Back of the House: Call Me

An Insider's Guide to Navigating the Fine Dining Restaurant World
By Meshelle Armstrong

“There are definite procedures to ensure a positive dining/restaurant experience. It all begins with this idea: Prepare for good dining karma.”

- Restaurant Eve Service Manual

How to Give (and Get) Good Phone – Part I

People love to ask me questions about our restaurants:

* How does your husband make such and such?

* Where did you find those lights?

* Do you think I could work in the kitchen for a day?

However, the one I am asked most often still catches me off guard:”What are the chances of getting a table at your place this weekend?!?”

And I’m thinking to myself, “Eeeks, not so good.” And I’m telling myself, “Make something up, quick, then run away and hide.” All the while smiling cheerfully, as I’ve trained myself to do.

After the internal panicking and outward smiling I make a joke out of it, like, “Even I can’t get a table.”

I have to let them down easy—They want to give me money, right!?—so I gently advise them that the best way to get in is to call. The hosts are pros and if you are a teeny bit flexible, if there is any possible way, they will find you a table. I then shoot them a heads up with a, “Pretty please can you do your best to find these nice people a table?”

Which is a bit silly, because they would do that without any word from me.

Or, I could (as I’ve seen nearly every fledgling restaurateur do) call my restaurant and bully the host staff to make the non-existent reservation for Monsieur “I Didn’t Plan.” In my very early days as a host I often suffered the chaos that came from an owner’s swift “make it happen” demand, so you’d think that once I became an owner I’d have learned my lesson.

But no.

The first time I required my hosts to make the impossible happen, I realized that some things are called “impossible” for a reason. The on the spot scrambling caused tension with the managers and upheaval in the ranks of the wait staff in what would have otherwise been orderly service.

Square peg, meet round hole—there was NO table to be given.

The kitchen was pushing out courses, and the floor captains were practically pulling plates from under people. Didn’t work. And all we accomplished was to make the hurry-‘em-up-so-we-can-make-the-turn table real cranky. And the pair I was trying to impress drove all the way to the restaurant only to find no room at the inn. They were kind, and no one said it but they, my hosts and, at that point, myself were all thinking: Idiot. No doubt the wait staff had a slightly different word pursed on their lips.

A host at the newest, gotta-get-in-there hot spot is one of the most powerful people of the moment. But, as we all learned from Spider-Man, with great power comes great responsibility. Hosts speak with hundreds of people a day, helping would-be patrons make reservations for everything from business pitches to proposals. Everybody has a story; everybody’s reservation is important. But good hosts understand that you are trying to make this one, and only one, reservation, and get that the stakes can be pretty high.

Hate the reservation game? If you didn’t, Open Table wouldn’t be as rich as they are.

Sometimes the reservations process can seem so annoying to people (who just want to be able to eat without having to hash out their life story, after all) that it sours the whole experience before they’ve even arrived. When I sense guests getting frustrated with all the fiddly but necessary details of making a reservation—“Would you like the Bistro, or the Tasting Room? Are you celebrating a special occasion? Blah, blah, blah?”—I want to reassure them that I’m here to help and not to annoy.

So let’s all take a deep breath, picture ourselves in our happy-Zen place and repeat together:

“Oohmm, Hosts are here to help and not hurt you. Oohmm, Hosts are here to help and not hurt you.”

Are hosts a restaurant’s gatekeepers? Yes.

They’re the ones who tell you, “I’m sorry, but the only available tables available are at 5:30 pm or 10:15 pm.” They can also be advisors and powerful advocates. Hosts must be diplomats, strategists, traffic controllers and jugglers, and a good one is worth his/her weight in Open Table points. I don’t mean to make it sound like hosts have the roughest job in a restaurant. All restaurant jobs are special snowflakes in terms of difficulty. But hosts get my special attention because this is where our relationship begins. The initial interaction between host and guest is like a courtship—our first chance to make you fall in love with us.

Getting a prime time reservation on a weekend is a challenge. Whether or not you get that one available table for two at 7:30 pm is up to you. Setting out on Thursday to book a “hot table” for Saturday night already puts you behind the eight ball, but if you are determined to continue I’ll start with the best insider tip I can give you when calling for a reservation…

DO be polite

Shocker!?

