Eli's Vinegar Factory

I love Eli's Vinegar Factory on E. 91st in Manhattan. If you don't know it, it's not a vinegar factory (at least not anymore). The building is a warehouse that at some point in its history (Google is not giving up the details as to the history of this place!) was a factory that produced vinegar.

I first started going to the Vinegar Factory as a single guy living in the city. I had been in the restaurant business prior to being in personal service, so most of my friends were restaurant guys. A few of us would get together on Sunday, head to the Vinegar Factory to pick up some food and then spend the afternoon cooking, eating, and drinking. We weren't just any cooks either, one of my buddies was cooking at Blue Hill at the time, another at the venerable La Cote Basque (now closed), and I had a wealth of cooking experience cooking at high-end restaurants in California.  We had a blast and cooked some amazing food together, if only I could remember what we made!

Fast-forward 10 years, I'm back in the same neighborhood that I lived in when I was single, a few blocks away from the Vinegar Factory once again! I introduced my wife and kids to the store soon after they arrived to join me in New York. An added bonus is that there is a gymnastics gym, "Art Farm", and dog groomer and boarder on the same street! I never noticed that when I was single!

There are many great things about the Vinegar Factory, they have the freshest seafood that you've ever seen, amazing produce (some of which is grown on the rooftop greenhouse!), house aged meat, fresh pastries, freshly roasted coffee beans, delicious prepared foods, and the list goes on. In fact, Eli Zabar's idea for the Vinegar Factory was to create a store where the majority of the products were produced on site. He's done an amazing job at creating a truly special place for food (which, of course, comes at a hefty price!).

There is, however, one thing that I can't get out of my mind that really bothers me about the place, the service. A few of the departments have good service, the seafood section comes to mind. But I went in the other morning to get a cake for my daughter's 4th birthday and had an experience that I saw coming for a while that really bothered me.

I was there fairly early in the morning. I had just finished my Saturday morning run and I stopped in to pick up the cake and a few other items. I knew that they'd have some cakes available that would be beautiful and delicious. I went to the pastry section and stood around for a minute. When it was apparent that no one was manning the area, I went to the butcher's counter nearby and asked for some help. Mind you, there were probably 15 customers in the whole store. The lady behind the counter told me that she'd be right there. Three minutes passed, then 5. Employees kept passing me, looking at me, and when I looked back they looked away, so as to not be responsible for having to talk to me. I finally stared at another butcher behind the counter and he finally had to acknowledge me. I asked again for help from him and he told me that I had to talk to the woman I had already asked for help from. I told him that I had already asked her (now) 10 minutes ago. She was busy slicing smoked salmon, not for a customer, but for the display! By now, I'm upset and I head to the checkout counter and ask for help. This time I'm not letting the buck get passed. To avoid the brush off, I tell the lady that I've been waiting for 10 minutes, no one will help me and I need the cake now. She reluctantly came back to the pastry area to help me. I also wanted to have a message written on the cake. I spell out my daughter's name L-I-L-I to her. I'm hopeful that it'll be right. Another 5 minutes passes, no cake. I'm calm, enjoying my coffee, but getting impatient. The cake finally descends from upstairs and I take a look at what they've done. I was amazed by the beautiful flowers that they piped onto the cake in many different colors, BUT my daughter's name is mis-spelled! L-I-L-Y! At this point I'm over it, but not pleased with the service I received when spending a lot of money for a very small cake. We edited the writing to correct the spelling, as you can see in the photo.

My point of telling this story is that even at the best places, if the staff are not well managed and well trained, the service will suffer. At a place like this you're paying for the great products, but you also expect excellent service. The fine points of service make all of the difference in the world. If one of the employees could have taken responsibility to help me, all would have been fine. They were too wrapped in what they had to do to prepare themselves for the day that they forgot that the whole reason that they are there is for the customer! I will continue to shop at the Vinegar Factory, I really enjoy going there. I will be offering my services to Eli Zabar to train his staff on the true meaning of service and how to deliver it better so that his customers feel like they're getting value for their money, even if it is a lot of it!

Busy in NYC

I've been terribly busy working in New York. I have much to write about, but very little time. Please stay tuned for more posts soon! In the mean time, my wife has started a blog of her own about the trials and tribulations of being a mother of 3 little girls in Gotham. Check it out, I think you'll enjoy it!
http://www.mommymayhemnyc.blogspot.com/

What Can a Household Manager Do for Me?

I've been working on how my business helps families and here is an interesting look at how much time can be saved by having someone manage your home. How much money is 15-38 days a year worth to you? In a future post, I'll explain how I accomplish all of these tasks for my clients. I'd love to hear where you spend the most time in your home and what you'd like someone else to handle.

Where a family spends their time and how the services of Jared Miles & Co. can help.

