Revisited: The Far Side of Town

In fairness to the supper club in the field on the edge of town, I must say that I did not see their regular menu( only the limited selection party one). If you have been a professional in the business, you know a lot about a restaurant by the time you are 10 feet inside the door. Was it clean out front?Did someone greet you? Tell you it is great to see you, thank you for coming, make you feel like the King of England? Is it dead quiet, or is there some great and appropriate music playing?

If you have spent many years in the kitchens of restaurants, you know exactly what is going on in the kitchen by looking at the menu. Are the appetizers all predone frozen stuff? Are steaks identified by their proper names? Are fish ( walleye) and seafood all breaded and deep fat fried? Is there anything that is really made from scratch? Is it a "wild rice blend?" Are are any of the choices different from what every other rural "supper club" has on the menu? Is this place chef driven? Does the waitress answer food questions knowledgeably?

Is the caesar salad made w/ iceberg lettuce? That will answer a lot of questions by itself. It either means that they don't know any better( go elsewhere), or that the owner is to cheap to buy the real thing( romaine). Go elsewhere. If the owner won't spend the money for the right lettuce, it is a clue that he/she is not spending money for other quality menu items. It may mean that he is buying by price alone, which will result in an inferior product on your plate. If you don't start w/ a great product, you will not end up with one.