I’m sure some of you are rolling your eyes. But a surprising number of restaurant goers don’t seem to realize how important this is. Copping an attitude when a host doesn’t give you what you want isn’t just rude, it’s also totally ineffective. No matter how mad or how mean someone is, a seasoned host has just had to “talk down” someone even madder or meaner. So rudeness won’t make a table magically appear, and it certainly won’t make the host go out of her way to help you.

I know how frustrating it is when you can’t secure the reservation you counted on. Maybe you already bought theater tickets or booked the babysitter but neglected to make the reservation. There is a saying that my husband often repeats to any staff member unfortunate enough to complain to him about being unprepared:

- Host (still stuffing menus at 5:28 for 5:30 reservations): “But Chef, we’re not ready!”

- Chef: “A lack of planning on your part doesn’t constitute an emergency on mine.”

Rough, but true.

So if you find yourself in that “I didn’t make my reservation early enough” position, you want to be sure that you are that person who makes the host want to work harder to make things happen for you. So be real nice and…

DO know when to call

While a host’s job is to, well, be a host, try to resist calling during the “rush” of dinner service (usually 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm). You might not know it because the host is nice as pie, but when you call during the dinner rush all she really wants is to get you off the phone so she can greet the people standing at the host desk, glaring at her.

If you’ve been on the receiving end of the outstretched “just a minute” finger, you know how frustrating it is to be ignored in favor of a phone call while you are standing right there. Your host has to choose between letting you (because you called during the rush) languish on hold, or ignoring her guests while yet another caller (who also called during the rush) asks her to check next Saturday (which, oops, simply won’t work for Charlie) and the next (which doesn’t work for Lucy), or making all of her callers wait while she attends to her guests.

I get it: you want to call when it suits you. You are the customer.

But think about it: your host, even multiple hosts, may not have the time to give you the focused attention you might need to score that important reservation while she is managing a complex dinner seating filled with anniversaries, birthdays, food allergies, couples waiting at the bar, flowers for table 41…. Chances are you may hear, “I’m sorry, but there is nothing available,” when maybe, if she had enough time to concentrate, she could figure something out for you. But in the middle of the dinner rush, there simply isn’t time for a proper, creative “table juggle.”

I’m just sayin’.

Me, I call in the morning (9:30 am to 11 am, before lunch). Or between lunch and dinner (2:30 pm to 5 pm). Or at 9 pm after the late reservations have been seated.

But not during the rush.

And never, ever on a Friday or Saturday night. That’s just like sticking a fork in the host’s eye—especially since they expect an industry person to know better.

DO have alternate dates or times in mind

Even if you have timed reservation availability down to the minute, sometimes someone else will beat you to that prime table. Competition is fierce: Never underestimate your competition for those prime spots. It’s best to at least have a couple alternate dates or times that will work for you and your party or you’ll just end up playing the “try this date” game with the host, and those are 10 minutes you will never get back. Enough said.

DO ask to be placed on the wait-list

This is not a fictitious list that we pretend to add you to. We use it, and use it often. People do cancel on the morning of their reservations, and when that happens the first thing hosts do is go to the wait-list. We call the first numbers and work our way down.

So when a host asks for a number, leave one where she can actually reach you.

Don’t give an office number if you will not be there. Sure, she can leave a message after the tone but by the time you receive it, the table may, sadly, be gone. A mobile number, now that says: I want that table.

DO let us keep things fair

Most restaurants have very specific policies about how far in advance they open their books. It’s different for every restaurant; Restaurant Eve has a two month window. That means if it’s a reservation for June 1st you want, it will become available April 1st.

So kindly don’t fuss or pull the “Oh come on, it’s only a couple days away” guilt-trip. Kindly call back. This is how we keep the rezo playing field fair.

And without orderly rules, you know what happens: “Oh, and I can’t take your reservations for Valentine’s Day 2014…”

Nothing personal, but things happen, plans changes, and unfortunately you could even break up. (Some couples don’t even make it through our standard two months.)

