Dining with Notebook #1 -- Declaring the Manifesto: Get the Best Experience!
Editor's Note: The Dining with Notebook Manifesto is the core of Food Notebook’s raison d'être. Today, the original “Declaring the Manifesto” is being updated and links to each principle included.
There are two groups of restaurant guests that get the best service and special treatment: regulars and restaurant critics. And for the rest of us? Well, the experience is not always the top of what the establishment can offer. This is, of course, incredibly short sighted of the restaurant establishment because we are all potentially highly-profitable regulars and – with blogs, on-line review sites and word of mouth power – critics.
We all deserve to be treated like the most favored regulars and powerful restaurant critics. But how can we achieve this status? Helping you achieve that status is the goal of The Dining with Notebook Manifesto. Dining with Notebook is a powerful tool for communicating to the establishment that you deserve the best experience. It is also a great device for breaking the ice and getting the staff to engage with you, which can accelerate achieving "regular" status.
The Dining with Notebook affect was discovered quite by accident. I used to travel extensively for work and would often go places with great restaurants. Because I love to cook, I would try to get a counter seat overlooking the kitchen in order to observe what was going on, combining entertainment with my meal. Because I’m a bit of a food-geek, I always had a notebook to take down my observations in text and drawings. I semi-noticed that the chefs and staff would become aware of my scribbling in the notebook and that the level of dialogue and service would go up – but it never quite surfaced in my mind why this was happening. It was not until one chef finally asked me what magazine I wrote for that the light bulb clicked on – they thought I was a critic. Cool. I then started experimenting with the technique by incorporating deeper than normal questions about the ingredients and the chef, discussions about the philosophy of the restaurant and so on. With each iteration of the technique, the dining experience became better and better. More additions to the technique were added like challenging the staff, asking their opinion and eating at the bar to engage the mixologist. Again, the restaurant experience became better and more fun.
Here are the operating principles and techniques of the Dining with Notebook Manifesto so that you too can leverage this powerful approach to getting a better dining experience. Misti asked if I was concerned that if many people started using this technique, whether its effectiveness would fade. The answer is no. If many people are using the Dining with Notebook techniques, then the restaurants have to be on their toes all the time, because they would never know when a potential “critic” might be in the house.
Dining with Notebook #2 -- Principle: The Powerful Notebook
Dining with Notebook #3 -- Principle: Engage the Staff
Dining with Notebook #4 -- Principle: Challenge the Staff
Dining wtih Notebook #5 -- Principle: Eat at the Bar
Dining with Notebook #6 -- Principle: "What's your signature…"
Dining with Notebook #7 -- Principle: Talk knowledgeably without being Pompous
Dining with Notebook #8 -- Principle: Clap for and tip the musicians
Dining with Notebook #9 -- Principle: Ask about the chef and owner
Dining with Notebook #10 - Principle: Great questions to ask
Dining with Notebook #11 - Principle: Where does the staff like to go to eat?
Dining with Notebook #12 - Principle: How does the restaurant build its wine list?
Dining with Notebook #13 - Principle: Please building me a tasting menu
Dining with Notebook #14 - Principle: It's you and not just the paper and pen
Dining with Notebook #15 - Principle: Pose a dilemma
Dining with Notebook #16 -- Sit at the kitchen counter and chat with the chef
Dining with Notebook #17 - Principle: Take a photo
Dining with Notebook #18 -- Principle: Tip heavy for great service
Dining with Notebook #19 -- Principle: Bring a high-end food magazine
Food Notebook post by Carter Lusher. Photo by Carter using a HP R967 Photosmart camera.
©2006 and 2007. Carter Lusher. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
