Just the Tip

By Victor Meier

Let’s discuss the topic of the TIP. Dig this, Tipping is part of the cost of dining out in the USA and if you can’t afford to TIP accordingly then Fast Food is a more appropriate dining option for you.

Here is an easy and thorough guide to tipping in the USA. The appropriate amount to TIP for great service is a minimum of 20%. If you bring children (that means if they don’t eat at all or eat off of the “Kid’s Menu”) or you are sharing a meal then your TIP should be 40%. Seriously, you’re taking up valuable real estate; pay for it.

I didn’t start this trend nor have I ever advocated for its gross overuse; in fact, I’ve done quite the opposite. That is another story, though. I personally think that our tipping culture has been trivialized to an extreme extent, is despicably desperate and too much is given to too many whom are simply doing their job.

Tipping is yet another example of how the REAL “Trickle Down Economics” work in the USA. The economic burden is passed to working class people who dine out. When I was a child 10% was a good TIP. If you don’t like tipping then vote for a living minimum wage instead of blindly accepting economic responsibility for our inability to raise workers pay in conjunction with inflation. I digress though and will spare you more of Economics 101.

So, let’s examine Tipping in the USA. TIPS are an acronym standing for To Indicate Prompt Service (TIPS) or To Indicate Promptness (TIP). Therefore the act of tipping, in retrospect, is to reward your server for providing your party with prompt service. Service is not simply limited to taking orders and delivering food, though.

I have heard others then make a case for a discussion with one’s Server at the beginning of service regarding the TIP and the guest’s expectations for the promptness of service. That’s neither here nor there. The fact of the matter remains that we Servers live off of our tips and they are hugely important to our fiscal well being.

Here are the basics about tipping in the USA. Though, I have provided you with percentage guidelines TIPS should not be merely limited to a percentage. Servers are not mere numbers, we are Service Professionals, we serve you; we are not servants. Great Servers deserve your respect and your dollars to show it.

On a personal note: you may have no idea about this, but it feels great to see that someone has taken it upon themselves to TIP above the suggested amount even if it’s just extra change. People spend money on what they like. My good buddy and Pastor Todd Tolson once said, “You show me what you choose to spend your money on and I’ll show you what you love.” I can’t think over anything much more important to a human’s existence than sustenance and sanitation. Respect your Service Industry Professionals.

Not to get all Fight Club on you, though I must point out the fact that we guard your health in a large way. Servers and Service Industry Professionals as a whole understand food, wine, culinary arts, health codes, sanitation, etc. We know about your allergies and health concerns. No matter how bullshit or mundane they appear to us. Great Servers treat their guest and subsequent needs/concerns with reverence and respect. Great Servers…shit a good dishwasher is even charged with watching out for unsanitary conditions and guarding health code standards.

You probably have no idea. Meanwhile, we Servers operate knowing very well the statistically bad sanitation practices of most of our guests. Yeah, you nasty fuckers; you heard me right, nasty fuckers. 80% of you don’t even wash your hands after using the bathroom…nasty. And somehow we don’t deserve a raise after dealing with your nasty asses. You’d learn a lot from a Food Handler’s Course, my friends.

Servers are often times at odds with our co workers like Bartenders and Chefs as we are working to get you your food and beverages in a timely and correct manner. Just because your food is late doesn’t mean that is because of Server error. Though, that might very well be. In which case, please be understanding when your Server is truly contrite with you.

Pay close attention to your Server you will be able to tell if they working diligently for you and their other tables. Effort is something that is easily recognized along with sincerity. There are many more nuances than one may comprehend though. Please understand that a great Server is always tailoring your experience every step of the way. We want you to enjoy yourself and even come back. Listen for it, a great Server will ask you to come back.

A great Server enjoys their job and considers them self a professional of the highest regard. Great Servers are working for you and if you are given any sort of discounts for any reason you should TIP according to the level of service you received and not the adjusted check. At the very least you should TIP 20% of the original amount of the bill. The typical standard among Servers is that we do not tip below $5.00 for any true service.

Understand that you are occupying space in a limited section for your Server to make money within. There is a specific matrix that dictates how much we must make on average from each table within a shift. During slow periods Servers may only get a few shifts per week and must quantify our efforts. For example Servers almost always dine out and pay with cash; it’s especially easier when dinning with a group.

