Making the Chef

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

This blog is dead

I've got a new blog now on the updated version of my site. A little more personal, less foodie, and definitely more alcoholic ...

Me and My Gin

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Advice for the Prospective Cook

Don't go to culinary school until you've spent some time in a kitchen. And I don't mean just glancing in one. Actually go and do a stage for a while in a real production kitchen to get a feel for it.
Even though you're going to be in the back of the house, it's still a people focused business. You need to get along well with your co-workers. Without good people skills, you can still be a great line cook, but you'll never be a great chef.
If you ever want to run a restaurant, go work in front of the house. In fact, go work in front of the house period. You may be pissed off at a server, but your perspective will change once you see the world through their eyes.
People will always judge you by your actions. Your intent doesn't count for shit.
Always lead by example. Never be the person that's "do as I say, not as I do." If you can't do it, why should you expect others to?
Always be calm in the storm. Slow is fast and fast is slow. Learn to touch things only once, so that you don't have to touch them two or three times and waste your time (for example, always put yout tools back in the same place ... they'll be there and you won't even have to look to grab them)
Just because you went to culinary school, it doesn't mean shit. Expect to start out as a prep cook. You're not the next incarnation of Thomas Keller. And even if you are, you're still going to start out as the prep cook.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Ramsay the Angel, Ramsay the Devil

If you didn't already know, Chef Gordon Ramasay (of Fox's awful reality TV show Hell's Kitchen) also has a show that's on BBC America, called Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. It's odd to see the same chef on one of the worst food-related reality TV shows and one of the best food-related reality TV shows.

Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares is everything that Hell's Kitchen is not, and the premise is pretty simple. Ramsay walks into an operation that is failing and works with the chefs and staff to help turn it around. It's amazing to watch him work ... in HK he's shown as a domineering, cursing, asshole, someone you'd never want to work for. You only get little glimpses of someone who is genuinely concerned about the people he is working with, but in RKN, you get to see the mentor in Ramsay come out. Sure, he has an edge ... what chef doesn't? But it's funny how he takes a quiet yet firm approach, not tolerating any BS, yet also praising and rewarding when necessary. In a recent episode, it amazed me how quickly he found the root of the problem ... although many of the complaints were about the food, he soon realized that it wasn't the chef and instead could be traced back to poor management. He took a very soft, tender, almost loving approach to mentoring the chef. And watching him charm a table of guests using ribald British humor was a revelation.

Ramsay in RKN is a revelation ... here's a man that I wouldn't mind working for, but one that I'd also love to hang out with. Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares is on BBC America on Wednesdays, 9 PM ET/PT ... check it out.

Oh, and the past few weeks in Hell's Kitchen? I've literally been cringing ... Sara deserves to be shot for sabotaging her team ... it strikes a huge professional nerve for me to see someone not owning up to their mistakes or, even worse, sabotaging their team. If you're not carrying your weight, you have no reason to be in a kitchen.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

A Whole Mess o' Stuff

Hell's Kitchen

So the new season of Hell's Kitchen got off to an explosive start last night and I just had to wonder ... did the people who were applying to be on the show even bother to watch it last year? The signature dishes were a sorry disappointment, especially when you consider that Ramsay made it clear last season that he, in typical French trained fashion, didn't like spiciness. What did the dumbasses do?

Yeah. And then there was Virginia. Lovely cute gal, but there's no business for a pantry cook to be on the show ... if you don't know how to run a hot line, you're not going to win. She obviously didn't watch the show last year either. If she did, she would have realized that you don't make a salad for your signature dish.

I looked at the sorry state of the teams and I just don't see anyone on the men's team that I can see going all of the way ... the two supposed "cooks" on the men's team make me want to vomit. The prison cook, Garrett, is not going to do well in a plated environment and the other cook, Keith, has some of the most horribly amateur presentations I have ever seen.

The only person I could even begin to see as the winner is Heather. Not only is she a professional, but she has great presence of mind ... the fact that she was able to keep her team working on her dishes after she burned her hand was true professionalism.

I do have to say that I got less enjoyment out of watching this show this season. After seeing Bravo's Top Chef, there's just no comparison. At least in that show it was focused on professionalism, and the people there were representative of all parts of the culinary world (well, except for the fact that they had no baker). Hell's Kitchen is just, for the most part, taking some amateurs and some people that are crap in the kitchen and throwing them to the wolves. In any case, if you want to win, I don't think it's something you can learn on that show ... you have to be able to run a hot line, period. So Heather is my (reluctant) bet ... the other cooks on that show are just lost causes.

