Rules for the Front of the House
Bruce Buschel is opening a restaurant in the East End of Long Island, and although he’s never done this before — hey, I can relate — he has a bunch of rules for the front of the house.  Well, he actually has 100 Rules.  The first 50 rules are found here and the second 50 [...]

Opening a Wine Bottle Without a Corkscrew
This is a video of a very intoxicated individual.  But a brilliant intoxicated individual.  I’ve never tried to open a wine bottle this way, but I want to now.  Please attempt this at your own risk.  The action begins around the 45 second mark. Posted in General Tagged: Corkscrew, Genius, Wine [...]

My Return to Herons — Part 3
(Note: This is the third and final part of a series describing my time spent working in the Herons’ kitchen.  Part 1 can be found here, and Part 2 is here.) I knew that the chefs at Herons had taken it easy on me on the first day, giving me plenty to do, but simultaneously [...]

618 Bistro to Open This Week
618 Bistro, a Mediterranean-influenced restaurant, should be open by mid-week at Raleigh’s Marketplace at Lake Boone, according to its manager and operating partner, Carolyn Ghezzi.  Chef Alex Azzam previously ran the kitchen at Ciao! Osteria in Apex, but his prior focus on Italian food is not what 618 Bistro is all about: the cuisine here [...]

Herons Part 2 — First Day Dinner Service
(Note — This is the second of several parts regarding my two days spent in the Herons’ kitchen.) Chef Steven Greene and I walked out to the front of the house to address the waitstaff, letting them know what tonight’s amuse bouche was and to inform them that we were not out of any items on [...]