DO mention special circumstances

* “I know I’m being kind of picky, but I have to get a babysitter for my newborn and we live an hour’s drive away. I wish we could be more flexible, since we really want a table!”

* “My husband and I celebrated our first anniversary there and we’d very much like to come for our second. Please call us if you have anything open up. Really anything, we’d love to return.”

* “My son’s graduation ceremony isn’t over until 5:30 pm, and our daughter is only nine so she can’t make it much past 10 pm. I know it’s a stretch, but do you have anything for four between 6:30 pm and 8:30 pm?”

Now I’m your rah-rah girl. Now I am rooting for a table to open up for you.

Knowing that prime reservations are tough and revealing the real reason you can’t be more flexible with dining times will go a long way to getting a harried host to fight for you.

It shows that you “get it,” and that you trust that she is doing her best to help you. Your graciousness will make her that much more likely to go the extra mile for you.

As harsh as it sounds, remember that everyone has a birthday and eeeevery one wants to eat at 7:30 pm. And keep in mind, none of these strategies will work if you lie, act demanding or entitled.

So please: always mind that first DO.

If you practice these recommendations, chances are you will see a marked improvement in the reservations aspect of your dining karma.

–Meshelle Armstrong, co-owner Restaurant Eve, Eamonn’s a Dublin Chipper, PX, The Majestic, Virtue Feed & Grain, Society Fair. *Thoughtfully guided by her darling and faithful ex-reservations manager, Kate Ahner*

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Original article published in Northern Virginia Magazine

Back of the House: An Introduction

An Insider's Guide to Navigating the Fine Dining World
by Meshelle Armstrong

“There are definite procedures to ensure a positive dining/restaurant experience. It all begins with this idea: Prepare for good dining karma.”

- Restaurant Eve Service Manual

Working the host desk on any given evening, I can immediately tell which of my guests will have the best time and which will not before they have even been seated. Working in restaurants for more than 20 years has given me an advantage here. But anyone who has been set up on a bad blind date can see the tell-tale signs of an experience about to go badly.

When a couple’s body language responds to my reception of, “Good evening and welcome. May I have the name of the reservation please?” as if I’m interrogating them or doubt my sincerity, I know that changing their tune will be an uphill struggle. The guests who will love everything and rave the loudest are easy to spot as well. When I welcome them with the same greeting as the previous couple, their response is completely different. Their agreeable ‘ready to go with your flow’ pheromones hit me; I sense their excitement and willing anticipation. It is infectious. The entire staff gets swept up by their eagerness, and even the couple arguing in the dining room softens slightly. These are the guests we live for, the ones who appreciate the whole experience, the ones who come to us prepared, ready to be delighted and won’t be swayed from their intention. Even if a chandelier were to fall on their table, they absolutely would still have a good time. If you are one of these people, know this: you make everything we do worth it. Keep on keeping on and the dining gods will smile on you from restaurant to restaurant.

My main goal is to make all of my guests as happy as these bon vivants, and I really believe the onus is on the restaurant to please you. But try as I might to get everyone from a #6—our restaurant group’s in-house code for guests who arrived unhappy—to a #1 (the happiest of guests) I can only control what goes on in the walls of my restaurant and not the attitude that you bring with you.

I can’t tell you how many times (and it still amazes me) guests arrive at a fine dining restaurant and have no idea where they are. I don’t mean that they don’t know where they are, physically. I mean that they have not done their research. Or, even worse, one or all of them arrives in a bad mood. Double whiplash if the evil forces converge. Chances are these guests, be they a couple celebrating a milestone birthday, or budding socialites, or highbrow wheelers, will soon be penning those 2:00 am letters, rife with their discontent, or, even worse, drunk-blogging on unmoderated message boards.

“What?!” you say. “Cheeky!” Or maybe: “Research!? Why is that necessary? I shouldn’t have to do homework to enjoy the dinner I’m paying for.”

But you would be wrong.

