IMPROVE THE STARCHES. A chef I respect once told me he spends about twice as much time on starches as he does on meats. “Starches,” he said, “are the key to a diner’s heart.” Avila: Listen up. At brunch, if you’re going to serve ebelskiver, those spherical pancakes stuffed with huckleberries and cream cheese, make them sweet enough. You have it in you: Your housemade bread is terrific (loved the knots of soft challah) and your tater tots, little truffle-oiled matchstick-potato hedgehogs with mashed potato centers, are just wicked yummy—particularly when dredged through tart plum ketchup.
REMEMBER THAT SERVERS SHOULD BE LEADERS. As so often happens when back-of-the-house folks become restaurant owners, the front of the house suffers. One friendly, attentive waiter had us in the palm of her hand, leading us expertly through the menu. Not so the others, who provided little direction on a menu that begged for it (“Everything is good!”) and at least one who haplessly seated us at a table we said we didn’t want. People.
FOCUS ON EXECUTION. A restaurant charging $25 for entrees has no business letting visibly wilted Bibb lettuce salads leave the kitchen. (Pity: The tarragon dressing was lovely.) A salmon steak was undercooked, an omelet overcooked, a chopped salad overdressed. From our table we consistently spied more cooks in the kitchen than diners in the house. And this is the kitchen that gave us a gnocchi starter with Dungeness and horseradish bread crumbs that was so subtly, mellowly terrific, I scrawled “Best appetizer of the year!” in my notebook.
You can do this.
DIAL DOWN THE PRETENSION. You are hip—great streetside bar, a particular affinity for appetizers…even a plywood floor, for pete’s sake. So exploit it already. Ditch the high-end focus and become the affordable, drop-in, stylish-with-good-food joint Wallingford actually needs.
Because face it: On that piece of 45th, you’re sitting smack in the middle of a string of other one-word restaurants— Joule, Sutra, Tilth —which pretty much corner the market on food that’s originally conceived, impeccably sourced, and priced accordingly. No sense taking them on when you could apply your considerable wit and verve to something a little more suited to weeknight casual than weekend destination. You’re already doing it with your lunches and brunches, both priced more for a deli than a dining room.
Do it for dinner, too, and your makeover will be complete. And we’ll call you for the reality show.
Published: March 2010
Add a Comment
We retain the right to remove comments containing personal attacks or excessive profanity, and comments unrelated to the editorial content.