When I eat out I usually state right off the top that I am a Server and I’m easy to please all I want is quick but unhurried service and I will tip fat. No dickhead I don’t say it like that but you should get the gist of what I’m saying. I connect and paint a picture of expectation immediately.

Go ahead, do something like that the next time you eat out at a nice restaurant. “Hey man (miss lady), my friends and I are here to drink some cocktails eat some steak, catch up with each other and have a good time, we are in no hurry so please let us take our time and we will hook you up fat on the tip just keep our drinks full.” Something like that works brilliantly. Simply tailor that approach to your needs and goals.

So, basically when it comes to tipping, if you are happy with your service then reward your Server…that’s what we are working for. Moreover, the “Verbal Tip”…”You’re a great Server!” “Thank you for the great service!” Telling our managers, “Victor is a great Server!” all are absolute bullshit. We can’t pay our bills with compliments. Pony up and pay your 20% or more when your Server busts their ass for you. We all know what that means and it does not go without notice on all levels. Then go home a Yelp something positive about your experience.

Date Night at the East Side Bake Shop

An evening with Proprietor/Baker Elizabeth McGuire and

Guest Chef/Wine Maker David Scheidt.

By Victor Meier

Date Night finally arrived for my girlfriend and I in the form of an intimate evening spent with local Restaurateur, Baker, Chef, Mother and Wife (to say the very least) Elizabeth McGuire.

Elizabeth is the proprietor of the East Side Bake Shop located at the McGee Creek Lodge. Friday night I was lucky enough to attend one of Elizabeth’s dinners which featured Guest Chef and Wine Maker David Scheidt from Mastro Scheidt Family Cellars of Dry Creek Winery, located in Healdsburg, Sonoma County, California.

The East Side Bake Shop has a very comforting ambience and, though basic, it is very classy. While others may associate with the Bake Shop as merely a bakery, this was my first visit to the East Side and as a dinner venue I found the Bake Shop to be charming indeed. It is rustic and warm with an upscale urban/mountain appeal that still can be inviting and accommodating to families. The Bake Shop reminded me of restaurants I love from Napa Valley and the Lost Coast. On the walls are striking photographs featuring the work of local artist/photographer David Huebner.

The Menu was simple, elegant and filled with comfort foods that I personally have come to love. Unless you are a vegetarian, (Spoiler Alert!) how can you go wrong with slow roasted pork on the menu? Before you accidentally mistake my description of “simple” as common or muted, the menu was far from either. “Simple” simply means letting the natural flavors of one’s food shine without masking over them with a lot of spices, breading, sauces and the like. Simple in this case is much like Chef Jamie Oliver’s “Naked Chef” classification.

My girlfriend and I started with a delicious white bean purée served with toasted baguette slices. I’m not always a fan of the toasted approach, however, in this case I might have enjoyed it all a little too much being that didn’t leave room for much else. My short-sided gluttony was fully appreciated as the later courses arrived with favorites of mine like flat pasta, pork shoulder and lemon cake…not all at the same time though.

The second course brought a deliciously simple Italian soup done perfectly. If it were not for being the occasion that it was, I would have been slurping down that broth like a child from Oliver Twist. Please sir, may I have some more? It was only my respect for my lovely better half that I refrained. The ravioli stuffed with cheese and spinach was the perfect creamy accent to this wonderfully light and flavorful broth and the perfect addition to the soup.

The third course was a Caesar Salad that I must regretfully announce that I was not a big fan of. For my personal taste the salad dressing was a little bit too sweet and lacked the amount of anchovy that I like from my Caesar dressing. Therefore the salad did not meet my palette with the same expectation that I had garnered for it. The presentation of our salad was done interestingly and in an aesthetically pleasing way. The romaine leaves were longer and required the use of a knife. I always enjoy using a knife when I’m eating salad, though; it makes it easier to load up my fork. Everything was fresh and the croutons were made in house. Sweet or not, that is a hard blend to beat.

Dinner combined the fourth and fifth courses which involved some classic Italian “working man” favorites. There was a Bolognese Sauce served over handmade Taglitelli pasta and cuts of slow roasted pork shoulder served over a perfectly executed creamy polenta. If your mouth isn’t watering right now there is nothing more that I can say about these dishes to you. You need to experience them for yourself one day.

Dessert was a moist yet very lightly flavored, double layered lemon cake separated by a limoncello butter cream and topped with powdered sugar. Later Chef David informed me that he put limoncello in the cake batter itself too. Again, personally speaking, I would have enjoyed a little more zing from the lemon cake. Perhaps use more lemon zest in the cake and/or the butter cream.