Everyone arrives at a restaurant with expectations. But unless you know what to expect, your evening will probably turn out very differently than planned. Dashed expectations make for a disappointing experience. You’ll be left wondering what all the hype is about and, more importantly, why everyone else seems to be having such a good time.

My intention is not to diss my own very valued customers or mockingly expose the dining challenged. Restaurants, and the people who work there, want to make you happy. It is also our job to set you at ease and make you feel like we are welcoming you into our home. All right, you may be paying to visit our “home,” but we still want you to be comfortable, relaxed and ready to receive the food, wine and the sequences of service we have earnestly prepared just to impress you.

Whether you realize it or not—and many of you don’t—when you consent to the host’s nod as she leads you to your table, you have just accepted your role in an elaborate choreography that not only includes you and us, but everyone else who is dining in the restaurant.

In a perfect evening all of this is invisible and happens without you realizing it. But once someone misses a step, it throws everyone off. This awareness piece, per se, is my way of reaching out to you and being your host even when I can’t be with you at the restaurant.

I wish to share with you the inner workings of the fine dining world to help you navigate your place in the script so this won’t be said about you: “They just don’t get it.”

Now, if you don’t mind playing that unfortunate role or being on the receiving end of that line then okay, may bliss be with you. However, I’ve been thinking of all the dining issues that often take place through the course of the meal—issues that could have been avoided because you planned for good dining. So consider this your own “how-to,” an insiders’ guide to *enlightened dining though improved restaurant karma (© Eat Good Food Group).

I must confess that at times you may not like what you read, nor agree with me.

But here’s hoping we can keep you from starring in your own “that sucked” restaurant story. And I can hopefully keep your fingers from finding their way to those unmoderated restaurant review boards.

I have my own selfish reasons for being so helpful, of course: if I can help you understand how it all really works, ultimately it will make my job much easier. But there is an even greater benefit to you.

By better understanding how restaurants work, you can better learn to enjoy them.

You can start banking restaurant karma before the reservation. Before making that call or launching that Open Table app, just a little bit of research on your part can save you much annoyance and discomfort. So don’t think of it as homework. It’s a five-minute investment to ensure your experience will be the one you intended to pay for—your happiness and debit cards will be in harmony.

Know Who Is Feeding You

Chef’s cooking styles differ. Some are driven by very distinct inspirations. If the tags, “hydrochilled,” “gastro-anything,” or “foodie-trend,” are the buzz words that describe where you want to be, then it’s best to not to dine with us—at least not this time.

Nope, not our style. But if you didn’t know that, unfortunately you’ll spend the whole evening wondering when the kitchen is going to start their side of the theatre by having a waiter spray some dehydrated food “mist” into the air or pop a “side of crazy” into your mouth. And when it doesn’t happen, there it is: dashed expectation. You expected something different, we didn’t deliver. Not because we didn’t want to, or that we lack ability. It’s simply not our thing. The cooking style of our particular kitchen is ingredient driven, not contrivance based. Gizmos are fun and do have their place. Don’t get me wrong, I like eating bacon suspended from a wire as much as the next “show-me-something-new-so I-can-tweet it-first” diner. But even if the world’s best pork belly—fed only on acorns, massaged by the Queen of England, cooked expertly—were served by the most gracious and attentive waiter on a plate, instead of the high wire act, you would be deflated.

And that translates to a letter, or worse an anonymous online review: “I wasn’t that impressed with the menu.”

And now the team of chefs are grossly offended, the hosts flag a not-so-good profile about you, the managers reprimand the wait staff, the owner begrudgingly writes a response letter, and everyone complains to fellow industry mates about the people who “just don’t get it.”

No one wins.

Except for that everyone-loves-them couple—remember them?—who did their research.

Plan To Dine, Not Just Eat

This, too, might seem like a “huh?” statement, but I promise you it is not. For example, dinner for two in Restaurant Eve’s Tasting Room takes at least three hours. It’s a multi-course menu; the pace is intended to be leisurely. Even if you aren’t indulging in a tasting menu and plan to order a la carte, it is always worth asking the reservationist how much time you should plan to allow. Otherwise you just might miss out on a signature yum-yum that takes 20 minutes to make.

