Taste Testing: Dining at the Restaurants of Cheftestants/Judges

[NewDigs]

Sarah today

Angelina's, Bonita Springs, Florida

I saw her picture and lost my appetite.

[Julia]

Oh, please, the personality the producers crafted for her. Just read down a little further and she says the part that makes it hard to watch is that she didn't win. So unless by "the producers" she means "the voices in my head," just, no.

Edited December 4, 2014 by Julia

[HappyDancex2]

Did the producers craft her glowering and saying "Beverrrrlllllly.." In that condescending voice??

Went to Sheldon's Migrant and he was there cooking. The sunset views are incredible and you start with chicharones and some kind of vinegar dipping sauce. Really quite tasty. His food was very good and I'd go back again just for the KFC a...Korean Fried Chicken which I think he did on the show.

What his restaurant lacks is even service. The one woman who greeted us was warm welcoming, professional and told us what was going on that night. However there was this other frizzy curly blond haired girl who was working the check in stand and she was rough around the edges to be kind. Her manner was abrupt which is not a good first impression.

Same with the servers. The chicharones, water, food runners etc were all done by great servers...our night they were all male. We witnessed 2 actual female table servers who we assumed were put in the position to interact with the guests. Ours was a ditzy train wreck who had a flighty kumbaya vibe to her. If you told me she was under the influence It would have answered a lot of questions! She didn't know the menu very well, clueless on preparation, just was mailing it in. im sure they are pooling tips and she's not helping the cause. She should be running food and filling water.

The table next to us got a local girl who was on top of it...made suggestions, gave opinions, described the dishes, suggested beer...totally did a smooth upsell yet provided great service. Ours was in the corner with the blonde greeter yapping. Couldn't be more night and day.

So go for the food and pray you get good service! Our hotel said that's the main complaint there...crummy service.

Edited December 4, 2014 by HappyDancex2

[AriAu]

Chicagoans will get a chance to taste CJs cooking. The restaurant is in a great spot, just off of Lincoln Park and it is near the beach so CJ should feel at home. Wonder if he will go foraging in Lincoln Park?

[cooksdelight]

This is Katsuji's restaurant in Los Angeles/West Hollywood.

 

[mlp]

Katsuji's restaurant has balcony seating?  Where was this taken from?

[cooksdelight]

No, no balcony seating. Someone who works there took it. The only seating is what you see on the floor, plus a few tables out on the sidewalk.

[larapu2000]

I ate at Beverly's restaurant Parachute in Chicago in mid-December, but unfortunately, she wasn't there that night!  Service was excellent, and we ate almost everything on the menu.  For starters, we had the potato bing bread, house pickles-kimchi, watermelon, and something else-all were very good, and the crispy sesame leaves which were tempura battered greens with a sauce and it was AWESOME-one of our faves.  Our favorite entrees were the pork secreto, boudin noir, kalbi, and our favorite was the hand torn noodle with lamb sausage.  We had a few others that were okay, but nothing special.  We were pretty stuffed so we opted out for dessert, which is a bummer in hindsight.  Totally recommend this place and the neighborhood eats/drinks in the area-Logan Square-my favorite Chicago hood.

[cooksdelight]

If you live in the Atlanta area, you'll want to head over to The Family Dog at 1402 N. Highland tomorrow night for a special finale party. Ron Eyester has invited Katsuji to join him (and he's presently in the air on a Delta flight to ATL).

From Ron Eyester:

Don't miss all the fun (and the tacos and the beer) this coming Wednesday night at The Family Dog with my Top Chef buddy Katsuji Tanabe. Come early for tacos and stay late for the season finale of Top Chef on the big screen!

[Bella]

Last week I had dinner at Sbraga, Top Chef winner Kevin Sbraga's place in Philadelphia.+

The meal was great, from a fixed price tasting menu. We had escargot, a pasta course of crab for Mr. Bella and ground lamb for me, a cod entree for him and Cornish hen, sausage, and lentils for me, and cappuccino cheesecake as dessert. The bread was a gruyere popover with the slightest hint of truffle. The service was cheerful and attentive. We sat near the open kitchen, where Kevin watched, occasionally stepping away to talk with regulars, and once getting involved when his staff briefly needed assistance.

We've visited Volt a few times, and the food at Sbraga is on the same level. We were impressed by the entire operation.