Staff Management – A family with a small staff of 1-3 members will spend 20 minutes to 1 hour per day managing their staff. This is after an initial 100 hours or more getting the staff up to the standards that the family expects.

Yearly time saving – 83 – 250 hours (based on 250 workdays a year) and not including the initial 100 hours of training.

Facilities Maintenance – A family will spend between 1 and 4 hours a week on the maintenance of their home. This includes waiting for contractors, arranging appointments, and waiting in the house for work to be completed.  Typically there will also be one time consuming project per year, i.e. remodeling, large paint job, large landscaping project. An estimated 40 to 60 will be required to complete one of these types of projects.

Yearly time saving – 52 – 208 hours per year plus 40-60 for a large project.

Automobile Care and Maintenance – Each automobile requires 30 minutes to one hour of care per week for cars the are used daily. This includes filling with gas, cleaning and washing and includes time for regularly scheduled maintenance (oil changes, service, etc.). An additional 20-30 minutes per week are necessary for cars that are used infrequently.

Yearly time saving – 50-100 hours per year, based on a family that owns 2 cars.

Clothing and Wardrobe Care and Maintenance – Handling of dry cleaning, including alterations and repairs. 30-45 minutes per week.

Year time saving – 25-39 hours per year

Household Bill Paying – A busy family spends 1 to 2 hours per week organizing and paying all household related bills, electric and gas, pool service, telephone, house staff, gardeners, any contracted service.

Yearly time saving – 52-104 hours per year

Grocery Shopping and Meal Planning – A family will spend between 1 and 3 hours per week grocery shopping and planning meals. This does not include cooking, serving and cleanup.

Yearly time saving – 52-156 hours per year

Total yearly time saving 354-917 hours per year or 15-38 days per year! 

Velvet Slippers

Every man should own a pair of velvet slippers. Some might think they're "wasp-y", but I think they're wonderful! There is nothing better than coming home after a long day at work and slipping on your slippers. It's an instant relief from an arduous day at the office. For me, it delays the changing of clothes for a bit and allows me to connect with my family and leave thoughts of the office behind. Mine are from Shipton and Heneage and they're brown with pheasants on the toe (to acknowledge my affinity for pheasant hunting). I just stopped by a Stubbs and Wooton store on the Upper East Side this evening, and theirs are beautiful as well. Here are a few photos of the slippers. As a note, black velvet slippers can be worn in lieu of patten leather for formal wear. You can have them made any way you want them and they will set you apart as a man of style. Check them out and order a pair, you won't regret it!

Mexican Style Hospitality

Some of you who know me know that I am married to a beautiful Mexican woman. I never really thought that our cultures were that different, as she was raised here in the United States. Boy was I wrong. It's funny as you get to know someone you find out how much the way you were raised has impacted who you have become, often without any thought on many ideologies and opinions that are second nature to you.
I have always loved to entertain. My family didn't entertain much, but I learned to cook at an early age and would enjoy setting the table for my family when I cooked a meal. There are 7 kids in my family, so even though we didn't formally entertain a lot, it always felt like it with so many people around!
As I started working in restaurants and living on my own I continued to entertain. I fondly remember Sunday afternoons while I was living in New York. A couple of my chef friends and I would shop for food (and, of course, booze) and spend the afternoon cooking, eating, and drinking. We usually did it at my place and we had a blast! One of those chefs is now the chef at Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bistro in Beverly Hills and another has become a food scientist and makes flavors for a large commercial food company.
When I met my wife I was cooking for a family in Palm Desert, CA. On one of our early dates I invited her over and cooked a beautiful meal for her. I'm pretty sure that's when she decided that she would marry me! (I'm just kidding, but it's a nice thought!). We never really entertained together during our courtship, so when we got married and I wanted to entertain she was a little hesitant. She felt unsure of which side of the plate the fork went on, how her house would look to our guests, and worried that she might say something wrong. I tried to assure her that guests coming into your home will be thrilled with whatever you give them and that they won't judge you. If they do, they'd never get a second invitation.
I pretty much took over the entire entertaining experience when we were first married. I would set the table, cook, serve, do the flowers, etc. It went on like this for a few months. Then, one day, we went over to her uncle's house for a bar-b-que.
It was a revelation for both of us. What I saw and experienced blew me away. Her family didn't have the nicest linens or china, the food didn't come from Whole Foods, and there was no fine wine or champagne. But the way that they entertained is more pure than any entertaining I have ever experienced. I walked into the home and smells of beans cooking and carne asada grilling filled the home. The house was a-buzz with everyone pitching in to make all of the guests feel at home and help prepare the meal. One of my wife's cousins asked me if I wanted to a Corona, of course I did! I figured there were some in the refrigerator if he was asking, but there was none in the house! So, one of her cousins left to go and get Corona for me! Her aunt asked if I wanted fresh tortillas, and of course I did. I expected that she was already making them for everyone, but she wasn't. She quickly got to making me the most delicious fresh tortillas I've ever had. My wife's uncle was out on the patio happily grilling the carne asada, dousing it with beer occasionally. The meal came together and everyone helped serve it. That scene has been repeated many times since, and it's always as wonderful as if it were the first time I'd experienced it.
What made it so wonderful and gets right down to the essence of entertaining is that the whole experience is done out of love. Whenever we go to any of my wife's families homes, they open their refrigerators and cabinets and offer everything that they have to us, and of course we do the same for them. What my wife got from this experience is that I pointed out that that's what were trying to do when we entertain, pull out everything, make our guests comfortable and loved by our generosity, just as her family does for us. It doesn't matter if we're serving filet mignon or sharing our last piece of bread with our guests, it's that we're showing our appreciation of the mutual love or friendship that we have for one another.

