IN THE KITCHEN: Antelope Scrapple

Crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, the scrapple at Restaurant Eve is embellished on a bed of hash brown and with a poached Polyface Farm chicken egg -- and of course a drizzle of Path Valley Farms maple syrup to honor the sweet and savory balance that one would expect before the afternoon (or any time in the day for that matter).

WHY WE LOVE IT:

While traditional scrapple is made from a blend of pork, Eve's scrapple is made from ground antelope, sauteed, and seasoned with white pepper, cayenne, onions and garlic, bound with a cornmeal slurry. It is then sliced and panfried. It's the rustic staple of Philly revisited

PAYING HOMAGE:

Often referred to as "Philadelphia Scrapple," the dish actually originated in the Eastern Pennsylvania farmlands of German settlers (and is it any coincidence that our chef de cuisine, Jeremy is from Pennsylvania...). Scrapple was popular among the Pennsylvania Dutch because they needed a way to work hard and reward themselves with stick-to-your-ribs food on a budget. They coined the name from "scrap" or "scrappy," meaning they made their scrapple from odds and ends of leftover pig meat ground with cornmeal and spices.

Antelope scrapple takes the concept from the farm to the four star dining table. What better way to get the note of history with a modern twist?

Back of the House: Working It

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

Staffing a new restaurant is rough business. I know; we’ve just opened one.

There are 12 million employees in the restaurant industry in the USA, which makes it the second largest employer in the nation after the government.

With those numbers you’d think that the staffing pool would be pretty plentiful. And it is. But the good ones are hard to find. Really hard to find. Normally, when a restaurant is already in operation you don’t really notice how many people apply for positions. The restaurant industry is just like a revolving door, swooping in, swooping out–someone’s either coming from Miami or moving to Miami.

So, with the one-in, one-out scenario you forget what it’s like to interview en masse.

Hours were spent interviewing the open call applicants for our new restaurant, trying to find those few people that can be molded to our ways–to see the hospitality light.

Throughout the lengthy interview process our managers had organized I would wander in from time to time, nodding here and there at the few hopefuls that I thought were possibilities: good body language, attentive, taking notes, asking the right questions because they did their homework per the ad–“Know who we are as a restaurant group before you apply.”

Then there were the others: unkempt and slouchy, “Uh, are you all like part of {insert restaurant group, clearly not us} ?” Many answering our questions with “Um, yeah,” and my favorite, “So, how much money am I gonna make here?” This particular lot got the immediate, “Thank you for coming–now out, out, out.”

But the one that sticks out in my mind was the 20-something girl who arrived in a super short, denim skirt (one she really should not have been wearing, never mind to an interview).

She chewed and cracked gum the whole time with a beyond laissez-faire ‘tude.

“Yeah, I wanna be a bartender. It’s a good way to meet dudes.”

Following her triumphant interview, she untwisted her coke bottle top (while it was cradled between her legs)–sssffftttt–put her wait-a-sec finger up and took a long, gulping swig.

Ok, Miss Two Scoops of Crazy, amusing but ah, no, we shan’t be needing those very apt services.

I did actually think about telling her the truth as to why she would not be hired. Instead, I just smiled and sent the hot mess on her way–to someone else. While part of me wanted to pass on a few tips on how to get hired, I realized she wouldn’t even have a clue what I was saying–she was already too far gone.

Attitude, I cannot teach.

We hire all our people first based on attitude. We look for that very special mix of humbleness and confidence. Everything else after that can be learned.

Skills, I can teach.

How to properly host dinner for various services: silver, American, Russian. How to properly clear a table. How to properly decant wine.

But before even all that, there is a very simple list: our own personal collection of what NOT to do when waiting on patrons. It’s a compilation of 100+”no-no’s”. Many were gathered and passed on by my peers before me, others I’ve collected while in the moment of processing voids, comping, and sweet-talking my way out of my staff’s why-didyou-say/do-that fiascos. And one I’ve added on as recently as yesterday.

While I am already thrilled with many of our newest “restaurant family” members, I know some of them will not make it. Regardless of restaurant style, fine dining or a casual tavern, diners are tough, and many downright mean (Coming soon to Back of the House). So I have to give our doe-eyed hopefuls that home team advantage. If they can at least remember most items on this list, it will extend their serving career and even more importantly make you, the diner, happier.