+(Yes, he's being sued, but it's by an equipment manufacturer and relates to a previous restaurant; Mr. Bella, who's an attorney, said it was for a "nuisance amount" and will likely be settled.)

[cooksdelight]

Now I want to go melt some cheese on a nice hot roll.... thanks for the review!

[heckkitty]

I know people hate him, but Blais's Juniper and Ivy is my current very favorite restaurant in San Diego.  Everything there is incredibly delicious, and very inventive.  Service is good, atmosphere is good.  Our first time, we were seated at one of the bar areas where you can watch the chefs at work.  The pastry chef was very nice and talked with us the whole time, and they gave us a complementary dessert because it was our anniversary.  I've only seen Richard there once; he was flitting all over the place but his staff seemed to get along with him and there was a very positive vibe.

[Edna Crandall]

Had my birthday dinner tonight at Juniper & Ivy (Blais's restaurant in San Diego) and it was really great. Our server was awesome. We had a starter, toast, two small plates and two desserts. 

 

Starter - San Diego Figs, "ritz" crackers, whipped marscapone, walnut butter and figs. Really great mix of sweet/salty/savory.

Toast - Carne Crudo Asada, carne asada seasoned beef tartar with sunny side up quail eggs. Way bigger than I expected, large rustic bread slice and 4 quail eggs. My husband loved this and wants to try a riff on it for breakfast. 

Kale Caesar - baby kale, duck confit, duck fat croutons, and parmesan/black pepper dressing. the croutons were just on the edge of too salty for me, but worked well with how rich the rest of the salad was. Duck was perfect and not too fatty.

Lamb shoulder with roasted parsnips and fig reduction - rich and amazing. Husband wound up getting more because I just can't eat the texture of the really fatty pieces. 

Lemon Meringue - lemon tarte with marshmallow ice cream and pomegranate. Not flavors I would have ever thought of putting together, but really surprising and delicious. Marshmallow ice cream might be my new favorite. We were waffling between this and the yodel and our sever suggested this one based on the ice cream and the fact that it's seasonal. Glad we went with her call. 

Birthday dessert - chocolate mousse with salted caramel sauce and coconut sorbet. standard, but perfectly made. 

 

Drinks and wine were tasty as well. We already want to go back - excited for our next special occasion. 

 

Also wanted to add that we've eaten several times at current contestant Chad White's sadly now closed restaurant Comun. Was one of my favorite places to eat in town and had a great taco Tuesday deal. Unfortunately, it had a bad location for what they were trying to do (the whole block had decent to good restaurants that have already closed). I still need to make it down to TJ to his restaurant La Justina. He is the sweetest guy, and I hope for good things for him in Spokane. 

Edited December 5, 2015 by Edna Crandall

[JeanneH]

Two restaurants I'm wondering about:

 

Has anyone been to Shirley Chung's restaurant Twenty Eight, in Irvine, California?  What about Nyesha Arrington's new restaurant Leona, in Venice, California?

[Jobiska]

For a Christmas present, my husband made reservations at Laurel (Nick's place, in Philadelphia).  They will do a vegetarian tasting menu for us.  I can't wait!

[Jobiska]

Just had my pescetarian/vegetarian tasting menu at Laurel.  My husband had meat, but didn't have the escargots (not sure if he has a reaction to them, so was being safe).  They graciously offered alternatives (he had the same dish but without the escargots; I had fish dishes instead of duck; etc.).  Everything was delicious, and Nick came out and served at least one dish to every table.  I'd definitely recommend it--it's a splurge, though!

[glitterpussy]

Third vote for Juniper & Ivy! We're doing the tasting menu soon, can't wait.  His new place next door, the Crack Shack, is fun with yummy chicken and some of the best cookies I've ever had. Our kid loves it.

Speaking of chicken, we also ate at Imperial when we were in Portland, because I love Doug :) best fried chicken of my life, amazingly delicious rolls, green beans with smoked beef tongue and roasted cauliflower were highlights.

Of the surviving Malarkey restaurants here in SD, we've tried them all and I like Herringbone still, especially for brunch, and of course cocktails. Searsucker is good for small plates, but it's so crowded and scene-y.

I never went to Comun, sadly, Sea Rocket Bistro, Chad's first place, was one of our favorites in our neighborhood. We were very sad to see it go.

