Serving Arizona Jan 2003

L ocal Food and Beverage Industr y News from Cover to Cover

RICHARDSON BROWNE Reflects Design, Build, Serve: BUDDHA BAR OCEAN CLUB

TV Or Not TV

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January 2003

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he Servers

E D I T O R

Catt Fields White E D I T O R I A L

A S S I S TA N T

Brijet Condon A RT

D I R E C T O R

Coni Bourin P R O D U C T I O N

M A N A G E R

Tad Smith C O N T R I B U T I N G

W R I T E R S

Mary Ellen Collins Lynda Exley Jill Florio Ruben Kobe Barbara Rothschild Robert Stempkowski Joan Kay Westlake P H O T O G R A P H Y

E D I T O R

Mark Maggiacoma CONTRIBUTING

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Naomi Amaya Lighthouse Imaging Group Werner Segarra Dan Vermillion Alison Wear David Rothschild W E B M A S T E R

Laura Smith B U S I N E S S

M A N A G E R

Jerome White C I R C U L AT I O N

M A N A G E R

Alex Peterson ADVERTISING

SALES

DIRECTOR

Gloria Murray A D V E RT I S I N G

S A L E S

Katrina DeHaven Jeanne Marie Hill Serving Arizona is published by Poulette Rouge Publishing subject to a license agreement with Serving Arizona Restaurants, L.L.C. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any material herein without express written permission is prohibited. Opinions expressed by the writers are not necessarily those of the publisher.

Address letters to the editor and subscription requests to: 6990 E. Main St., Ste. 204, Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (480) 970-4415 or catt@servingaz.com.

Catt Fields White, Jerome White, Kathy Stuckenschneider.

Photo and cover photo by Lighthouse Imaging.

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IT SEEMS TO BE a universal sentiment in the Valley. The last few months of 2002 passed as if in a blur. The year as a whole seemed to be built more on the concept of survival than on prosperity. Still, in those final weeks, despite a still wavering economy and the gnawing threat of global conflict, hope sprang anew in our industry and our community.

Now, in a bright new year, the prevailing sentiment seems to be a firm belief that 2003 will be better.

There has been some weeding out of those unwilling to buckle down, but the survivors are leaner and meaner. Belts have been tightened, costs have been lowered, marketing has been intensified and the effects of that new discipline are trickling to the bottom line. Customers are shaking off their own winter doldrums and venturing back out.

Development deals are once again coming together and new locations are breaking ground.

For us, it continues to be a time of growth. New advertisers continue to add to the roster of companies that think it’s important to get the word straight to you about how to improve your business. We have a new office overlooking downtown Scottsdale, new members have joined our

editorial team and new ideas are flowing.

In this issue, Richardson Browne reveals his somewhat unorthodox approach to the restaurant business. Kids, don’t try this at home.

We look at some of the celebrity chefs that are venturing into the Valley, explore new ways of controlling liquor costs and water spots and explain how to increase customers by adding internet access to your location.

And, we ponder whether Grandma’s admonition to eat at the table, not in front of the television, seems to have gone by the wayside.

We have some high hopes and some terrific plans for this year. Our new schedule means more news each month on what’s happening in the local food and beverage industry. We’ll be sponsoring seminars on designing, building and operating your restaurant.

Watch for details on traveling with Serving Arizona to the national restaurant show in Chicago this spring.

Get ready to nominate your favorites for our first local industry awards.

It will be a Happy New Year, for all of us who decide to have one. Let’s concentrate on the joy and the triumphs and keep Serving Arizona.

I just finished reading the Nov/Dec issue of Serving Arizona. I LOVED IT! I’m not sure how long this publication has been being done, but I am definitely a big fan now. I am a partner in Laurshan Construction and we specialize in building restaurants…50 to date.

Shannon Bradley, Laurshan, Inc. Just had my first experience reading Serving Arizona and thoroughly enjoyed it. It impressed me as a great trade magazine with a broad appeal to general readership. I’m an architect who’s done a lot of restaurants: Mezcal…Hops!…Christopher’s Fermiere…

Ron Brissette, President, Brissette Architects, Inc. My name is Chef Richard Exley, Pastry and Baking Department Head at Scottsdale Culinary Institute, and I am very impressed with your publication. I am interested in the possibility of getting more copies supplied to the school for the students and guests.

Chef Richard Exley, Scottsdale Culinary Institute Belated congratulations for Serving Arizona. We have been waiting for this type of publication for some time. None had come by that were interesting—in any sense of the word.

I loved Richard Bock’s comment (Dish, November 2002), “If you love food and like the people, that’s contagious. And it’s like music in a way. On those nights when it’s working and the crowd is with you, it’s more than a concert, more than a meal. There’s something special going on and there’s nothing like it in the world.”

That is so poetic and so perfect!

I have been looking for a way to describe what we do and why we like it so much—this hits the spot.

We have steered and geared our business toward the restaurant and nightclub owners because of people like this.

People in this business like people, are creative and energetic. It is an absolute high working for and with them. We feed off their energy and creativity and vice versa. To see a plan come to fruition from a sketch on a napkin (the usual “shop drawing”) is very fulfilling and exciting. As artists and craftspeople, this is the best of any world.

I want to use this forum to say: Our thanks to so many of you in “the business” here in Phoenix who have made our life so very interesting. To the restaurant and nightclub owners, especially Les and Diane Corieri, and super talented designers, especially Don Carstens and Kim Harris…we have just begun!

Lee Grover, Newt Glass OK, it was heartwarming, but we were surprised that we didn’t get a single complaint, correction or snide comment this month.

You people aren’t paying attention! Good or bad, if you have a reaction, a rebuttal or an observation about something you read in Serving Arizona…share! E-mail your letters to catt@servingaz.com or mail to 6990 E. Main St., Ste. 204, Scottsdale, Arizona 85251. We know you’re out there…

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Juicy gossip, hot news and unsubstantiated rumors Don’t you just love it?

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By Brijet Condon What’s a little free drink between friends?

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by Robert Stempkowski

Serving Arizona

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By Lynda Exley Art Institute molds students into professional chefs.

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by Mary Ellen Collins Guess its no longer taboo to watch TV while you eat…or is it?

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by Robert Stempkowski Richardson Browne shares the secrets of his, uh, success.

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by Lynda Exley Internet cafes are getting up to speed.

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Is there something fishy about this Mastro’s venture?

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WHAT A RASCAL THAT MAXIE IS… It’s been the darling of the critics since it opened in August 2001, despite the roar of Indian School Road and the lack of design sensibility in the dining room or graphics. What Maxie’s World Grill does boast is a wide, wide range of really good food, served pretty quickly by generally friendly staffers. Get there a minute after

Paninis. Like maybe they should pick a focus and stay with it. The thing is, these guys did it all quite nicely. To standing room only crowds, once the great reviews started rolling in.

Owner Jeff Lee opened the place after 20 years at Motorola. “I went to work there for a couple of years to save enough money to open a restaurant,” he explains. “It took a little longer than I thought.” The cramped location and limited parking made for an economical opening, but limited the business’ potential.

Mike Newton, on the other hand, wasn’t doing so well around the corner at 40th and Camelback. He’s in a building that has used up a few of its nine lives too. Do you remember North Bank? How about the 40th Street Grill? The place was popular with the off track betting crowd for a while, a group not typically that choosy about the cuisine.

Newton, of the Beefeaters restaurant dynasty, had dubbed it Rascals and was pretty much treading water. With Maxie’s too busy for its space, and Rascals eyeing empty tables, a partnership was born. Maxies made the move over the New Year holiday and is open for business now in a space triple the size of the old one.

Remodeling was minimal: mostly tearing out arcade games and pool tables, cleaning and painting and opening up original windows to allow more light. “We handled it ourselves and really had a hard time getting subcontractors to show up,” laments Lee. They made the deadline, though, opening for lunch on January 3rd.

Lee hopes to remain hands on, but in something of a consulting capacity, not working all of the extended hours that the new location will promote. Best laid plans, as they say…Table service and a full bar have also been added to the formula.

At least he lives close by. “I’m right on the canal, 300 yards from the restaurant. But you know, this is Arizona,” he laughs. “I still drive to work.”

PITCHING IN FOR THE BOYS AND GRILLS

Top: The new patio at Maxies is a step up from the old Right: Maxies has moved uptown

closing and they usually sigh and let you order anyway.

What’s not to like?

Well, the cramped location, for one. The building on Indian School near 40th Street was in its sixth or seventh incarnation as Maxies, and those are just the ones we remember: Japanese, Chinese, Mexican…none of them exceptional, and all of them vaguely lingering in the current décor.

Maybe that’s what inspired the world grill menu. It always makes us a little nervous when we see one kitchen trying to tackle pulled pork barbecue, Mediterranean combinations, Mexican food and

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Members of the Arizona Restaurant and Hospitality Association pitched in to give 70 young residents of the Sunshine Acres Children Home, and the volunteers that serve them, a taste of restaurant dining in December.

Matt McMahon is joint venture partner for Arizona and New Mexico Outback Steakhouses, but for that day he was a grill cook once again. He was joined by representatives of the ARHA, including President and CEO Steve Chucri, the Johnson family of Macayo’s, Jeff Shelton of Southwest Gas and others. Congressman Jeff Flake and Mesa City councilmen joined the festivities.

Other ARHA members participated by donating Congressman Jeff Flake joined the ARHA in treating youngsters gift certificates that will be from Sunshine Acres to a special meal used to expose the group home’s residents to other aspects of dining out. Pizza Hut, Bill Johnson’s, Blue Adobe Grill and The Islands were among the restaurants contributing to the event.

Continued on page 14>

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NOCHE DE GOURMET, PHOENIX CIVIC PLAZA

Soho’s Justin Weaver and Patrick Laws

Stephanie Day, Kevin LeBron, Anthony Georgeoulis, Crystal Nichol

Derek Michael of Barmouche

SCC Culinary Arts students

SERVING ARIZONA RELEASE PARTY AT CAFÉ BLUE

image

Don and Jodie Carstens

Jim Valli, Gloria Murray, Carole Hutchison

Rick Worrilow, Pam Phelps

Joe Ray, Jean Marie Hill

IS HE BLUE?

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Jim and Irma Valli have long been known for their gracious hospitality and impressive cuisine, first at Marco Polo and now at Café Blue. We’ve been dining at Café Blue for years, so when Jimmy offered to host Serving Arizona’s November release party, we jumped at the chance.

Unfortunately, the experience wasn’t quite as smooth as on previous visits: food wasn’t served until an hour and a half into the party, and we had sort of expected Jim to show off his new bar menu. No such luck. Still, the atmosphere was New York cool and intimate—we had almost the whole place to ourselves—and the drinks flowed freely.

A good time was had by all, at least until Jim and his staff locked the last few guests in the building at closing, demanding that they pay the night’s bar bill before they could leave. “I felt like I was in a bad episode of The Sopranos,” complained one.

We would have just called the publishing office the next day and gotten a credit card number (it was a pre-arranged party after all) rather than alienate current and potential customers. But, hey, that’s just us. Maybe Jim’s feeling the pinch of this year’s tough economy a little more than he’d like. Thanks for having us, anyway.

