We’re proud of our many restaurants with great wine selections, our many and varied wine stores and all the other options to enjoy the grape along the lower Cape Fear river.  Now the national press is finding out.  Two local folks were recently recognized for their wine cellars.

Wine Spectator magazine recognizes restaurants around the world that provide a “well-chosen selection of quality producers, along with a thematic match to the menu.”  They are presented with Awards of Excellence.  Winners come from New York, California, European capitals and Wilmington.

Here’s a Passport shoutout to our local winners.  The Fortunate Glass on S Front St is earning quite the following with their extensive list of wines by the glass.  Deluxe is well known for its creative menu and consistent service.  And now they’re both recommended to the readers of Wine Spectator.

For your next meal in Wilmington, be sure to ask “what wine would suggest with that meal?”

Successfully operating a restaurant must be one of the toughest tasks out there.  Any of a dozen or more factors can lead to a quick demise.  The public’s taste can shift.  The restaurant’s neighborhood can turn.  Profits can pour out of the bar or out of the till.  Unwisely chosen staff can send diners packing.  A short lived competitor can damage the mojo.  It’s clear from the constant turnover around here that a lot of folks get into restaurants every year and a lot get out.  This pattern is proven every time I update the list of restaurants on the website.  A great many are added and a great many are deleted (www.capefearpassport.com/wte.php).

Two stories in the New York Times profiling successful restaurateurs highlight some of what it takes to stay in this business.  “Would You Like A Smile on That” details Pret a Manger’s move into the United States and “Danny Meyer On A Roll” looks at the restaurant empire of the founder of famed Union Square Cafe.  One is about a large group and other is a smaller collection but each have interesting hints at what it takes to succeed. 

Can a British company come to the land that invented fast food and do a better job?  Pret a Manger is testing that theory and was profiled by Stephanie Clifford in a recent Sunday Times article.  Their tactics are practices many restaurants could copy and pick up an edge over the competition.  Some of the items detailed in the article:

• The difference between Pret A Manger (ready to eat) and its more traditional competitors is its treatment of customer as handled through its treatment and expectation of staff as well as the freshness of the food. 
• Staff is expected to greet customers warmly.  The article provides examples of staff complimenting customers on their earings and little things like that.  How often does that happen at the golden arches?  The article also cites an example of an employee at a competitor greeting a customer with a “How you doing, Sweetie?” and suggests that address isn’t always appropriate.  Obviously the writer isn’t from Wilmington.
• Pret spends considerable time training employees.  There are thick manuals that not only describe the processes but, in the case of food, include pictures to show what the product should look like.  There are also follow up tests to see if staff recalls the lessons.  Nice attention to detail.
• Recognizing the challenge of finding employees who work well with each other, Pret gives existing employees a say in who will be added to the team.  New employees work 6 hours with existing staff who then vote whether to keep the new guy.
• The soft approach of management style and tougher approach of the “Survivor” style vote is complemented by some strong financial incentives:
•         Bonuses are awarded based on the achievement of the team, not the individual.  You want to be surrounded by good people.
•         Mystery shoppers are used and staff at stores that achieve the desired rating all receive a per hour bonus.
•         Individuals that get promoted are given a bonus but with a catch.  They have to distribute it to those that helped them succeed.
• Pret is also proud of their food quality and the fact that much of it is assembled on site.  Many of its competitors make their sandwiches in a central kitchen and then transport them to stores leading to more handling.  They are fresh, too.  Sandwiches that aren’t sold on the day made are donated to the food bank assuring that what you get was made that day.

Better food, a nice greeting and motivated employees.  Makes sense although not exactly rocket science.

You can find the entire article at this link as long as the NYT is keeping it accessible: Pret a Manger Article

In 1985 Danny Meyer opened famed Washington Square restaurant Union Square Cafe.  26 years later he has 26 openings and one closing under his belt.  His story is one of attention to detail all to assure a good experience by his customers.  It is also one of lessons learned from his father’s experience.  His challenge now is to maintain standards as the collection grows beyond what one many can oversee. 

Sean Wilsey’s story catches each aspect in the story at the link below.  Some of the bits that stood out:

• “Smell it?” asked Meyer.  His Shake Shack chain makes its first impact with its aroma.  His restaurant is designed so that diners olafactory senses are hit early as part of the whole dining experience.  My favorite italian restaurant in Chicago did this.  Enter the dining room and you were hit by a light aroma of garlic and other italian spices.  By the time you reached your table your stomach was letting you know it was time to eat.  Meyer is working on his customers as soon as they enter his place.
• “See that slat?” asked Meyer.  Walking past one of his restaurants he noted that a slat in a chair was broken.  He turned inside and met with the manager.  It was a symbol of his attention to detail.  Who among us hasn’t sat in a wobbly chair or sat at a table that rocked and felt annoyed.  It usually leads to a cheerful response by a waiter who shoves shim under the table or swaps the chair but wouldn’t we be happier if it were right to start with?
• Part of that attention to detail involves meeting diners.  His carefully managed schedule includes visiting his white tablecloth restaurants at lunch and dinner to say hello to diners.  His management software helps him identify the regulars for extra attention.
• Another aspect of his style means spending “unlimited time” at his new restaurants offering his views on every aspect.  Example: don’t says ‘sides’ in the menu, say ‘vegetables.’  Example: place the bacon in the B.L.T. so that the bacon sticks out.  His places are very much ‘his places’ so the attention to detail assures that the brand is consistent.
• Another driving force comes from the lessons of his father’s failure.  His father’s “notions of hospitatilty were always ‘right on the money’ but his weakness was ‘business disciplines’ and ‘team-building.’”  Meyer spends considerable time inspiring staff and carefully planning each business move.
• The result of all this is profit margins above industry norms.  He describes these norms as between -2% and +6.8% with his topping out at 13%.
• His challenge now as he expands outside of New York City is to figure out how to maintain the quality that is kept up by his personal attention to detail when he can’t stop by every day.