Standards and Leadership

One of the most disheartening situations anyone can be in professionally is to work at a place that has low standards. If you're at a place where their standards are high, then you have the constant challenge of meeting those standards; people respond well when challenged. Deep down we want to be challenged, to be made into better people. However, if you are working at a place that has lower standards, one day you will wake up and find yourself doing something where you ask yourself, "How in the hell did I ever get here?"

I got to that point this past weekend. And what made it worse was, when the chef called me out on it, I wasn't pissed about him calling me out. He was right to and I shouldn't have done what I did. However, what truly infuriated me was the fact that he lets sub-standard stuff slide by in his kitchen all of the time. And now, now he's looking to enforce some standards? I'm all fine in being told when I'm doing something wrong. I'm not so fine when you don't practice what you preach.

It's funny because I have done an informal survey of most of the restaurant staff at the hotel and they are all in the same boat. They are pissed and sick of working in a shitty environment. Most are either looking for a new job or are very close to starting a job search.

The irony is that I could see this all coming and it all comes back to the chef.

Back in Jan/Feb, there were some big changes that needed to be made. Standards needed to be raised, we needed to hire more staff to prepare for the summer rush, we needed to start thinking about how we were going to be doing seasonal menus. Things started out alright, but then efforts stalled.

Why? Because the exec hasn't followed through. He has good intentions, but isn't much of a leader. A leader is someone that sets a good example and this guy just half-asses it. For example, whenever he and I are scheduled to work together on the line he usually 1) shows up two hours after the shift begins, 2) spends all of his time down in his office, either playing on the internet or reading magazines, 3) I have to call him in order to get his butt up on the line to get help, and 4) after any sort of rush ends, he goes back downstairs to read ... I'm sorry, but you can read on the line.

When it comes to menu design, who's the one that's experimenting with new menu items? Me. Who's the one that does all of the charcuterie? Me. And so on and so forth. I've basically become an underpaid bitch ... no wonder I'm looking for a new job. There's little to no accountability and in a place like a restaurant, the chef needs to be the first one in and the last one to leave. The chef needs to set standards of excellence that he holds everyone to every day ... he needs to be aware of issues in his restaurant by being there and seeing them happen, not by hearing about it second-hand.

Whenever you are having difficulties with an employee, a good leader will ask, "What did I do to enable this to happen?" Even if it's as simple as, "Well, I hired the wrong person," that's enough. But as a leader when you see one of your best cooks doing something that you don't like, you need to sit down and ask yourself, "How did I let this happen," because I guarantee you, that cook never wanted to be in that situation in the first place.

A Return to Ideals

Anthony Bourdain ... he's like a culinary god to me. I've expressed my love for the man in previous posts, but this is something special. Why? He stayed in my hotel ... and I got to cook for him.

I found out he was staying with us a few days before he arrived; immediately me and some of my friends in the front of the house staff started planning on what special amenities we would come up with ... in the end, we sent up the works for a man of his hedonistic nature: a bottle of fine wine, pate, cigarettes, aspirin and antacid. Yeah, we know our idol and we're total groupies.

The day of his arrival I got in early and started prepping up the pate ... I was going to do some sort of duck liver mousse, but the duck livers weren't in the freezer. Time to improvise. I had some duck breast, some pancetta (which I had made from the finest berkshire pork) and some bacon ... it was a good start. Combine it with a miniature cake pan and I had the workings of a great terrine. Two hours later, there it was ... an individually sized duck pancetta pate that was ready to serve ... fabulous.

Then came the waiting ... I was haunting the front desk, hoping to catch a glimpse of when he would arrive. Time to close down came and I started breaking down the line when, lo and behold, the front desk clerk comes and tells me that he's arrived and if I would be willing to keep the line open for him to order room service.

Like she had to ask.

I put a pot of water on the stove and send room service up with the amenities and the full menu from the restaurant (because the room service menu wasn't enough). Giddiness, excitement, I was jumping up and down ... I had hoped I would maybe be able to hang out with him in the bar, but this? To cook is to serve, to take care of someone, and here I am in a position to take care of one of my idols! I was going to cook for a man who truly appreciates food and understands my love of the craft.

