Thursdays in July

Thursday used to be one of our busier nights, not so much from a sales standpoint, but a lot of folks strolled through, keeping the bar pretty full from 5:30 to close. On Thursdays, we do two small plates for $5 each to showcase our diversity and draw a HH crowd. Two and half years ago, the intention was to dispell the notion that fine dining meant overpriced entrees and to focus on the fact that many items on our menu are available in small portions. We also paired each dish with a $5 wine BTG to advertise the affordability of our house pours. That was a long time ago. It has since deviolved into a way for our regulars to eat on the cheap (spend $10 instead of $28) and we stopped the featured wines alltogether. Some even bitch about the portions! Instead of 5:30 to 7:30, it now goes all night unless I pull the plug and I am lucky to sell two or three of each no matter how good, weather-appropriate or discounted they might be. That said, I now put as little effort as possible into them so I don't get discouraged when they waste my energy. I use only ingredients that I need to move and only a la minute. To-night is a little different and I am anxious to see what happens. I got a sample of smoked mozzarella ravioli from Joseph's and I am serving them with a couple of seared shrimp and a carrot puree that I fished out of my demi stock last night. Not bad for $5. I would have pureed the veggies anyway and who knows about the sample. They were unsolicited, by the way, because everyone knows that I can't stand samples. All you are doing is giving me something that I (a) am never going to buy, (b) now have to receive/store/ find a way to use and (c) never asked for in the first place. It's like giving someone more work to do for no reason. What if someone dropped 100 pounds of mulch on your driveway without your consent just because you happen to have a yard? I know you are asking, "What about staff meal?" I promise to start feeding those ungrateful FOH fuckers as soon as the first one asks me if I need a cold beverage. My mom worked at the bank for 25 years and not once was she handed money when she came to work just because that's the business she was in.
So, just a deuce and a four so far with four more @ 8:00. I wonder if we will blame the low volume on the rain, the heat or the season premiere of Jersey Shore. I bet the Olive Garden has a line around the building by now.

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