Archive for the ‘General Comments’ Category

 Double Eagle joins the 2011list of 50 New Mexico restaurants recognized by the New Mexico Department of Tourism for their inspired versions of a gastronomic treat loved by locals and tourists alike, the green chile cheeseburger.  The announcement was made by New Mexico’s Department of Tourism Secretary, Monique Jacobson, on May 26, 2011. 

“We are very pleased and excited to be named again to the culinary trail.” said Jerry Harrell, General Manager of the Double Eagle, “Maybe it was our Chile Relleno Burger or the World’s Largest Green Chile Cheeseburger or our regular Green Chile Cheeseburger which prompted our selection.”    Harrell described how it’s not unusual to have customers come in saying they saw the listing on the Department of Tourism’s website and were visiting to experience the GCCB.  “Many people talk about all the different burgers they have enjoyed.  Some can pick a favorite but most say they are all worth the trip but can’t pick one as the best.” said Harrell. 

The Trail’s selection process combined nominations and popular vote by burger fans and a panel of culinary and tourism authorities to select the special 50 businesses.

Almost 500 people enjoyed our Grand Buffet for Mother’s Day.  Sous Chef Luis Campos and his crack crew did a fantastic job and provided a wonderful assortment of
tasty treats to many Moms who just seemed happy to be with family on this special day.   The apricot-honey sauce on the roast country ham was amazingly good – not overly sweet but very flavorful with the slightly salty ham.  Sebastian Vacio, our Chief Decorator for Grand Buffets, did an outstanding job, as always on decor, carving large roses out of watermelons, small flowers out of potatoes which he dyed bright colors, a basket carved out of cheese filled with vegetable flowers.  On Easter, a 6 year old took one of the dyed potato flowers and ate it…or most of it till his parents realized his hands and mouth were now dyed a bright blue.  Vegetable food coloring so nothing dangerous but his parents were not pleased we did not watch their child as closely as they thought we should have.  So, for Mother’s Day, we had to add signs saying Do Not Eat.  Decoration Only.   We were not happy to do that but then we realized that some people actually do need the signs.  For those people who don’t, we can use the signs as a reason to celebrate our genious intellect at figuring out that a bright blue carved potato might not be delicious.  Makes us feel so smart. 

The creamy shrimp pasta was great.  The roast pork in garlic rosemary sauce was great.  The ragout of spring asparagus, peas and pearl onions in butter was meltingly good. 
All in all, a happy day for everyone.

Leslie is having a birthday!  She has reached the point in time that she celebrates rather than dreads her birthday.  It’s a time for fun, for looking backward over what has been and for looking forward to what will be….and, yes, the best is yet to come.  What a wonderful way to look at a marker in one’s life, eh?

From an early morning phone call from her 4 year old granddaughter to a more reasonably timed call from her 90 year old grandmother, Leslie is having a great day.  She arrived for work looking chipper and up.  And, now, she gets to greet her many well-wishers among her fellow workers and customers. 

It’s such a refreshing breeze to have someone not moaning about ‘another birthday’ like it’s a mill stone hanging around the neck dragging one closer and closer to the grave…wow, that was kind of a downer!  But, don’t you feel that way in talking to some people who seem to roll their eyes at life rather than scanning the horizon for the next adventure.  Yes, old age creeps up on us…but, not today.  The body gets weary and worn…but, not today.  The realities of life do sometimes overwhelm us…but, not today!  Not Today!

Leslie is going to have a great day enjoying everyone and everything around her.   She is going to enjoy because she has taken the attitude that life is good.  Yes, bad things sometimes happen.  You deal with those and move on looking for the next rainbow. Not a bad way to live.  Choose to look for the next rainbow!

We get many calls from people about reservations who can’t answer the basic questions:  when are you coming and how many chairs do you need at the table?  We often wonder about these people.  If they don’t know these things, why are they calling?  Oh, don’t act surprised.  It’s one of the chores of life they don’t teach you.  You have to learn by experience.

 These people dial first and then hold a conversation with other people in the room at their end of the call about when they are coming and how many chairs they need or, maybe, they don’t want to come to this restaurant or would they want to do something else.  All while we hold on, usually with people walking in the front door staring at us while we wait for the caller to give us information   We ask a question and then hold on while the conversation takes place.  More people waiting at the door. Then, we ask another question and wait again.  I guess it’s just a different thought process I use to decide what you are going to do, when you are going to do it and how many people are going to do it with you.  Then, having decided those things to proceed to make plans to actually, you know, do those things.

