June 7, 2024

June 7th Newsletter

Wow this year seems to be flying by.  I still find myself resisting the need to write 2023 on checks. And I just had to concentrate on typing ‘June’ at the top of this.

Anyway, HI!  I hope you are all doing well and settling into a good summer routine. Some area schools are just about done. The weather has become warm, and the grass needs continuous mowing. Local produce is available and summer flowers are shining brightly. Enjoy it. Perhaps it is a consequence of getting older, but the years and seasons seem to be going by more quickly, even fleeting.

Today, I am going to talk about something that seems to have become quite a divisive topic in the last year, or so. (No…no politics here.) Let’s have a discussion about tipping.  Some do, some don’t.  And I can understand some arguments for either side. In days of yore, serving staff in restaurants were paid just enough to say that they were on a payroll, maybe two dollars an hour.  Obviously, no one can live on that. So, patrons became judges. Patrons were expected to leave a gratuity based upon the amount of the check AND the quality of the service provided. Using this system, the server could then become a salesperson working on commission. One could go into the restaurant looking to have a lunch sandwich. A good salesperson could talk you into an appetizer, a bigger sandwich, a glass of reasonably expensive wine, and let’s not forget that all important dessert.  That twelve-dollar sandwich just became a sixty-four-dollar meal.  The server will most likely get tipped more because of the higher amount of the check. The manager/owner is happy because more food was sold, and the labor cost was kept low.  Potential for profit increases.

Now, before someone writes to me to tell me of the evil oppressive system which keeps poor folks poor by paying them two dollars an hour, I have personally met a couple of servers who were making over $100,000 per year. (Yes, I counted the zeros and it’s correct.) Certainly, there are not many who accomplish this. But those who look at it as more than taking an order and passing it off to the kitchen can go pretty far. If they know the menu, and I mean know it well…how everything is made, what can be substituted, what can’t, know the wine list and all that is possible to know about each wine and what they pair well with on the menu, take pride in their appearance, listen well to their guests with sincere interest…they will excel.  Those folks are also smart enough to trade up to the finest restaurant in town and stay there, creating a following of people who request them. But let’s face it, most are not going to do all of that.

There is the camp of people who argue that restaurant owners should pay people a ‘living wage.’  I sympathize with that. Why should we have to make up for what you won’t pay them?  It’s a fair question. Restaurants have been running this way for so long, it’s like teaching a dinosaur a new trick. I am sure all our Google feeds are different. Because of whom I am, what I do, and the research I explore, I get a fair amount of restaurant type news each day.  And I have noticed a slew (yes, a SLEW) of restaurant chains filing for bankruptcy lately. It seems I read about a new one at least every other day, this very morning being no different.  Now, there are a lot of reasons for restaurants to go under.  But I can’t help noticing the timing. There has been a lot of push to raise the minimum wage (including servers).

Currently in Virginia where the minimum wage is $12.00 per hour:

Tip minimum wage

Virginia minimum wage laws do not establish a tipped minimum wage and do not require employers to pay tipped employees a cash wage. Employers must, however, ensure that tipped employees receive enough tips so that they are paid the standard minimum wage for all hours worked. If tipped employees do not receive enough tips to be paid the standard minimum wage for all hours worked, the employer must pay employees the deficiency. VA Statute 40.1-28.9(B)

California (on the other hand) has a minimum wage of:

In California, the minimum wage for servers in 2024 is $16.00 per hour.

Yes, that is all tipped employees…waiters, waitresses, bartenders, valets, etc.  If you are fortunate enough to work in fast-food, the minimum wage is $20/hour.  I have spent most of my adult life in the restaurant business.  I have been everything from a dishwasher to director of operations.  I have to say, I am not truly surprised about the number of bankruptcies I am reading about.  There are two major expenses in the restaurant business, Food and Labor.  Each of them is somewhat controllable, but they are still probably sixty cents of every dollar spent in the operation.  Then come things like insurance, rent, legal fees, everything else any business requires.

Ok, ok Johnnymac, what does all this have to do with tipping?  Are you for it or against it?  Nope, I am not going to answer that. I am hoping to show you how complicated the issue is. Then, based on the situation, you may decide for yourself.  The restaurant business is a hard one. It’s filled with challenges and expenses just like any other business. The failure rate is well publicized, and mostly due to being undercapitalized. I have seen memes on the subject recently. One that caught my eye said, “If I have to stand and order, I’m not tipping!” I believe that they were referring to fast food, or at least, I hope. I understand that. Fast food really doesn’t employ a commission-based sales force (waiters). But…to be a little selfish…what about food trucks?  One generally stands in front of a food truck.  As the owner and all who work for me, we will do our best to upsell, i.e. “Would you like a drink with that?  The cobbler today is exceptional! Let me tell you how we make this from scratch!”  We pay our people well above the minimum wage, partly because we know that tipping is becoming an issue.  We feel responsible for knowing they deserve a ‘living wage.’ However, over the course of the last year, we have had to cut back their hours so we could stay in business. They are truly our friends and have been long before this food truck. So, they understand. But it still hurts.

