Rant: Hotel Restaurant Aggravation

My dinners this weekend were less than pleasing, and my standards were not set too high. But at least I got to taste some of the incredible, life-sized Stormtrooper cake pictured before.

This weekend, I attended a convention at the Westin Boston Waterfront, which is located next to the huge Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. Within the Westin, there are several places to eat, including Sauciety, MJ O'Connors, City Bar and the Birch Bar. Friday evening, I decided to grab a burger at MJ O'Connors but it was too busy so I decided to go to the City Bar instead, especially as they basically share a kitchen and have the same general menu. I ordered a basic cheeseburger and fries, along with some iced tea. A very simple meal.

Well, after ordering my sandwich, 30 minutes passed and I still had not received my sandwich. The server finally stopped at my table and I informed her that I still did not have my burger. She told me that I should have mentioned something to her earlier. Shouldn't she be paying attention to her customers, and ensuring they receive their food, without the customers having to tell her? Plus, this was the first time she had been back to my table since dropping off my drink.

The server told me the kitchen was a bit backed up and that my sandwich would be right out. She did not ask if I wanted a refill of my drink, even though my drink was nearly empty. Her promise about the burger did not materialize as I didn't receive my burger for about another 25 minutes, and after several of the neighboring tables, who had been seated some time after me, received their meals.

The manager eventually came over, apologizing for the nearly hour delay, and did pick up my entire tab. I didn't receive an explanation though for this lengthy delay. Now, I understand that it was very busy, that there was a convention in the hotel. But, after the first 30 minute delay, they should have found a way to get me my burger in less than 25 minutes. I didn't see anyone else who seemed to be waiting a long time for their meals. Plus, as the hotel handles numerous conventions, the restaurant should be well used to handling large crowds. This isn't an isolated experience for them, and the kitchen should know the best way to deal with this situation. If they can't handle large conventions, then that is a significant issue.

So, Saturday night I chose to grab dinner at The Birch Bar, settling on their Nachos Special and some Pulled Pork Sliders. First, my server never brought me my water and I had to go to the bar myself to get it. The Birch Bar was not particularly busy, with maybe less than a dozen tables eating food, so that was not a reason for the server to forget my water. But that was a minor issue. What bothered me most were the Nachos, which were illustrative of a problem that bothers me in a number of other restaurants as well.

On the special menu, the Nachos were described as being topped by lardons, two different cheeses and a salsa. Yet when they arrived, they were also topped with sour cream, an ingredient I dislike and which also had not been listed on the menu. Why was it the only ingredient to have been omitted on the menu? I would consider it a major ingredient and believe it should have been listed there with all the others. Other restaurant menus do this very same thing, listing only some of the main ingredients and omitting others, and that really irks me.

When I order a dish, I want to know what I am getting, at least all of the major ingredients. I don't need to know every spice in a ten spice blend but I want to know whether mayonnaise is being slathered on my sandwich or not. It seems to be sheer laziness not to include all of the major ingredients on a menu, especially when most of the ingredients are being described. Why should a customer have to ask about potentially omitted ingredients every time they order a dish?

I hope my restaurant experiences this week are better.

Diets & Diabetes: What Is A Food Blogger To Do?

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you have seen me detail some rather decadent and fattening meals. I have dined out at hundreds of restaurants, sampled goodies from numerous bakeries, and savored treats from many other places as well. I am not alone, and many other food bloggers are in a similar situation. We have many opportunities to eat, and often avail ourselves, with the intention of providing our readers some worthy writing. I don't regret any of it.

But, I recently received a wake-up call, that there can be a price to pay for all of this drinking and dining. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, the most common form of diabetes and a disease that affects millions of people worldwide. Sure, that was a scary diagnosis but my blood sugar level was rather borderline and it seemed possible to control it without the need for drugs, just through diet and lifestyle changes. Armed with a blood sugar detector, I was sent home to see if I could make the necessary changes to my life.

I read up on diabetes, consulting resources like the Joslin Diabetes Center, as I wanted to be as informed as possible so that I could best defeat my problem. I pondered a number of questions. How does a food blogger diet, yet still enjoy the food they eat? Some bloggers take the route of detailing their diets, posting about the recipes they use, but I did not want to go that route. How do you diet during the holiday season, as my diet started on December 13? Some would think I was crazy to start at that time, but it was necessary to deal with my diabetic condition. Which specific diet, out of the hundreds out there, should I follow? Or should I not follow any specific one?

It is now exactly one month after I started my diet. I am proud to report that I have lost 15 pounds and my blood sugar levels now appear to be within normal levels. That does not mean there is no longer a need to continue my good work. I should continue to lose additional weight and keep an eye on my blood sugar levels. But, it is a very good start and indicative that I can do it if I so choose.