 It must just be me, my personality, my ego?   It just baffles me to visit someone and have the “I don’t know.  What do you want to do?” conversation.  Seemingly endless rounds of  “I don’t know.  What do you want to do?” among people.    In this case, “I don’t know.  Where do you want to go to eat?”  Sometimes “I don’t care.” gets thrown in instead of  “I don’t know.”  And then the confusing part comes in when someone finally actually makes a suggestion for a restaurant and everyone else immediately says, “No.” even the ones saying ‘I don’t care.”  Apparently, they DO care, after all!  I have never understood how the points are tallied and who actually wins in this game.

 Gotta tell you that I don’t play the “I don’t know./I don’t care.” Game.  Past experience say that people get very upset with me if I don’t let the game, at least, get started and go one round.  “He’s so bossy. Who does he think he is?”  Well, I think I don’t want to play a game I am never sure if I win or not.  I usually stop the game after that one round, cause I’m so polite, and take over making suggestion after suggestion till even the toughest “I don’t know./I don’t care” player gives up.  Some people are relived that a decision has been made but others seem to be upset that the game wasn’t completely played out before a decision was made.  I don’t understand why they get upset if they really didn’t know or really didn’t care.  I begin to suspect their pants are on fire, if you know what I mean. 

 So, help with my blood pressure and be prepared when you call for a reservation.  What time are you coming and how many chairs do you need.

Note:  No one understands what you want if you say “4 adults and 2 children”  Does that mean 4 chairs and 2 high chairs?, 4 chairs and 2 babies in car seats sitting on the floor?  6 chairs?  5 chairs and a high chair?

And, if you want to sit somewhere specific, say that. Don’t assume we know what you want.  Give us some kind of hint.   Say you want to sit in a specific room or at a specific table or up against a wall or out in the open or what ever you want/like/prefer. 

 Gosh, I feel so much better now.  Venting is good!

My Mommy loves me.  Hard to believe, but true!  I know cause I got a King’s Cake today.  Fed Ex, baby! 

 A King’s Cake is a southern Louisiana tradition for the Mardi Gras season.  Starting at 12^th Night after Christmas and continuing right up to Mardi Gras night, King’s Cakes are baked and consumed on a daily basis!  Well, for those of us with high cholesterol, it’s once a year but for everyone else – it’s party time. 

 When you visit people’s homes during Mardi Gras season, the first thing that happens is, they put on a pot of coffee.  Not just any coffee.  Even Starbucks regulars get that ‘Zowie’ look when that dark roast coffee hits their tastebuds!  So, the coffee is brewing and then they break out the King’s Cake.  Now, this tain’t just any cake.  It’s King’s Cake for a reason.

You start by making a sweet yeast dough and you let it rise once.  Then, punch it down and spread it out into a large rectangle, like you’re gonna make breakfast sweet rolls.  And, you give is a good brushing of melted butter, sprinkle of white sugar, sprinkle of cinnamon,

sprinkle of brown sugar, sprinkle of the busted pecans and then you drizzle what’s left of the melted butter.  You roll the dough up tight and then pull both ends toward you and lay one end atop the other and give it a twist.  Then take a little water and seal any open dough.  So, you end up with a donut shaped cake.

 Now, you take the special miniature plastic baby – sometimes baby pink in color and sometimes a flashy metallic green, purple or gold – you take that baby and ease it under some part of the cake and push it into the sweet underbelly of the cake.

 Bake that up and cool it down.  Mix up some powdered sugar and a couple teaspoons of milk for a thick, sweet glaze and drizzle that over the cake.   Maybe make a couple of passes with that glaze for a nice thick icing coat.  Sprinkle with green, purple and gold (ok high yellow) sprinkles and you are done.  Now, the hard part:  waiting for company to show up so you can cut into this gooey masterpiece.  Oh, hooey!  I’m not waiting, let’s cut it now!

 My Mom has sent one or two cakes every year so the long time employees here know and remember a good thing when they get it.  When that Green, Gold and Purple box comes in the front door, the word starts circulating:  “King’s Cake’s coming”  “I saw the King’s Cake box”  “Jerry got a King’s Cake” and from the newer employees:  “What the heck are you talking about?”  One bite is all it takes.  Instant conversion.  I am now a handsome and powerful man whose worldly knowledge, business acumen and experience is the envy of all men and my Momma is a Saint among women, blessed be her name!  And, just a thought, but is your Mom sending another cake any time soon?