All told, the evening was quite special for me as I enjoyed the company of a truly wonderful woman, while benefiting from the hospitality of Elizabeth McGuire, immersed in the charm of the East Side Bake Shop’s collaboration with the engaging and talented David Scheidt. My girlfriend and I sat at the bar where we were permitted friendly access to both Elizabeth and David, who shared intimate details about our experience. How else would I be able to tell you that the pork shoulder was seared in a cast iron skillet and then slow roasted for five hours?

Caretaker and Manager of the McGee Creek Lodge Jeff Meadway attended dinner and even so reminded me of the way my mom ate most dinners throughout my adolescence by consistently laying down his fork, mid bite, to accommodate the needs of the lodge and its guests. Otherwise Jeff provided great company and was a wealth of historical knowledge. Jeff also organizes and along with Elizabeth, hosts a family friendly evening of bluegrass music at the McGee Creek Lodge every Saturday night, starting around 4pm and lasting until 7pm or so… you know... “Mountain Time”.

The East Side Bake Shop’s Saturday night dinners offer al a carte options and support local businesses like Sierra Sundance, Side Door and Black Velvet. Moreover, the Bake Shop is a culinary asset to the Inyo/Mono Community and no matter the occasion I strongly suggest making reservations or at least plans for an evening with Elizabeth. It is a short distance to travel in order to feel like you are hundreds of miles away from your cares.

Notes:

Victor Meier is a freelance writer and also a former restaurateur, fine dining server and chef.

Elizabeth McGuire-Owner and Chef - eastsidebakeshop@gmail.com, https://www.facebook.com/EastSideBakeShop

David Scheidt, http://www.mastroscheidt.com/david-scheidt/, https://www.facebook.com/djscheidt

2013 Night of Lights on Mammoth Mountain

(From 12/21/2013)

Canyon Lodge hosts annual fireworks show 
and self glamorizing/glorification campaign.

By Victor Meier

I would love to get my hands on the video that was being played throughout Mammoth Mountain Ski Area’s (MMSA) Night of Lights.

MMSA’s night of lights featured the typical and ultimately benign entertainment that has become associated with such events hosted by the MMSA. At least this year’s poster was pretty cool looking though. There were your typical cartoon artists, “balloon artists”, clowns, etc. and then there were the paid characters. The night time entertainment was not much to write home about either. I’ve easily seen better here in Mammoth. The fire dancers were like a bad Burning Man routine. Bring on the big bang!

Yes, the fireworks and they were awesome! The fireworks included a finale that was one of the best I have ever seen; so much as to say, grand even. Now, in San Diego, I lived across the water from Sea World and witnessed fireworks on a nightly basis. In high school I was put in charge of the homecoming fireworks display. So, needless to say, I know about such things and yes it was a grand finale.

If you plan to go to the MMSA’s Night of Lights next year, consider getting there early! Leaving was a mess and riding the gondola may have been the most arduous. Even though there were separate entrances for families with small children, in the end the line for the regular folk was outrageously long. Buses were packed both ways and the one I rode in on even had people standing on the steps into the bus. I don't care if I sound like a "Hall Monitor" because that is completely unsafe and a safety violation. It was pandemonium at Canyon Lodge which is not prepared to adequately accommodate such a crowd. It makes one think that perhaps what became the “lodge” should have remained a parking garage. 

Ridiculous crowds only showcased Mammoth's infrastructure’s inability to handle large amounts of people. The worst part about the whole experience had to be enduring the crowded buses, endless lines for the gondi and restrooms, traffic jams, no parking and then having to sit through a self glamorizing/glorifying campaign video from MMSA Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Rusty Gregory. That was even more bizarre than the addition of two new mascots, "Woolly’s Buddies", (insert new mascots here...who really cares anyway). Gregory was equally as unnecessary as he was preaching to the converted most of the time. I’m sure some VIPs appreciated his obligatory “thank you”. Otherwise, who really cares what Rusty Gregory has to say? I mean beside pander to his investors what does he even do? He's a puppet and a tool.