I won’t share the whole list, for fear of sounding like a tyrant and getting booed out by one of those 12 million restaurant employees. If you want to know the rest, you’ll just have to apply.

They are not listed in any particular order or level of ‘badness.’ And Restaurant Eve’s list is a bit more involved. But this will give you an idea of what you should expect from (I can’t speak for everyone else) most floor staff. And promise me this: if you ever see any of our people–new, old, the fine dining captains, or even the counter kings (the gents that work Eamonn’s chip shoppe)–performing any of the following ‘no-no’ hi-jinks, send me an email.

But remember, my newbies are still learning; after a month of being open, then we can rant.

And if there are any restaurant employee actions that you find particularly egregious–send me an email. I may or may not already have them noted but I’d love to know if my list is complete.

Oh, and here are a couple of those preinterview tips I really wanted to share with Miss Chug-alug.

Remember:

Chances are you won’t be hired (but you’ll certainly make me laugh) if a well crafted resume full of your passions for the food industry is sent from an email address such as: hottotrot76, boytoy, or the best ever, u_a_lzyfkr (yes, these are some I have received). Better to refrain from sending any of those handles.

Chances are you won’t be hired if your answer to “Why did you leave your previous job?” is: “I couldn’t get along with the the manager.”

Chances are you won’t be hired if in the interview you are given a schedule of the shifts and your reply is, “Oh, that won’t work for me, is it possible to come in later?”

But that’s just me.

Ok, on to the follies:

Never call a table of women, guys, or anyone “dude.” (This rule should just apply in general terms.)

Never say “no problem” or “uh huh” to a guest’s “thank you.” The only appropriate reply is “you are welcome.” (Again, this rule applies to life skills.)

Never try to pick up or make moves on anyone while you are waiting on them. (If you don’t get the date, you still have to wait on them.)

Never compliment one person at the table. (You’re basically telling all the others that they don’t pass muster.)

Never say or ask a single diner, “ Oh, you are alone tonight?”

Never interrupt a conversation to recite specials. It’s like saying, “Excuuuuse me, I’m in a hurry and what I have to say is way more important.”

Never make comments to a conversation you’ve overheard. (“Oh, sounds like a scary movie.”) They could be talking about their lives. And anyway, no one cares. “Go get my drink” is probably what they’re thinking.

Never say “I don’t know” to any question without following with, “I’ll find out.”

Never touch, pat or dust a guest. Even if they are regulars, hands off.

Never say, “Still working on that?” (Work?)

Never use profanity even if the guests do. You are not cool, you’re just rude.

Never clear plates from a table if someone is still eating. (No one wants to be the last one eating while the others are looking at you and thinking “hurry up.”)

Never bite your fingernails, scratch your crotch or run fingers through your hair. Gross.

Never stand idle or chat to your fellow staff while empty or full tables are covered with dirty dishes. (If I see you, trust me, I’ll give you more work.)

Never have a personal conversation with another waiter within earshot of customers. (They do not want to know what you did over the weekend, they want attention.)

Never hustle the most expensive items– “You should have the lobster, it’s my favorite and the most popular.” The lobster is not the prom queen, and you sound like you’re pumping the check.

Never drink alcohol on the job, even if invited by the guests. “Thank you, but not when I’m on duty,” is the proper response.

Never say, “Good choice.” What? The other choices are bad.

Never blame the kitchen, bar, host, runner or the weather for anything that goes wrong. Just make it right.

Never overly turn on the charm at tip time. Be charming throughout. And anyway, everyone knows “the rub.”

Never pick up or clear dirty glasses with “the claw.” Finger fungus does exist. Enough said.

Never say–and boy I know this because I personally made this mistake, in my early days–never say, “Would you like a third, (or fourth, or fifth) glass of wine?”

And the one I added (and it’s been a long times since) after overhearing a conversation between a guest and one of our now Ex staff members–Never answer a question with an idiotic reply:

Guest: “What’s served under the scallops?’
Waiter: “Oh, some white mushy stuff.”

It was risotto. And I think his head was full of white mushy stuff. If you don’t know the answer, don’t play cute or stupid. Go find out and study your menu. This is your job.