Room service comes back with the order ... two cheeseburgers and two Heinekens. He could have asked me to make beef Wellington and I would have been making puff pastry, but two cheeseburgers? My grin was from ear to ear.

Now the average bridge and tunnel foodie wouldn't understand this. Why wasn't he ordering something, well, more gourmet? The lamb pasta or the salmon with pancetta? But I understood. You can gorge yourself on gooeyduck, chicken assholes, and the weirdest ethnic and gourmet cuisines of the world, but in the end, food is about comfort and warmth. And what's more comfortable to an American than a cheeseburger and beer?

I asked room service for a small favor ... if I can go up with him to deliver the food. He thought that Bourdain is amiable enough (of course) and so I changed into a fresh set of whites and went up with him. The man was gracious and happened to have Beth, the hilariously inappropriate grill bitch with him. I was pleased to notice that he had already torn into the pack of cigarettes that we had sent up (Later on, I learn he has one preferred brand of cigarettes, to the point where he will only smoke other brands out of desperation ... and I guessed the right brand. Fucking cool.) After having a short conversation with him, I got my book and bid the pair goodnight.

I did manage to catch up with the two of them the next night at his dinner at Union. I was impressed by how grateful he was about the cigarettes and just happy to see other cooks there. I think, though, I had an even better time hanging out with Beth there, whose dry-humping-of-Mexicans made for one of the best scenes in Kitchen Confidential. As a cook, you couldn't help but just be completely in love with the girl ... but then again, we cooks live in a different world. Her account of the sexual inadequacies of the "kosher" gooeyduck she had that afternoon sealed the deal ... I think all of us fell in love with her right then. Unfortunately, it didn't turn into the night of debaucherous drinking that I had hoped for ... Bourdain decided to escape due to a pink sweatered bitch that would not leave him alone and instead of heading to the agreed bar, he ended up at one of those "undisclosed locations." And I don't blame the guy. When you're traveling that much, doing that much promotion and spending that much time with strangers, sometimes you just need to be alone with someone that you trust.

But I got what I needed out of the past few days. Cooking for Bourdain and Beth ... no, taking care of them, that has been the highlight of my career and it makes me so happy to think about how I felt serving someone else. I need to keep that feeling in my heart every day.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Finding FOH

I've gotten my checkup, I've been to the optometrist, I've had my teeth cleaned ... in short, I've used up all of my health benefits and I'm looking for a new job.

After an experience I had yesterday doing a trail at a respected restaurant here in town, I was a bit surprised. Rather than talk about my specific experience there, I think it's illuminating to reflect on what I realized about myself.

I have a real bug up my ass when it comes to professionalism. I can understand the American desire to create a more flat scociety, but in the end, the head guy in the kitchen is called chef. That's French for "chief." It works for some people, just not for me ... when the shit hits the fan, I'm calling my chef, well, chef, not by his first name.
I don't want to settle. A lot of the places I've eaten at lately have felt tired, like they're coasting. I want to work at a place that is constantly challenging me to meet its standards, not me challenging them to raise their standards.
I'm not going to leave the place I'm working at now unless I either get offered big bucks, a cooking job at a top place in town, or a front of the house job in a well run restaurant. I'm comfortable where I am and I'd be hard pressed to find a place where I have as much influence as I do now. Yes, it's in a hotel, but pretty soon the best damn veggie burger there is (according to all who have tasted it) is going to be on our menu.

So here's to looking for a front of the house job ... may take me a few months, but I'll make it eventually.

Sunday, April 23, 2006

Tamara Murphy and Her "Life of a Pig" Blog

So, if you're plugged into the Seattle food scene by now you've heard of Tamara Murphy's "Life of a Pig" blog (http://tamaramurphy.typepad.com/). Tamara (head chef of Brasa) kept an admirable blog about raising the pigs, but the one thing I just can't forgive her for was the fact that she missed the slaughter. Having had a recent experience with slaughtering an animal for food (more on this at a later date if the farmer lets me post about it), I can say that the most difficult part of the whole process, the only part that made me hesitate, was the actual killing act.

I don't know if she wasn't allowed to do it because she needed to be certified by the WSDA or some other bureaucratic mumbo jumbo, but if that's not the case, then I think, on one level, that she wasted the whole experience. Nurturing a life is one thing. Butchering a carcass is one thing. But in the middle is this very important step where there is a distinct, quick change from animal to food. And if she missed that, then *shrug*.