If he really cared about the town of Mammoth as a whole he would do more to help the local economy rather than overseeing luxury tax increases. Gregory’s time could be better spent encouraging investments to develop the dilapidated buildings lining Mammoth’s Main Street and especially the corner of Minaret and Main. Perhaps there’s more he can do to help tourism in the summertime so that approximately 2,000 employees aren’t being laid off every year. At the end of the day I was glad that I attended, especially for the amount of time that I attended the MMSA Night of Lights. Moreover, they "Empire" didn't get any more of my money, which is a good thing too. I digress though. I believe that next year I will simply enjoy the fireworks from a distance and avoid the unnecessary crowd and inconvenience.

Mardi Gras…Carnival…It’s All Fat Tuesday To Me! Americans celebrate Fat Tuesday much like the melting pot we are

By Victor Meier

Mardi Gras or Carnival (depending on your location) are festivals of exuberance and indulgence celebrated before a period of reflection and restriction.

The period of restriction begins right after Mardi Gras with Ash Wednesday and is followed by Lent the next week. Lent is the tradition where believers and followers give up conveniences to express religious devotion. This is usually associated with giving up meat and I’ll explain why later. First things first, though; first we must celebrate gluttony and freedom. This is the American Way.

Mardi Gras means “Fat Tuesday” in French. In France, where many of the origins regarding Fat Tuesday are traced to; the tradition involves eating extremely indulgent and fatty foods before having to give it all up. Sweden has to always be so damn accurate, as they eat actual fat…on Tuesday…call it Fat Tuesday and they’re good. I knew there had to be something wrong with that place.

Overall, traditions that are associated with Fat Tuesday or Carnival involve many similar elements and yet are uniquely different from country to country. However, all cultures seem to value a good parade. The celebrations of Fat Tuesday and Carnival both embody the spirit that one sees throughout Louisiana; in the attitude, lifestyle, cultural traditions as well as their artistic expressions. The spirit of Louisiana has infused itself into American Culture as well.

New Orleans is that younger, fun uncle who always showed you something new and cool when he visited. Maybe your parents wouldn’t approve and yet they wouldn’t deny the allure either. It’s not like they’re going to ban Uncle Steve from coming over. “The Big Easy” has been an adult playground long before Las Vegas was even imagined. In providing such, New Orleans has done so in a much more authentic way. New Orleans and its celebration of Fat Tuesday are indicative of a larger melting pot of culture and art that represents American Culture.

Other countries around the world celebrate Fat Tuesday. Everyone knows about the party that occurs in Brazil known as Carnival. Carnival has derived from the Latin phrase, Carne Vale and translates as, “Goodbye to the Meat”; yep, simple as that. And this is why many people choose to give up eating meat for Lent. Although the point may be argued that it is less of a choice and more of a mandate. Carnival is Brazil’s most famous holiday. Keep this in mind though; the celebrations around Brazil are as diverse as the culture and individuality found in each city.

Germany is much more straight-up about the holiday and in typical German fashion, Fat Tuesday is commonly referred to  as “Before the Fast”...way to focus on the negative Claus. Fastnacht, is the pastry generally associated with Karneval [the German word for Carnival]. Karneval is often used to name the German celebration of Fat Tuesday. Either way one looks at it, Germany celebrates the last Tuesday before Lent; and they do so in a much more somber tone zan ze rest of ze world…moving on.

Belgium is pretty big about Fat Tuesday and their celebration is one of the most important and therefore most popular celebrations of the year. After all, the national language spoken in Belgium is French, so that should come as no surprise. That’s why that deliciously light and yet dangerously powerful beer from Belgium is called Stella Artois. Maybe they’ll send me some free beer in time for Fat Tuesday? In the Netherlands they like to get down as well; the Dutch party much the same way as the Italians and Brazilians get after it.

That brings us to Italy. Martedi Grasso [Fat Tuesday] in typical Italian fashion (and most likely out of competition with the French), Italians throw a party with extended boarders to include the preceding Thursday; which is conveniently named “Fat Thursday” or “Giovedi Grasso”. This occasion as well as the actual Fat Tuesday celebration; known as Carnevale and is closely associated with traditional origins. It’s no wonder to find that Italians are widely considered to be the founders of the Carnival movement in this celebratory process.

So, back here in America; we will celebrate early and often. Even though the excuse for starting early is because we “have to work on Tuesday”…and then we will still celebrate on Tuesday anyway. This is why there are usually a great number of red eyes accompanying those charcoal crosses on people’s foreheads. Of course that’s just one of the ways people commemorate the occasion and I don’t want to be offensive of anyone’s faith. At least at this point you have a better understanding for the origins of Fat Tuesday and understand just how we have come about our traditions here in America… quite honestly.