I had the pleasure of not only helping to stir a few pots in menu development but also designing the menus for the events.  It was a fast job finished just as the Razor team’s wheels were down at LAX but we would have it no other way.  Tight timing always helps to catalyze the creative process.  I used the Bauhaus-ian layout and Bauhaus font in conjunction with a script font as a play of traditional/modern (Bauhaus as one of the foundational traditions of modernism) within a relationship of modern/traditional (Bauhaus modernism to vaguely Renaissance script representing traditional practice in food and wine preparation).

Maybe I was overthinking it?  But fun to do nevertheless!

Searching the internets I found the very thorough Wandering Chopsticks blog and her recipe for a pork Banh Mi which called for, among other things, ‘Char Siu’, a Chinese Barbecued Pork.  I liked what I saw.  But I also came across Sam Sifton’s article in the New York Times about the pork spareribs that chef Zak Palaccio does at his Fatty ‘Cue restaurant.  I liked that also.  I decided to combine the two.

I deboned a pork shoulder.  I then prepared the fish sauce and garlic brine from the Fatty ‘Cue recipe, making the apartment smell quite funky.  Not feeling any need to tie the meat, the shoulder went into the chilled brine and then into the fridge overnight.  I had a few more minutes (Alton was still on) so I also made a simple pickle of julienned carrot and daikon radish with white vinegar, salt and sugar.  That also went into the fridge to mellow.

The next morning I pulled the pork out of the brine and dried it off.  I then prepared the Char Siu marinade from the Wandering Chopsticks recipe.  Smearing that all over the shoulder, the pork went back into the fridge for another two hours.  Was this overkill?  Hopefully not.  I then roasted the shoulder according to the Chopsticks recipe although here the instructions were a bit vague.  The recipe allowed for pretty much any cut of pork from a should to a loin or belly.  So, naturally, cooking times would vary.  But since my pork shoulder was on the thick side I figured my cooking time would be on the long side so I let it go for about two hours, only occasionally prodding it with a thermometer near the end to make sure the internal temperature was 165F (74C).  Hitting that mark I then did as the recipe said and put it under the broiler for a few minutes on both sides to let the sugars caramelize a bit more.

ton, When the pork shoulder rested enough to handle I cut it into thin slices.  And tasted it of course.  The meat was out of control good.  A depth of taste complexity, sweetness, spice and fishy funk that I had not ever before achieved.  This was getting exciting.  I then made the Wandering Chopsticks dead simple pate recipe of not much more than chicken livers, fish sauce and butter.  Also very good.

Time to assemble the sandwiches.  A relatively soft baguette gets smeared with the chicken liver pate on one side.  The other side of the bread would typically get a mayo application but not wanting to overplay the fat content of the sandwich, not to mention that I didn’t have any on hand, I skipped this step.  I then loaded in warm pork slices, sprigs of fresh cilantro, sticks of cucumber, some of the pickled daikon and carrot  and topped it all of with a little bit of Sriracha.  Amazingly good.  And surprising how close my pork banh mi was to ones I had that were professionally made.  Serving this makes you look like you know what you’re doing.  For a depth of taste that has real profundity, the combination of barbecued pork, pate, fresh herbs and vegetables in a bahn mi is hard to beat.

Not having the foresight to book a table in the dining room well enough in advance, we hoped that eating at the bar would be an available option.  Initially, it looked like all the bar seats were already taken.  But through some sort of miracle that only super-professional and generous staffs can manage, we soon found ourselves seated and looking at menus.  We chose the five course chef’s tasting menu.  The fullest experience would have been the eight course dinner.  But in a foreign land as we were and concerned about return train times and babysitter attitude we decided that the five course dinner would allow us to experience most of the restaurant’s offerings without being rushed.  The big decision taken care of we settled in for dinner.  Having eaten several times at Blue Hill Restaurant in Manhattan (and the immense pleasure of working in its kitchen a couple times) we knew we were in for a treat.  Chef Dan Barber has become very well know for his sensitive use of seasonal vegetables, herbs and fruits.  So we were excited by the prospect of chef Barber having all of the farm’s varied and carefully grown produce right there at his fingertips.