How did I do it? The key was discipline, using my willpower to control what I ate. I don't care what diet you choose to follow, if you lack the willpower to follow it, then you will fail. I did not follow any specific diet, rather instead just following some good, general nutritional advice. I cut portions sizes and greatly reduced my usual after-dinner snacking. I also tried to reduce my overall intake of carbohydrates, to help reduce my blood sugar. When I dined out though, I did not generally restrict myself. I didn't want to turn dining out in a chore, I wanted it to remain something special. And finally, I exercised more, primarily doing more walking. All of this was sufficient to lose 15 pounds so I must have been doing something right.

This is not going to turn into a diet/health/nutrition blog and I may only mention this issue a few more times during 2012. It is a personal issue but I hope that it gives some inspiration to anyone else in the same position. It is not easy and requires discipline to accomplish your goals, but it is within your grasp if you truly want it. Kudos and good luck to all of my readers currently dieting or facing some type of medical condition which affects what they can eat.  

Thursday Sips & Nibbles

I am back again with a new edition of Thursday Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I briefly highlight some interesting wine and food items that I have encountered recently.
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1)  The 7th Annual CityFeast, held on Sunday, January 29, at 6:30pm, is a fun-filled evening hosted by five restaurants in Boston’s North End: Antico Forno, Terramia, Lucca, Taranta and Tresca. Tickets include a five-course dinner with wine pairings at the choice participating restaurant, and proceeds will benefit Joslin’s High Hopes Fund, which provides support for research, clinical care and education for diabetics and their families.

This year, the event will also feature a raffle for a new black Vespa at Antico Forno. The Vespa was donated by Carla Gomes, the founder of CityFeast. Carla began this event to show her dedication and appreciation to Joslin after her son David was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes on his first birthday. David has received care at Joslin for over 18 years.

Tickets are priced at $150 each; of which $100 is tax deductible. Due to high demand, reservations are limited, and will be distributed on a first come first serve basis. For more information on CityFeast or to purchase tickets visit: Http://­www.­joslin.­org/­cityfeast

I have been to a couple of these events and it is a fun and delicious event for a worthy cause. You can read my review of last years's CityFeast here. I hope to be at this year's event as well and maybe I will see some of my readers there.

2)  Embarking on a health kick again this year ? Haru is here to help the cause without depriving your taste buds with two new specials for the months of January and February.

Forget the high-calorie cocktails and indulge in the Shiso Slim ($6), a semi-innocent pleasure. This sparkling “skinny” cocktail shakes up Voli Lemon vodka, St. Germain, pink grapefruit and yuzu juices, muddled shiso leaf and a splash of soda. Nix the carbs and go fish. Treat your mind and body to the new Haru-Style Sashimi ($15). This sashimi “flight” of tuna, salmon, yellowtail and fluke also features a selection of toppings including spicy snow crab, shiso and signature sauces. The Haru-Style Sashimi is served with a side salad of broiled eel and cucumber dressed in a citrus-soy.

3)  On February 2, at 7pm, Towne Stove and Spirits will host a very special evening with the Castello di Ama winery. Established in 1972 and located in the heart of the Chianti Classico historical zone, Castello di Ama’s D.O.C.G. wines showcase the beauty of the Sangiovese grape from the heart of Tuscany.

Owner and winemaker Marco Pallanti will team up with Towne’s Culinary Director Lydia Shire and Executive Chef Mario Capone to present the following:

Reception
Castello di Ama Rosato 2009
Housemade Cotechino Sausage with mostarda and spoon of salmoriglio
Grilled Oysters Florentina
Saffron & Anchovy Fry Bread
Seated
Castello di Ama Al Poggio 2004
Smoked & Cured Swordfish with blood orange fennel salad topped with extra virgin olive oil from the estate
Fried Rabbit with mustard oil & white beet agnolotti del plin

Castello di Ama Chianti 2007
(two vintages)
Blade Steak with copertina di spalla, black truffled Chianti butter, stewed cavolo nero & chestnut gnocchi
Dessert
Torta Sabbiosa with warm poached winter pear & zabaione
Cappuccino

Cost: $150 per person (excludes tax & gratuity)
Reservations are required and may be made by contacting 617.247.0400.

Boston Food Bloggers, The Gauntlet of Poseidon Has Been Thrown

The Fish Head Whisperer is throwing down the gauntlet of Poseidon, issuing a challenge to all Boston-area food bloggers. Will you dare compete against me for glory and money? Are you willing to test your abilities, to combat me in this writing competition? Will you confront me in an oceanic arena and see who shall prevail? Or will you be a coward and hide behind your boring recipes and restaurant reviews?