 And when someone cuts into the piece with the plastic baby, tradition holds they have to buy the next cake.  Some say the baby represents the Baby Jesus but, come on, a baked Baby Jesus?  You know that ain’t right. 

 Yep, my Mommy loves me.

I’ve had three friends talk to me this week about the sage shortage in Las Cruces for Thanksgiving 2010.  Were you aware?
I was not.  You see, I’m a planner.  I like all my ducks in a row.  Well, maybe, more of a stylish curve instead of military straight
but, they are all there in their place.  J’prom ma place.  The first phrase I learned in 9th grade French.  I take my place.  Actually,
it’s the only phrase I remember from the class….I remember words but the grammar of French still eludes me….

It turns out that each of these three people actually went to the grocery store on Thanksgiving morning  to “pick up a few things”.
I was stunned.  I have never actually cooked a Thanksgiving dinner but I have done dinners and contributed dishes to Thanksgiving.
And, I have never been to a store on Thanksgiving in my life.  I always prepared things in advance and freeze for re-warming or
baking right before the meal.  That way, all I have to keep track of/actually do is cooking times and temps so things will ‘come out’
about the same time.

Not these guys – two women and a man.  (Not to be sexist but a woman did send the man to the store….and being sexist I assumed the
two women were the cooks.) Each of them expressed surprise and disappointment that sage was sold out at several stores asking me if I,
too, had been caught by the Great Sage Shortage of Thanksgiving 2010.  No, I said. Each then said how lucky I was not be be caught short.
I sympathized and talked about how those darn stores never get anything right.  We nodded our heads sagely in shared agreement about the
situation and moved on to other topics.  (did ya get the sagely thing?)

Anyway, I was surprised not by the shortage of sage but by the shortage of advance planning involved.  Just because you see a herb container
doesn’t mean it’s full.  This was a hard lesson learned over the years.  For the restaurant, we have boxes and boxes of extra stuff, especially
glasses.  We pull out the boxes, wash and use the glasses, then wash and re-box them.   So, wouldn’t it be a safe assumption that when you
look in the store room and see 6 boxes of 24 wine glasses each that you think you’ve got 6 X 24 = 144 wine glasses?  No.  No, it wouldn’t be
a safe assumption. 

Once instead of asking the servers to break out the boxes, I started bring out the boxes of wine glasses myself for a large party and noticed
three were very light weight.  I opened them  empty instead of the 24 marked on the outside of  the box.  I was upset. We would now be short
of glasses.  I called in my trusted, experienced server who I usually had pull the boxes from
storage,”Why are there no glasses in these boxes?”  The server replied,”Well, you always talked about be sure to save the boxes when we
pull them out of storage so that’s what we did.”   I asked “Where are the missing wine glasses?”  “Oh, some got broken. We gave some to the
front bar cause they broke some of theirs and I don’t know what happened to the rest.” was the reply.   I said,”why did you keep these
empty boxes?”   “Because you always talked about saving the boxes and putting the boxes away and so we saved the boxes.” the server said.

Stupid me, right? 

So, I always check stuff to see how much there is inside rather than just assume I have stuff.  So, I would never have been caught without
sage.  

It’s October 16 and I have absolutely no recollection of the month of September.

Where was I and what was I doing there and did I have a good time.  It seems to go faster and faster every year.  Einstein said time travel was possible and now I am experiencing it.  I remember yesterday as August 28 and I was contemplating things to do in September and goal I need to reach, memos to type, reminders to make every day to the same people to do the same thing I reminded them about yesterday cause no reminder, no action “but, no one told me”, and then I woke up today.  It’s Saturday, October 16 and they are playing Christmas carols in the stores, the catalogs are arriving in the mail and I’ve got a reminder popping up on the computer to make the Christmas menu.  Geez.

Guess it’s time to take a deep breath and slog into it again.  See you in January!

There is a trend in restaurant inspections away from pass/fail to a A-B-C grade posted in the window. Right now it’s popular in California and New York – popular with the inspectors, anyway.   And so, soon, like with most trends, the New Mexico Environment Department will want to be part of the IN crowd and go to the A-B-C system.  They don’t want to go the the meetings and conventions of their peers from other states and be made fun of – “Are you guys still using that old pass/fail system?  HAHAHAHAHA!”   The coastal departments are changing their system – not because of scientific data showing the A-B-C system improves the safety of the public -there isn’t any – but because doing something different is always better than doing the same thing.

