EJ Lee's Going Away Party

Saipan's #1 Korean Party Girl will soon be morphing into Seoul's #1 Korean Working Girl.

I'm throwing a going away party for her at her home away from home, Godfather's Bar, this Saturday night from 8 PM until her curfew at midnight.

...unless of course her Mom lets her stay out late.

There will be food and happy hour prices all night long. We're still working on the theme, but EJ is leaning towards grass skirts and aloha shirts.

Disney Bans Kids

From CNN:

ORLANDO, Florida (AP) -- The home of Mickey Mouse, Tigger and Tinkerbell has banned kids from its fanciest restaurant.

Beginning this week, children under 10 are no longer welcome at Victoria & Albert's in the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Victoria & Albert's is Walt Disney World's only restaurant with an AAA five-diamond rating.

"We want to be the restaurant that's available for that adult experience," said general manager Israel Perez.

Only about three families a month ever brought young children to Victoria & Albert's, said Rosemary Rose, Disney's vice president for food, beverage and merchandise operations.

Men are required to wear jackets, and women must wear dresses or pantsuits. The hushed atmosphere features live harp music, and the menu, which changes daily, offers seven-course dinners that can last as long as three hours. Prices start at $125 a person.

Rose noted that there are plenty of dining options for families at Disney World, which has 97 other full-service restaurants.

I've never eaten at Victoria & Albert's, although Alex has. I have, however, dressed up like a cartoon character and walked around one of the Grand Floridian buffets. Good times.

Saipan Server Training I

I've worked at several high end restaurants in my hospitality career and they all had their own version of the 10 Steps of Service. Just like everyone else in this world, I have my own version of what I think would work. I want to share those ideas with the 10-12 people who read this blog. I'm doing this as a free service to the people of Saipan because I find the hospitality and service at our restaurants abysmal. If I ran a restaurant, this is how I would train my servers

I'm going to start with the Initial Greet.

After a table sits down, the host hands everyone a menu and says something like, "Jose, will be right with you."

This is where we begin.

The Initial Greet

Goals:

1. Immediate Hafa Adai greeting
2. Recommend and describe two drinks
3. Take drink order
4. Order drinks
5. Serve drinks

Sounds pretty simple, right? The caveat to this is that all five steps must be completed in order by the same person. Let's say you just got double sat and you have to greet two tables at once. Not allowed. You have to ask one of your fellow servers, food runners, or managers to greet your table. They, in turn, know exactly what that table needs and where they are in their meal.

That way you don't have to say things like, "Table 14 just sat down. I walked over and said I'd be right with them and they asked for a round of waters. Can you get the water and I'll ask Juan to take their drink order."

By saying, "Please greet my table" you've just communicated everything that table needs. You've told your co-worker exactly what they need to do and what that table expects.

This cuts down considerably on mistakes.

So now that you are ready to greet your table, you walk up, give them a big Hafa Adai!, and recommend and describe two drinks.

I recommend suggesting a martini and something else.

It can sound something like, "Alright, let's go ahead and get a few cocktails before you even look at the menu. Our bartender makes a great Hafa Adai Martini. It has [fill in the blanks]. We're the only restaurant in Saipan that serves it. We also make a killer margarita. You can have it frozen or on the rocks and it comes with salt on the rim and a lime wedge. So, what can I get you?"

Then you go around the table taking the drink order. After you take the drink order say, "OK, I'll be right back with your drinks" Then walk straight over to the bar for the drinks and walk straight back to the table to serve the drinks.

This is not a time for sidework. This is not a time to clear your other tables. This is not the time to tell the story about drinking in the bar last night. You are in the middle of a service step. You are getting the drinks and that is all. Nothing else.

Now, if you are serving wine and you have to put the glasses out, that is allowed. If you have to get an ice bucket for some champagne, that is allowed, too. But you are not allowed to run food, take another order, or do anything else.

When the drinks are ready to go, you take them back to your table and serve them using your right hand, saying the name of the drink out loud as you place it above the knife, on the guest's right hand side.

When the drinks are down, you are ready for the next service step, Describing the Menu.

I'll post that in the next couple of days.

Appetizers at 360

I had the chance to check out 360 today. We only stopped in for a few appetizers, but what we had was very good.

We ordered the cheese sticks, calamari, bacon wrapped scallops and beef kelaguen.

The beef kelaguin gets the award for best beef kelaguen on Saipan. That honor originally went to AJ's, but they closed and their former owner is a co-owner of 360. Coincidence? Doubtful.

Do not change this recipe!

The calamari was prepared as strips rather than rings. I've only seen this done at one other establishment. The batter was peppery, making them very good dry or with the accompanying aioli. Some marinara and a lemon slice would have been a nice touch for the dish.

The cheese sticks were great. Was that a tempura batter? Very good. These came with a marinara sauce. For $5, one of the best deals in town.

The scallops weren't all that great. It was more like scallop stuffed bacon than bacon wrapped scallops. They only served three to an order, cut in half to make it look like more. I'd cut down on the amount of bacon and thrown in a couple extra scallops. Jack up the price a bit to cover food costs and they'd have themselves a winner.

I thought the service was unenthusiastic, which is sad for a new restaurant, but the food was pretty good. I plan on going back for a full meal.

The prices seemed really cheap, as did the paper napkins. I guess they want to be affordable rather than exclusive. Given Saipan's economy, that's probably a good idea.

These are just some random thoughts. Look forward to a full post after I dine there.