Last March, the International Boston Seafood Show (IBSS) came to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. Hundreds of vendors, connected to the seafood industry, attended this fascinating trade show. One of those vendors, iPura, which handles food safety, offered a challenge to local bloggers, the iPura Tweet & Blogfest. The concept was for local bloggers to tweet and blog about the IBSS and their writings would be assessed by an impartial judge, with the winner receiving $1000! Certainly a worthy prize and I am proud to say that I won last year's competition. Since then, and due to my achievement, I have assumed the mantle of the Fish Head Whisperer.

The competition is returning! iPura will hold their contest once again at the 2012 IBSS, which will be held March 11-13, 2012. Though the exact rules have not yet been posted, it will be very similar to the last contest. You will be judged on the quality, content, creativity/originality, number of entries, and depth of your tweets and blog posts concerning the IBSS. Your time to tweet and post will also be limited to essentially the length of the conference. If you win the competition, you will be awarded the Crown of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, and be named the Fish Head Whisperer. Plus get a net full of sea dollars!

As the reigning champion, the Fish Head Whisperer, I will be back to try to retain my crown and I am challenging all local food bloggers to come out and try to dethrone me. I am so confident that I will win the contest again, I am even going to tell you how to defeat me. Why? Because I don't think anyone will be willing to do what is necessary to accomplish that goal. Care to prove me wrong?

The essential key to winning is Proper Preparation. If you fail to prepare adequately before the show, you will have already lost before you even step onto the floor of the convention center. I won last year because of the time and effort I invested prior to the seafood show. Like a military operation, I engaged in reconnaissance and planning, research and testing. I desired to win and did whatever needed to be done to accomplish that goal.

Let me provide you with a template for your own preparations, the path you need to take if you have any hope of defeating me.

1)  Proper equipment:
Don't treat this event like you would any other blogger food event. You will likely bring a notebook, pen, camera, recorder, smart phone and maybe a computer, feeling that is all you need. How wrong you are. If that is all you bring, you will miss out on some vital inside information, and your posts will lack the depth they could possess. You will be unable to gather some valuable news, gossip, rumors, data and more because you will not possess the tools needed to accomplish that goal.

You must bring a snorkel, facemask, wetsuit vest, waterproof camera, underwater writing slate and towel.  Those items are necessary because you need to converse with the true insiders at the conference, the fish themselves. The humans at the show have significant gaps in their knowledge, and that can only be filled by the various fish at the conference. At times, you will need to enter their tanks to speak to these fish and get the best scoops. The fish can't hear you if you are just standing outside of their tanks, and they don't understand sign language.

Obviously, you won't enter the fish tanks during the regular conference hours. You will need to hide out inside the conference hall, and wait until the show closes down for the day. Once the vendors and staff clear out for the evening, and the lights are dimmed, you can then come out and enter the tanks. Just keep track of time so you are still not in a tank when the convention hall staff enters in the morning. When you exit a tank, make sure to dry off completely before walking away so you don't leave a dripping trail of water and get caught by security. The fish see everything, as they quietly swim in their tanks, and they might share those secrets with you.

2)  Proper study:
But, entering the fish tanks will be useless unless you are also conversant in their various languages. Speaking with fish is not a common skill so you undoubtedly need some prior training to gain any level of proficiency. Your best resource is to use the Rosetta Stone: Aquaman Edition, which will give you a basic comprehension of the major fish languages. The Rosetta Stone also comes with a small, waterproof dictionary and phrase book which will allow you to figure out what other fish are saying. I have an advantage in this regard as during the past year, I have progressed to Rosetta Stone: Aquaman Edition Level 3. Don't let that stop you though from learning their languages.

Besides speaking their language, you also need to understand the personalities of the various fish, which ones are friendly, abrupt, garrulous, shy, deceptive, etc. Did you know that monkfish, though they look mean, are actually extremely friendly and helpful? Did you know that cod, while garrulous, also tend to be deceptive about personal matters? Did you know that Blue crabs, unlike King crabs, are not crabby at all and love a good chat? I recommend checking out the comprehensive reference book, The Psychology of Marine Life by famed oceanographer Jak Ku Sto. Jak truly understands the varied personalities of hundreds of different species of fish so it is a very helpful book.

3)  Proper scheduling:
The IBSS runs for three days, Sunday to Tuesday, and you need to be present for all three days, as well as Sunday and Monday nights.  If you normally work during the week, take off the time so you can attend the IBSS. Get lots of sleep the week before and plan on staying up for about 60 hours straight. Forget about sleep during that time period as you don't want to miss a single moment of the conference. Stock up on caffeine and energy drinks as you want to be alert throughout those 60 hours. It would not be good if you fell asleep in a fish tank.