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BUDDHA BAR OPENING, SCOTTSDALE

Movin’ and shakin’ at the bar

Bridget and Phil Hope

On the party circuit

It’s more than just seafood

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Mr and Mrs Andrea check out the kitchen JANUARY

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<Continued from page 10

Outback Steakhouse exec Matt McMahon, Arizona Restaurant and Hospitality Association President and CEO Steve Chucri and an Outback employee grill up some fun at Sunshine Acres.

In addition to offering goodwill and holiday cheer to the children, these operators are making an investment in the future. Children exposed to dining out at an early age will likely grow to be more discriminating consumers in adulthood.

RUDY SAYS: IF YOU DON’T EAT OUT, THEY WIN Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will be the Keynote Speaker at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago this May. You might remember Rudy in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, exhorting New Yorkers, and all of us, to resume our daily rounds of shopping, traveling and dining out to show the terrorists that we would not be bowed. Dubbed “America’s Mayor” during the period after the World trade Center bombings, Giuliani keeps busy now as a speaker, consultant and adviser to international political and business leaders.

The annual Restaurant, Hotel & Motel Show will be held May 17 through the 20th this year, at McCormick Place in Chicago, as always. Giuliani will speak on Sunday, May 18th. Some 2,000 exhibitors and 75,000 attendees will provide unmatched onestop shopping, sampling and networking opportunities for Mayor Rudolph Giuliani those who make the trip.

Watch upcoming issues of Serving Arizona for information on joining a group of Arizonans to “Take On the Show” this year.

Continued on page 16>

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MAYBE IT’S SOMETHING IN THE (HOLY) WATER Is this some kind of new trend? First The Library Bar and Grill opens in Tempe, boasting “Catholic schoolgirl uniforms” on their waitresses. Now, Steve Berger and fiancé Julie Finch have converted the former Famous Sam’s location at Chandler Boulevard and 40th Street to Bar Nun, “a place for good food and bad habits”.

Berger, a former operations executive with El Paso BBQ Company, left that successful chain after five years. “I thought it was time to own one of my own. If I’m going to work this hard, why should I make a bunch of money for someone else?”

He admits to being Catholic, but says the theme is “tongue in cheek, not in bad taste,” so to speak.

The new menu is “upgraded from our predecessors but we’re not grilling wild mushrooms or anything”. What they are doing is offering big, big burgers, chipotle meatloaf, steaks and unique sandwiches in an atmosphere that’s still comfortable for sports fans but appeals to families as well. ‘We just want to be that fun, neighborhood place,” says Berger.

And, no, the wait staff is not wearing long black habits and wimples.

COOK ‘TIL IT HURTS A couple of local charities are looking for restaurants to participate in their annual fundraisers. Now is the time to sign up for Aids Project Arizona’s sixth annual Dining Out for Life event, scheduled for Tuesday, May 15th. This one is a no-brainer. You agree to donate 25 to 100% of every check and these guys generate tons of publicity to get folks in the door of your restaurant.

Really, the press is all over this one every year: TV, radio and newspapers cover it heavily and billboards spring up all over town.

This could be the best marketing move you make all year, and you even get to feel all warm and fuzzy about helping folks afflicted with HIV and AIDS in the process. Last year, Barmouche, Portland’s and all Chipotle Grill locations donated one hundred percent of their receipts. And we still remember the year Durant’s staff donated their tips, along with the check totals. Call 602-253-2437 to sign up.

Taste 2003, A Taste of Italy, is coming up on April 6th. This one benefits the Boys and Girls Clubs, and it’s a lot more work. You know the drill: offsite preparation, serving thousands of little tastes of your signature dish, battling the health department over your event site facilities, and hoping the staff you left behind isn’t getting slammed while half your servers are feeding the socialites.

Still, these guys do a good job of getting the word out, and this is an opportunity for you to expose four or five thousand people to your incredible food. Again, good marketing and good deed combined. You’ve got to love that. Call Matt Hartley at 602-231-8298

PLAYING WITH FIRE…FOR A GOOD CAUSE In March, the American Diabetes Association will give you an opportunity to donate to their cause, benefit your restaurant and not lift a finger. They’ve signed up Newt Grover of Newt Glass to create a breathtaking chandelier to be auctioned off at their event.

This baby’s not going to fit in your apartment, or even in your burger joint. And it’s going to cost you. But if you’ve got a really big dining room, you can join Mastro’s, Suede, Jetz and other local hot spots by bidding on this work of art. We bet you can even talk Newt into installing it as part of the deal. And you’ll still feel good about yourself for helping ADA.

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DON’T HATE HER BECAUSE SHE’S BEAUTIFUL But you could be tempted to hate Barbara Pool Fenzl because she owns a successful Phoenix cooking school (Les Gourmettes), hangs out with the likes of Jacques Pepin and Paula Wolfert, is a regular contributor to Bon Appetit magazine, and has published two books.

One of them, Southwest the Beautiful, is a companion piece to her PBS cooking show. Oh, please. Or maybe you’ll want to hate her this August, when she’ll be teaching cooking classes at Le Perigord, in the South of France, while the rest of us are sweltering. There’s more, but we just can’t go on.

We’ve tried to figure out what gives this woman her talent, her drive, her unceasing energy. Now it comes to light: it’s all those years of Girl Scouting! We know, because the Arizona Cactus-Pine Girl Scout Council gave Fenzl a World Award in December, and you have to been a Girl Scout to qualify.

Now, don’t even get us started about the handsome husband and children…

Dining Out for Life, a national, annual fundraising event, is returning to Arizona for its 7th year. Don't be left out!

The funds raised will benefit AIDS Project Arizona and help the men, women, children, and families living with HIV and AIDS.

Restaurants, like yours, pledge a percentage of the day's sales and in return receive May 13th is the big day. Join us. promotional materials and are included in Registration deadline is February 28th. an advertising campaign to increase customer traffic...and good will for you.

To register or for more information, call Kricket at 602.253.2437 or visit www.apaz.org

UPDATE YOUR SCORECARD Trying to keep track of who owns what in the local restaurant world? Time to update your lists;The Restaurant Brokers were busy, busy brokers last month: Café Terrace, in the Marshall Way arts district, was The Art of Coffee years ago, and Picnicken Sandwich Shop before that. Well, it’s been sold to Michael Frocken and Kendra Lamb and they’ve just reopened as Zanzibar Restaurant and Lounge.

A quartet of new operators now owns both the building and the business at Coronado Café. They plan to maintain the current menu and ambience.

Not so the new owner of Rosti, who is transforming the Camelback Road facility to a Greek joint dubbed Zorba’s (that’s original).

Sandwich shops are changing hands all over town: BoEato’s Wrap Company in Tempe and Airpark Sandwich Company (guess where) will maintain their operations under their new owners. Inkspots Café in Tempe (this facility is TRB’s retirement program) will be transformed by David Drennon and Paul Quevedo to Aji Dulce Café and Catering.

Also sold, by not by The Restaurant Brokers (we don’t know how they missed this) was Mike Poulos’ Spaghetti Company in Mesa.

Since they couldn’t think of any good reason to continue with a name and concept that have been in the Valley for 30 years, the new owners celebrated the grand opening of Wyatt’s Place Dance Hall and Saloon on New Year’s Eve. Yee Haw! Garduno’s has opened at Chandler Mall, Noyz has opened in downtown Scottsdale. We know there are more, but we’re out of space. Send your news, gossip and unsubstantiated rumors to catt@servingaz.com and watch this space. Chow!

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Art Institute Molds

Culinary Students

BY LYNDA R. EXLEY

BALANCE, FORM AND CREATIVITY are essential components to exceptional works of art. So who better than the Art Institute of Phoenix to devise a culinary arts program that offers a balanced curriculum, teaches students professional form and cultivates a passion for creativity with food.

INSTRUCTORS The Art Institute’s “big guns” are Chef Bill Sy, C.E.C. and academic director for the Culinary Arts Program, and Chef Walter Leible, C.M.C. and assistant director. Sy being the 1998 Scottsdale’s Matthew Taylor, the Art Institute of Phoenix Best Teen Chef 2002 Outstanding Chef of the Year by the Greater Phoenix Chef’s Association (American Culinary Federation) and Culinarian of the Year Gold Medal while on the West Regional Culinary Team which competed by the same organization in 1977. He earned Educator of the Year in at the Culinary Olympics in Frankfurt, Germany in 1992. But you may 1999 and the Asian American 2000 award. Sy is also a member of the better recognize him from his many local television appearances.

American Academy of Chefs Honor Society.

During an interview with Sy last November, he proudly said Leible, who serves as culinary judge during international Serving Arizona was the first to learn that he and Leible were competitions, is the only Certified Master Chef in Arizona and one a invited to China to represent the United States in the first-time mere 55 in the nation. He won Team Gold Medal and one Individual International Culinary Festival.

FAST TOQUE: CATHY CRANMER

about professionalism, plate presentation and giving 100 percent to achieve a goal. And Chef Bill Sy who interested her in Meet: Cathy Cranmer, age 38. Born in Detroit, Mich. Graduates vegetable carving. “He’s just so passionate about what he does,” from The Art Institute of Phoenix Culinary Arts Program with an says Cranmer. associate’s degree in March, 2003. 3.9 GPA. Best Trick: Fixing a broken hollandaise sauce by putting an ice Culinary Focus: Prefers á la carte cooking. Enjoys garde cube in it and then whisking it rapidly to bring it back together. manger, especially vegetable carving. “I really like making Favorite Ingredient to Cook With: “I love garlic!” says Cranmer. flowers out of peppers, like jalapeño peppers, they make really “I put garlic on croutons one time and liked it.” Unfortunately, the pretty lilies,” says Cranmer. master chef didn’t and he made her redo them.

Outstanding Accomplishments: Entered three in-house Why She Cooks: It gives her a lot of pride and self-satisfaction to competitions and placed all three times. In the last competition, make “good food” and then see customers enjoying it. the Arizona State Championships for which she is team captain, What Perspective Employers Should her team placed first. In March, 2003, her Know: “I give 100 percent to everything I team will go to Portland, Ore., to compete do. I’m extremely dependable,” says in the ACF Student Hot Foods Competition Cranmer. “I just want to learn, increase my for a stab at the regional championship. If knowledge of the culinary field and there were an award for it, Cranmer become really good at what I do. I want to should win Culinary Student Volunteer of be one of the best.” the Year for volunteering at the ACF Future Plans: Aims to work at an upperConvention in Tucson last year, a Master end resort, possibly in the banquet area.

Pastry Competition last December and Her goal is to someday (hopefully sooner, assisting Chef Sy with high school culinary rather than later) become a manager. “I’m presentations and other cooking looking for a nice place I can go to work demonstrations. for 20 years and then retire,” explains Most Influential Instructors: Chef Eric Cranmer.