I forgot to add Amanda Baumgarten's place, Waypoint Public, though she's no longer there I think. We weren't impressed with the service or the food after several visits, although the one exception was an amazing dish of cassoulet.

Edited February 3, 2016 by glitterpussy

[Kromm]

So has anyone been to that asshat Phillip's restaurants (to support his claims about how much everyone loves them)?

[Julia]

I've read some glowing reviews of what sounds like pretty impressive vegan food (which inspired me to try almond milk ricotta, which was a genius idea). Honestly, though, after all these weeks of seeing what Phillip thinks of when he thinks of food, I suspect all that means is that his wife knows how to hire.

[Kelda Feegle]

I am heading to the states in a week, self driving from Chicago through Indianapolis, St Louis, Memphis, and New Orleans to Houston. I'd love some restaurant suggestions and regional specialties, Man Bun free of course.

[Kromm]

I am heading to the states in a week, self driving from Chicago through Indianapolis, St Louis, Memphis, and New Orleans to Houston. I'd love some restaurant suggestions and regional specialties, Man Bun free of course.

You aren't going to run into Phillip in any of those places.

 

Chicago has several Top Chef alums, I believe. Stephanie Izard's restaurant would be the most obvious, I think (although you certainly should book in advance).

[Julia]

There's also (first Top Chef Master) Rick Bayless' places. 

[SingleMaltBlonde]

I am heading to the states in a week, self driving from Chicago through Indianapolis, St Louis, Memphis, and New Orleans to Houston. I'd love some restaurant suggestions and regional specialties, Man Bun free of course.

 

You will be close to Louisville which has: http://610magnolia.com/610-magnolia/ and http://milkwoodrestaurant.com/  Edward Lee.

 

I don't remember what year he was on but I liked him.  I have clients in Louisville but I can't convince one to meet me there for lunch....Kentucky is also the home of the bourbon trail which is fabulous.

[Julia]

Edward Lee is awesome. If you eant to check him out, he's roughly half the third season of Anthony Bourdain and David Chang's Mind of a Chef on PBS.

[Hyacinth B]

You aren't going to run into Phillip in any of those places.

 

Chicago has several Top Chef alums, I believe. Stephanie Izard's restaurant would be the most obvious, I think (although you certainly should book in advance).

 

 

There's also (first Top Chef Master) Rick Bayless' places. 

 

Reservations at all of them are hard to get. But if you don't mind waiting in line you can start off your morning with churros and your choice of Mexican-style hot chocolate at XOCO. 

https://www.zagat.com/b/chicago/5-decadent-glasses-of-hot-chocolate-in-chicago#5

https://www.zagat.com/r/xoco-chicago

 

Fabio Viviani also has a place in River North called Siena Tavern.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g35805-d3879063-Reviews-Siena_Tavern-Chicago_Illinois.html

 

 

Here's Zagat's list of some of Chicago's celebrity chefs and where to find them.

https://www.zagat.com/c/chicago-il/celebrity-chef-restaurants

Edited February 15, 2016 by Hyacinth B

[Maysie]

 

I am heading to the states in a week, self driving from Chicago through Indianapolis, St Louis, Memphis, and New Orleans to Houston. I'd love some restaurant suggestions and regional specialties, Man Bun free of course.

 

New Orleans has many great places to eat and where you go will depend on what you want to spend and the type of experience you're looking for. If you're looking for Top Chef-centric places, there's Toup's Meatery, which is Isaac's place. Justin, from a few seasons ago, has La Petite Grocery (I think my favorite place in town) and Balise. Nina Compton moved here last year and opened Compere Lapin, which I've never been to. The other Nola chef from that season was from Galatoire's, which is real old school in the quarter. It's good and pricey, and if you want to get a glimpse of local culture/society, you go for lunch and wait for a table on the first floor. It's quite the scene; a few years ago one of the regulars' handgun fired from her purse. No one was hurt and it was a "whoops!!!" kinda thing. As far as Top Chef judges go, John Besh has several restaurants (Restaurant August, Domenica, Luke, Johnny Sanchez and Besh Steakhouse) and Emeril has Emeril's, NOLA and Emeril's Delmonico. I believe Leah Chase, of Dooky Chase, has also made an appearance (her place is open for lunch only; a landmark in many respects, including for the civil rights movement and art collection).

