Is The End Of Tipping Upon Us

by Ryan Anderes

Who is Danny Meyer? He is CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group. Perhaps, the most respected and successful group of fine dining restaurants in the country. This man knows what he is doing, he excels at his job and he is the creme de la creme of this industry. Mostly, what he says in the way of business models, well it goes! So when he announced last week that his group was no longer going to allow tipping, the shockwaves were felt. 

His business model for this change is included here. Over the course of the next year, the group will phase out tipping entirely and present a check to their guests with the only add-on being sales tax. Menu prices will be raised to incorporate "gratuity" fees for the server. In many cases, althought it is still unkown, servers would most likely be paid a higher hourly wage and then earn some sort of commission from their dining sales. 

The reasons for doing this are abunant but most notably Danny Meyer wants to eliminate tipping because it can expose the employer to regulatory sanctions and it does perpetuate a big discrepancy between the pay of back-of-the-house and front-of-the-house employees. Our industry is also increasingly looking at ways to determine what duties a tipped employee performs that don't generate tips versus those that actually do. This effort from Danny Meyer puts us one step closer to elminating most of those concerns. 

Can it work? I don't know. It certainly would make things easier for the business. Less headaches, less hoops to go through, less to manage from a payroll perspective. It does make sense. But, does it create a better dining environment? Will servers perform high quality customer service, knowing that their wage has already been met before the meal even ends. Will servers do the extra's, pull out your chair, hang up your coat, open a door for you, give you the right of way or even treat you with respect? True professionals, sure they will. Most people have a certain amount of personal pride to do their job well, to the best of their ability. Others, not so much. Your entire dining experience could hang in the balance of what type of person you get to wait on your table. Is that a risk you are willing to take?

It is an innovative idea. One that might just be crazy enough to work. But will it end true hospitatlity. Read here for just one servers take on the end of tipping.

Lagunitas Brown Shugga'

by Jim Lannen

This week brings a new bottled beer to our list courtesy of the Lagunitas Brewing Company.

The last few years, West Coast IPAs have been becoming more and more popular. Lagunitas has become a staple in this style of beer. Originally founded in Petaluma, California back in 1993, Lagunitas has become one of the hottest and fastest growing breweries in the United States. In recent years, they've even opened a brewhouse in Chicago. (Take a peek at the following video with their founder.)

We have poured their IPA on draft for over a year now while also featuring their New Dogtown pale ale and Little Sumpin' Sumpin' ale. The next beer brought to our list is called Brown Shugga. 

Brown Shugga is their seasonal winter brew, available October through December. This beer stems from their 1997 failed attempt at a batch of their Olde Granley Wine. The result? An all new beer style.

A cross between a barley wine and an American strong ale, this beer will sure warm you up. It's a slow sipper, perfect for this time of year. Packing a whopping 9.9% ABV, it pours with a long, large head and has a dark amber color.

The signature ingredient (and quite obvious one) is brown sugar. The malt is the first flavor which hits the tongue, with a brown sugar/floral sweetness slowly developing in the aftertaste. The combination of brown sugar and floral notes adds to a caramel type flavor. The semi-bitter hops are also distinct throughout.

As the weather turns cooler by the day, stop in and try one of these winter warmer brews, only available for a limited time.

On Deck: Tony Furtado

by Ray Anderes

Tony Furtado....... A musician we have had on our playlist forever. It seems like about once a day on average, a customer asks, " can you tell me who this is playing this song right now?" I can honestly say that more so than anyone else, the answer comes back Tony Furtado. He is one of those musician's musician whose tunes just have a magical quailty to them. They just grab you. I have seen him before and I know that Tom has followed him to see him play live. I can say we are honored to have Tony appear here. He will be here promoting a brand new album " The Bell". It will be a solo show. Musicians..... please don't miss this show

Tony's Bio. 

Very few musicians of any stripe so personify a musical genre as completely as Tony Furtado embodies Americana roots music. Tony is an evocative and soulful singer, a wide-ranging songwriter and a virtuoso multi-instrumentalist adept on banjo, cello-banjo, slide guitar and baritone ukulele who mixes and matches sounds and styles with the flair of a master chef (he’s also an accomplished sculptor, but that’s another story). All of the music of America is in Tony’s music. Relix hit the nail on the head when writing of Tony: “True talent doesn’t need categories.”