Watson, who she says taught her a lot Cathy Cranmer holds the trophy captured by her culinary team

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During these six quarters, AIP balances its hands-on kitchen instruction with required classes such as English, algebra, humanities, accounting, psychology, The Art Institute of Phoenix has resided at 2233 W. Dunlap Ave., Phoenix, nutrition, food costing, purchasing, restaurant law, Ariz. since 1995. It has 11 Culinary Arts instructors, and its student-teacher computer operations, and other management ratio averages between 15 and 18 to one. essentials and food safety. Students must pass the Programs: Offers a nine-month Art of Cooking diploma, nine-month Baking National Restaurant Association’s Serve Safe Exam & Pastry diploma and an associate’s degree program. Accreditation is through and become certified food-service managers before the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools. graduating. And as any restaurant owner should Tuition: $8,385 for either diploma program, $30,930 for the associate’s know, it is now the law in Maricopa County that at degree program. Neither of which includes the starting kit that contains least one person on staff be certified. books, tools and uniforms. Price of start-up kit varies from $510 to $650 Last comes externship. “We give them the depending on class/books included. opportunity to go to work in the industry as an extern, but if they want to work at a certain Great accolades, however, don’t necessarily make great teachers, so restaurant, we have to check the restaurant out thoroughly” to make Serving Arizona asked what Chef Rick Sederhold of Scottsdale Plaza certain it meets the school’s qualifications and requirements, says Sy. Resort thought of AIP’s instructors. His reply, “It’s a great program because the people that are running the program here are very, very PROFESSIONALISM good, both with teaching people and also with getting along with the AIP’s attitude toward professionalism can best be summed up by students. They keep a very good relationship with their students, yet Chef Sy’s comments, “(The) Culinary Arts Department is very much like they’re very strict and professional, and the students respect that.” the U.S. Marines. They have to wear uniforms in the kitchen. No Apparently students agree. “To me he seems authentic,” Cathy compromising. If they forgot their shoes, forgot their neckerchief, they Cranmer, a pre-grad student at the school, says of Sy. “He’s always have to go home or buy a new one…You are not aloud to miss more willing to help a student. He cares about all the students. Everybody than three days. Late also docks 15 minutes.” just really enjoys him.”

Apparently AIP’s philosophy is working. Sederholt, who currently Although most of their instructors surpass it, Sy says the minimum has two AIP students and one graduate working under him at the requirements for teaching at AIP are “A culinary arts school graduate Scottsdale Plaza Resort, says, “They are very professional. They come in with a degree or diploma and at least three years executive sous-chef and they are always dressed properly. They’re very outgoing and have or executive chef experience.” They must have been in a position of very good personalities.” In addition, he says their knowledge is a little running an entire kitchen for a minimum of three years. more in-depth than other culinary schools’ students, “but their work ethic and attitude is better… their attendance is great. We’ve never had a problem with anyone of them.”

CURRICULUM An associate’s degree at AIP is six quarters long. During that period, students spend 50 percent of their time in the kitchen, 30 percent in management classes and 20 percent in general education courses. In the first quarter, Sy says students study the basic skills from A to Z. “I truly think the basic skills are of vital importance,” states Sy. “Without that solid foundation, it’s just like a house. If you build a good foundation, earthquakes won’t hurt you. Otherwise, just a little heavy wind (is) going to shake you up.”

The second quarter begins with basic baking and ends with signature desserts, and the third quarter teaches “American Original Cuisine,” which reflects the current trend of the industry. Chef Sy gets excited when he discusses AIP’s American Original course, because he says it puts the school ahead of the game. He says its impetus is the Nation’s recent propensity toward using American-grown products, along with its pull away from classic French cooking, which uses a lot of rich ingredients like cream and butter. Sy says the new direction in cooking is toward lighter foods and sauces that preserve the original flavors of the products.

AIP’s fourth quarter is a thorough discipline in garde manger. Students learn everything from salads to vegetable carvings and sandwiches to ice carvings.

The fifth quarter covers Chef Bill Sy of the Art Institute of Phoenix International cooking, menu design and customer service, while the last quarter puts students in the Gallery Café restaurant where they learn table settings, reservations, busing, serving, and gain a complete knowledge of beer, wines and cocktails.

AIP’S CULINARY ARTS PROGRAM IN A NUTSHELL

NOVEMBER

2002

Serving Arizona

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19

When you give away a free drink, is that

stealing? or marketing?

IT’S A COMMON SCENARIO. A friend comes in, or an employee from a neighboring bar, and the bartender “buys” them a drink. More likely, of course, it’s the bartender’s employer that’s buying the drink. How often do you think the server’s personal credit card gets whipped out to cover the cost of that martini?

Few other industries tolerate this kind of behavior. The bank teller that comps their friend a roll of quarters is probably subject to criminal prosecution. Add up the cost of those freebies and you can see why. If each bartender comps just one drink a night, an

average bar owner may be losing six to ten thousand dollars a year in revenue.

So, who benefits from the free pour? The bartender whose grateful customer leaves an oversized tip? Or the business that generates goodwill with their staff’s generosity? That’s this month’s burning question…

If a customer comes in on a regular “basis, it’s just good marketing to spot

I would consider that stealing, if I “were to give away something that I

them a drink once in a while. It’s considered good P.R. Shannon Ward, Tee-Pee Mexican Restaurant Indian School Road and 42nd Street

didn’t pay for. It’s not up to me to decide whether or not a customer should walk away with a drink free of charge. I just leave it up to my bosses, and they usually find that it attracts more business. So, they can decide who gets what for what price.

Ian Roy, Espresso Depot First Street and Washington

BY BRIJET CONDON

”

”

“

The way our system works is that we get to give complementary drinks out for regular customers or somebody’s birthday, but we pay for it out of our own pockets or the boss does.

Rachel Bradley, The Blue Moose Scottsdale Civic Center

”

It’s good P.R. You’re a fool if you’re an “owner in this business and you think that drinks are not going to be passed out across the counter. It’s also a good way to show appreciation for your customers.

Harry Katz, Armadillo Grill 1904 East Camelback Road

”

it’s considered good business for the bartenders pocket.

“ButHonestly, from a managers point of view, it’s not the way to marketconsidering I just got written up for it. ” Anonymous

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JANUARY 2003

“

At Sugar Daddy’s, we are allowed to use the house comp to give customers free drinks throughout the night ‘on Daddy’ or ‘on the house’. They tell us to use our discretion and not let the comp tab get outrageous. Managers from other bars that are affiliated with us can come in and use their own comp for drinks.

They tell us to charge our friends and use the comp for new customers or regulars to show appreciation. They say ‘don’t give away the house’ but show that we care.

Lisa Ziomek, Sugar Daddy’s 3102 N. Scottsdale Road

”

regular is coming in all the time “andIf aspending money every day, they deserve a complimentary drink every so often. It keeps them coming back.

Elizabeth Tarin, Coffee Plantation Biltmore, 24th Street and Camelback Road

”

A

Weighty

Proposition

BY ROBERT STEMPKOWSKI

IN THE TRUEST SENSE, inventory constitutes the liquid assets of the bar business. Every ounce in every keg and bottle represents a measurable drop in the bucket of success.

Revenue lost through a sieve of bar service sins evades proprietary scrutiny through a slow and insidious siphon. Some drinks “on the house.” A few pitchers worth of tap beer foaming down the drain.

A broken bottle of nice Cabernet nobody cared to own up to.

Growing numbers of Valley operators are turning to scientific, cost-effective technology to tell them whether or not their liquid assets are being managed responsibly and dispensed properly to provide the best possible return on their investment.

One company offering out-sourced bar management is Bevinco: John Hennessey, has owned an Arizona franchise on the system for the past eight years.

Just before 7 a.m. Bevinco auditor Dan Poorman is busy scanning bar codes from rows of bottles on a restaurant’s back bar and entering the data into his laptop. He is what anyone would expect to find in any business model of efficiency these days; a computer geek.

“What I’m doing here is simple,” Poorman begins. “I scan every label, and weigh every bottle on a gram scale connected to my computer. The software program pretty much does the rest. We monitor inventory utilizing accurate weight as opposed to sight measurement, and measure usage on a weekly basis.”

Sight measurement refers to the classic ten point system; visually judging how many tenths of a bottle’s content are present at audit.

This guesstimating has been the inventory standard since the days of the cubit.

“We’re bringing bar accounting into the 21st century,” Hennessey explains.

“We come in, meet with you, discuss your needs and concerns, and our procedures,” says Poorman. “We’ll do an initial audit and enter your inventory into our software. Generally, we like to conduct the first two audits without staff knowledge to get a true picture of what’s happening. To produce a report, we look at invoices and sales records as well. Everything gets entered into the program.”

Requiring as much as eight man-hours, Bevinco’s setup costs in the low $200 range, as do subsequent weekly audits, which generally take 3-4 hours to perform.

The company’s software data base contains full bottle weight measurements of virtually all domestic and foreign-labeled spirits licensed for wholesale distribution in the U.S. Using an electronic gram scale sensitive to 1/7 of an ounce, auditors measure weekly usage, compare figures to recorded sales, and the provide clients a variance report.

Continued on page 22> JANUARY

2003

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21

<Continued from page 21 “If there are problems, we can go on from there,” assures Poorman.

Typically there are, for lots of reasons.

“Although I thought I’d find all kinds of blatant theft when I got into this business, that hasn’t been the case,” Hennessey explains.

An ex-bartender himself, he says overpouring is by far the most notorious offender. “If you’re pouring an ounce-and-a-half rather than the standard ounce-and-a-quarter, that’s a quarter ounce of (liquor) loss every time you make a drink.

Now, how many drinks does your restaurant make in a year?”

Poorman extrapolates the math for one restaurant. “508 ounces of their liquor is unaccounted for as of this audit. That’s over 400 drinks.

Even if they’re giving them away at three bucks a pop, which they’re not, we’re talking $1,200 in lost retail liquor revenue alone. In one week. This isn’t good, Typical, but not good.”

“Owners try to make themselves feel better,” Hennessey adds.

“The wholesale cost is what they think they’re losing. Listen, the only (loss) that’s wholesale walks out the back door. Virtually everything, including theft, is lost across the bar. That’s retail.”

Within a month after establishing an account, Bevinco begins to isolate client’s problem areas.

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“Let’s say your draft beer figures are out of whack. We often trace problems back to lax delivery receiving procedures; shorted deliveries, and/or invoice mistakes. Our software alerts you to discrepancies and forces you to find the mistakes. It makes you see the mistakes you’re making and what they cost, and you start paying more attention. I mean, we’re constantly finding kegs taken off-line as empties that still have ten pounds of beer in them.”

“If you’re pouring an ounce-and-a-half rather than the standard ounce-and-a-quarter, that’s a quarter ounce of (liquor) loss every time you make a drink. Now, how many drinks does your restaurant make in a year?”

“I’ve never understood the acceptable beer loss in this industry,” Hennessey says. “It’s insane. Many places we see are living with somewhere between 20-30%.”

Improper glassware presents another pitfall to profitability.

“Everybody loves those big, beautiful, ten-ounce wine goblets, but try pouring six ounces into that glass and the guest perception is one of getting screwed on the service end. Bartenders…pour more when their customers complain.”

Inconsistency also factors in the mix.

“Ten bartenders will make the same drink ten different ways. One time, a customer comes in and has a great Mai Tai. The next time, somebody else makes it a totally different way. Best case scenario, he returns the drink, it gets dumped down the drain, and you make two for the price of one. Worse case, you lose the customer.”

System checks and fail-safes built into the company’s software.

“Let’s say I miss a bottle or a bottle is missing,” Poorman explains.

