It was very big news. So big, that my best friend called during the workday specifically to tell me. And what was this news? That he had eaten in a very nice restaurant the night before in South Carolina, a small mistake was made with his order, and he was not charged for the entire meal.

In a small town, businesses live on repeat customers, and bad news travels quickly. But here, in New York City, with an endless flow of visitors, or shall we say unknowing victims, a restaurant can survive with poor service. On April 29, 2011, I wrote War Against Disservice (see Part 2 here), about a restaurant experience that was so bad to me, that it is still fresh in my mind years later. My friend’s story about his experience in South Carolina was quite remarkably serendipitous as it came on the heels of an experience I had just days before.

The Setup: I was in Olive Tree Cafe with a friend. We needed no menu – we typically order the same things, which includes one of my favorite drinks – Passion Punch. We order this virgin, i.e. no alcohol. The drink is made by the bartender or sometimes the waiter, depending on the bartender’s workload. The drink is full of fresh fruit and maraschino cherries. It is extra wonderful is Gerald is our waiter. We placed our order for food and drinks as soon as we were given the menu.

Round one: The drinks arrive. On this occasion, however, the Passion Punch was particularly sad, with nearly no fruit at all, only the juices. I am one who rarely complains in a restaurant or sends things back, as is my dining companion. However, in this case, our expectations and disappointment both being great, we did call over the waiter and, as politely as we could, pointed out the dearth of fresh fruits. The waiter apologized and promptly took the drinks away.

Round Two: He returned shortly with drinks that looked wonderful. However, one sip and I noticed there was a problem. He had mistakenly made the replacement drinks with alcohol. We were reluctant to complain again, but we had no choice if we were to have beverages – neither of us drink alcohol (in fact, my companion is technically a minor who cannot be served legally). The waiter, now very concerned at his bigger mistake, removed the drinks from our table.

Round Three: Our new drinks were everything we had ever expected and more. They were virtual meals with so many maraschino cherries we could barely finish them. But there was an even more pleasant end to the meal.

The manager, who must have been informed of the ordeal by the waiter, came over to our table personally to apologize and ask if everything was now to our liking. I was thoroughly impressed – Olive Tree is a busy place with lots of tourists. This type of extra consideration came unexpected. But there was more.

I speculated that there was an extremely remote possibility that we could be comped for the drinks. Unlikely, because one, we were in New York City and two, replacing drinks for three rounds without any hesitation from the waiter was certainly adequate compensation for their mistakes. Our check arrived. I was stunned. I had big news of my own and had to share it here. The drinks were nowhere on the bill.

I asked for the manager again to thank him personally. He assured me that their job was to serve their customers properly and that we should not pay for mistakes made. I photographed the check and told him the good deed would be the subject of a story for all to read and which I had already titled in my mind. I wish that more restaurants would follow the example of that place in South Carolina and Olive Tree Cafe and when there is a mistake with an order, just Do the Right Thing 🙂

Related Posts: War Against Disservice, War Against Disservice Part 2

More from the Olive Tree Cafe: Just Another Loud Mouth, All About Skin Tone (Part 1 and Part 2), Nice Camel Sweater, Timbuktu, Guam, and Siberia, Random Acts of Consideration

Those who read these pages regularly know that I have just about given up on diners. Regardless of how little I want, what I want, or how much I am willing to settle, they always seem to be a disappointment. One would think that choosing the very simple, such as eggs, would be safe. But, alas, I have learned that even in New York City, whether diner, cafe, or restaurant, there is often no comfort in comfort food, and there is no safety in eggs or toast.
In one story, Greasy Spoon, I tell of my inability to even finish the toast – that meal was in the old Waverly Diner (before its recent renovation). I love the Waverly for what it represents historically in the Village. I just wish the food would match up. The cafe typically offers better food, and that is where I had most recent experience with eggs.

Recently, at Salerno Service Station in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, it was suggested by the manager that I might want to relax and catch breakfast nearby at the Willburg Cafe while waiting for my car to be serviced. I arrived at the Cafe at 7:50AM on a Saturday, and it appeared that it might not even be open. It was, however – just empty. The place was quiet and comfy, and I settled in near a window. A customer here and there began to filter in.