A native of Pleasanton, California, who now makes his home in Portland, Oregon, Tony Furtado took up the banjo at age 12, inspired by the Beverly Hillbillies TV show and a sixth grade music report. He first attracted national attention in 1987, when he won the National Bluegrass Banjo Championship in Winfield, Kansas. Not long after that, Tony opted for the life of a full-time professional musician, joining Laurie Lewis & Grant Street. A second victory at Winfield, in 1991, bookended his years with Grant Street.

In 1990, Tony signed a recording deal with Rounder Records, one of the country’s

preeminent independent record companies. Beginning with Swamped in 1990, he recorded six critically acclaimed albums for the label, collaborating with such master musicians as Alison Krauss, Jerry Douglas, Tim O’Brien, Stuart Duncan, Kelly Joe Phelps and Mike Marshall. During this period, Tony also performed and recorded with the band Sugarbeat and the Rounder Banjo Extravaganza with Tony Trischka and Tom Adams.

Beginning in the late 1990s—influenced by such musical heroes as Ry Cooder, David Lindley and Taj Mahal—Tony added slide guitar, singing and songwriting to his musical toolbox and began leading his own band. He is a tireless road musician who performs in a dizzying variety of formats: solo, in a duo or trio or with his full five-person band. He especially values the opportunities he has had to tour with such legendary musicians as Gregg Allman and with such esteemed slide guitarists as David Lindley, Derek Trucks and Sonny Landreth.

Tony has performed throughout the world at top venues and appeared at such prestigious music festivals as the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, Jazz Aspen, Kerrville Folk Festival, Strawberry Music Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Sisters Folk Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival and countless others. “I love playing live,” he says. “All my energy is focused on the love of playing music and rolling with the moment. It’s a give and take from the audience to the stage, and back. And the music that is created is something that otherwise might not occur without that flow.”

Tony has recorded and produced almost a dozen CDs for various labels such as Dualtone, What Are Records and Funzalo Records. Tony enthusiastically describes his newest CD, The Bell, as “the most personal of my career.” To be released this summer on his own YousayFurtado Records, The Bell is an important release for several reasons: it represents a return to Tony’s banjo-playing roots, with the banjo and cello-banjo more prominent than in recent years; the original songs concern such weighty themes as the loss of his father, the birth of his son and his own creative rebirth with the move to a new record label and management team; his working band is featured; and, most important of all, this is the first album in a long time on which Tony had complete artistic control. It’s his music, done his way.

“Tony Furtado is a major musical force without a doubt. He has his black-belt in voice and bottleneck guitar and his banjo playing scares the crap out of me.”– David Lindley, musical adventurer

http://www.tonyfurtado.com/

Mozzarella Cheese Stick Burger

Offered beginning Thursday, 10/29

America's favorite cheesy appetizer combines with our flavorful beef patty in this week's creation. Our fresh, gourmet burger is topped with a handful of fried, breaded mozzarella cheese sticks. Drizzled with a marinara sauce and capped off with a baked-in-house bun, this mouth-watering combo offers the best of both worlds.

Choose any microbrew or bottled beer to accompany a different and enticing burger, every Thursday, for just $10. (Flavor available the rest of the week at regular menu pricing.)

Click here to view our complete burger photo album

Fall Drink Specials

by Josh Theisinger

Who doesn't love a slice of home baked pies around the holiday times? Now you can have your pie and drink it too. Thanks to mix master Kim and the crew behind the bar we're introducing our cold weather lineup for specialty cocktails

Starting with the Caramel Apple Pie Martini.  We mix a healthy portion of van gogh apple vodka, stoli salted karamel, real housemade caramel, and just the right pinch of cinnamon that will leave you feeling satisfied without the guilt of actually eating a full piece of pie. The only thing missing is a flaky crust!

Next on our list is the Harvest Martini.  Celebrate the end of the harvesting season with absolut vodka, solerno's blood orange liqueur and apricot brandy in the perfect concoction that'll have you feeling warm and toasty on the inside.  

Finally we have the fall punch. This drink swerves away from the martini list and becomes one in its own.  We mix absolut vodka and triple sec with a sweet mixture of ginger ale and cranberry juice for a bubbly and tangy classic that goes down easy.  

And while you may not be jonesing for a cold martini or mixer we always have available our hot classics.  An after dinner irish coffee with real whipped cream and a topping of creme de menth is a perfect ending to any meal (or after a long night of sitting on those cold bleachers at the football game).  Or as always a peppermint patty mixed with pepperment schnapps and giaradelli dark chocolate (we don't use that instant nesquik stuff around here).  No matter the choice any drink on the list will be sure to warm you up in one way or another, and it can only be done in our newly remodeled dining room!