Very quickly we found ourselves embarking on the unfolding culinary showcase of what the Stone Barns farm had to offer.  Our dinner began with raw baby vegetables, some lightly glazed in a brief brine, skewered on tines set into a block of wood, something of a trademark for Blue Hill.  We then got roasted cantaloupe shots to accompany slices of house cured ham and amazingly flavorful bresaola.  No need for forks with this course, the saline fat of the ham and beef tasting great on my fingers.  Next came a roasted veal bone split open to give access to the deliciously melted marrow and topped with American sturgeon caviar.  A minimalist take on the familiar surf and turf.  At London’s St. John their famous roasted bone marrow is served with a lemony parsley salad and sea salt to cut the fattyness of the marrow.  Here the salty caviar doesn’t so much cut the taste of the marrow as it does accent it, opening up the taste of it in your mouth as if blown in on an ocean wind.

Things really picked up with the next course, a salad of garden vegetables served with dollops of yogurt.  The varied amalgamation of vegetables was amazing, the several beans lightly cooked and tasting nicely ‘beany’, the different tomatoes sweet and juicy orbs of acid zing.  The yogurt was light as a cloud, more of a foam than a cream, it’s soured tang marrying wonderfully with what we were told was a cantaloupe vinaigrette.  Also delicious.

My memory is failing me at the moment as to the exact order but I am pretty sure the next course we were served was Blue Hill’s current ‘farm egg’ dish.  A breaded egg, still soft in the center served on a delicious pool of multi-colored curried beans.  Sort-of a twist on two traditional British dishes, Scotch eggs and Indian congee.  That was our guess anyway.

We were next presented with a dish of poached lobster in a dairy-less corn chowder.  The lobster was amazing.  Cooked perfectly.  And the corn, for having no dairy, tasted profoundly of sweet butter.  Olive oil we were told.  Bathing the lobster pieces in the broth tasted like Summer by the sea in a bowl.  But why go dairy-less in the middle of a cow-filled farm?  Was this just a show of technique and execution?  Whatever it was it was delicious.

The course following might have been my favorite.  Duck breast and beets.  A very pretty composition on the plate, the duck was two slices cut from the breast, seasoned beautifully, the skin seared to crackling perfection.  This was presented with beets two ways, small roasted beets with leaves still on and long twisting slivers of raw beet, all marinated in a raspberry vinaigrette.  The dressing accentuated the inherent sweetness of the beets and all combined with the duck in a wonderful salty-sweet richness.

If the duck was my favorite of the evening, the final savory course was a very close second.  Presented as grass-fed beef with ‘milk and carrots’, this dish was a cow-lovers dream come true.  Three slices of beautiful beautiful beef, prepared sous vide to a soft rosey done-ness, seasoned and then quickly seared to give the edges a slight tooth of salty carmelization.  This was served with a sauce made of tender chunks of carrots simmered in milk.  The sauce made slightly sweet by the carrots, it was a simply delicious adornment to an almost flawless piece of beef.

The dessert course was roasted corn ice cream which I really enjoyed.  It was served with a rectangle of cake… was it a corn cake of some sort?  Not sure.  But it was very good.

The one other thing to note is that we were drinking wine from Blue Hill’s ‘By the Glass’ list.  The first rose on the list was a nice beginning in that it was crisp, dry and not very sweet.  I find many roses to be way too sweet for me to enjoy.  So this was a nice wine to start with.  But the big standout for us turned out to be the Hirsch Vineyard’s Blue Hill label pinot noir.  I had been disappointed with pinots a lot recently, most too thin and one-dimensional, but this wine changed my mind.  A really great aroma, the way wine should smell.  And a taste that opened up in the mouth.  And just for the record, we did not know that the Obamas has a bottle of Hirsch when dining at Blue Hill last year.  ’Great minds’ evidently.