So there they are, ‘The Nevers’. Reading them again brings back so many fond memories. Here’s hoping they stick–to serve you well.

And to the would be snarkers, yes, I also have a detailed list of the “do’s”. But for some reason the dont’s are far easier to remember.

I adore our staff, they work very hard. But make no mistake, they know very well what they are getting into when they punch the clock in ‘our house’. Our expectations are high–they have to be.

–Meshelle Armstrong, co-owner Restaurant Eve, Eamonn’s a Dublin Chipper, PX, The Majestic, Virtue Feed & Grain, Society Fair.

IN THE KITCHEN: Maryland Soft-Shell Crab

If you're a fan of biting through a crispy exterior to discover the succulent, soft, flavorful interior of the Maryland soft-shell blue crab, now is the time to get it (in season April - September).

WHY WE LOVE IT:

A delicacy that requires the appropriate handling and care, our soft-shell crabs are local. Marylanders are in for a treat; Maryland's colder waters and estuaries produce a blue crab that's higher in favorable fat. There are actually only a few species of crab that can be eaten in this form: the soft-shell of a blue crab is reminiscent of the crispy layer wrapped around an egg roll.  Chef prepares it fried in powdered starch with an organic young basil pesto, topped on house-baked bread.

PAYING HOMAGE:

Callinectes sapidus, the scientific name of the soft-shell blue crab, reveals a poetic reverence to this delicacy. Derived from Latin and Greek, calli  means beautiful, nectes - swimmer, and sapidus - savory.

So the next time you're trying to order off the menu, just go ahead and ask for the beautiful, savory, swimmer -- we'll know what you mean.

Bread: My Morning Friend

It's this smell I look forward to most on mornings I arrive at Restaurant Eve. As soon as I pass through the swinging door beside the bar, the smell of freshly baked goods, with a hint of sweetness, like warm cookies, reaches me and I find myself taking a deeper inhale through the nose. 

The first morning I ever walked through that door I was alert once the smell reached me - there always seems to be a few seconds delay - and immediately needed to know where this smell was coming from: Where are the cookies? Is someone baking? Do I get some? Green as I was, I of course asked the first person I saw about the smell and he pointed down to a brown paper bag holding loaves of freshly baked bread, like babies, packed close together for warmth. 

It didn't take long for me to learn that all of the bread for Restaurant Eve, The Majestic, and Eamonn's is baked by the in-house baker at Eve, Nathan Hatfield (Jr.). Chef kindly informed me that Eve offers 7-9 different types of bread daily, 3 for the bistro menu, 3 for the tasting menu, a brioche, a special bread for cheese platters, even crackers for soups. It all makes sense to me now: bread, the perfect compliment to any dish, the sponge for sauces, dips, or anything left over that just can't be left alone on the plate. 

Now this smell is my morning coffee, getting me ready for the day. But, not long after I discovered this olfactory stimulant, I learned that once the new market, Society Fair opens, the baking for all the restaurants will be done there, where the freshly baked bread will also be sold. I'll savor the smell while I can. Then, I can buy loaves to stash in my kitchen and write more about not only the smell, but also the taste.

Back of the House: Quit Fronting

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 II

“. . .Brrriiiiinggg . . .”

“Good evening, thank you for calling Restaurant Eve. How may I help you?”

“Yes, I need a reservation for this Saturday night for a party of four.”

“Oh, my apologies sir, we are fully committed this Saturday, may I check another date for you.”

“Um, well, perhaps you should check again. This is Mr. Ralph, I am a good friend of Chef KethelArmstrong and my dinner companion is a notable blogger from Boston.”

The die was cast.

There are a few unwritten rules when it comes to acquiring a hard-to-get reservation.

Remember back when I said you might not always like what you hear?

Depending on your reservation habits, this might be that time.

An entire section of DON’Ts could easily come across as negative or snarky, especially since the hospitality industry is basically designed to be, well, hospitable.

You don’t go to a fine dining restaurant to have the waiters tell you how you should use your utensils or listen to the chef tell you how you should eat your food … So who am I to tell you what you shouldn’t do when you try to make a reservation?

Read on.