“The system will flag it. If a bottle weighs more than it did the last time it was weighed,” presumably, for reasons of ‘marrying’ similar stock or watering down spirits, “the software won’t accept the measurement. It will force me to find out what’s going on.” Once diagnosed, problems are addressed in short order.

“After the initial staff meeting, that’s when we begin to see a tremendous difference,” Poorman asserts. “Now everyone knows we’re there, and everybody’s on their toes. When problems reoccur two or three weeks down the road, it’s because people relax thinking we’re just a one-shot audit kind of thing. I tell owners to expect that.”

Where theft is perceived, shift audits are performed. “We’ll come in prior to a suspect shift and conduct an audit as though it were business as usual. When that shift is over, we’ll come back. It doesn’t take long to see exactly what’s gone on.” Hennessey sees dishonesty as a disease endemic to the industry.

“This business turns honest people dishonest. They make a mistake, forget to ring something in, and then they see how easy it is to do.”

Still, he fingers overpouring as the biggest culprit. “Most places like to free pour. If so, you’ve got to train and test your bar staff on a regular basis. You can just tell everybody to pour a four-count.

Somebody’s one-two-three-four is somebody else’s one-Mississippi, two-Mississippi… and too many owners don’t see that. They just look in the register and think they’re doing fine. Listen; if you don’t think you have a problem and you’re in the bar business, get out.”

Bevinco sees itself as a cyber-bar manager. From inventory and invoice audits, to maintaining “pars” and providing weekly purchase orders, the company believes it provides much-needed services to overtaxed management and an industry sorely in need of more accurate accounting.

A growing number of A-list clients seem to concur. The company counts Barcelona, Famous Sam’s and TGI Friday’s among its Arizona accounts.

“They’re like bank auditors,” said Richardson Browne of Richardson’s restaurants. “They’re saving me an easy six figures a year.”

“It’s been a godsend,” says Steve Helland, owner-operator of Bailey’s Pub in Northwest Phoenix. “I spent ten years on the board of the Arizona Beverage License Association, and he’s (Hennessey) helped me in so many ways. We had things overpriced, underpriced.

Recipes were not uniform, the glassware wasn’t right. Suffice it to say, I bought a new Cadillac and redecorated my house. My accountant told me, ‘Whatever you’re paying that man isn’t enough.”

“It’s true, I can’t charge what it’s worth,” Hennessey chuckles. “This business has traditionally operated on highly interpretive pour cost mathematics rather than on what makes sense; comparing units used with units sold, like any other business. Granted, it can get overwhelming, and I think some just decide to turn a blind eye to it.”

I tell owners, ‘You can do what I do; put some spread sheets together, buy scales, do the work. Or, you can hire somebody to do it for you, but not at eleven grand a year. Meetings, staff testing, service training; it’s all part of the package. Either we help you or we don’t. If I can’t save someone at least triple my fee, they don’t owe me a thing. That hasn’t happened in seven years.”

Or, you can always stay with that old, reliable ten-point system.

After all, on a million dollar-a-year operation, what does a tenth here or there amount to? A measly $100,000?

JANUARY

2003

Serving Arizona

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23

Big Boys in the House

PHOTOS BY D AV I D R O T H S C H I L D

BY BARBARA ROTHSCHILD

IT WOULD BE EASY for the Arizona restaurant community to ‘dis’ the new mega-resorts for slighting our local chefs in favor of big name talent from elsewhere.

You want a Southwestern concept? How about Robert McGrath?

Chrysa Kaufman? Vincent Guerithault? Len Rubin?

Latino, you say? Did you consider Razz Kamnitzer or BJ Hernandez? After all, the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass kept it close to home, bringing Janos Wilder up from the Old Pueblo.

Serving up your heart’s desire: Chefs Doug Rodriguez (top) and Mark Dow bring Rodriguez’s Nuevo Latino cusine to the Westin Kierland Resort. Deseo, by the way, is Spanish for desire.

But let’s take those blue corn chips off our shoulders and give these guys the benefit of the doubt about putting their ‘chop’ on the Valley’s dining scene.

Anthropologist-turned-chef Mark Miller has long considered opening a Phoenix branch. Until now, the timing and available locations just never seemed right. Then Marriott called. Miller’s quick to point out that “This is not my restaurant. I’m a consulting chef for Blue Sage. When the Marriott decided they wanted a signature Southwestern-style restaurant for the resort, they hired me to help create it.”

He adds that his interest lies “in food — not in running kitchens or restaurants.” Though you’d never know it by the increasing number of eateries bearing the Miller signature, including one recently opened in Sydney, Australia.

Douglas Rodriguez (the “Mambo King of Nuevo Latino Cooking”, as Miller once dubbed him) “just wanted to be someplace warm.

When Westin asked me about opening a place in Arizona, my eyes lit up.” Deseo was soon on the drawing board, gleaming exhibition kitchen and all.

Do these chefs really know the Arizona market? Well, yes. And, not quite yet.

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JANUARY 2003

Both have been visiting the Valley for years and count some of the Valley’s top toques as friends and associates. “I really enjoy RoxSand’s food and she’s a terrific person,” relates Miller. “I know Mark Tarbell and Robert McGrath. I’ve been to their restaurants. They Any “Sage” advice? - Mark Miller chose Chuck Bartsch (left) to both do a great job, too. head up the kitchen at Blue Sage.

“Donna Nordin is a friend — I knew her in San Francisco before she came to Arizona. And Chris Bianco . . .” he trails off.

So smitten was Miller with Rancho Pinot Grill that, while here for pre-opening training, he made a return visit with several Blue Sage staffers. He has high praise for Chrysa Kaufman’s “wonderful, fresh food” and was impressed by Tom Kaufman’s extensive wine list and considerable wine knowledge.

“I’ve been involved in ‘Pleasures of the Palette’ for the last six or seven years,” says Rodriguez. “I’ve know Razz [Kamnitzer] for a long time — he’s a great guy; a great cook. And James McDevitt of Hapa; Robert at Roaring Fork.

“Since I’ve been here, Zinc Bistro at Kierland has become one of my favorites. Perfectly executed French bistro food. Better than Balthazar in New York,” Rodriguez proclaims, mentioning that he also recently had an “awesome” brunch at the Marquesa and was headed to a late dinner at elements.

With Deseo open for about a month, Rodriguez has started to get a feel for the Arizona appetite.

“I’m finding that local diners understand the flavors of my food,” he relates. “And they’re willing to try things. They don’t come in with expectations or an attitude that they want to see us fail.”

In the pre-opening days of Blue Sage, Miller didn’t hesitate to admit that he wasn’t yet sure of just how his cuisine would be received, or how it might need to be tweaked for the Phoenix palate.

“In Santa Fe,” he explains, “there’s a distinct local culinary style. We know the ingredients to use, the heat levels and even the Margarita style (in Santa Fe, they prefer a fresh lime kick; Las Vegas diners like them a touch sweeter). “But here, we haven’t found a specific local cuisine. So, initially, we’ll offer the same flavor profiles and spice levels as we do in Santa Fe. Then we’ll adjust as we need to.

“Our waiters are trained to ask people where they’re from,” Miller notes. “So, if a resort guest from Ohio tells us they ‘really like spicy food,’ we know their perception may be a little different. To them, Pace medium salsa might be ‘really spicy’.”

Miller has Coyote Cafés in Santa Fe and Las Vegas, Red Sage in Washington, D.C. and consulting chef gigs. For Rodriguez, it’s Chicama and Pipa in New York and Alma de Cuba in Philadelphia. The chefs aren’t going to be in the thick of things here on a daily basis.

Even before he’d signed on the dotted line, Rodriguez had a chef in mind for Deseo. Mark Dow, chef de cuisine at Janos in Tucson, had

Mole-in-the-making: Mark Miller teaches the Blue Sage kitchen crew about the chilies, spices and herbs in his signature dishes.

shown Rodriguez his stuff while working with him in New York. Dow expressed an interest in delving deeper into Nuevo Latino, the timing was right, and Rodriguez offered him the position at the Westin Kierland. Dow was put through his paces, in New York, at what Rodriguez jokingly calls the “Berlitz School of Latin Cooking”.

“I worked him hard—at least ten hours a day,” Rodriguez laughs.

Deseo’s staff also includes names you’ll recognize from elsewhere in the Valley—Michael Vaughn (elements, The Boulders) as Kitchen Supervisor; Saeed Elgazar (Wright’s) as Director of Operations, and Anton Brunbauer (Hyatt Gainey), Executive Chef for all of Westin Kierland.

For Blue Sage, Miller plucked a seasoned player from his existing roster. Chuck Bartsch came to Phoenix from a Miller-concept restaurant in San Antonio. Bartsch met up with Miller in Santa Fe to develop and test the Blue Sage menu, then both arrived in the Valley a few weeks prior to opening. A kitchen crew (heavy on current and former Scottsdale Culinary Institute students) was hired and the chefs set about training them in the nuances of Miller-esque Southwestern cuisine. Chile identification, salsa and mole making: grueling, though incredibly educational hours of technique and tasting.

Both Miller and Rodriguez are adamant about not using their celebrity status to draw diners away from other properties in this market, though Miller is marking his calendar for some special events at Blue Sage and Rodriguez may hold cooking classes at Deseo.

“I don’t want to compete with the local chefs,” Miller makes clear.

“And I don’t think the markets we serve will be the same. Blue Sage is in a resort setting. We won’t be direct competition for local restaurants.”

Rodriguez concurs, “I don’t really think about having an impact on the market. It’s just nice to know that I can serve things like my Pan d Bono and Ceviche and that people can enjoy and appreciate it.”

Yet, both concede that they hope the restaurants won’t attract only resort guests. “In D.C. and Las Vegas,” Miller mentions, “the tourists can’t get in. The restaurants are filled with locals.”

And what’s the Valley contingent’s reaction to having the “big boys” in town?

Razz Kamnitzer rates Deseo’s ceviches, “awesome.” But the sincerest testimonial comes from his 7-year-old daughter who, after finishing her own meal, had her eye on Mom’s and Dad’s plates.

“That’s the best chicken I’ve ever had,” she exclaimed as she tucked into yet another course. Kamnitzer, not grudgingly, agreed that, yes, it was very good chicken.

“The more, the merrier,” chimes Chrysa Kaufman. “It means more choices for everyone.” She offers one piece of advice to the newcomers: “The public’s very fickle,” Kaufman cautions. “If you’re going to do it, you better be prepared to ‘put it on the plate,’ as I say.

You have to be ready for them.”

JANUARY

2003

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25

TVor not TV

BY MARY ELLEN COLLINS

P

HOENIX IS A CITY FILLED WITH AVID SPORTS FANS who no longer have to rely on the corner bar for a boob tube with their beer. Times have changed in what has become a “TV nation,” and more and more Valley restaurants are making sixfigure financial investments in technology in order to provide customers with all the comforts of their dens and family rooms.