The entire Blue Hill staff was delightful.  Not only accommodating our spur-of-the-moment arrival but also very generous with their time, making us feel immediately welcome.  Everyone was knowledgeable about the food and wine, easy to talk to and readily available to answer our questions.  One of the captains even escorted us to a quick peek into the spacious and beautiful Blue Hill at Stone Barns kitchen where chef Barber was overseeing everything.  One of the nicest spaces to cook in I have seen in a long time.

Overall our evening at Stone Barns was simply terrific.  The farm compound itself is gorgeous. It made me -briefly- desire to live in the country and grow beautiful vegetables.  If a farmer’s life looked as rustically modern as this I think I could enjoy it, regardless of the distance from good pizza.  And the food… well, the food was wonderful.  Chef Barber and his Stone Barns team are crafting some seriously good food out there.  Our dinner was spectacular and one which we will remember as among the best we have had.  The little extra effort needed to get to Stone Barns is definitely worth it and a trip that we will surely make again.  Soon.

A similarly (but not quite as) large number of you have also been into a Dunkin’ Donuts.  And invariably stood in line in that Dunkin’ Donuts.  How did that waiting experience compare to the Starbucks line?

I have been thinking recently about how similar both Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts are.  Yet how different.  Both brand’s core products are more similar than it might seem.  Coffee drinks, pastry-type edibles and a few extras.  But I would submit that the experiences in both stores are so different that we might have a hard time thinking of them as competitors.

First and foremost in the brand differentiation is the customer experience of waiting in line in the store.  It is just my conjecture but I will bet that you usually don’t mind the Starbucks ’sequence of experience’ of ordering, paying and then waiting for your drink.  And I will also bet that you usually find the same ’sequence of experience’ at Dunkin’ Donuts to be frustrating and too slow.

Why such a marked difference in experience?  I think it has a lot to do with how each customer is addressed by the brand at points along the sequence path.  At Starbucks the cashier, or brand representative, greets you and takes your order.  For most drink orders, they pass it along to the barrista who is busily making drinks while being visible, and vocal, to the entire store.  The cashier may grab a pastry out of the case or pour a regular coffee for you but they are quickly back to the register for you to pay.  You then move over to the barrista station to wait for your drink which usually takes no more than a couple minutes.

As an aside, the Spring Street Starbucks in New York’s SoHo, one of the busiest stores in the country, recently renovated the space and added a ‘greeter’ position to the experience.  This person greets the customer and asks what they want.  The greeter then radios the order via headset to the barrista about 15 feet (5m) away.  A moment later when you step up to the next open cashier, they ask you your order again to double check as they charge you.  This feels like a redundant step to me and I think the greeter position should be eliminated.  But I appreciate the effort of Starbucks to experiment with new ways of making the purchase experience better.

But back to the discussion at hand.  The Dunkin’ Donuts experience is not very different.  But different enough.  Upon entering, the customer is usually faced with a ‘line forms here’ sign and a small arrow.  Instructions that are missed maybe 10% of the time which can cause ‘next customer’ uncomfortableness.  As you wait in line you watch the cashiers handle each order mostly by themselves, getting the donuts, making the drinks, bagging everything, etc.  Consequently, a lot of time goes by where a customer is standing in front of an untended register.  The perception from the line then starts to change from that of passivity to one of questioning, “is that guy being helped?”  ”Where are the employees?”  ”Why is this taking so long?”  The situation gets even worse when someone orders a sandwich or wrap from their lunch-ish savory menu.  Then the Dunkin’ employees disappear deeper into the back of the store and do stuff with food that can’t easily be seen from the front.  And it takes a long time.  I am willing to bet that many more people have stepped out of a Dunkin’ Donuts line than have stepped out of a Starbucks line.   The perception that things are just moving way too slowly  and that it will take too long to get a coffee is much easier to arrive at in a Dunkin’ Donuts than at Starbucks.