My day is far more pleasant when it’s spent assisting nice people who trust that I’m going to do my best to make their dining wishes happen. But sometimes it’s waaay easier to deal with a jackass.

Doling out the bad-news-blow to someone who took five minutes of my life away dispensing bombastic “But don’t you know who I am?!” drivel is on the spot fun. (“Oh, I do have one at 7:30 p.m. … oh no. I’m so sorry, I was mistaken, the 9 looked like a 7.”)

Especially, when Mr. “Jacques Haas” even had the nerve to swear a bit.

Now, it still troubles me when I can’t find a table for the genuine sort: new parents trying to squeeze in their anniversary dinner or that anxious but charming gentleman trying to plan his honey’s birthday. I know it sucks, been there.

Most of you—and I do mean most (somewhere in the 95 percent area)—will find the following what notto do instructions laughable. You’ll probably even have a “Nah-uh, people do that?!?” moment.

The other 5 percent—well, you know who you are.

DON’T lie.

Never, ever, ever.

Some people are so desperate in their quest to get a table that they tell loopy whoppers. I can’t tell you how many calls I get from “close, personal friends” of my husband, Cathal, who don’t know how to pronounce his first name. His name is Cathal (silent ‘t’) not Cathay, (he’s not a woman) Carl (“but isn’t that the American version?”), or my favorite, Chatall (which puts me in stitches because it somehow reminds me of the fabulous movie, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, whose plot is based on the journey of three drag queens).

Or, the most hilare is when they are “close, personal friends” of mine and they are talking . . . to me. Caught in the BS! But of course, I then have to pretend not to be me:

“Oh, I’m sure she would have been so upset to have missed you, but unfortunately 9:30 p.m. is still the only availability .”

And, here’s a good one: Saturday night tables filled with guests eating, chatting, proposing—you know, the usual—patrons spilling out of the bar, waiting for their reservations, and me at the desk (when it was my gig) chatting with guests and sending my hosts to far corners of the dining rooms for the in-house status reports.

Two gentlemen present themselves for a 7:30 p.m. reservation in the Tasting Room. Immediately I tune out all the chatter from the bar and dining rooms and focus all of my attention on the gentlemen and the booked-solid floor plan in front of me.

Something has gone very, very wrong.

We never ever have a Saturday 7:30 p.m. reservation for two in the Tasting Room (It just doesn’t work out—the table can never have a second seating, so it’s reserved for four).

Panic sets in when I cannot find a record of them or their reservation anywhere in the computer or in the “Black Book” (the actual book of written floor plans and timing—we have a double-entry system, sort of as a backup; it’s easy to spot errors this way).

Anyway, in these situations I always give guests the benefit of the doubt. I know that mistakes and miscommunications happen, and wherever the fault lies, it’s my job to make it right. I begin to explain the situation and invite the gentlemen to relax with a cocktail while I sort everything out.

Internally, my brain is in hyper drive: think, think, who’s on dessert? Who looks fine drinking at the bar and can I give their table to the two standing in front of me?

But I am cut off when the “gentlemen” in question proceed to throw down the Veruca Salt tantrum.

To drown out my apologies and offers of a solution, the “gentlemen” get louder. Guests in the bar start to notice that there is drama brewing, (you know how everyone loves drama) so soon we have an audience—dinner and a show, everybody!

The “gentlemen” notice the on-lookers and begin to really lay it on, dropping details about Restaurant Eve’s unprofessionalism and how they should have gone to the “other restaurant.”

Then they strike:

“Listen, we made this reservation last week with a young man who seemed pre-tee flaky over the phone. Maybe you should train your staff better, because this is just ridiculous.”

My insides begin to churn and my sympathy, gone.

Big fibbers.

We didn’t have a single male host at Restaurant Eve (at the time), and the servers are not permitted to answer the phones, so I know flaky reservations boy is either totally invented or employed at another restaurant, probably annoyed that his 7:30 p.m. two-top is late. But my gut serves me well, as when I inform them (in the slowest speech I can manage to really draw it out) that a 7:30 p.m. never existed and all hosts are female, they quieted down real quick (still a show, remember) and slinked off into the night, one whispering to the other, “See, now where do we go?”