There are over 800 exhibitors at the IBSS which means that even with 60 hours, that means you have less than 5 minutes per exhibitor.  So you don't have time to waste. Every minute of your time must be devoted to the seafood show or you potentially will lose a good story. Forget breaks, and that includes bathroom stops, so just wear adult diapers and you won't have to visit the rest room. Make sure to multitask, eating samples while asking interview questions and taking notes. Yes, it is fine to talk with your mouth full as this is a contest and not an etiquette class.

4)  Caveats:
If you are allergic to seafood, you might as will give it up unless you are willing to suck it up. This is a SEAFOOD show, with tons of free samples, and if you can't taste all of these foods, then you will miss out on some excellent topics for coverage. Now, if you are allergic but truly tough, then you will just load up on your meds and eat all the seafood anyways. If you do, be sure to bring something to handle anaphylactic shock, just in case, because your fellow bloggers won't help you as they are too busy trying to win the contest.

The greatest danger you will face during the IBSS will be at night, when everyone has cleared out. It is then that more than 20 polar bears start prowling the floors, seeking sustenance. They are not the smartest of creatures so they can be fairly easily outwitted, provided you do not react in fear when you encounter them. If you are inside a fish tank, they will pass you by. If you are outside the tanks, then pretend to be a statue and the polar bears will probably ignore you. I had no problems last year avoiding them, but you must remember, show no fear.

Trust me, these are some essential issues that any contender needs to seriously consider. Would I try to deceive my competitors? I may have more helpful advice in the near future too.

So bring on the competition!

(With tongue firmly in cheek, this originally was a guest post on Food Safety by iPura.)

Port Day: January 27

"All wine would be Port if it could."
--Portuguese Proverb

The Center for Wine Origins has declared that January 27 will be Port Day, a celebration of this unique fortified wine from Portugal. What another grape/wine day? Yes, but this is one I support for a couple reasons. First, because I feel Port remains an under appreciated wine and efforts to raise awareness of it are worthy. Second, because I also support efforts to protect the designation Port, as it should only be used for authentic Port from Portugal. Around the world, numerous producers label their own fortified wines as "Port" and I don't feel that is right, even where it is legally allowed.

In 2010, the total quantity of Port Wine produced was about 6.7 million cases, a reduction of more than 10% since 2007, and production does seem to be on a continual decline. As for the purchasers of Port, France is the largest, buying about 28.5% of all Port production. Holland, in second place, purchases about 14.2% while Portugal itself, in a close third place, purchases about 14%. The U.S. occupies sixth place, buying only 3.9%, roughly 374,000 cases of Port which includes 107,000 Reserve Ports, 77,000 Ruby and 70,000 Tawny. U.S. purchases of Port have been generally declining though from a high of 4.6% in 2006, except for a slight boost in 2010 from 3.8% in 2009. So Port in the U.S. needs some support as obviously not enough people are enjoying the pleasures of Port.

Port Types include the following (and probably a couple others as well): White, Rose, Ruby, Tawny, Reserve, Reserve Tawny, Tawny with Indication of Age, Colheita, Garrafeira, Late Bottled Vintage, Crusted, Vintage, and Single Quinta Vintage. As you can see, there is plenty of diversity to explore. For added variety, over 100 grapes are permitted in the production of Port though only a small portion of those grapes are commonly used.

"Port is not for the very young, the vain and the active. It is the comfort of age and the companion of the scholar and the philosopher."
--Evelyn Waugh

How can you participate in Port Day? You can blog, tweet, post and share your thoughts about Port from Portugal by using the #PortDay hashtag. In addition, you can host or join an online or offline tasting event at one of the numerous retail and restaurant tastings that are being planned in locations across the United States. There is a Port Day event site where you can find local events of register your own event.  

As part of this celebration, the Center for Wine Origins is even hosting a special Contest to encourage U.S. consumers to photograph their favorite authentic Port wines. To enter the contest to win an iPad 2, contest entrants need to send a picture of an authentic Port label to wineorigins@clsdc.com with the subject line as “Port Day 2012 Photo Contest Entry” or post the picture to your Facebook profile and tag yourself and the Center for Wine Origins in the picture. One Grand Prize winner will be selected randomly on January 25 and receive an iPad 2. Complete contest rules are available here.

How will I be celebrating Port Day?  Well, you already may have seen that one of my resolutions for this year was to get more involved with Port and Madeira. I presently have a few Ports to sample and review, and on January 17, I will be attending a local Port dinner at Legal Sea Foods which should be a good opportunity to assess how different types of Port pair with food. And I am still pondering other ways in which I might celebrate.