The menu looked good, however, I decided to go with the least risky – an omelet with an English muffin and potatoes. I was quite pleased – they were some of the best presented and best prepared eggs I have ever had. Online reviews of the Willburg Cafe run the gamut. Some claim it was better when, while others say they had poor service. I cannot speak to that. It was my first visit, and I was the first customer. My waitress was prompt and attentive. How this place would be when crowded, I have no idea. But I will visit the Willburg Cafe again. Because here, at 623 Grand Street, there is a place that is winning the war in a world where there is No Safety in Eggs or Toast 🙂

More diner stories: Nice Man on Death Row, Levis, Film and Corn, Diner Be Aware of the Diner, Joe Jr’s

One of the many benefits of living in New York City is the introduction of products from various ethnic groups. Often, these are the hard core, authentic foods and devices that are actually used by another culture transported by immigrants. The world of fruit is very exotic in the city, with things rarely seen outside the city, such as dragon fruit or Durian.

I first saw the type of orange peeling machine in the photo for the first time in the West Indies – simple, ingenious, and so much faster than hand peeling. Also, when peeled this way, removing only the outer peel and leaving the white portion of the rind (the pericarp or albedo), an orange can be eaten more conveniently, like an apple. It is said that the white portion of an orange contains as much vitamin C as the flesh. Perhaps the slightly bitter quality of the white and the American penchant for all things sweet prevents more people from eating oranges this way.

Recently, while in the Bronx returning from a business meeting, I found myself in slow moving traffic. In New York City, this means captive audience and opportunity. And where there is opportunity, there are always opportunists. Typically in this scenario you will find flower vendors, however, in this case I was hungry and lucky – a vendor on foot was selling machine peeled oranges. Two dollars for a bag of four. I was a happy camper with a snack that managed to ameliorate the drab crossing of the nondescript Third Avenue Bridge.

Some may feel that our foot vendor is nothing but an opportunist, but perhaps he can also be seen as a necessary and central figure in the fantasmagorical world of New York City, where the Sirens of Convenience not only draw us in, but here, they also provide us with the Fruits of Their Labor 🙂

What’s the formula for restaurant success? Get just about everything just about right. Do it well enough, and not only will they come, but they will also go out of their way. You will become a destination, allowing you to even dispense with one of the cliched elements of success: location.

Here at The Meatball Shop, the restaurant is abuzz. There are lines. Why? Take a unique concept, one of America’s comfort foods, bring it to the next level, and spin it every way it can be spun. Provide an extensive menu so that there is something for everyone (there are numerous vegetarian options, including delicious vegan meatball dishes). Put thought into every offering, even including lemonade (we had rhubarb lemonade). Keep ’em coming back with numerous specials in every category every night (even the lemonade keeps changing).

Give ’em good pricing and value. Make it FUN (albeit a little noisy and with a menu selection check system resembling an SAT test). And don’t forget a very well put together decor and homey ambiance that makes you want to relax. Tin ceilings, good lighting, antique photos, wainscoting – all working towards an old-timey atmosphere befitting comfort foods.  Even the bathroom had an equally nice decor and flowers. If you can, offer desserts so yummy you make ’em want to go for broke and throw diet to the wind for one night – here it is, homemade ice cream sandwiches like at Mud, but customized with six choices each of cookie and ice cream.

How do you do create such a successful place? For street cred, start with two New Yorkers who have credentials to spare and are clearly overqualified for the job. Apply these extraordinary talents and passion to a simple food item, and voila – you have what the co-owners, Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow, like to call “best place on earth.” From their website:

Daniel Holzman’s cooking career started at age 15 at LeBernardin in NYC. He attended the Culinary Institute of America with a full scholarship from the James Beard Foundation. Prior to graduation, Daniel accepted a position at the Paladin in New York City for Chef Jean Louis Paladin, working alongside such culinary notables as Wylie Dufresne and Sam Mason. Six months later Jean Louis asked Daniel if he would be willing to fill a vacancy at his flagship restaurant Napa in the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas. Accepting the offer, Daniel began a 10-year culinary journey through some of Los Angeles and San Francisco’s finest restaurants including The Campton Place, The Fifth Floor, Aqua and Jardinière.
In 2004 Daniel began his first management job as chef of the California organic bistro, Axe, in Venice, Los Angeles. After one year at Axe, Daniel became Executive Chef at the Inn of the Seventh Ray, a 250 seat restaurant in the Topanga hills known for its romantic outdoor setting and lavish weddings. Daniel remained at the Inn until 2007 when he moved to San Francisco to open SPQR, a rustic Roman Osteria, as Co-owner and Executive chef. Within 3 months of the opening SPQR received 3½ out of 4 stars from Michael Bauer in The San Francisco Chronicle, a rating usually reserved for far fancier restaurants.