The moral of this story: “Big fat liars, tried to embarrass us into giving them a table.” So don’t lie.

DON’T book a reservation you KNOW you can’t make

Here’s a tip for all of you spontaneous types: if you can be flexible, it’s worth calling on the day you’d like to dine. Generally restaurants call to confirm reservations at least a day in advance. On Thursday mornings I know we’ll have a few cancellations for the weekend, and if we can’t reach anyone on the wait-list we open those tables up for new callers.

I can’t guarantee that you’ll be able to hitch one of those last-minute tables, but I do know I can count on those cancellations. It seems like one of the laws of the universe. Those cancellation calls even all sound the same, like the guests and I are reading from the same script:

“Hello Dr. Ralph, this is Restaurant Eve calling to confirm your 6 p.m. reservation for two this Saturday.”

“Oh, hello. Anything open up at, like 7:30 p.m.?”

“I’m very sorry, sir, but we are still fully committed at that time.”

“Then I’m just going to have to cancel.”—Click.

This is why reservations are so hard to get. Every time you book a reservation you have no intention of keeping, someone else can’t get a table. You know in your heart when you are resentfully making your“ugh, who eats at that hour” reservation, you aren’t going to keep it.

Go on, let it go. Leave it for someone who will.

DON’T name-drop yourself

This isn’t lying so much as overstating. Dropping a title without explanation as you try to imply that you are someone the host should know makes all of us roll the eyes to heaven.

When you start your conversation with, “This is Dr. Ralph and I need a table for four,” or “Congressman X wants a table on the 3rd,” the host starts racing through her mental Rolodex:

“Dr. Ralph? Is that Chef’s doctor? No… one of his cousins? Guy on T.V show? Crap!”

As you carry on a seemingly normal conversation, she starts furiously looking up guest records—“Dr. Ralph, Dr. Ralph, which Dr. Ralph? Fred? Thomas?”—until she realizes that the reason she doesn’t recognize your name is because this will be your first visit to the restaurant.

Hosts hate this because it makes them feel like you think they won’t do their jobs unless you’re a VIP. Or even worse, that you are trying to trick them by making yourself sound highfalutin.

There is no need to lean on your title.

Gucci, Pucci, Hoochie. As long as we have the table, you like to eat (and can pay), it’s all good.

To us, everyone is a VIP. Until proven otherwise.

Like in my daughter, Eve’s, class: everyone starts with an A. It’s what you do that can lose it.

So avoid earning yourself that un-VIP-able status. (Refer to the first DO in part one of this column.) It’s our job to make you feel special, to make you feel cared for. We will try every bit as hard to fit in a straightforward ‘Miss, or Mr.’ as we will a General.

And my personal bête noir: If you mention that you’re a frequent Yelp-er or Chowhound-er as a scare tactic to acquire a reservation or to gain special treatment you should be officially forced to carry the scarlet fork. It not only makes you sound like a real git but you give a bad name to some of the really good, committed to food and dining blogs out there, who call for reservations like everyone else. During dinner as we engage you, who you are and what food scene jazzes you will naturally emerge. And we’ll be thrilled that you’ve chosen us.

In the viral age, many have the “I eat – therefore I review” mentality, unfortunately the power of the slapdash keystroke has gone to some of their heads:

“It’s reeeally too bad you don’t have anything this Saturday—I was planning on reviewing you. Have you heard of fudiefan.com?”

Seriously, if this is your behavior on the phone, imagine what we have to fear when you actually arrive.

I’d rather give the table to the person who won’t write about us, and take my chances with the good ol’ word of mouth critique. I can’t speak for others but strong-arming me with a “are you sure you want to say ‘no’ to me” tactic won’t work.

To us, everyone is a critic.

——————————————————————————————————

So there they are, a few unwritten reservation rules, written.

Whether or not you get that one available table is up to you.

But I promise you, if you mind the “don’ts” and practice the “do’s”, you will notice a significant upgrade in your reservation karma, and your personal ‘guests notes’ (notes given to you based on your history) will be flagged by hosts everywhere to read:

“(Insert your name) . . . a first-class diner.”

–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*

____________________________________________________________

Original article published in Northern Virginia Magazine

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*

_____________________________________________________

Original article published in Northern Virginia Magazine