Bin Ahn, director of operations and managing partner of Sapporo, thinks that catering to the sports-minded is the primary motivation behind the “TV’s in restaurants” phenomenon. Sapporo has two 48-inch plasma (flat screen) TV’s in the bar area, both of which can be seen from the dining area. Ahn says that although they occasionally pop in a video that includes Japanese cartoons and clips from old Godzilla movies, the TV’s are generally tuned to FOX Sports or ESPN. “With the emphasis on sports in Phoenix, you will automatically lose a good chunk of the dining population if you don’t have a TV. People just won’t come. And any time a big game is on, diners will definitely choose a restaurant with a TV.” Brad Peterson, President of Audio Visual Integrations, has seen a dramatic increase in the number of restaurants adding TV systems in the past three-to-five years.

“Having TV’s in restaurants has so much attraction and appeal because they transfix people. If a TV is there – color and motion – people will just sit and gawk at it.”

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AVI put in the complete sound system at Jilly’s American Grill in Scottsdale, a job that cost about $130,000 and included installing forty-five televisions in the 10,700 square foot facility. Jilly’s partner Dave Neis explains the rationale for so much technology.

“We consider ourselves an upscale sports restaurant – not a ‘jerseys on the wall, pennants hanging from the ceiling’ kind of place. We cater to families as well as individuals, and we want all of our customers to be able to enjoy homestyle cooking while they watch sports in a comfortable atmosphere. We wanted to create a place in which, no matter where you’re sitting, you can watch at least three different games or programs on three different screens. And as it turned out, from most of the seats at Jilly’s, you can see four or five.”

Whether they go for dinner, drinks, a game of pool, Sunday breakfast, or dancing on Saturday night, Jilly’s patrons have their choice of watching eight televisions in the bar, four on the patio, two in the poolroom, two in the bathrooms, five in the deejay booth, 10 in the smoking dining room, and fourteen in the nonsmoking dining room. Customers who manage to snag one of the nine booths in the non-smoking room also get their own remote, giving each of them independent control over what they want to watch on one of the television screens nearby.

Despite the initial cash outlay (one plasma screen alone is about $10,000) everyone agrees that these complex systems are virtually maintenance-free, requiring nothing more than an occasional dust rag.

Although playing to the sports-loving audience appears to be the main reason behind the explosion of televisions in restaurants, AVI’s Peterson mentions several others.

“Restaurants make money on alcohol, and customers may stay longer if there’s something to watch. But there’s also a desire to be seen as current and cutting edge. All of the bars and restaurants we’re talking to want lots of technology. The plasma screens are interesting and eye-catching, and the flat panel displays give any place a high tech look and feel.

“For other places, I think it’s an impulse decision. They don’t stop to think about why they’re doing it. They just think it’s expected, i.e., ‘we have to have TV’s if we want to look current.’ This trend is here to stay, and I can’t help but think it’s going to force the older bars, the mom and pop places, to catch up.”

Tom Kaufman, owner of Rancho Pinot, Nonni’s Kitchen, and BYO Bistro, agrees that there’s no end in sight for the TV trend, but he believes that it will continue to be limited to more casual venues.

“We would never put a TV in at Rancho Pinot because it would simply be inappropriate…the flashing light would be very distracting. This is more of a sanctuary, where people come for a ‘dining experience.’ The more you spend, the more it’s about the dining, not about going out with your buddies. High-end restaurants are not going to install televisions.”

Todd Synder, manager of RoxSand, concurs.

“TV’s in restaurants of our caliber aren’t conducive to the style and décor that our clientele expects. They have their place, but I don’t think they’ll ever make their way into restaurants above the casual level.

I would bet my life on the fact that there will never be a TV in RoxSand.”

Kaufman, however, readily admits that he and his wife enjoy the camaraderie of going to Jilly’s to eat, drink, and watch football with other fans. And he adds that TV’s in restaurants can be a particular benefit for single diners.

“Being able to watch a game while you’re eating alone is a nice option to have.”

Bill Freeman, CEO of Fox Sports Grille, also believes in providing a social venue for sports fans, but feels equally strong about creating a distinct separation between the ‘dining experience’ and the ‘TV experience.’

“The theme restaurant industry is geared to over stimulation, which takes away the ability for social engagement or business interaction. We have been very careful about not creating another themed restaurant because we don’t want to substitute over stimulation for a quality dining experience.”

Freeman’s idea that the two separate experiences can co-exist in the same place is illustrated in the new, 18,000-square-foot Scottsdale restaurant. There are more than 40 TV’s in the bar area, an environment which Freeman describes as a “social theater of sports.” In contrast, the dining area features different lighting and music, and is a place in which diners are barely aware of the sometimes noisy goings-on in the bar.

“We’ve designed two completely different environments under the same roof, allowing people to dictate their own experience inside our facility. What may have been a two-destination evening in the past (go to one place for a quiet dinner, and to another place to have a drink and watch the game) can now be done in one Continued on page 28>

“I think it’s an impulse decision.

They don’t stop to think about why they’re doing it. They just think it’s expected, i.e., ‘we have to have TV’s if we want to look current.’”

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<Continued from page 27 destination. We aren’t forcing one particular environment on our customers, but they can choose to extend their evening by patronizing both environments at the Fox Sports Grille.” The restaurant has only been open since November 8, but Freeman reports very favorable response so far.

The restaurants that have non-sports related reasons for providing televised entertainment for their customers look at technology as another tool for creating atmosphere.

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Mike Peay, kitchen manager for the Red Robin in Chandler, considers the 12 TV’s in his family restaurant as being part of a visually interesting environment.

“Our restaurant has a very ‘busy’ look – we have an Americana theme with lots of posters, paintings, collages and pictures on the walls…and the TV’s are just one more thing to keep the guests busy and occupied. The TV screen that’s in the floor of the entryway is something unique that always prompts an ‘Oh, wow!’ reaction.”

Convinced that TV’s in restaurants “aren’t going away any time soon,” Peay is currently contemplating how to install them outside on the restaurant’s patio, which is the only area in which customers can smoke.

Mark Russell, owner of Oregano’s pizza bistros, has one television in each corner of every restaurant and plays old black and white movies in an effort to enhance the 1940’s and 50’s ambiance.

“We play music from the 40’s and 50’s, we have lots of objects and artifacts from that era, and being able to glance up at the TV and see Humphrey Bogart, or “White Christmas” during the holiday season, just adds to the atmosphere.

We only switch to sports if there’s a really major game or event on.”

“The TV screen that’s in the floor of the entryway is something unique that always prompts an ‘Oh, wow!’ reaction.”

The Boulevard Grille (formerly Damon’s) kept six 20-inch screens that Damon’s had in the bar, along with four 10-inch screens in the dining room. In addition to running sports programs in the bar, operating partner Paul Demar feels that showing cartoons on the dining room TV’s as a part of “kids night” on Wednesdays makes the place a favorable destination for people looking for a family-friendly environment.

That people leave their homes to watch television in public places is a phenomenon that could keep sociologists busy for years, but it is a reality in today’s restaurant world. Whether the driving force is sports, ambiance or a desire to keep up with the high-tech-Joneses. …serving TV with breakfast, lunch and dinner is an accepted and sought-after restaurant experience. But the consensus is that it will never become the only option, and that it will probably never creep in to the high-end restaurant scene.

Diners who are looking for a respite from technology while they cut business deals, catch up with friends, or simply hold hands in the candlelight will still have choices...they just might have to work a little harder to find them and pay a little more when they get there.

photos by Coni Bourin

Richardson Speaks

BY ROBERT STEMPKOWSKI

A VALLEY CHEF once described Richardson Browne as an “Emeril Lagasse-Hunter S. Thompson gene-splicing experiment.” Given the cult popularity of Richardson’s and Dick’s Hideaway, Browne’s Phoenix restaurants, and the firebrand reputation of their founder, the summation seems apt.

Browne, an admitted “product of ‘60’s counterculture,” confesses to some of the irreverent free-spiritedness attributed to him over the years. Sure, he’s picked a few food fights with peers, pundits and patrons alike. True, he’s thrown impatient diners hundred-dollar bills to eat elsewhere (long waits for tables at Richardson’s are legendary)

Richardson Browne built a 14-year-old restaurant business on booze, burritos and bravado. Kids, don’t try this at work. and he’s hurled insults at food writers and fellow restaurateurs via email, in person, and in print. His business cards actually do read, in easily decipherable Spanish, “critics can kiss my ass”.

While his more eccentric exploits have fostered some fear and loathing among his contemporaries, few deny the longevity he’s enjoyed in an insanely volatile industry or the correlation between Browne’s maverick persona and the wild success of his restaurants.

Browne came to Phoenix from Wisconsin. “Quite frankly,” he says, “it came down to a coin toss between here and Austin. That’s where my head was at in ’83. I came here with three pets in a ’61 VW wagon that had two working gears. We lived in a KOA campground off I-17 and Deer Valley Road. Talk about salad days. I couldn’t afford lettuce.”

The start of his local restaurant career was just as inauspicious. “I had my share of waiter jobs around town (here). I first worked at Alfredo for a couple of weeks, and then at Allegro on Northern Avenue. I lasted two days there, and almost killed the owner. From there I went to Ambrosino’s for six months.”

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“I had my plastic cup of vodka on the rocks for the drive, and a few joints in the ashtray. I was always prepared.” <Continued from page 29 In the location now occupied by Frasher’s, Ambrosino’s did beat-the-clock specials in those days. “We served people their salads before they even ordered just to get them in and out. From there, I went to Bacchanal for a year and a half.”

Local lore has it that Browne was a great waiter.

“I worked scared. I was always insecure, with a job or how I was presenting myself. In doing that, in being that way, I think I became more diligent.

Pride constantly factors in, you’re really in to what you’re doing, and you do a better job. Once I knew things were under control, in a rhythm, I could spend quality time at my tables. I took everything I did to heart, and was prepared when I went to work. Of course, in those days, I also had my plastic cup of vodka on the rocks for the drive, and a few joints in the ashtray. Like I said, I was always prepared.”

The opportunity to open Richardson’s came from a chance meeting. “I went to work up at the old 8700 at The Citadel. Ross Dean was running for Scottsdale City Council at the time, and I waited on him and his family one evening. It was early and there wasn’t another soul in the house, so I certainly had the time to make a good service impression. A week or so later, they came back.

Turned out, he’s from Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, where I went to high school. We just started shooting the shit. When I came in to work the following week, there were messages for me from a Mr. Dean. I didn’t associate the name with the face at the time, so, naturally, I ignored them. Thank God he was persistent and I finally called back.”

Browne says he hasn’t the “slightest idea” what Dean saw in him as an investment. “I mean, when we got together at The Good Egg to talk, he had cocoa. He doesn’t drink or even do caffeine. Can you imagine two people being further apart than he and I? He said he just wanted to see me succeed, simple as that. Didn’t want any interest, just his money back. It was the damndest thing.”

So now Browne had backing, “and barely a clue. I mean, he writes me a check and tells me to quit my job and get going. At first, I wanted to buy the Mediterranean House. Once I ended up talking to the landlord, though, he offered me the space next door, which

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had been Porter’s Saddle Shop for something like 25 years. I took it.”

Richardson’s has been in the same 16th Street and Bethany Home location since then.

“The clock was ticking. I hired an architect, made some plans, and presented them to the city, who denied the building permit. It took almost a year to build the place a little at a time. By the opening in September of ’88 I had $700 bucks left to buy booze and food. I had no credit; the meter was running with my opening staff. It was frightening.”