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

NYC Visit, Part IV

Lessons Learned

Slow is fast, fast is slow. This is the mantra of the Navy SEALS. What it means is that when the shit hits the fan, don't panic, don't try to do things too quickly ... when you do, you'll end up in a situation where you're likely to make more mistakes. Instead take a deep breath and just go at a slower pace. It doesn't mean that you shouldn't work without a sense of urgency ... you should, but don't let speed become the number one issue. Do the job right first.
The industry is still about the industry. At the trade show, I saw way too many things involving prepackaged, convenience goods or the latest machine or the latest in food science. Very little of the show was actually devoted to seasonal, locally sourced sustainable foods. It was kind of sad.
You need to staff at adequate levels. I can be perfectly happy at a restaurant just sitting at the bar, watching the employees do their work. You learn a lot. For example, at Lucille's, I saw a bar that was poorly laid out and the bartender had no barback -- on a Friday night. He was slammed the entire night, doing his best to get drinks out, but he was working fast, not working slow, and in the end it showed. He broke a glass, he didn't wipe down the bar, etc. I felt bad for him because he needed help and I wanted to jump back there and help him, but I couldn't. The worst thing is that the manager would come by to talk to him while he was slammed and didn't even bother to help out. In this business you either need to staff at adequate levels or, if there's a job to do, just fucking do it, no questions asked.
Traveling as an industry insider. I love it. We take care of our own. Whether it's great deal on the bottle of wine, free drinks, free apps, free dessert, it's nice to be comped and to feel special. Of course, pay on credit, tip in cash, and leave everyone feeling happy. I love our little community.
Whipped creme fraiche beats the pants off of whipped cream any day of the week.
Excellence vs Hospitality. You need both to be successful. Excellence is being met at the door as soon as you enter, having your coat taken, being taken to your table immediately, etc. Hospitality is being greeted enthusiastically, having your real wants and needs taken care of. However, you can have one with out the other (waiting 3 minutes to be greeted at the door, but having a warm greeting when it finally happens is hospitality without excellence, for example) but you need both to be successful. You need to have absolute standards, written down, so that each day when you start the day everyone knows what their responsibilities are, they are documented, and they are signed off by the manager so you have an audit trail. It's simply a matter of setting your standards of excellence and hospitality and then making sure your employees are meeting those standards.
Read the room. When I walk into a place now, I'm always checking out how it's designed. Does it feel right, is it adequately lit, how is the color scheme, how is the lighting, are the fixtures and art appropriate, does the furniture and tablewear work, are the linens good, are the dishes cracked, etc. I'm also looking at the layout, seeing where the traffic flow is congested and thinking about how to redesign the space to make it more manageable and how I would work around the limits of the space. It's good practice.
Bartenders. A bartender is the heart and soul of the social life of a restaurant. Seated customers interact with servers a bit, but mostly with each other. Bartenders can create awesome drinks, create a following ... get a great bartender that is excited about making cocktails the right way and your restaurant can only prosper.

On a more personal note

What does all of this mean to me? I learned a lot from my visit to NYC. One of the things that I realized was that the only places I felt comfortable at while I was in NYC was in restaurants. I really didn't like the idea of living in the city. I love Seattle because it's different ... it's got little neighborhoods, each with their own appeal and they feel like small neighborhoods with green spaces, wide streets ... NYC is the epitome of urbanization in the USA and I feel like I'd like to be able to fool myself into thinking that I live in a small town at times. I can do that in Seattle.

Honestly, you can get good food anywhere and your mouth is just as happy with a $10 pizza as a $150 meal. Good food is good food and I see a lot of potential in Seattle, especially with the region's lead in getting people to buy local, buy sustainable. There is a real chance in this region to be the model for sustainable agriculture, where it's not just the restaurants that lead the way, but the community as a whole.

Of course, all of this means that there are very few places now that I would want to work at here in Seattle. In fact, I think there's only one - Tom Douglas' restaurants. He has a proven track record of delivering hospitality and investing in his community. I really love that and of all of the people who embody being good business people and being good restauranteurs in this town, Tom Douglas is that man. The next stop is probably a front of the house job at one of his properties. Next goal? GM of one of his properties.

