Lunch Time!!!!

It is with great anticipation that I announce the launch of Lunch at WG starting on February 18, 2008. It is a significant step for us and one many of you have been asking for. The menu reflects my continuing support of organic produce as well as supporting our own farming project in Malaysia. It features my take on classic salads and sandwiches as well as focusing on or handcrafted pasta and freshly made side dishes. You can come for a power lunch or laze your day away over looking the river. Meet up with friends or catch up with co-workers. The menu has something for everyone, including our signature WG "Burger". Here are a few pics to get you salivating. We will also be featuring a few new brews from Brewmaster Scott Robertson.

Eating Humble Pie

This post is a little different than the rest and frankly I am not proud of it. But, sometimes we have to eat a little humble pie and admit we made a mistake. I want to relay an incident that happened on Saturday night.

A couple sat down at around 11:00pm for what was supposed to be a nice leisurely drink to finish the evening I presume. All was well until they placed their order for a beautiful bottle of Chassagne-Montrachet. Our server took the order and proceeded to arrange the bottle, which he could not find. He asked a manager to help while he set the glasses and readied the ice bucket. The manager still could not find the wine, almost 7 minutes had elapsed at this point. He engages another staff member to help. The guests are getting impatient and rightfully so. 10 minutes and still no wine. The manager decides to go to the table to apologize and ask if he can arrange a different bottle as the first one is M.I.A, but the guests decided they had enough and walked out. I don't blame them. We failed. We had a chance to wow them with a great bottle of wine, but we couldn't locate it. We had a chance to turn the situation around but we didn't get to table in time before they left. We had a chance to provide great service but we failed to produce what they ordered. We simply had too many chances.

I can truthfully say this is the first time in a very, very, very long time that this has happened. But, it will serve as a great lesson to us that when we make a mistake we need to deal with it promptly. In hindsight, we should have sent the manager over with Complimentary Champagne at the 7 minute mark, so that at least they knew we were trying to fix our mistake. Even someone going over and letting them know the situation would have been better then to just let them sit there waiting. A bunch of little decisions led to one very bad result. I don't know who the couple was but I want to apologize and invite them back to enjoy that bottle, yes we found it, finally. I know all of us here at WG have learned something from this situation and take it very personally.

These are the situations that can change the course of a restaurants fate. When people have bad experiences they talk about it, and their story influences others and so on and so forth. In any event, we have taken the necessary actions to alleviate the same mistake in the future and I am confident that this situation will never happen again. Till next time...

New Year, New Happenings

Ok, I know, I have been neglecting this little corner of space for sometime now. But, I am back, ready to fill this void with news, observations, happenings and content that will hopefully engage and inspire those of you who find the ramblings of a chef interesting.

First things first though, many thanks to all of our loyal guests over the last year who have supported the restaurant. You are the reason that we are so successful. Furthermore, many thanks to those of you who visited the restaurant for the first time, with every new guest we see an opportunity to build a relationship and a connection to the restaurant. We hope to see you again, and don't be afraid to say hello.

On to some news, where I am happy to share that WineGarage will be adding a new series of events celebrating wine and food. I have composed a list of wine dinners that will be held on a chosen Wednesday each month. Some will highlight producers known the world over; while others will uncover wines you may never have had the chance to explore. The object is simple, to enjoy wine and food with the conviviality of friends and fellow enthusiasts. Take a look at the preliminary list of dinners below to see if any are of interest. They are guaranteed to be fun, informative and spontaneous.

January
Great Wines of America.

February
Garagiste Wines.

March
The Amazing Rhone.

April
Australia’s Best.

May
Who knew? Great Wines from Spain.

June
Wines you’ve never heard of, but will remember forever.

July
Summer in France, C’est la Vie.

August
Memories of Italy, Obscure Varietals, Unlimited Potential.

September
They make wine there? South Africa, Argentina and Beyond.

October
The Big Boy’s, France still leads the pack.

November
Burgundy, be careful be very very careful.

December
The ultimate Celebration, Champagne.

Our first dinner is a salute to Great American Wines on Wednesday the 30th of January. Wines will be featured from the likes of Skewis, Grace Family and La Sirena. A full menu with pairings will be posted soon, so keep an eye out.

On other fronts, this year will once again highlight our continuing relationship with our farming partners in Malaysia to bring you great produce, most notably our beautiful Tomatoes. With the response that we received last year, there is no doubt that a few were converted into tomato heads. There really is nothing like field grown, super ripe tomatoes, period.

Perhaps the biggest news I have for you is that WineGarage will be serving Lunch starting from February 18, 2008. A collection of super salads, inspired sandwiches and hand crafted pastas will make there way to the menu. The lunch menu will highlight some great organic products as well as offer freshly squeezed juices, delicious side items like our soon to be famous Meatball Sliders and Deviled Eggs with Jumbo Lump Crab. I will be posting some shots of the new menu over the next month to tempt you.

Well, I think that's enough for now. Drop me a line, swing by or say hello when your in. Take care and good eating.