The food concept was, at that point, undefined. “It dawned on me when I opened that I couldn’t afford a chef, which was fine because I really didn’t know what I was going to cook.”

“I had to figure something out, and it quickly became a matter of just doing the chile thing I knew from New Mexico. I was eighteen when my parents moved to Albuquerque, and I worked (in restaurants) there and in Santa Fe. I’d never cooked before, but I knew how to make a breakfast burrito with green chiles, and huevos rancheros, so Richardson’s opened as a breakfast place.”

With eleven tables and an island bar. “I have no idea what I was thinking. Something- I think subconsciously- made me throw that bar in the middle of the room. Divine intervention. As to the tables, at the time eleven seemed like plenty.”

“I was opened for a total of seven days when (Nikki Buchanan,

then with New Times) reviewed me. Talk about being completely unprepared for the consequences. We got crazy busy. There were a million people coming through the door, and there we were, rolling enchiladas to order. If somebody wanted chicken enchiladas, we’d cook them on the grill, one at a time.

That’s why it was so good.

“We had all the wrong equipment. I’m cooking, sweating, cutting myself to shreds and trying to put out tickets while the bartender is bandaging me up like some (expletive) MASH unit. It was triage in every sense of the word. It never stopped. Suffice it to say, we closed it up and walked out more than once.”

“I’d just go home.” Close friend and hostess Marie would call “to tell me how bad things got. Whoever was left working at the restaurant did what they could.

The drinks were flying free, so everyone hung out.

Maybe they went home hungry, but I’m sure we provided some memorable experiences. Christ, in those days, I was drinking out of 1.5 liter (liquor) bottles, the plastic ones that I could squeeze to fill my glass up faster. Sad but true.”

It gets worse. “There we are, doing huge numbers, but at the end of the day I’d go to the register and see we rang maybe a thousand dollars. Here I am, selling two-dollar quesadillas and empanadas. It wasn’t long before the checks started bouncing.

“The tab got bigger and bigger until, finally, after about a year, the state revenuers showed up. They flashed their badges, took me out back, and talked to me about locking doors and such. Then, the rest of the bureaucracies piled on; state, city, federal. Let’s just say it was time to take a serious look at how I was doing business. Once I

stopped blaming others for my own inadequacies, I became a better restaurateur. The poor me syndrome is a suck-ass excuse for bad management.”

It was time to make some changes. “I got out of that kitchen, for one thing. Experimenting at home, I’d write down recipes that seemed to work, bring them to my cooks, and they’d screw them up and make them better. The perfect case in point is my green chile potato.

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<Continued from page 31 “After the review, good chile purveyors started finding me. They’d come by with beautiful Hatch chiles- ‘Big Jims’- and offer to roast them for me, too. I’d have twenty, forty-pound sacks of chiles in my back room. No refrigeration. No walk-ins. Nowhere to put anything.

Bags started exploding on the floors. The entire room was coated with three inches of chile glop. People were falling everywhere.

“I’d been hand-cutting fries and potato wedges to serve as side dishes. At some point, somebody with a clue figured out that piping mashed potatoes mixed with red chile into whole green chiles made better sense. It was an exercise in practicality, streamlining; that whole necessity-mother of invention thing. They just happened to be delicious as well.”

Nowadays, green chile potato appears on the menu of a few of Browne’s competitors. He bristles over such mimicry, refusing to be flattered by imitation.

“What I don’t appreciate are the people who’ve copied me who deny ever having known me, the ones who say they haven’t been to the restaurant who’ve been there hundreds of times. It would be one thing to simply give a little credit where credit is due. That Carey Sweet column, when she called up Carlsbad Tavern and they said I was staking out their parking lot; I’ve never been in their parking lot! That’s just so absolutely slanderous it’s horrifying.

“Paul Bigelow (owner of Blue Adobe Grill), saying in print that he’d never met me before.

Right. Then, when he got called on it, he said he was misquoted.

The real geniuses, though, were at Zinfandel.” That short-lived venture set up shop two blocks from Richardson’s.

“They just reversed the pronunciation of my (signature) Chimayo Chicken and called it ‘Chicken Chimayo.’ Give me a break. I must say, though, Blue Adobe copies best.”

Critics provide another source of irritation.

“When Elin Jeffords was still at The Arizona Republic, I stopped in with a friend one afternoon at the old Eddie’s Grill. They’re not open yet, but they know me and let us in.

We’re sitting there with nobody else in the restaurant that we can see, when the girl who let us in whispers to me, ‘Elin Jeffords is here.’

I look around the corner, and there she is sitting at a table. Larry (Cohen, Chef Matney’s former business partner) and Eddie are rolling out dishes, two at a time to her table, and they’re all laughing and gloating like S-O-B’s. So, I watch all this go on- dishes being privately served by owners to a supposedly anonymous critic- and, after a long night at Richardson’s, I’m leaving messages at the newspaper saying I’d like to schedule my review. I was probably more than a little profane. I ended up getting into quite a battle with them.”

“I think it was the same story with Howard Seftel and Convivo. He knew Pat Bloom, so he starts off their review saying something like, well, Pat and I know each other, but I’m sure she kept my identity a secret. Right, she’d never go back in the kitchen and let her husband the chef know, or the waiter, or anybody. Ridiculous. Hence, my beef with restaurant reviewers.”

Browne’s insights and hindsight have something to offer anyone high on the notion of making it in the restaurant business.

“Listen, when you open a restaurant, the fear is that you’re throwing a party and nobody will show up. Given a little success, the

“You can have a full house every

night and still be

losing your ass. It took me years to

figure that out.”

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fear becomes that one day it will all come to an end. If you’re not thinking every waking second, you’re getting screwed somewhere.

You can have a full house every night and still be losing your ass. It took me years to figure that out.

“Like lots of people in this business, the fact that I was making a decent living blinded me to both my own shortcomings and the true potential of the business. I had to learn to record everything, to put everything in the right columns. You’ve got to know where every nickel goes, because the margins are so small. There’s no such thing as fiscal paranoia.”

“Building small,” he says, was fundamental to his initial success. ”The place never looks slow. The other day, two people walked in and said, ‘Boy, you’re busy for a Monday afternoon’. My bartender counted 38 people in the room.

The perception of busy is comfortable and attractive to customers. Some place that seats 300, even if you do 150 covers, it’s a glass-half-empty perception. I’ve never scrimped on the food. The reality of my food cost is about 40%, and, for me, that’s what works. Big plates; that’s my reputation, my bread and butter.”

Back in the day, Browne was known to be somewhat cavalier about customer satisfaction. He really did once- in a moment of inebriated overcompensation- give his Porsche and American Express card to a disgruntled customer as a gesture of appeasement. Browne’s wife was less than amused.

“Suffice it to say, he and his wife burned out the clutch driving over to the Ritz for a big night out on me. I blackedout the whole episode, of course. Barb tracked everyone and everything down the next morning. She nearly killed us all.”

Continued success is attributed to “Knowing what my customers are saying.

I’ve developed a quality control questionnaire I’ll be attaching soon to every bill. There’s no better way to tap into guest perceptions than at the end of their meal, when they’re fresh.”

“Generally, I think I’m getting better at seeing my business from a consumer perspective. What’s fair. What’s foolish.

What’s greedy. I actually lowered my lunch prices recently. Nothing was said to make me do it, but I thought it was the right move to make. It’s the same concept with the new steakhouse.”

Browne’s “Rokery,” is currently under construction on the site of the old Timothy’s Jazz Club location on 16th Street.

“People in my neighborhood don’t want to go to Morton’s. They’ll go with their boss if he’s paying, but when they go out on their own dime, I think they’ll find me a better alternative. I won’t do the a la carte thing. The prices some places charge you for a prime rib dinner is bullshit, plain and simple.”

Browne will continue to see it and do it his way, and has this advice for the would-be restaurateur.

“Don’t work nights,” he says. “Therein lies the dark side of the business.”

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Untangling

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â&#x2013;

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Savvy local operators are turning the tables on technically advantaged national chains.

L

AST AUGUST, Starbuck’s officially launched its Internet café concept. Borders Books, Music and Cafés followed close behind in October when it announced an agreement to provide customers with high-speed broadband wireless Internet access. Fred Makapugay, owner of Café Boba in Tempe, believes that Internet technology has gone the way of the automobile.

Where at first it was a luxury, it’s now, “the way of the future,” says. Makapugay. “Instead of reading a book, you do your work

the Web

BY LYNDA EXLEY

here. It’s just the way it’s going to be.”

Consumers will soon recognize that they can walk into any one of these places with a wireless laptop, purchase a pastry and cup of coffee and enjoy an on-line chat with family, crank out some work or surf the web.

Robert Withers of Scottsdale’s Romancing the Bean finds traveling executives who rely heavily on their laptops prefer an Internet accessible establishment over one that is not. Withers provides wireless access but no terminals: “Its too much trouble to deal with people, kids especially, (reconfiguring) the settings.”

Starbucks’ and Borders’ access is made possible through partnerships with T-Mobile USA, providing Hotspot service which uses standard Wi-Fi technology to make high-speed wireless Internet access a reality. Neither chain yet offers wireless service in Arizona.

Little guys like Café Boba have a number of options when it comes to establishing internet access. They can’t expect any help from T-Mobile, though. Company spokesperson Bryan Zidar says his company is only focusing on big national retail brands that can be easily defined.

“We determine what the revenue sharing is going to be when it comes to setting up a Wi-Fi Hotspot location, so there’s revenue opportunities for both parties,” says Zidar. Which is why T-mobile doesn’t want to mess with small potatoes—they don’t represent enough profit potential.

Coffee Plantation on Mill Avenue in Tempe offers Wi-Fi Wireless service, though, as well as two actual computer terminals.

Customers purchase access cards for three dollars an hour at the counter. Tiny Jamaican Blue on Scottsdale Road also offers Wi-Fi Wireless access with a variety of price options .

SURF’S UP One way the smaller chain or mom and pop shop might compete for it’s piece of the pie is the new Surftable sold locally by Innovative Surfing Technologies. A round or square tabletop with all the computer components built flush into it, Surftable’s 15-inch liquid crystal display screen is guaranteed not to be affected by spilled beverages. The screen electronically rotates or flips with the push of a button, allowing everyone around the table clear viewing.

“I think it’s the wave of the future,” says Johnny Maietta of Papillon’s Too, who owns the only three Surftables in Arizona. “I think it’s something you’re going to have to stay on top of, what the new trends are and what the customers want.”

Maietta compares the Surftable to the NTN trivia games now available in many sports bars. “We were the first place besides Black Angus to get NTN, and at first it (usage) was real slow,” explains Maietta. “But then once everyone started getting NTN, you couldn’t survive without it. So I’m thinking the Surftables are going to be kind of the same way. Once they start going in everywhere, it’s going to be one of those things you’re going to have to have.”

Keyboards are covered in an industrial strength laminate for complete protection against moisture. According to Michael Conley, owner and president of Innovative Surfing Technologies in Mesa, the keypads are under full warranty for three years—even if someone cuts the membrane and water gets in.

Restaurants simply swap out an existing tabletop with a Surftable top and voila, customers now have convenient Internet access for web surfing, checking e-mail and playing games without having to lug around their own laptop computers.