Read this book

The celebrity chef phenomenon tends to elevate cooks into gods. I don't like it because, honestly, rarely, if ever, will you eat a perfect dish (I think food is just as much about the company you keep, the conversations you're having, and how drunk you are, as much as the restaurant, the staff and the food). I think that restaurants that build communities do much better than places that are one note, that are a cult of personality. However, these gods are actually mortals, and one book, Don't Try This At Home : Culinary Catastrophes from the World's Greatest Chefs, does a good job of describing a chef's mortality. You get 40 short stories by some famous chefs talking about their greatest failures in the kitchen. Get this book. You'll enjoy it. I laughed my ass off.

PS. Stefan, I've tried getting in contact with you but none of the numbers I have work. Drop me an email at martin@lindychef.com

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

NYC Visit, Part III

Casa Mono
Casa Mono is Mario Batali's Spanish tapas restaurant in the Flatiron area. I remember recently seeing an article somewhere that Spanish cuisine is working its way up to be the new Italian, with Manchengo to be the new Parmesan. To be honest, I personally feel that Spanish food is kind of been played out a little too much in the hype and hasn't delivered enough in actual presence. When was the last time you walked around and saw your authentic friendly neighborhood Spanish tapas bar? Right. Having said that, the food, for the most part, was very good. They had a fantastic grilled baby octopus plate, and three other well executed plates - braised oxtails stuffed into pasella peppers, braised tripe with chickpeas and papas bravas. Unfortunately, although the dishes were pretty good, they all seemed to have very similar flavor profiles with somewhat cumin, somewhat smokey, etc. The one dish I didn't like, a clams and pasta dish was just way too harsh, with that minearly/bitter/astringent flavor that comes from too much white wine.

Stage Left and Catherine Lombardi in New Brunswick, NY
OK, so I go out to New York, the restaurant capital of the world, so why do I go to Jersey of all places for a meal? Simple answer? Mark and Francis of restaurantguysradio.com. These two restauranteurs also have a radio show on an AM station in central Jersey that also happens to be available in a podcast. Since I found their show a few months ago I downloaded every single episode in their archives and I have just come to love their philosophy of building a community in all aspects of their restaurants. They had a fantastic bar program (big, real ice cubes, not ice slivers!) and some of the best polenta I have ever tasted. But what really set them apart was their service, which was some of the best during my NYC visit. Not only were there some nice things from a managerial standpoint (very detailed checklists for sidework, for example), but when there was a job to do, it didn't matter whose job it was, it got done. It's such a small detail, but something that many restaurants, even good ones, sometimes fall short on.

BB King's Lucille's
Okay, so I didn't actually eat here, nor would I recommend it (I got the sneaky suspicion from the menu that most of the stuff was premanufactured and of the Sysco variety). However, there are a few things that I learned from the experience: 1) If you ever need anything, always check in with the local hotel's concierge. They will always know what's going on where and, if they don't, they'll be able to direct you to someone who does and 2) It's practically the only place in NYC you'll be able to find that allows you to dance. At 2:00 AM on a Friday night with a live blues band, I couldn't think of any other place I'd rather be.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

NYC Visit, Part II

Some more restaurants from the week of fun.

Bread Bar at Tabla
Tabla was one of my first fine dining experiences in NYC (that was way back in 2002) and what I remember from that original night was a few small things. Small fried fish, eaten whole, as an amuse. My first encounter with a fish knife, which I hadn't the foggiest of what it was and had to ask the server how to use it. A pistachio chocolate kulfi, which was one of the finest desserts I had ever had in memory. This time out, I have to say the food was not as memorable, but the whole process was. I've come to appreciate everything that makes up a restaurant - the bar program, the wine program, the hospitality, the food, etc. Not only does Tabla serve some great cocktails, but the extensive signature non-alcoholic cocktails are quite impressive. And the sommelier of the evening produced a fantastic wine that was even cheaper than the price range that I asked for. One thing that I do have to admit ... the saag paneer pizza that was on the Bread Bar menu was one of my favorite things that I put into my mouth in NYC (well, after those chicken liver crostinis at Gramercy Tavern).