 

Shaya is considered by a variety of publications to be the best new restaurant in the country (Israeli; one of John Besh's chefs) and Peche was also high on that list a couple of years ago (owned by Donald Link, who has Cochon and Herbsaint; all three are wonderful). In my opinion, avoid Mother's and Bubba Gump. You'll find a lot of joints that will serve up great po boys, etc. You may want to check out Eater New Orleans to get an idea of what the options are for what you're looking for.

 

As far as Memphis goes, it's been a few years since I did much dining out there. I can say I was a bit disappointed by Rendezvous barbecue, however.

[AriAu]

The 2 adversaries from Top Chef Texas both have HOT places in Chicago.

Beverly Kim and her husband opened a place called Parachute that was named one of the top new restaurants of 2015 by Chicago Magazine and by Esquire Magazine.

Sarah Grueneberg left Spiagia a few years back (Tony Mantuano is still exec chef there) and has opened a new place called Monteverde in the west loop, actually only a  few blocks from Stephanie's Girl and the Goat (and its more casual sibling Little Goat Diner). Rave reviews so far, but almost impossible to get a weekend reservation other than at 10pm.

Right across from Little Goat is Fabio's second place called Bar Siena, which is much more casual than Siena Tavern, but does have gnocchi!

Moto, home to  Richie Farina and Chris Jones, just closed.

[Kromm]

re: New Orleans: you almost have to go out of your way (or eat at a chain restaurant, or a really generic hotel-restaurant) to get a bad meal in that city.

 

Around the Quarter it's of course expensive, but go out into the greater city beyond and it won't be.

[savingsanta]

I went to Paul Qui's East Side King trailer in Austin last night and it was really great! I got fried kimchi and curry buns, BF got Thai chicken with rice and curry buns. The fried kimchi was not what I expected: it was cucumber kimchi that was tempura-fried, so it was essentially the Korean version of fried pickles. It was light, crispy, and had a nice kick to it (anything restaurant-made that can make my nose run is a pleasant surprise to me). The curry buns were equally surprising and fantastic! The buns were deep-fried, so they were crispy, and they were stuffed with peanut butter curry, onions, cilantro, and mint. I inhaled everything and tried a bite of the Thai chicken. Also good! And it all came from a food truck behind a bar.

 

The thing is, I had that rare eating experience where I actually derived pure, uncomplicated happiness from tasty food. If this was in any way indicative of the kind of food he put out during the competition, then it's no surprise at all that he consistently received such high praise that season.

[California Girl]

I recently had the pleasure of a weekend dinner at Marjorie's restaurant in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of Washington, DC, Ripple, and both the food and service were outstanding

[heckkitty]

OMG, THANK YOU, glitterpussy for the Crack Shack recommendation. Just lunched there and went to fried chicken heaven!  

[Jesse]

I didn't realize that Carl Dooley has a new restaurant in my neighborhood! And now i'm going to have to plan weeks in advance to go there. Ah well -- that's what I get for not paying attention. 

[HyeChaps]

Last night I ate at Sweet Cheeks, Tiffani's barbecue place in Boston. Very reasonably priced. (Her fancier place, Tiger Mama, is further down the same block. ) My pulled pork sandwich was delicious--very tender with a choice of three sauces on the table. The highlight was a bucket of flavorful biscuits with honey butter. Only quibble was that it was very

noisy, but I guess that it to be expected in a location so near many colleges.

[NewDigs]

My sister and bil are on a HollandAmerica cruise that featured a cooking session with David Burke. They both signed up for it and said he is nicer than nice. Only 10 participants and he sat down with them all as if they were old friends. When he found out sis and bil have a place in the city he gave them his card and said to call if they ever needed reservations. 

The dishes they made were delicious:

Chicken with ratatouille 

Tuna crusted with mustard seeds.

Ginormous shrimp in tomato vinaigrette.

 

A few years back I dragged them into a smaller operation of his that's essentially in Bloomie's windows. We ordered drinks and hot fresh popovers were served w/o asking. Love popovers. We just wanted light so split an order of freshly made and very tasty quacamole with fresh, warm tortilla chips. Simple but heavenly.

[susannot]

Son and I ate at Girl & the Goat over the Columbus Day weekend.  Son is training at Great Lakes Naval station and I was visitng him.  Fortunately, he has always been an adventurous eater.  G & G was great. It was a larger venue that I anticipated, with a virtual army of employees. Our service was stellar from beginning to end.