Okay, so it’s not quite that easy. The establishment does need to subscribe to a broadband technology provider through cable modems, DSL service or satellite. Electrical plugs need to be available near the tables, and there is a cost of $3,850 to $4,250 for each table, depending on the number of tops purchased. Restaurants may offer free usage, or go with a paid-for access card that allows a designated amount of time to each user for a set price.

When Maietta first got his Surftables last summer, he began by using the access cards. However, that soon changed. “What we were finding at Papillon’s was (that) the tables were being used so much that people were fighting over (them),” admits Surtable’s Conley. “People were racing to sit at the tables and people were staying there longer than we expected. (Maietta) just thought it would be best if he just offered the tables for free, so we put them in a free mode. Right now, people can go in there and just use the tables at their leisure.”

Now that usage is free, Conley and Maietta both say people are exercising more courtesy and letting others use them. Whereas before, Conley said they would purchase a two-hour card and not want to leave the table until their time was up.

That could be rough on operators that need to turn tables, but Jamaica Blue’s Peter Dozal doesn’t find that a problem. “We have Continued on page 40> JANUARY

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ART OF THE MEAL

ART OF THE MEAL

ART OF THE MEAL

ART OF THE

De LUX

Accommodations B Y C AT T W H I T E

PRIOR TO OPENING Lux, a spare, deconstructionist coffeehouse on North Central Avenue in Phoenix, Daniel and Felicia Wayne had been in the coffee business for twelve years, most recently in uber-beantown Seattle.

“We’ve always considered art an important part of the business,” says Daniel Wayne.

Local sculptor Pete Diese has some works that are permanent, and some other installations that rotate in and out of the coffeehouse slash gallery.

Other artists’ works are exhibited for a month at a time. Opening receptions for the month’s artist are held in conjunction with downtown Phoenix First Fridays gallery tours. Throughout January, photographer Michael Singer’s beautifully framed images of Paris will be on display.

Recently, Wayne Reich, Jan Hayden and Sarah Stockstill have exhibited at Lux. The Waynes curate the shows themselves. “There are a lot of artists in Phoenix,” says Daniel.

“They come to us. Some of them live downtown and are regular customers.”

Stockstill’s show produced three sales. The coffeehouse takes 20 percent of the sales price, a bargain compared to traditional galleries. They’ve sold about a dozen pieces in the year they’ve been open.

Sculptor Pete Diese has permanent work and rotating “Contemporary paintings installations at Lux. sell the best. We do show a lot of photographs,” says Daniel. He concurs that those tend not to sell as well, though their pricing is advantageous for new art collectors.

The space itself is a work of contemporary art. “It was very rough when we got here. We did a lot of work,” says Daniel. “We were fortunate to uncover steel beams and wood ceilings, which added a lot.”

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The couple runs the establishment with the help of four employees.

Bread comes from downtown’s Willo bakery but scones, muffins and exquisite fruit tarts are baked in-house by Daniel’s mother. Coffee is roasted on the premises. “ We spend about $1.25 on beans. Roasting them ourselves makes the business a lot more profitable,” Daniel insists.

The art exhibitions also add to the business. Regular customers come by to check out the new exhibit.

“And the artists promote their own shows. They bring new people in, it’s up to us to keep them as customers.”

The Famous

Buddha Bar (no, not that one) photos by Lighthouse Imaging Group

THE JAZZ SUPPER CLUB THAT WAS FAMOUS DOOR was hot six years ago. Steaks and cigars were back and the clubby enclave seemed the perfect place to indulge.

That was then.

“Downtown Scottsdale has become the nightclub capital of the state. We needed to keep up with how the area was changing.” So explains Barrett Rinzler of the new Buddha Bar, nee Famous Door.

“We wanted to differentiate ourselves, bring a European flair to the area,” he says. Enter Jeff Zischke, a designer with a decidedly different outlook.

“I’m a sculptor, at heart and by training, never took a design class in my life,” Zischke admits. “I think of myself as an artist who happens to design well.” Clients seem to agree. A handful of downtown Scottsdale clubs bring him back annually to freshen their looks, introduce new environments.

The challenge on the path to Buddha Bar was identifying the final destination. It was a work in progress to the end, with the owners settling on a name near the final days of the project. Rinzler, partner Matt Engstrom and Manager Mike Weser were hands-on throughout the construction process that included an increase in the square footage and the addition of a dance floor.

“I just stayed with an upscale approach, beautiful materials that would work for any elegant concept,” says Zischke. Organic, geometric shapes, ultrasuede fabric , wenge paneling and lipstick red bathroom tiles saturate the space with sensual images. Visually, with the center

back bar gone, Buddha Bar looks bigger and more open than Famous Door.

“We wanted to transcend time, take people to another place,” says Zischke.

Jeff Zischke The menu has been transported as well, classic steaks sharing the bill with Wild Mushrooms and Sea Scallops, Peanut Crusted Spareribs and Foie Gras with Bing Cherries.

Drinks range from variations on the “tini” theme to a 50 oz Funky Buddha that must be ordered by a minimum of three people.

To faithful customers who wax nostalgic for the original, “Famous Door is still a great concept, just not in this area anymore,” responds Rinzler. “We’re putting the whole thing in a box, signs, menus, everything, and looking for a new location.” Think North Scottsdale or Chandler, where the clientele values classic over cutting edge.

“Give it a year or so,” says Rinzler. “The Famous Door will be back.”

Project: Famous Door reinvented as Buddha Bar Owners: Barrett Rinzler, Matt Engstrom Executive Chef: Omar Matmati Designer: Zischke Studio Contractors: (*), Atomic Restaurant Builders (* missing one name-will add at proof) JANUARY

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Ocean Club Rides the Wave photos by Lighthouse Imaging Group

IF IT SEEMS LIKE WE’RE ALWAYS GOING ON about Mastro Group projects, well, it’s because they keep opening notable venues: Mastro’s Beverly Hills, Drinkwater’s City Hall. With Ocean Club at Kierland Commons, they’ve ventured into a slightly new arena.

“This is our first seafood restaurant,” explains Director of Development Oliver Bagio, “so we didn’t lock ourselves into anything. If something was done and then we thought we could make it better, we took the opportunity right then to change it.”

These guys created the reputation of fickle restaurant owners with penchants for change orders. They call it “fine tuning”, according to Bagio.

Designers Brad Nelsen and Janet Henrich obviously enjoyed the ride.

Janet Henrich and Brad Nelsen From the fossilized limestone walls

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Project: Ocean Club Owners: The MastroGroup Executive Chef: Siegfried Hohaus Architect: Nelsen Architects Designer: Nelsen Henrich Interiors Contractor: DeLellis Construction Principal Subcontractors: Wang Electric, Dunn Rite Plumbing, Stockett Tile and Granite, Sun Valley Masonry

inlaid with shimmering mosaic tile to the backlit portals, towering back bar display and massive wrought iron chandeliers, the delight is in the details. Surprises like mohair drapes and Warholesque pirate prints put the crest on the wave.

This was a first time partnership for the owners and the designers. “We had heard about Janet from a few people,” says Bagio. “We met, had dinner and hit it off immediately. She’s like a living, breathing runway show all the time. Very dynamic.”

The contractor, Jim DeLellis, was a longtime family friend of Dennis and (son) Mike Mastro. A custom home builder, this was his first restaurant project. “It’s just like a really large custom home, with a really big kitchen,” De Lellis says.

Bagio says the project went “swimmingly, no pun intended”.

With this impressive backdrop in place, the piano bar tinkling and the drinks flowing, now it’s Executive Chef Siegfried Hohaus’ turn to shine. Chef Charles Schwerd created a signature bone-in Swordfish Chop for the menu. Chef Scott Tompkins and Hohaus continue to develop the menu and oversee daily operations.

The menu pricing, like the setting, is breathtaking. This is a Mastro’s operation, after all, and the public seems more than willing to spend big on an over-the-top dining experience.

According to Bagio, the company’s first seafood venture is “everything we hoped for, and more”.

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<Continued from page 35 customers sitting at tables reading the newspaper and drinking one cup of coffee in an hour. Now, we also have customers drinking three lattes as they sit at their laptop for the same amount of time.”

Jason Sempek, owner of Stage Right Coffee in Omaha, Nebraksa, switched to using paid access cards at his Surftables to stop people from coming in off the street, using the tables without purchasing anything and refusing to let paying customers use them. After having problems getting the access cards replenished, he talked the company into giving him a card vending machine: patrons pay $2 for 20 minutes and $5 for an hour, and he doesn’t have to worry about collecting money or policing tables.

Sempek will definitely continue to offer an Internet service because it’s good for business, but he has many customers who come in with their own laptops and can’t plug into the Surftables. In the future, he’ll likely purchase the necessary hardware and “set it up myself and just pay the Internet connection fee”. That’s what Café Boba’s Makapugay did with the assistance of Norvision, his digital dynamic signage company.

“Instead of reading a book, you do your work here. It’s just the way it’s going to be.”

GETTING WIRED Innovative restaurateurs have the option of going through an Internet service provider (ISP) such as Extreme Internet in Scottsdale. David Byrd, a commercial sales representative for Extreme Internet, describes his company as a one-stop shop for businesses wanting to become Internet accessible with the least amount of hassle.

“Restaurants would have direct dial access to our engineers 24/7,” says Byrd. “We monitor all our connections around the clock and if they go down, we know within 15 seconds and we are working with repairs and getting things up and running.”

Extreme Internet has a myriad of plans available depending on how sophisticated a restaurant or hotel wants to get with its Internet set-up. Colleen Large, of Village Roastery in Scottsdale, has been happy with their system. “We don’t have a lot of tables in this shop so we don’t really have room for something like Surftables.”

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The investment required to offer customers wireless access varies widely.

On the upper end is what Byrd calls a Fractional 4-channel T1, a 256K connection good for 10 to 20 Internet users depending on the functions they are performing. A high number of users or many users downloading simultaneously will slow down the system. The cost to get up and running is $600 to $800 for a one-time circuit installation fee, which can in many cases be waived; $800 to $1200 for a used router or $2000 for a new one; and a $425 to $500 monthly fee.

A step down is a Fractional (2-channel) T1 offering a 128K speed, which is five times faster than a typical dial-up connection. This system supports five to 10 users and runs around $350 per month with the router costing roughly the same amount.

An option with s a familiar ring to it is a DSL line from Qwest which Byrd says runs from $60 to $75 per month for a “256K flavor” on the low end and $150 to $200 per month on the higher end for a faster DSL. This setup will support around 10 users depending on the functions they are performing.

Hardware pricing for a café set-up is always in flux, but it can run anywhere from a one-time $300 fee to a $10 monthly equipment leasing fee.

The catch to DSL, according to Byrd, is that it is only available in 40 percent of the valley. If a Fractional T1 is too much for your budget and DSL service is not an option due to unavailability, your last alternative is to go with an ISDN line which is a 128K Surftable screens and keyboards are beverage-proof. connection good for around five users. Byrd says ISDN will cost you around $200 for line installation, about $200 for a modem or router and approximately $150 per month for the ISP. There are a lot of ISP options in the Valley. For operators, then, the choice is not whether but when and how as internet access becomes the accepted standard of service. “Just like I offer newspapers here, I offer internet access,” says Jonathan Shrednick of North Scottsdale’s Jolta Java. Using Surf n’ Site.com, Jolta Java charges three dollars for 15 minutes or ten dollars an hour. “I’m not making or losing money (on internet service), it’s just another reason to visit us.”

