experience with EMP, my fiancee and I are getting married later this year and our plan is to hold a very intimate dinner for family and friends in one of the private dining areas of a 4 star resturant. As part of our research, we had dinner at each 4 star (and 4-star level) resturant in the city in very quick succession - Per Se, Daniel, Le Bernardin et. al - and also had a viewing of each private dining room. EMP ended up blowing away the competition. Besides having the most stunning and beautiful private dining space (Per Se's is a little windowless, shoebox of a space - what's the point of being in the Time Warner Building?), the food was exceptional (way more fun and accessible than Daniel's while still feeling decadent), the service impeccable, and the atmosphere a nice balance of attentiveness and casualness.
The portions may be smaller than what most American's are accustomed to but given how many appetizers and other items you recieve inbetween the three courses, one cannot possibly leave hungry. Our meal consisted of:
- 5 small appetizers (including foie gras, sweetbreads, and a radish dipped in butter)
- a dozen cheese puffs (yum)
- amuse bouche of microgastronomy "tomato & mozzarella" - SO GOOD
- 2nd amuse bouche of lobster bisque
- assortment of bread (try the lemon thyme) with two kinds of butter - cow and goat
- our appetizers (course 1 - we had the gnocchi & shrimp roll)
- our main course (course 2 - suckling pig & halibut)
- a palette cleanser (a strawberry whipped thing)
- our desserts (course 3 - chocolate peanut butter palatte & cherry "cobbler")
- gratis mini-macaroons (as many as you want)
- gratis cognac (I don't drink but my fiancee said it was very good) - and they left the whole bottle to allow us to linger
Plus we got a small box of fruit pate when we left. All this for far less than what we paid at Daniel or Per Se. And Chef Humm visited our table towards the end of dinner to see how we were doing.
It was such a magical experience. I was thrilled to see EMP receive 4 stars this past week. So deserved.