Sadly, I’ve seen too many celebrations cut short, guests trying to rush through their courses because the babysitter has to leave by 9:00 p.m.. No matter how special the occasion or how delicious the food, it is almost impossible to relax and enjoy your dinner if you are dining under a deadline.

All that relaxing during dinner feels like it is just taking forever if a later commitment is on your mind. You begin to glare at the couple next to you as they happily chat up the sommelier about their first trip to Bordeaux, and perhaps they should have him select a grand cru from the region because that’s where they got engaged. The sommelier is happy to oblige and share his knowledge of the terroir because, of course, this is his thing. He recently left your table to allow you time to peruse the wine list, because of course you couldn’t possibly be ready. The wait staff are all smiles as they approach you with the glorious amuse course, Hamachi flown in from so-and-so, and all you are thinking is: “What!? We’re not even on the first course!?”

And that translates to a letter, or worse an anonymous online review: “Service took too long.”

And now the team of waiters are grossly offended, the hosts flag a not so good profile about you, the managers reprimand the kitchen, the owner begrudgingly writes a response letter and everyone complains to fellow industry mates about the couple who, “ Just don’t get it.”

No one wins.

Except for … um, that couple who did the research.

Parking Matters

In an ideal world every restaurant would have valet service or a garage next door, and some restaurants do.

Find out.

Because spending 20 minutes searching for street parking, circling and circling, realizing you are going to get a ticket because you don’t even have any quarters, then hobbling over cobblestones in your fancy shoes after you’ve parked in Siberia, can get any evening off to a bad start.

Now you are agitated. You were already running behind to meet your date, who’s now been waiting a total of 30 minutes, and your heels are scuffed from being caught on the cobblestones. (Which, by the way, a guest once complained was our fault.)

The restaurant, too, is in a bit of a predicament. The timing delay has now caused a significant hiccup in the designated seating choreography—the diners who are to occupy the table after you need a table ready when they arrive on time. The host begins the shuffle dance, so it will be yet another few minutes until you are finally seated.

And that translates to a letter, or worse an anonymous online review: “I didn’t have to run around like a maniac, get a ticket and ruin my shoes, because my table wasn’t even ready.”

And now the team of hosts … Well, you know what happens next.

Any one of these scenarios could serve as strike one against the restaurant. And through the course of dinner, as I’ve seen happen again and again, you are subconsciously preparing yourself to find strike two.

It’s human nature. Being a dinner myself, I’ve done it, too.

These are some of the consequences when you neglect your restaurant karma.

No one wins.

Except for that over the moon, everyone loves them couple who are savoring the perfect oysters, onions and osetra they looked forward to all week, knowing it was a house specialty, not worrying about their ticketless car parked in the nearby garage, laughing with the sommelier and toasting each other with champagne since the babysitter isn’t expecting them until they decide it’s time to go home.

Their perfect evening didn’t just happen. It was a direct result of being prepared and having an attitude that creates good karma.

The day I realized this, all my dining experiences changed for the better. And yours can too.


–Meshelle Armstrong, co-owner Restaurant Eve, Eamonn’s a Dublin Chipper, PX, The Majestic, Virtue Feed & Grain, Society Fair. *Edited for truth and consistency by Kate Ahner, my old reservations manager
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Original article published in Northern Virginia Magazine

Chef Armstrong Wows Guests at an Intimate Summit Series Dinner

What a dinner party!!  Friday night Restaurant Eve Chef Cathal Armstrong, together with Seattle chef Micheal Hebb, prepared a family-style dinner at the private home of AOL co-founder Jim Kimsey (who happens to also dine regularly at Restaurant Eve).  Dinner guests included David Blaine, master illusionist, Sean Parker, founder of Napster & Founding President of Facebook, Chase Jarvis, award-winning photographer and 30 other young remarkable leaders of our generation.

Hosted by The Gate Foundations and Elliott Bisnow, founder of the Summit Series (an invite-only gathering of 500 "world changers" with the presenting participants include Bill Clinton, Mark Zuckerberg, Ted Turner, Jay-Z & John Legend).