Read the whole story at the link, as long as the NY Times allows access…Click for Meyer Story

Return to the Website here:  www.CapeFearPassport.com or the restaurant page at www.CapeFearPassport.com/wte

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/magazine/danny-meyer-is-on-a-roll.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=a%20movable%20feast&st=cse

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/business/pret-a-manger-with-new-fast-food-ideas-gains-a-foothold-in-united-states.html?scp=1&sq=would%20you%20like%20a%20smile%20with%20that&st=cse

Manna is pretty proud of their Chef and bartender, er, Mixologist.  Jacob, in the kitchen, is getting great reviews for what comes out of the oven and Joel, at the bar, has a loyal following for his ability to mix drinks.  But heck, folks are really only as good as their challenges, right?  So lets give these guys some challenges.

Next time you’re looking for a particularly good drink, ask Joel what he can do.  The Bride tried that approach and asked about a gimlet.  No Roses Lime Juice for Joel.  He makes his own lime juice.  That’s a pretty good start!  What do you like?  What can he do?  These are the questions of enquiring minds.  They want to know.

What about the kitchen?  After all, this is a restaurant.  If you see something you like on the menu but would like a variation, don’t be afraid to ask.  Do be sensitive to how busy they are.  Best to do special orders off peak times.

Might be fun to recall that special dish you had when you were at the restaurant off somewhere.  And then call these guys ahead of time and see what they can do.

Wilmington has a lot of great restaurants.  We can help them to see what they can do!  Yeah, that’s it, we’re helping them.

The Wilmington Star News has reviewed this restaurant.  You can find their review at this link: Starnewsonline review of Manna

The Bride and I wandered over towards Wrightsville Friday to check out Cameo 1900.  Good food+ different layout + helpful service = a pleasant experience.

The first thing you notice is that it’s not laid out like most restaurants.  Rather than a sea of two-tops and four-tops, the space is divided into a series of semiprivate areas.  You are separated from the next group by a sheer black curtain.  The chairs are different too.  Rather than the usual upright chair cleverly designed to be comfortable for a short period of time, the chairs are designed for you to lounge in.  Cameo wants to be known for its cocktails and the chairs certainly facilitate sitting back and sipping something in a glass.  Friday was Mojito night.

Cameo’s setup is all designed to match their key concept which is that you should enjoy a ‘flow’ of food and drinks coming to the table.  We strived to be up for the challenge.

We began with the Rock Shrimp.  It promised mango, rice noodles, tomatoes, peanuts and a curry vinaigrette.  The Bride liked it, I found it too lemony.  The rice noodles looked like pipe cleaners and had no taste.  Being long, they were somewhat awkward to handle althought that did slow down my eating allowing me to better savor what I ate.

Okay, so then we got smart.  We asked Jessica what was good.

She brought out their tuna tartare which comes in a little pile atop a base of avocado.  Its presentation reminds one of an upturned bucket of sand.  Tasty and nutritious.  It was well worth it.  Kirsten Mitchell, the chef, definitely needs to keep this on the menu.

 She also brought out an order of the Korean style BBQ.  More food to play with and assemble.  Lettuce leaves in lieu of a bun, the Q, and carrot slaw make up the ingredients for you to put together as you please.  It really works well together.  This will get Kirsten votes in the Top Chef competition (running currently in the Wilmington Star News).

And who could go to a restaurant of small eating areas and small plates without ordering small burgers?  Cameo offers burger sliders an pork sliders.  As a fan of Wilber’s (Goldsboro) all BBQ runs 2nd.  But the burger slider with goat cheese and an onion marmalade was great.  The menu officially offers 3 of one or other but they accomodated our request for a split.  Special orders don’t upset them.

Since I missed the memo about Cameo being a cocktail place I ordered wine.  Fine, but a missed opportunity.  Their cocktails are all made with fresh fruit.  The bride’s Grey Goose Gimlet and traditional mojito seemed to really hit the spot.  Mojitos were the beverage special that night.  They offered more variations on the basic mojito than I could keep up with.

Lumina Station has a great option when you’re looking for the unhurried dinner of small plates so everyone can get what they want.

You can read the Wilmington Star News review at this link: http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20100504/ARTICLES/100509909