When Leigh Anne and I go out to dinner, we tip. For exceptional service, we tip exceptionally. In fast food, we don’t.  What do YOU do?  When do you feel it is appropriate to tip?  When do you feel it is not appropriate?  Do you tip a caterer? Do you tip the person who delivers your newspaper? Do you offer a gratuity to tour guide? Do you tip the dealer at a blackjack table? Or do you feel that tipping is an antiquated institution that just needs to go away?

On to other quick topics…we got a new truck, or at least new to us. Here’s a note to any of you who are thinking that this Food Truck business sounds fun and have your eye on a trailer. Look up your vehicle’s towing capacity.  Take into account not only the weight of the trailer (loaded with all equipment et al), but the weight of the towing vehicle as well!  Case in point, my trailer (with everything in it) weighs about 6,500 pounds.  The towing capacity of my Expedition is about 6,000 pounds. Hmmm.  Truly, I have been abusing that poor thing.  And, after a year, the creaks and grinds were starting to show.  So, we did a lot of research about towing capacities, age, cost, etc. etc.  We ended up purchasing a 2016 Ram 2500.  The towing capacity is 17,730 pounds.  Yup, feeling better now, especially since we live in a mountainous area. It is certainly the biggest vehicle I have ever had. As one of our friends called it, it is a ‘Beast!”  Anyway, there endeth that lesson.

So Johnnymac, where are you guys going to be? Good question.  Tomorrow, Saturday June 8th, we will be at Patchwork Plus from 9-5.  They are having a special day for some of their best customers, and we have been invited out to enjoy the day with them.  Next Tuesday and Wednesday evenings (5:30-8:30) we will be at Rockingham Park serving the players and families of softball and baseball!  Thursday, we will be at a private function for Rosetta Stone.  Friday evening from 6-9 we will be at Brix and Columns Winery. Then, we wrap up the week on Saturday feeding people at the Grottoes Party in the Park!  We will probably be open downtown on Wednesday and Friday from 10-3. 

We decided to try something at a recent event, just for fun. We thought we would throw iced coffee on the menu, just to see if anyone would want any. Oh my….yes, they did. I found myself making as much coffee as food!  So, THAT is on the menu now. I don’t know what the full next menu will include, but I did pick up a case of baby back ribs today that I will probably be smoking. We’ll see.

Ok. Culinary tip time. There are actually two things I would like to talk about today. The first is garlic. Not only can it be used to ward off vampires, but it is also something I find almost essential in a lot of my cooking.  But it can be intimidating to those who haven’t been told how to use it.  For today’s discussion, I am talking about fresh garlic, the kind you find in a grocery store, cloves with the white papery covering. When using fresh garlic, one should peel away all the papery outside and be lift with an almost football shaped center about the size of a nut. Often this piece is chopped or sliced into small bits and added to something…a sauce, a dressing, a rub, whatever. When you taste a bit of this raw garlic the flavor is quite strong and has a heat to it like horseradish. If that is your goal, you will succeed.  My advice is to be conservative using raw garlic. It can easily overpower everything else in your dish. However, garlic can be made to be a bit more approachable as well.  When roasted, garlic mellows. You can get the same flavor without the ‘heat’ and sharpness.  When you buy a clove of garlic hold the pointy end up. It should look a little like an upside down heart. Now, place it on a cutting board. Remove as much of the papery outside as you can. Cut enough off of the fat end to expose the ends of those center pieces. Next, cover the ends of those center pieces with olive oil. [Olive oil is preferable, but any oil will do.] Now wrap it all tightly in aluminum foil and bake it at about 350 degrees for an hour. Carefully remove it from the oven and squeeze out those center pieces. They should be very soft. The longer your roast them, the softer they will be. The taste of these compared to raw will be much milder. One could use these to make garlic butter, roasted garlic hummus, use in sauces, or just about anything.

Lastly, I want to encourage a habit that will help you in your culinary journey. Clean as you go.  We talked in a previous edition about Mise en Place…getting everything together you will need to make a dish before starting.  Once you start making the dish, you will be using utensils, cutting boards, bowls, etc. etc. As you progress through each step, take a moment to clean up what you have used. If you know you are done with a bowl, put it in the dishwasher. If you have finished cutting something, clean the cutting board and knife before you put anything else on it.  If you have extra of something, put it away once you have finished taking what you need. Keeping the space as clean as you can will help you feel more in control and less chaotic. Don’t say, “I’ll just get it done when I finish the dish.” You will probably feel a bit overwhelmed and tired just looking at it at that point. Are you done with the flour? Put the flour away. Are you done with the grapes? Put them back in the fridge. Have you finished cutting the meat? Wash the cutting board, knife, and put them away. Wipe down the counters. Working in and maintaining a clean environment helps you focus on creating good, clean food.

Hope you all have a good week!  And feel free to reply about the tipping. I am curious how you folks feel about it.

Johnnymac