So how might Dunkin’ Donuts improve the customer experience and reinvigorate their brand?  This, of course, is a topic for a much bigger discussion than just this article, but a we can start with a few suggestions…

First, to follow up from the previous descriptions, Dunkin’ Donuts would do well to keep someone at the cashier station and have other staff dedicated to the filling of orders.  Instead of a ‘barrista’ they could be called ‘donuteers’, ‘glazers’, ‘holers’… whatever.  A catchy name that sticks.  But keep them back there filling orders to keep the line moving.

Also, since we are talking about lines, a couple things are very important in regards to the process of ordering and then waiting for that order to get filled.  Dunkin’ Donuts lines typically are standing in front of large areas of unattractive wood laminate.  Essentially visual baffles for the coffee makers they have behind them.  With maybe a shelf full of bags of coffee and plastic travel mugs nearby.  Which amounts to not much.  This view has to change!  A Starbucks line always passes by a chill case full of bottled drinks, prepped sandwiches and salads as well as a case at eye level of pastries.  Often are the times I have walked into a Starbucks after lunch thinking I would just get a coffee and end up succumbing to the temptation of adding a brownie to my order.  Which brings me to a big question: why why why are the donuts at Dunkin’ Donuts behind the cashier???  They should be in your face as you wait in line so you can press your nose up to the glass and get a good look at the dripping chocolate glaze.

The other lesson that can be learned from the Starbucks queue is to always keep the line moving.  Having customers order and move to another location to wait for their drinks is smart planning.  At the very least the movement from one location to the other keeps people in line happy that they continue to move forward and it keeps the post-order customer content in the perception that they are moving to another location so good things must be going on with their order.  Ordering at the cashier and then standing in the same spot to wait gets boring.  And the people in line behind you get antsy.  Even moving just to the side of the register to wait so the next person can place their order gives the subtle feeling that you have been sidelined.  And no one is working on your order.  Many fast food places such as McDonald’s and Burger King do this and it never feels good.

Another suggestion: get rid of your styrofoam cups.  I know that all commercial food retailers struggle with plastic and waste but a styrofoam cup is a big, fat white visual reminder that the drink vessel I am holding will soon be languishing in a landfill somewhere in New Jersey.  When I have a choice between buying a coffee in a styrofoam cup or one in a paper cup – even if I have to cross the street to do it – I will buy the drink in a paper cup every time.  And to make matters worse, having an illustration of the styrofoam cup as part of Dunkin’ Donuts brand identity is a painfully clear message to consumers that the brand has little if any care for the environment.  It shows that Dunkin’ Donuts is out of step with the larger culture as environmental concerns are increasingly important to people and a valuable part of any brand’s message.  So not only loose all styrofaom, but start to talk about how Dunkin’ Donuts has developed an environmental strategy, how it recycles, its energy usage, etc.

Suggestion: Tighten up your franchise rules in regards to… well, in regards to everything.  Some stores look o.k. with appropriately splashy graphics, signage, etc.  Some stores look terrible.  Comfort is also a factor.  I have been in one store near Wall Street that was easily 90 degrees F(32C).  And make rules about promotions applicable brand-wide.  I knew a store near me had a ‘free-donut-with-large-coffee’ situation.  But I was in another part of town.  So when I was in need of caffeine and I spied another Dunkin’ Donuts my mouth started to water for that free donut sugar buzz. So I walked in and ordered my free donut but was immediately told that they didn’t do that.  And then I noticed that their pricing was different.  As was their ‘combo’ price structuring.  Confused, I reduced my order to a small coffee and got out of there.  Price structuring and promotions should be uniform across the brand.  In fact this leads me to my next suggestion:

Get rid of promotions all together.  There is nothing like fierce competition, especially when it comes from yourself.  Promotional sales are a two edged sword.  Sure a cheaper promotional price for an item will draw customers.  But a sale price will also deter some customers when that item is at its regular price as they will decide to hold off on their purchase until the item goes on sale again.  Sales also send the subtle message that the store’s prices are a little higher than they really should be.  Does Starbucks ever have advertised sales on it’s products?  Not that I can recall other than to push new products such as it’s ridiculous VIA line.  If your product is good and its pricing is right. Stand behind it.  There are other methods for drawing customers that can be utilized.