This year's Summit Series dinner attendees received an invitation and intriguing provocation that set the conversation for the evening, a postmodern Socratic symposium complete with fantastic, taste bud provoking fare.

Armstrong's menu? Platters of Braised Short Ribs with vegetables from his own garden.  The topic of conversation, aside from merriment and extreme networking - The  Declaration of Independence and our founding fathers.  Gastronome Thomas Jefferson would have been proud.

David Blaine stopped by Eve in November and shared a card trick with our kitchen staff!  Here is the video, featured on Washington Citypaper's "Young and Hungry" blog, written by Tim Carman



David Blaine Makes Magic at Eve

Return of the Soft Shell

A weathered man appeared in the backdoor to Eve’s kitchen. Everyone on the line looked up at the purveyor and the cooks, who have worked at Eve for all four seasons, turned a slight smile.

“Ya intrasted in soft shells?” the crab man hollered to Chef. “I’ve got the first of the season, extra large.” Chef immediately gave a nod and thumbs up to Chef Jeremy, the chef de cuisine.

“Yes, sir,” Chef Jeremy responded, “we’ll take everything you’ve got.”

And so begins soft shell crab du jour.

In our region, soft shell crabs are blue crabs in process of molting their shells. They must molt their shell since they’ve grown over the winter season and require a larger size, usually about 30% larger. Perfectly timing a molting crab’s adventure from fisherman to feast is paramount as it only takes hours before a crab begins to develop a “paper shell,” which will affect its taste and texture.

In the Chesapeake, molting occurs from now through September. Procuring soft shells is hard work. Generally, fishermen catch “peeler” crabs, which are crabs on the brink of molting. A “peeler” can be distinguished from a non-peeler by the color of the crab’s swimming fin; a pale pink or red color indicates molting is eminent. The peelers are then held in molting tanks and carefully watched. Once a crab molts, it is swiftly plucked from the tank and sent out to local kitchens that day.

When it comes to soft shells we are traditionalists at Eve and deep fry our softies in tempura batter. They are served with ramp aïoli, marinated red onions and violas – yum.

She's off! Mother Nature Running Rampant

A sure sign of spring in our kitchen is the arrival of ramps. This garlicky, spring oniony, leeky member of the onion family arrives freshly picked from the Appalachian trail. Chef took the ramps, blanched and blended them into a fresh, grassy green puree. I watched him eagerly sample his creation. Immediately he smiled and hollered out a jolly, “WhoooHoo!” in response to the mouthful of spicy hot ramp blend lingering in his mouth. After a slight adjustment, we’ve been serving the puree alongside loin of Broken Arrow Ranch Venison with gnocchi and morels in the tasting room.

Ramps are most well known and highly celebrated in West Virginia, the state of the union where ramps grow, well, rampant.

Locals love their ramps and hold festivals in adulation of the veggie every spring. A notable festival is held in Richwood, West Virginia and is sponsored by the National Ramp Association. Yes, there is more than one NRA! In Richwood, ramp aficionados from across the country gather to sample and evaluate the season’s first bounty. The Cosby Ramp Festival began in 1954 and once hosted over 30,000 people. In Cosby, they crown a young woman the “Maid of Ramps” each year. I’d most like to attend the fete titled, “Stinkfest” in Bradford, Pennsylvania. Ramps notoriously carry a pungent odor which inspired Bradford’s citizens to hold Stinkfest Outhouse Races, where teams rig outhouses with wheels, decorate and propel them down roads at high speeds in the name of an onion. Food festivals like these, although quirky, serve as a fantastic way to explore local, fresh and seasonal foods; ramp festivals will be occurring through mid-May.

Anyone doubting the wonder of the ramp should know ramps are currently the subject of cancer prevention and treatment studies because of their high selenium and sulfur content.

Although chef’s puree is consuming most of our ramps, we’ve found a home for some stragglers in the tasting room on Berkswell cheese with roasted garlic puree and garlic chives and also in the bistro alongside raw Hamachi, Candied Ginger and Carrot Puree.