The restaurant has an offbeat take on ordering, AFAIK.  You order dishes to share with 2 people.  Ar first I didn't think it would work but it did.  I had oysters just for myself.   4 small ones, but tasty. Then the shared orders started coming:  wood fired broccoli (with bacon bits for Son); sweet corn perogies; redfish in a thai red curry sauce; and goat empanadas.  The goat empanadas were my Son's idea. I would not have ordered them, but they were delicious.  Son commented "She really knows what to do with goat."  We both ordered dessert because the dishes were light and we weren't full;  I had apple fritters and Son had a chocolate mint thing.  I forget the details.  Anyway, I got 5 apple fritters and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  I ate 1 1/2 and son finished.  Did I mention that he is in the military and works out every day?

 

Oh, and the restaurant has an adorable baby goat logo on its menu and on paintings on the walls.

Edited October 22, 2016 by susannot
add

[Lillybee]

Marcel opened a restaurant named Wolf in the LA area. He is no longer doing molecular cuisine but is going rustic. I hope his new venture is doing well.

 

I just saw a Fabio chardonnay on sale at the Grocery outlet for 4.99.

[cooksdelight]

Alex Reznick is opening Ditmas in Boca Raton tomorrow. You remember him, the Great Pea Purée Conspiracy.

[spankydoll]

The Mr. and I are heading down to DC to see Ally Wong and we are hoping to get a seat at the Chef's Table at Volt. The website won't even let you reserve a table prior to 30 days out so I am tapping my foot until it's booked. Has anyone been there and have any tips on what to try?

On a side note - am I the only person who yells at the TV when Househunters International is on? I want to set up a Go fund for the husband on the Barcelona episode to divorce his asshat wife. You  don't live on the beach in Barcelona instead of the Gothic!

[awaken]

Have been trying to get to Spike's We The Pizza  for YEARS and it finally worked out this weekend!  The pizzas all looked amazing, and we all loved what we got.  Hope to get back there again soon!  Also love his Good Stuff Eatery.  It really is Good Stuff!!  I get the Obama burger and salted caramel milkshake.

Also, did you all see this recent news on Kwame's Shaw Bijou?  https://www.washingtonian.com/2016/12/29/the-shaw-bijou-dc-slashes-prices-in-half/

https://www.washingtonian.com/2016/12/15/the-shaw-bijou-cancels-plans-for-a-private-club/

[chiaros]

On 1/8/2017 at 3:48 PM, spankydoll said:

The Mr. and I are heading down to DC to see Ally Wong and we are hoping to get a seat at the Chef's Table at Volt. The website won't even let you reserve a table prior to 30 days out so I am tapping my foot until it's booked. Has anyone been there and have any tips on what to try?

Do you mean the Chef's Counter? (This used to be called Table 21) The 8-seat wrap-around counter†† right smack against the garde-manger station and overlooking and into the kitchen?

†† And which, in the initial years, was literally a table for four placed right smack in the kitchen.

If so, from what I understand they changed it (within the last year) from its previous name to its current name and changed the menu over (from, what else, 21 courses) to 12-15 courses, same price; with a wine pairing option (additional $$$)  I greatly enjoyed Table 21 on several occasions over the years; pity about the change, in my view. If you are looking at their website, ignore the write-up about Table 21 at the bottom left in the "make a reservation" box on each page, it is out of date. I believe you will still need to call them and speak with a live person to make the reservation for this table. I imagine there is no choice of the items you will be served, you get all of them as listed on the "Chef's Counter" menu (like with Table 21**) but I expect it will vary seasonally; but if you have true allergies or some dietary requirement perhaps they still accommodate you for those – with Table 21 in the past they asked you before the meal started and made substitutions accordingly. It also seems that they take reservations for it now starting from 60 days out.

** Whereas the current "Chef's Counter" menu is published on their website (currently with what appears to be duplicate listings of several identical dishes?), with Table 21 one did not know what one was going to be served until you got there. Hence their asking only before the meal if one had restrictions as to what one could eat. A nice printout of the menu for that night's meal was provided to you at the end of the meal at Table 21; and in the past I had stopped people from leaving immediately afterwards before they got that copy of the menu, in case they did not know it was forthcoming. :-) 

P.s. If you do go, there is a story behind those flying pigs placed at the crook of the L-shaped counter...ask them about it, or you can look up the story about them.