Out Damn Spot!

BY JILL FLORIO

STREAKY GOBLETS? Spotty pint glasses?

What sounds like a bad dish soap commercial — dull, filmy, messy-looking glasses — is a glaring problem in the Valley of the Sun. What causes water spots on dishes, and what can be done to prevent them?

Local “Culligan Man” Phil Sagnelli deals with unsightly spots every day, installing water conditioning systems to prevent those telltale streaks from forming in the first place.

He says total dissolved solids – TDS – are the key to unlocking the water spot puzzle.

The more TDS are in the water supply, the harder the water, and Phoenix receives water from a combination of wells and the Colorado River, both high in TDS. “One is bad…the other is worse.”

Phoenix TDS rates range from 500 to 1000 parts per million –New York City’s water, flowing straight from the Catskill Mountains, contain 50 ppm on average – nice and low, says Sagnelli.

“Spots are calcium and magnesium,” he continues. “These are dissolved rocks. A water droplet gets on the glass, and then water evaporates, leaving the solids behind. They etch the glass and damage it. You actually need acids to get that off.

“So people need to buy a water softener to remove those minerals. Water softeners replace the magnesium with sodium, which is a smaller atom. Sodium is more forgiving, less hard a spot and won’t etch the glass. In most places the sodium is less visible.”

He laughs. “It works for the rest of the world. Except for Phoenix.

Here our sodium level is so high you start to see spots again.” He sighs. “That’s when you call the chemical salesman. He will give you a chemical to make the drops form one big sheet on the glass, like one big spot. This just disguises the problem, really. You end up with a dull glass, not a shiny one.”

Phoenix water is notoriously hard, but not all sources are created equal. Brian Adams, of Jilly’s Scottsdale and Chandler, says high temperature washing fills in the gaps.

“We don’t have a problem,” Adams says. “Our water is pretty good, but I know other people have problems. We have a high-

temperature machine to wash and dry the dishes. It’s gas powered and gets super hot, so the glass dries instantly. That’s enough for us.

It’s a little more expensive but worth it in the long run.”

See Spot Run:

REVERSE OSMOSIS AND HAND POLISHING Some high-end restaurants install reverse osmosis systems to get the get their glassware up to snuff. While not an inexpensive solution, it is considered the most reliable and Sagnelli installs them routinely where clients can afford it.

“Places like the Phoenician, the Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze and the food suppliers for the airlines use reverse osmosis for the final rinse,” Sagnelli says. “This knocks off the city water and rinses the glass with pure water.”

Since R-O systems are costly and space-intensive, Sagnelli recommends trying a water softener system first, to see if sodium atom replacement does the trick.

“See if that satisfies you,” he concludes. “You might not need an R-O system. I tried to sell reverse osmosis to the Hilton. I figured that was a slam dunk. But their manager says he hires Mexicans to polish the glasses instead. That’s certainly an option. Sodium spots will rub off, but not calcium and magnesium ones.”

Continued on page 42> JANUARY

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<Continued from page 41 Scottsdales’s newest brewery needs the whole shebang, according to Unlikely Cowboy General Manager Micky West. “Having all the equipment helps a lot,” he says. “We have all the filters, the water softener, the R-O system, all before the water ever comes out.”

Since Unlikely Cowboy runs a high-end microbrewery, West says it’s important to get the water to its purest possible components.

“We’d have a real spotting problem if we didn’t have all this, here in the Valley,” he concludes.

Dilutions of Grandeur:

STRONG DETERGENTS AND SPOTTY HABITS Michael Garvin, of Auto Chlor Systems, says water softeners are only part the Valley’s solution to spots. His company installs and maintains dishwashers for restaurants and bars.

“There is more to spotting than just being one thing,” he offers. “Just because someone puts in a water softener does not mean their glasses will be spot-free. In addition to calcium, things like not using the correct amount of detergent can leave your wares greasy, or (with) debris left on them, causing areas for water to not properly sheet off of.”

“The right quality, and correct amount of chemicals need to be used to achieve a truly clean and spot and streak-free glassware,” he adds. “Using the right chemical and the right amount of chemical will resolve this.”

Good detergents and a water softener system can only go so far if dishwashers and drying systems are used incorrectly, Garvin warns.

“Most chemical companies blame everything on the water,” he says, “or just turn up the chemicals to try and achieve a quality result. There is correct way for customers to have clean and spot free wares.”

Garvin says good cleaning habits and proper machine maintenance can help keep dishware looking their best.

“A freshly washed rack of glasses, wet stacked onto dry glasses,

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cause the dry glasses to be dripped upon, causing spotting,” he lists.

“Low water temperature can cause the drying agent to not react, causing the water to not properly sheet off the glassware; improperly serviced equipment can cause a less than efficient wash and rinse of the wares. Therefore even the proper chemicals can’t do the job.”

Phoenix receives water from a combination of wells and the Colorado River, “One is bad… the other is worse.”

Spot On:

SIMPLE SOLUTIONS

Jeremy Hammer, restaurant coordinator for T. Cooks at Royal Palms Hotel, swears by elbow grease and simple cotton cloth. “We hand polish before every shift,” he contributes. “We have the staff dip the glass in hot water and it’s fairly easy to polish them all.”

He says it takes only half an hour for his staff to buff stemware to a high shine, but the entire serving staff contributes to manpower effort, each and every day.

Of course, there’s the simplest solution of all, a la fast food paper wraps and plasticware.

“We don’t have any glass,” says Sky Harbor Airport’s Burger King manager. “We don’t have anything that goes in a dishwasher.”

Just toss the dishwater out the window: one last resort for frustrated restaurateurs seeing spots.

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This Army Pedals on Their Stomachs, Amigo A View from the Crew of Rancho Feliz’ Tour de El Tigre 2002 THE LIST STARTS WITH 9 CASES OF EGGS, 35 pounds of bacon, 28 pounds of chicken breasts. It includes drinking water, propane tanks, cases of oranges, and enough toilet paper to, um, wipe an army. This is the off-site catering job from hell.

Except that the clients are so genuinely grateful, and congenial, and hungry, that it’s hard not to feel appreciated, maybe even adored.

We’re feeding 38 mountain bike riders, 3 doctors, a phalanx of ham radio operators and a mobile bicycle repair shop for a week. The riders are covering almost 250 rough, rocky, sandy, uphill and downhill miles through Mexico’s Sierra Madres. All we’re doing is preparing a thousand meals. On the road, from an open-bed trailer, and pitching our own tents at night. Piece of cake.

The meal detail has an element of Iron Chefs to it. The menus are written in English, the groceries are purchased in Phoenix, the breakfast and dinner team is comprised of professional chefs who speak only their native Spanish. Or so we think. Until the night that a familiar whistling intro blares from a CD player at the evening’s campfire, and Rene, Alberto and Ramone simultaneously look up from their grills, smile and belt out “Don’t Worry Be Happy!”.

The greatest challenge at lunch is getting the truck laden with tables, shade structures, ice chests and water jugs over remote trails that fit narrowly between rugged boulders and sheer drops into deep, verdant canyons that are no doubt hauntingly beautiful. If you dare take your eyes off the road long enough to look.

There’s no satisfaction in complaining, though. Not to people who have arrived at the aid station on mountain bikes, scratched, bruised and exhausted, and looking forward to more of the same that afternoon.

So we try to find a pretty spot and give the spread of lunch meats, salads, fresh fruit and power bars that Martha Stewart flair. While we shoo the cows away. Our lone male crew member fails to see the need for emptying chips from a bag into a bowl, or folding napkins rather than just offering a roll of paper towels. But he’s game, and he’s a hell of a hero when it comes to hoisting those ice chests back into the truck.

Dinner means fish tacos, fajitas, and Shepherd’s Pie that translates, we learn, to estafado, or stew. It also means stories and songs around

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the campfire, batteries, sunscreen and socks shared between campmates and reflection on why we’re making this crazy trip.

This multi-national group of cyclists and their crew will raise $300,000 this week. Money that will be used to fund housing, day care centers, parks and orphanages in deeply impoverished Agua Prieta, Mexico. We feed them. They feed a town struggling with border tensions a few hundred miles from the creature comforts of Scottsdale.

The week ends too soon. Hot showers and soft beds are a poor trade for the camaraderie and purpose of the trail. It will be a long time before a job pays as well as this one. And we didn’t make a dime.

Di•ges•tif (noun) 1. An alcoholic drink, often brandy or liqueur, drunk after a meal to help the digestion of food 2. A closing thought

Guilt by Association B Y C AT T F I E L D S W H I T E

ONCE UPON A TIME, my husband came up with some fanciful tale of why a job hadn’t been completed, a sad story about a wayward subcontractor and missing equipment. His associate listened to it all, sat quietly, then deadpanned, “Liars go to hell, you know. Just like thieves.”

He was so matter of fact about it that all anyone could do was laugh. The line has since become a watchword around our house, the only possible response to “the dog ate my homework”, “I mailed that check yesterday”, or “cigarettes don’t cause cancer”.

And, really, that’s what all the lawsuits are about, in their purest form. Not that bad things happen to people who make bad choices, but that sometimes those choices are made because of bad information. Lies, that is.

If American cigarette companies really wanted to relieve themselves of culpability, they could package their products the way the Canadians do. Cigarette packages up there have color photos of rotting lungs on them. They sport serious, scary, skull and crossbones images of shrunken fetuses. Canadians still smoke, but you can be sure they know what they’re getting themselves into.

Maybe the same kinds of signs could be posted in bars and restaurants that supply ashtrays, and we could do away with all these silly smoking bans. If you’re in here, sucking in the smoky haze, you’re doing it forewarned and of your own free will. Enjoy.

Odds are, McDonalds could avert this whole new threat of lawsuits against fast food purveyors if they’d change Ronald McDonald’s look. Make that clown fat. Really fat: chubby cheeks, quivering belly, chafing thighs and all. They could be forthcoming about the sugar content in the “fresh fruit and yogurt” on their menu. Instead of Supersize It, they could ask if you want to Calorize It. Just be up front about the whole thing.

As for the National Restaurant Association, and by extension our local group, it’s time for them to fess up, too. Admit that while we’re trying to induce people to regard jobs in the restaurant industry as life-long professions, not just stop-offs on the way to somewhere else, our trade representatives are lobbying fiercely against a fair minimum wage and anything that smacks of an employee benefit.

These guys do a lot of good things for restaurant operators, albeit mostly chains, with training programs, conventions and group discounts on everything from health insurance to utilities. They’re not doing us any favors by building a reputation for our industry as anti-employee.

Or, just admit to all of us that that’s the agenda, and we’ll decide who we want to represent us. Honest.

JANUARY

2003

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Lighthouse Imaging Group provides high quality service and creative solutions with offices and professional staffs in Scottsdale, Arizona and the United Kingdom to satisfy all your photographic needs.

For public relations, advertising, brochures and proposals: • Architectural photography of restaurant interiors and exteriors • Food styling and photography • Professional portraits of restaurateurs and chefs • Special event photography

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