Dorothy Frisch's Page

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Last week I read about another local restaurant that bit the dust. Scary, eh?



For those restaurateaurs out there who quake in their boots every time they read stuff like this, allow me to put a different slant on things.



The restaurant in question was a very high end job in a pricey hotel and it had a decided wine theme. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on a state of the art kitchen and uber cool dining room. But oops! Forgot to train the staff!



A… Continue

This goes out to all you servers who may be reading these blogs.

The other day I was recounting to a client one of the things I used to do as a waiter that always warmed my guests right up, and I thought to share it.



Here in Seattle it doesn't get really cold all that often, but when it does, it isn't unusual to see a guest, especially a fashionably but inappropriately dressed lady, come in the door rubbing her hands, blowing on them, or hunched and shivering. So whenever I… Continue

Whenever an established restaurant or group first contacts me with a percieved service problem, the first thing I generally do is ‘go undercover’ to get a first hand, customer’s view, of what is happening in the dining room.



I have certainly seen my share of scary service, but one thing that always strikes me is how often servers don’t allow guests to spend as much money as they want. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking about the classic ‘upsell’, which wary diners cotton on to… Continue

I was chatting with my friend Melanie today about our recent holiday activities, and, as she knows I love to hear stuff like this, she had a couple of stories ready for me.



Melanie and her husband were early for meeting their friends at a very fancy schmancy steakhouse in the city, and because she can’t drink alcohol, she asked the bartender what she might have available that could be kinda fun and served in a festive glass. The bartender thought for a minute and pointed to the list… Continue