 News reporters and state legislators are always impressed by new programs, all that hard work in putting the new processes in place.  The government workers are demonstrating they are making good use of the taxpayer money and making every effort to improve the safety of the dining public.  And, of course, they will need more money to put the new systems in place. 

 Problem:  A-B-C grading is not a new system.  It’s been in and out for 40 years.  About 20 years or so ago, it was used here in New Mexico.

 Restaurant inspecitions are snapshots in time.  During an hour or two visit, the inspectors note what they see.  It is standard for about one-half of the violations to be corrected immediately.  In my last inspection, for example, the inspector washed his hands and waved his wet hand in front of the ‘touchless’ paper towel dispenser.  Nothing happened.  He waved his hand again and paper towel rolled out.  I was cited for not maintaining a proper hand washing facility.  Now, I don’t have a problem with the citation.  The New Mexico Environment Department inspectors are professional, well-educated, knowedgable and courteous.  The point is I think it’s unfair for that snapshot in time to be posted on the front door/window for several months.

 Now, the inspector wouldn’t give me a “B” for just that but consider this:  a delivery is received at a friend’s restaurant back door, the boxes are emptied and broken down flat, the mechandise is stacked on shelves, the boxes are taken outside for disposal, the inspector walks in, sees some residue on the floor where the boxes were just taken apart and then taken out and cites the restaurant for evidence of rodent infestation.  Now, there was no other evidence in the place.  The area was immediately swept up and cleaned.  If the inspector had come 20 minutes later than he did, there would have been no citation.   Again, no one had a problem with the citation.  The inspector knew exactly what had happened.  The business owner knew.  But, the headline in the newspaper article repeating the public record will say the place is full of rats.

 My real problem is that hurting a going business or embarrassing a business owner in public really doesn’t improve food safety for the public.  I’m sure most of us read “The Scarlet Letter” in school.  Surely, we learned that lesson.

 Let’s work at improving food safety in reality not just perception.

What a great and unusual gesture by the Town of Mesilla to sponsor a Mesilla Business Appreciation Day!

Today, Saturday, September 11, 2010, is that day.  Shop and Dine in Mesilla day.  Hearing Mesilla’s Mayor Barraza speak to a small gathering of merchants and say things like “We understand that your businesses generate the taxes that make Mesilla work” was stunning to everyone in the audience.  And, two trustees of the town were there and did not disagree!  Wow!   Of course, the town didn’t have any actual funds to promote the day and do much more than allow some businesses to set up tents and tables on the Plaza and wish everyone well.  Still, that’s much, much more than anything done in the past.  And, it’s appreciated…with some suspicion but still…appreciated.

At the end of Part 1, I was in my office centering my zen around the sight of the Organ Mountains purple majesty as I zeroed in on an intruding fly buzzing my office.  The fly was bouncing against the glass of a framed lithograph showing some horses.  I assume the horses drew the fly as they always do.  I think its all the hair…I could be wrong.

I pull myself together and re-focus on the fly.  My tiny visitor will feel my wrath this day! 

I ease within range working not to disturb the air currents which would alert my little friend to his danger.  The fan of death is cocked and ready.  The wrist snaps forward and back quickly into place as if there had been no movement at all.  Death in the afternoon.  

A smile returns to my face.  My tense muscles relax and I move quickly back into my chair to resume my work.  I quickly forget the intrusion the fly has made on my day.  My efforts to eleminate the distraction have been a success.   I feel good. 

My daily rounds of death dealing before we open at 11:00 AM are bearing fruit.  My kill ratio is down to three a day with the staff on notice that if I don’t kill anything before 11:00 AM, I get a little cranky, irritable, snappy,as they say.  Some might use other words but these will do fine. 

Fly season is drawing to a close as summer bids welcome to the fall.  I am proud of my accomplishments this summer.  Fewer customers are waving away pesky intruders at their tables and shooing some flys away as well.  Surely, as nights cool, the fly eggs go dormant waiting for the heat of next summer to awaken them for their short, voracious lives.  And, don’t call me Shirley….

Sometime in mid-September I will retire this season’s fan of death.  The ceremony is short but heartfelt as I commend my swatter to it’s inevitable doom.   And, so the circle of life goes.   Next year, I will be searching for a new swatter -new, better, different.   I will confront the minute pests each day and hope I live to swat another day.