Edited January 16, 2017 by chiaros
Punctuation & additional note

[awaken]

Breaking news.....http://dcist.com/2017/01/the_shaw_bijou_is_now_closed_for_go.php  That didn't last long :(

[mlp]

Quote

Breaking news.....http://dcist.com/2017/01/the_shaw_bijou_is_now_closed_for_go.php  That didn't last long :(

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not surprised.  When I read what a fairly untried chef planned to charge in a brand new business, I figured he was doomed by his own self-importance.  NYC is full of great chefs with famous restaurants where people can dine for quite a bit less.  I was not a fan when he was on Top Chef because I could see immaturity with as yet unearned ego.

[biakbiak]

15 minutes ago, mlp said:

I'm not surprised.  When I read what a fairly untried chef planned to charge in a brand new business, I figured he was doomed by his own self-importance.  NYC is full of great chefs with famous restaurants where people can dine for quite a bit less.  I was not a fan when he was on Top Chef because I could see immaturity with as yet unearned ego.

The restaurant was in DC not NYC which made his price point even odder.

[chiaros]

17 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

The restaurant was in DC not NYC which made his price point even odder.

Well, Minibar charges quite a bit more than what the Shaw Bijou charged. BUT, Kwame Onwuachi is nowhere near the reputation and celebrity status of José Andrés. Ditto other places which charges more for a tasting menu. :-) Here's a WaPo article relating to tasting menus in DC: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/going-out-guide/wp/2016/08/02/tasting-menus-dont-have-to-cost-a-fortune-these-new-ones-are-all-under-50/ 

[biakbiak]

38 minutes ago, chiaros said:

Well, Minibar charges quite a bit more than what the Shaw Bijou charged. BUT, Kwame Onwuachi is nowhere near the reputation and celebrity status of José Andrés. Ditto other places which charges more for a tasting menu. :-) Here's a WaPo article relating to tasting menus in DC: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/going-out-guide/wp/2016/08/02/tasting-menus-dont-have-to-cost-a-fortune-these-new-ones-are-all-under-50/ 

Been to Minibar and it was lovely, I meant that as realitively unknown chef (I guess the article in Forbes came out to late) in that area it seemed a bit of a stretch for an all tasting menu restaurant (which they apparently quickly discovered). He was trying to go for the private supper club/dinner party feel and I have been to events that charge that or more but that is difficult to sustain without a reputation, it just seemed an odd choice for his first restaurant. 

Edited January 16, 2017 by biakbiak

[chiaros]

11 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Been to Minibar and it was lovely, I meant that as realitively unknown chef (I guess the article in Forbes came out to late) in that area it seemed a bit of a stretch for an all tasting menu restaurant (which they apparently quickly discovered). He was trying to go for the private supper club/dinner party feel and I have been to events that charge that or more but that is difficult to sustain without a reputation, it just seemed an odd choice for his first restaurant. 

True.

16 hours ago, awaken said:

Breaking news.....http://dcist.com/2017/01/the_shaw_bijou_is_now_closed_for_go.php  That didn't last long :(

Here's the WaPo article on same.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/going-out-guide/wp/2017/01/15/shaw-bijou-one-of-the-most-expensive-restaurants-in-d-c-has-closed-after-less-than-three-months/

[dleighg]

For those familiar with Shaw Bijou, what does this (from the Washpo article) mean? Do you move from your starting table?

"The hype took a turn in August when Onwuachi and his team announced the price tag of their 13-course tasting menu, which would take diners on a journey through a converted townhouse."

[cooksdelight]

Donald Burns, well-known and highly respected restaurant coach, had this to say:

"Here is a great example that just because you can cook does not mean you can run a business. Also, it shows that some people would rather close then listen to the guests. Denial, ego, and foolish pride close restaurants."

[biakbiak]

2 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Donald Burns, well-known and highly respected restaurant coach, had this to say:

"Here is a great example that just because you can cook does not mean you can run a business. Also, it shows that some people would rather close then listen to the guests. Denial, ego, and foolish pride close restaurants."

Confused. Was that specifically about this restaurant because based on other things that doesn't track. 

[cooksdelight]

45 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Confused. Was that specifically about this restaurant because based on other things that doesn't track. 

Yes, it was in reference to this restaurant that abruptly closed. He posted it along with the Washington Post article.

Edited January 16, 2017 by cooksdelight