I'm Back and with a vengeance.

Well It look's like it's been forever since I wrote on the blog, and yes is because I'm not unemployed any more. I'm working for a big company that has a few hotels worldwide. I'm not mentioning any names but i'll tell you this, the cookies are good. Since I started working i've noticed that things are not the same any more, people are in to craft beers more and they are forgetting how to drink, you know what I mean. The art of mixing drinks or mixology in my part of the world is being forgotten. Only in NYC is where you can find people that truly like a well made drink, I'm not saying your grampa's Old Fashion or 007 martini Shaken not stirred, even though I make a hell of a shaken martini ( with a twist of course ).  So I'm going to give everyone here some homework. Go out to your favorite bar, not a sports bar or a mom and pop shop, a well known, full bar establishment, and ask the bartender to give you drink, maybe check their drinks menu, maybe the bartender has some drinks in his head that might be good. You will never know unless you try. With that in mind, go out and try something new.

You might say, what a mess. In my town we say, Que clase' crical!

Que clase' crical

  So, the last weekend my wife told me that I had to clean the spice cabinet. Right after she saw this mess, her words where, you are not buying another hot sauce or spice bottle ever again. Yeah like that's going to happen. Hot sauces are a part of my life, seriously having a bottle of hot sauce in my kitchen is like having my pennis in my pants.  For those of you who cook, you know that having your spices and condiments is part of you cooking identity. Lets face it, sometimes  a little bit of salt and pepper wont do the job.

Ps
Hey guys sorry that I haven't been around in the past weeks, but college is taking a lot of time out my hands, but pretty soon ill be back with more tips and new adventures, till then , go out and try something new.

Back in the saddle again

What's up guys.
 So we are back from our well deserved vacations, and I have so much to tell you guys.
 In the last few weeks we have had some awesome food. From Zucchini Blossoms stuffed with cod to raw conk salad. We have seen good service and really bad service, but over all really good experiences. With that said, let's move on to the good stuff. New restaurants have opened in the area, classes have started and the cooking nights are starting to get old. What could you do in those nights that you simply don't want to cook, but you have too. Here are a few tips that might help you out.

1. Try setting a menu per night.
     Get recipes and develop a full meal, and remember try to do something easy.
2. Try using similar recipes .
    By using similar recipes you avoid having to buy tons of ingredients.
3. Recycle.
    OK I'm not saying that you have to eat the same food every night, but with the same ingredients
     you can do different things. ej with cooked pasta you can do Asian noodles, spaghetti, soup, etc.
4. Pre-package your proteins. (Ziplock that Bitch)
    Divide your proteins in separated packages, when you get your proteins from the store or market, cut 
    the proteins and marinade them, this will keep them more fresh than usual and ready to defrost under
    water in an instant. ( don't remove from packaging while under running water)

I hope that this few tips will help you in your daily venture of cooking every night.

Cheers.

To green or not to green, is it local the question?

Whats up guys !!

So, lately everybody is talking about being sustainable, being green, buying local, and ok that is good but let me tell you i think is a bunch of bull⩈✘✰☮.  Some of you that say ( oh i have so much passion for the food, cooking is my life ) bla bla bla . Listen if you own a restaurant, you are in it to make money, because if you wouldn't  want to make money you'll still be working as a line cook in a chilis or something. I get that buying local is good, not just for you, but for the local business as well, but sometimes buying local can get to be expensive  for a restaurant and the cost of that will affect your business, the food cost goes up then your prices go up and no one will want to go to your restaurant because is expensive. Instead, why not try cooking with some feeling. Sometimes you see all this Tv shows that show you all the food that other country's cook, and sometimes you see that, the ways they cook and the ingredients they use are not the best, but still the food is pretty darn good. What im trying to say is that in order to cook good food you dont have to have the finest ingredients, you just have to care about the food. If you don't believe me just ask Eva from the blog ( Freir un huevo ) and she will  tell you the truth, she is not a trained chef, and she can cook better than most of the people that I know.

So with that said. Don't believe all you see on tv and buy the ingredients that you want, just have fun and your food will taste good, trust me.

Oh, Jumping lasagna cowboy. Why oh why?

Last week I got some terrible news. One of my favorite restaurants is closing it's doors. What am I going to do now? Portobello one of the best restaurants in Westchester county, is taking a small pieces of my heart with them. Oh why,oh why. Very sad We say farewell to the Portobello Cafe and we The family of Confession of an unemployed bartender and N.Y. Restaurant Solutions wish good luck to Luis and Francine in their new adventure. Please take care my friends.

An the fucked up thing is, It's a Fucking Chili's.

By know you might know that I have high standards when it comes to service. For me the food is just, not enough, there has to be a harmony between food and service. That is was keeps the people coming again and again. Here is my point. Last night, my family and I went to eat after doing some shopping, and the options where a little bit small. We had on one side, Wendy's, and on the other side we had Chili’s.
Because of my in laws diet we decided to go to Chili’s. The problem was, that we had have really bad experiences in this particular Chili’s, the food is as regular as a standardized recipe could get. The service in this Chili’s was so bad, every time we went there they gave us a 5$ discount coupon for the next visit, and no kidding my wife has like 4 coupons in her purse from last year.

So any way, we went to Chili’s and OMG for the first time, the hostess greeted us with a happy face, when we got seated, not one, but two waitresses came to the table and told us that, they, as a team, where going to be serving our table. The appetizers came out really fast, the refills where there every time the glasses where empty. The entrees came out hot and quickly, over all the service and the food were pretty decent.
Who would have believed that? I after eating in fine dinning restaurants, so many bar and dives, I would get a service that would make Marcos Mercado look like 15 year old girl. An the fucked up thing is, it's a fucking Chili’s.

I felt like a prostitute.

  I'm not saying that I was a prostitute (I wish), just that I felt like one, every time I changed restaurants and had to start over again and again. Getting to know new people; well not really, in my town every service employee knows each other. Let me clarify; is not that I got fired on any of my jobs, is that I don't take crap from people that manage a restaurant because they have a B.S. in management and had never worked in a restaurant. Working in all those restaurants and bars taught me how to work and do work the right way. That is what a want to show all the people that work and want to work in a restaurant.

Working in a restaurant is tons of fun. You have the crazy waitresses, the really crazy cooks and chefs, that sell drugs to the employees. The cool doorman, the not so talented barback,the valet parking attendant that thinks he is the mayor of the town, the really hot bartender (that's me), and finally your customers, the most important aspect of working in a restaurant.  I have many storys about bars and restaurants, so stay tunned and you will know a few, well the PG 13 ones at least.

Till then, go out and try something new