Another suggestion: It is o.k. to experiment with new products in your line but be ruthless in honing your products down to the things that you are really good at.  Dunkin’ Donuts is known for its donuts and its coffee.  Drinks and pastries.  The Coolatta drinks line seems reasonable in that it still resides within the drinks category.  But a tuna salad sandwich on a croissant?  Please.  It is understandable for Dunkin’ to eye the lunch category as a place to expand but it not only does not work it actually dilutes Dunkin’s core identity.  i have never, nor do I think I will ever, hear anyone say, “let’s go to Dunkin’ Donuts for lunch.”  It is a coffee and donuts place, not a fast-food lunch place.  Not only that but ordering something from the savory menu always seems to put the Dunkin’ employees into a confused tail spin and off their game.  They first look bewildered that you ordered a sandwich, then they look annoyed that they have to go prepare it, then they disappear for a while to do it.  Which, of course, then puts the customers in line into a tizzy.  All lending to general uncomfortableness.  Dunkin’ Donuts cannot compete with the McDonald’s of the world for the lunch crowd.  And they never will.  The stores are not set up for it and they shouldn’t attempt it.  Stick with what you are very good at and expand only within those parameters.  Not to mention that it messes with the brand’s identity.

I could go on but I will stop here.  Every time I experience a Dunkin’ Donuts I cannot help but think that it could be done a whole lot better.  Where are the refreshed graphics?  Where are the updated store interiors?  Where are the employees that seem like they care?

There are many opportunities already out there that Dunkin’ could capitalize on that would get people interested.  For one, Dunkin’ Donuts could add a huge line of gourmet donuts with high quality ingredients such as spices and dark chocolate.  They could also do changing lines of promotional donuts with crazy flavors.  Which could be a fun press opportunity.  Or Dunkin’ could ride the tail end of the cupcake craze and do a line of high-end cupcakes.  Or cultural coffee drinks such as Italian granita, Irish coffee, Greek frappe… to name a few.  The ideas that could fit within the brand’s perceived expertise are many and varied.

All of these lessons Dunkin’ Donuts can learn from not only Starbucks, but also the trends showing up in the independent bakeries, patisseries and coffee shops out there already.  Lessons that Dunkin’ would do well to seek out.  Before the brand’s irrelevance becomes too much to overcome.

The next morning I sent a letter to Nick Valenti, head of Patina with a suggestion for a name I thought would be fitting for the new restaurant.  I did not receive a response.  I wasn’t really expecting one.  I knew it was a long shot anyway.  I just came up with the idea and thought it wouldn’t hurt to present it to Mr. Valenti.

Well, today I just read on Grub Street that the name ‘Lincoln’ has been selected for the restaurant.  Fairly straightforward choice I guess.  Not too surprising given some of the other names on Patina’s roster.  But now that the die has been cast I guess I can share with you the name that I had suggested for the restaurant.  Here it is along with my explanation for it that I sent to Mr. Valenti:

Crescere

Crescere is the Italian verb meaning ‘to grow, to increase, to expand’.

The musical term ‘crescendo’ comes from ‘crescere’.

‘Crescendo’ means ‘a gradual increase of anything, especially to a dramatic climax’.

The growth and expansion implied in the name ‘Crescere’ could also reference the architectural ‘expansion’ of the site.

The word ‘crescere’ can also mean ‘to cultivate’.

‘Crescere’, when pronounced correctly, has an unmistakable Italian sound to it, thereby reinforcing the Italian concept of chef Benno’s menu.