Michael Chernow began his professional restaurant career in 1996 behind the bar of the popular nightclub, Life, on Bleecker Street in NewYork City. Learning from the ground up, Michael quickly worked his way through the ranks becoming the youngest bartender on staff. After 2 years working in both Life in New York and in its East Hampton sister club, The Tavern, Michael signed on to open Woo Lae Oak on Mercer St. in New York City.
In 2001 Michael made the move to Los Angeles where he worked at Woo Lae Oak’s original location on La Cienega Blvd. Returning to New York, he opened Punch and Judy, a wine bar on Clinton Street. In 2002 Frank Prizanzano offered Michael a position behind the bar of his eponymous flagship restaurant Frank on Second Avenue.For the past 7 years Michael has been managing the bar at Frank where he has a large, loyal following. In 2007 Michael enrolled in French Culinary Institute, graduated with honors, and was awarded an Associates Degree in both culinary arts and restaurant management in 2008.

It’s another good example of a New York City establishment where, if you look beneath the veneer, you will find more than buzz, spin, and hype. This is a place where, under the skin, content is king and it’s Not Just Meatballs 🙂

More West Village restaurants: French Roast (Heard It Through the Grapevine), Doma Café (Tangerine Dream), Cones, Magnolia Bakery, John’s Pizzeria (Roots of Pizza), The Waverly Inn and Garden (Buzz and Bling), Le Gigot (Nuance), Lassi (Skinny), Tartine (Paris in New York), Chocolate Bar

We were headed to Bar Harbor, Maine. I was a vegetarian at the time, and I had been forewarned by my travel companion, who was not, that there was a lobster place and we would be stopping. She had eaten there once before, and there was no way we were crossing the Trenton Bridge to Mt. Desert Island without a stop for lobster and steamers.

She had told me that apart from the obvious – that they were on the coast of Maine, where lobster is world-famous – they also had a unique way of cooking the lobster, which she had found superior to any other method: boiled in fresh, clean seawater over a wood fire. They also avoided fried foods, a tasty, albeit unhealthy, way that most roadside shacks cook their seafood. I never did taste that lobster or clams…

I, like so many, do love coastal and island destinations. One of my favorite destinations out of New York City is Cape Cod and the neighboring islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. With seagulls cawing and flying overhead, a maritime air and distinctive grasses and trees along with the telltale sandy soil, the presence of the ocean makes itself known everywhere you go.

And as with most oceanside locales, with the beach comes seafood, often fresh, local seafood. For those who eat fish, informal roadside clam shacks are one of the great joys of vacationing near the ocean.
At the Cape, there are large visitor, local, and year-round communities, so clam shacks and seafood restaurants are ubiquitous. One of my strongest memories is Menemsha, a fishing village at the southwestern tip of Martha’s Vineyard. Fishing boats moor just steps from seafood eateries for the freshest seafood imaginable, eaten on the spot, sitting wherever one can, even atop lobster traps.

In New York City, one will certainly need to set the bar lower and travel some to recreate the clam shack experience. A flavor of this kind of place can be found in places such as the beach communities of Brooklyn, Queens, and City Island, many with local fishermen. In 2009, I located the Stella Maris fishing tackle shop in Sheepshead Bay.

I had traveled by Joe’s Lobster House in today’s photo a number of times while touring Staten Island. A bit put off by its location on Hylan Boulevard, a busy thoroughfare, I waited until recently before stepping in. It has the plain, down-to-basics, no frills decor of the classic clam shack. Fish is sold, along with sit-down restaurant service. Reviews are generally quite favorable, and I’ll have to go back a few times and try a variety of dishes to judge it fairly. It’s not the Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound on the Maine coast, a shack in Cape Cod, or Menemsha Harbor in Martha’s Vineyard. It’s New York City, and it is a Lobster House 🙂