Ask the Butler

At long last, I’m back. I’ve caught up on my sleep and I’m back to writing.  Much has happened since my last post, I left my job in San Francisco and I’ve moved to New York to start my business. Stay tuned for more details! I hope you enjoy this edition of “Ask the Butler.”

I have been invited to a CD release party at a fairly wealthy family's home.  There was no mention of the dress code on the invitation.  What should the default be?  And does that include shoes?

Dress code is always tricky when it’s not specified, so what’s one to do? Use your best judgment, keeping the following in mind:

·      What time is the party scheduled? The evening requires a “dressier” outfit than a daytime party.

·      If you know the host, take a cue from how they might dress and go from there. Do be careful, however, not to go too far off of the beaten path with your fashion (if that’s the regular dress of your host, let them own that one!).

·      Generally speaking, shoes are considered part of getting dressed to visit the house of your host. A lady or gentleman would never answer their door with bare feet, so you shouldn’t show up without shoes yourself! If, however, you are an African tribesman and your dress attire does not include footwear, by all means go without.

·      If the party is held during the week and no indication of dress code is given, you can assume business attire. This will vary by region. Business attire in San Francisco is suits with no tie, or slacks and blazer with no tie, while in New York it would be suit and tie.

Cocktails before dinner, when is it appropriate to serve a chilled sherry?  Any favorites?

There are two types of sherry, fino and Oloroso. Fino sherry is pale, light and best served before dinner, chilled. Oloroso is aged longer, sweeter, and more robust, making it a better choice for dessert or an after dinner drink.

For a Sherry aperatif, try a Sherry Cobbler, described by pioneering mixologist Harry Johnson in 1882 as “without doubt the most popular beverage in the country, with ladies as well as with gentlemen.”

Sherry Cobbler

1.    4 oz  fino Sherry

2.    ½ tablespoon superfine sugar (also called “Baker’s Sugar”)

3.    Slice of orange

4.    Berries

a.    Cut a slice of orange about an 1/8 of an inch thick, then cut it in half

b.    Muddle the orange slice and a few of the berries gently in a cocktail shaker.

c.    Fill shaker with ice and add the sherry and the sugar.

d.    Shake and pour, unstrained, into a tall glass and artfully place a few pieces of fruit on top.

e.    Serve and hark back to the time when this was the most popular drink in the country!

I am having a group of about 10 adults over to dinner, but their eating habits are all over the map (one's a vegetarian, one keeps kosher, etc.).  What is the best way to accommodate them all?

When entertaining it’s important to keep in mind what you goal is. Simply, it is to make your guests feel comfortable and at home in your home. You want to accommodate all of your guests without killing yourself.

It’s best to have something that each distinctive guest can eat. For my Kosher guest, I would find a local Kosher deli or restaurant and serve them something from there. Your friend will be quite pleased that you made the effort to accommodate their special diet.

For the vegetarians, I would include one or two dishes that are vegetarian that everyone would like, maybe guacamole and a crudite platter. For serving dinner to the vegetarians, I would simply leave the meat (or fish, etc.) off of the plate and serve them a little larger serving of the side dish and vegetable.

Make sure to plan the quantity of your side dish and veggies accordingly if that will be the main course for your vegetarian friends.

What I've Been Working on Lately

I haven't posted much in the last month and I feel like I've been shirking one of my responsibilities. I have missed writing posts, but I've been a little busy with this little angel!

Our third daughter, Dylan Olivia, was born on February 25 at 2:15pm. We are thrilled to have her in our life. Her sisters are beyond excited to have a new little one around to play with and help with. Our 3 year old loves to brush her hair and our 9 year old loves holding her. 

As we've brought a new baby into the world, I'm reminded of what it means to serve selflessly. I'm not getting up in the middle of the night to change her diaper because I'm being paid to, or because it's my responsibility to, I'm doing it for pure selfless love. To truly serve, one must love. I look forward to bringing that reminder into my daily duties and reflecting on this blog how it affects what I do everyday.

Forgive me for my posts being not as regular, I'll do my best to continue writing as much as I can.