Another reason that I think ‘Crescere’ is a perfect name for the restaurant is that the word itself is visually pleasing.

more depth to the referential exploration between the restaurant and it’s context.  ’Crescere’

This negative incentive for chefs to shovel uninspired food to the deal-seeking eaters I find to be a real bummer of a product of the Restaurant Week formula.  I am not sure if these offending chefs of which I speak realize – maybe they do but just don’t care – is that some of us Restaurant Week diners are avid food enthusiasts and are taking the opportunity to try two or three different restaurants instead of just one (hey, not all of us have unlimited budgets) with the thought of returning at a later date for the full-ticket meal if we are wow-ed by what we ate.  But more often than not I leave a Restaurant Week meal disappointed and with more questions than answers.  ”Do they serve that to normal diners?”  ”Does that (insert menu item here) typically taste under salted and gummy?”  I end up wondering if it would be better that I just stay away from Restaurant Week dinners in hopes of staving off negative reviews of restaurants that I have not tried before and, after that lack-luster meal, will probably not ever try again.

So these are the thoughts that were running through my head when the boss said, “hey, Restaurant Week is starting.  Why don’t you look through the list and pick one or two.”  I started to sweat.  Not to mention that the start of the promotion coincided with my birthday.  I love birthdays in that they (mine or hers) are a great excuse to splash out on an amazing dinner at a seriously good restaurant.  No no, she assured me.  We have plans to go to Blue Hill Stone Barns next week so that will count for birthday splurge.  She just wanted something nice on the actual day.  Bless her.  Not to mention that she quickly pointed out that Dovetail was on the Restaurant Week list.  I started to sweat more.  We had been to Dovetail when it first opened a couple years ago and really enjoyed it.  I was worried that a Restaurant Week visit might ruin my estimation of it.  But… what if…  I couldn’t resist. We made a reservation and went.

And I am happy to say that I am glad that we did.  In one fell swoop Dovetail and chef John Fraser’s food have restored in me the hope that good food can be found in the jungle that is Restaurant Week.  Our meal at Dovetail was very very good.  The squid and melon salad was a sea-tinged mix of sweet and savory.  The gnocchi were comforting yet light, bathed in a delicious corn veloute. The braised veal had been coaxed to a superbly tender finish.  Evidence that traditional cooking methods, when done correctly, can yield food just as good as anything to come out of a sous vide bath.  And the hake dish was a deftly handled play on subtlety, the fish light and well cooked, the tomato ’stew’ adding a touch of acidity and the delicious shrimp giving a briny highlight to the ensemble.  Very nice.

A quick side note…  The dining room at Dovetail, designed by architect Richard Bloch, is nice.  Though a little stiff and hard edged.  Not quite as ‘luxurious’, maybe, as the food that it is meant to showcase.  Details such as the stainless cables the curtains are hung on feel more ‘architecty’ than fully thought out in terms of the bigger picture.  And the Dovetail logo, as nice as it is,  has always given me pause.  The ‘V’ looking a little more mutated and ‘grabby’ than visually expressing the concepts of craftsmanship, precision and expert pairing that I feel the name ‘Dovetail’ might be trying to express.  But, overall, Dovetail is a warm and handsome restaurant and a nice backdrop for its food.  To which we shall now return…

Sure the Restaurant Week menu was less extravagant than Dovetail’s typical tasting menus.  No duck or dungeness crab.  But the food that chef Fraser conceived for the promotion I think was a fitting representation of what Dovetail can do.  Our dinner showed a thoughtfulness of conception and an expert execution that I remember from our last full tasting meal there.  This, I think, was a great example of how the Restaurant Week promotion should be handled by the chefs involved in it.  Taking a long view, being creative with the dishes that are served to the price incentivized diners now, with the hope that they will enjoy their meal enough to tell others about it and to come back for all the fireworks the kitchen is capable of in the future.  If the chefs succumb to their incentive to not put any effort into what they serve for Restaurant Week, they risk loosing possible customers forever.  I know there are a couple such places that I do not feel the need to return to…

Chef John Fraser is to be commended for taking the time and the care to conceive of a great Restaurant Week menu.  We had a lovely time and really enjoyed the food.  Not to mention the added bonus of being able to chat with the chef himself as he walked through the dining room.  Imagine that – a chef that cooks in his own kitchen.  And during Restaurant Week no less.  We will definitely be back to Dovetail in the near future.