However, we most often receive suggestions (sometimes, outright demands) for a particular food not currently on the menu People are incredulous when, after submitting their request, we don't hop right on it. Truly, if we could, we'd honor everyone's cravings -- it's what we're about, after all.
The sad fact is that, not only is our "kitchen" very tiny, we really don't have anything like a stove back there. All we have is a hot plate and a panini grill. Oh, and our soup server, which is more a containment unit than something you cook on.That's it: a three-sandwich grill and the thing your parents sent with you to college to boil up a pot of Ramen noodles. Whenever we add another appliance, the breaker kicks off. We've tried countless combinations and locations, adding countless steps to every operation. I've finished off scrambled eggs, calling out to Chuck every time the breaker kicked off so he could flip it back on. We've toasted bread in the seating area.
Believe me -- we have tried it all.
For instance, there was a brief period where we offered omelets to order. When our breakfast service consisted of one or two tables, this was no problem. But as we began to get busy, a table full of customers all ordering omelets could derail an entire morning resulting in dissatisfied customers and making the kitchen staff cross and surly for the rest of the day (meaning...me). Omelets have been taken off the menu.
Kitchen size is also the reason we don't offer breakfast items all day long, except on weekends. There is just no room to set up to do French toast and still be able to claim counter space to roll a chicken Caesar wrap. It's something we work around on weekends, since we sell more breakfasts on weekends. But it's very stressful and I can't tell you how many times I burn myself on something because everything is so close together.
It's actually rather puzzling. A customer will study our menu for several minutes, look up and ask for something like fried potatoes. There are no fried potatoes* on our menu and there is absolutely no indication that we have potatoes anywhere on the premises. Why would I cook something and not put it on the menu? I have to wonder what they're thinking: "Maybe, if I say the secret word, she'll let me have her secret stash of food from the back room." There is none. Nor are there pancakes or grits or waffles or oatmeal; and there is definitely no puddin' meat (I believe other cultures call this "pan haus or something).
Of course, some things we don't have on the menu simply because not many people order it. Not only would carrying it be a waste of money, but also a waste of good food -- check out the dumpsters of chain restaurants required to carry the franchise's full menu, regardless of whether their customers eat it or not. Fortunately, we learned our lesson about this inexpensively when we stocked an item because one customer asked for it (Miracle Whip, to be exact). We ended up throwing most of it out (please spare me the mayo vs. Miracle Whip wars).
Then there is the problem of venting. We have a tiny ventless fan that we use when we fry bacon or sausage, and that stretches the limits of what we should be doing without a full vent system. A deep fryer and a regular grill are out of the question.
We keep telling ourselves that, if we endure cooking under these primitive conditions, just think how good it will feel if we ever get a full professional kitchen. Then we can look back on these days and laugh at how silly we all looked back in our little cooking nook, hopping from appliance to appliance, climbing over each other and blowing fuses every five minutes.
Yeah. We'll laugh; one of those crazy laughs; those crazy...maniacal...psychotic sort of...um...laughs...
No comments:
Post a Comment