Blue Smoke
When it comes right down to it, I'm a southern boy at heart. I am steeped in the culinary heritage of the south, so when someone makes a fuss over BBQ, well, I'm probably going to have a word to say. There's been quite a few not-so-nice words written about Danny Meyer's Blue Smoke and how it's not authentic BBQ. My response: bullshit. This stuff is the real deal. Just rip into the St. Louis style ribs to see for yourself ... instead of the normal small red ring around a piece of meat that shows it's been penetrated by smoke, the whole piece of meat has been penetrated by smoke. It's intense, some of the best BBQ I've had. The same critics also say that the sides are where it's at. To me, they were hit and miss. Deviled eggs, cornbread and sweet potato fries (with honey dipping sauce) were excellent. But the baked beans (a little too smokey/southwestern), cole slaw (I'm sorry I like mine sweet and creamy, not savory) and braised kale were not so memorable. I also had to laugh a little bit at the fact that there was a pastry chef listed on the dessert menu. Now, I'm not knocking her skills or anything, but in presentation and content (brownie sundae ala mode) they were pretty much diner desserts ... it matched the sophistication of the location, but honestly I don't think they needed to devote the space to developing the ego of a pastry chef there. One thing I did love was their bar setup. In true BBQ joint fashion they had a wide swath of ice where they iced down their longnecks ... very nice. And their bourbon menu? Anything that has Rebel Yell on it has got my approval.

Olives
I only stopped in to have drinks at Olives and to see what it was all about. Olives, for those not in the know, is one of Todd English's flagship restaurants. English, in foodie-land, gets more chuckles than smiles since it seems like he used his looks more than his skills to create a now-struggling restaurant empire. However, he had to have been a good chef in order to get his start (which is a fact that I think we sometimes lose sight of in celebrity chef culture ... Rocco DiSpirito might have crashed and burned at Rocco's, but someone had to believe in his food in order to fund him). Olives, in my opinion, looks cool, but misses the whole point of a good restaurant - it isn't comfortable, it isn't welcoming. It has no soul. English's empire focused on expanding too quickly and lost that ephemeral quality that gives restaurants life.

Sunday, March 12, 2006

NYC Visit, Part I

Alright, so my visit to NYC covered a lot of ground, so I'll be making multiple posts about it ... first up, some of the restaurants I visited.

Gramercy Tavern
My first experience was one of the best of the week. I can still remember the meal. Chicken liver crostinis with chive and bacon, with a roasted tomato relish, onion marmalade, spinach salad and 1/2 of an egg ... perfectly delicious. Tenderloin of pork with braised red cabbage, potato puree and sauteed fingerling potatoes. It's Tom Coliccio's food and the ingredients speak for themselves. With some great cocktails being doled out by Jim the bartender and a homey, warm, energetic service staff, I was quite impressed. My only complaint? The dish that my entree was plated on was cold. Small complaint, but the only one I had.

Union Square Cafe
I stopped in for lunch at USC the next day. I have to admit, I was prepared to hate the space ... I had seen it in a restaurant design textbook before and the space just looked very dated. Walking inside, it felt, well, right. Sure the murals were a bit dorky, but it worked in the space. I have no other way to describe it. People who have been there will have pretty strong feelings about it, I imagine ... personally, I loved it. For lunch, I had the garlic potato chips - pretty good, salty, garlicy, but I was wanting something a little more crisp and a berkshire pork sammich with mostarda. Now the sammich was great, rustic Italian but the southerner in me couldn't help but think that, well, that pork was wasted on doing some Italian version of a pulled pork sandwich. I can't think of a nobler ending for a Boston butt than barbecue ... but I digress. Desert was a lovely meyer lemon cake with whipped creme fraiche. I can honestly say that I didn't care for the garnishes or the cake after I tried the whipped creme fraiche ... it was a revelation. From now on when I want to add a bit of rich creamyness in dessert with a bit of a tang cream cheese and sour cream aren't going to be what I turn to ... creme fraiche is where it's at.

Les Halles in the Financial District
I was in love with the Les Halles on Park Ave. Great food, good service, and it's where I met Tony Bourdain. With those fond memories, I thought it would be cool to get a quick bite at the Les Halles in the Financial District. I was staying with a friend who lived a few blocks away, so this seemed to be a natural thing to do. I go in and immediately I am not greeted by the hostess at the podium. I'm not asked if I'm here for dinner, if I need my coat taken, if I have a reservation, nothing. The slack jawed blonde that comes by next is equally useless. So I just say I'll go sit at the bar and move my ass there. Halfway into my beer my bartender proceeds to spill it all over the bar. At least he refills it for free ... in any case, the cassoulet was good, not great, but good ... I would have liked the sausage to have a little more seasoning to it and the beans were, well, kind of bland, and the duck confit was downright puny ... I remember the cassoulet we made at school with a whole lot more fondness.