Evi you higher price who-a you!

Now I know why I got slices of filet mignon on my last trip to Incognito. Beef prices have skyrocketed to 11% more than a year ago. So you burgers and steaks are increasing drastically in price. Or they give you smaller pieces or cheaper cuts.

I think they just gave me less than the 8oz filet that I paid for because the increase in price has just hit them too hard.

Com'on Evi where is the cheap little cud chewing we know and love?

You can tell everything you need to know about a person by how they treat the waiter.

This is one of the rules that I live by. That is why I despise hipsters and yuppies and almost every other fucking idiot that I run across when I am going out to eat. For example there is this column by a stupid entitled twat from the New York Post. Her thesis is that waitresses should be replaced by ipads. What a fucking moron.

A good waitress or waiter is essential to a dining experience. They can answer your questions. Help you choose your meal. Make exceptions and substitutions.  When I go to a place I always introduce myself and the other members of my party. I try to make a personal connection. Or at the minimum establish the fact that I know that the waiter is a person. Not my slave. If they were a slave I would expect them to be a shut in from Oakland ranting about reparations. They are simply a server. Someone to help me enjoy my meal. Not someone that I should berate or treat like shit.

A perfect example is our recent somewhat disastrous dinner at Incognito. The waiter was a confused Mexican who was probably distracted because his kids had just got dumped at the border. Since I had been to the joint more than twice I had the menu memorized. I lead him through the appetizers and the main courses. He had to go to the kitchen a couple of times to be sure that they could do what I asked. Not that it was anything spectacular. Just mashed potatoes. But he tried his best and that is all you can ask. Everyone had a good time. I just worried about the meal and made sure it turned out great for everyone.

The Mexican waiter took the photo so we all look like the Devil. That is what he must think of his boss and all of his customers.

Hey I am happy if they just don't spit in my food.

Remembrance of Things Pabst

You can never go back. We say that all the time and it is so true.

This past Tuesday we went into the city to buy bras and panties and camisoles to fill up the new lingerie store. We made a useful contact with a sales rep who has a lot of good lines. We took our new girl who is going to be running the store since she is very knowledgeable and was a great help. Lisa needs someone to bounce things off of besides me because my comments are always the same. "How much does that cost?" It was an intensive four hours while Omar waited for us in the car.

Now I have Omar wait because we were supposed to hit a bunch of places and I can't around the way I used to. It is hard for me especially in the heat so I would rather pay for him to drive us then get sick. But we spent so much time there that we were done at around seven. So I decided to treat everyone to dinner. Of course we decided to go to one of our favorite joints that I have mentioned many times: Incognito.

So we get there and of course we are greeted by our friend the chef who brings us to our table. But something is off. It is very hot. The doors are closed but the a/c is not blasting like it usually is when we were there last year. The wait staff is completely different. The French girl and the Italian guy are gone and all the wait staff is Mexican dudes. This joint has an open kitchen where you can see them work behind a window. When I went up to go to the john I noticed that the sous chef wasn't there anymore and it was all Mexicans all the time.

I go outside where the chef is smoking and ask him to turn up the a/c. This after asking the waiter a couple of times. He comes in and makes a big production of turning it up. I say thank you and sit back down. Now we are ordering a lot of good stuff. It is Omar's first time in a big time Manhattan bistro. He has been thinking of opening his own joint and I am advising him. I told him it is important to go out and check out other places. Steal the good ideas. But notice the mistakes so you don't make them. The air conditioning is a case in point.

I order the appetizers for the table. A big pizza and meatballs all around. With garlic bread. Drinks of course. Well not for me and Omar. He is a Muslim and I am a heart patient. But Lisa and the new girl enjoyed some very nice cocktails. Then we ordered the main courses. Or at least I suggested what they should get and they were very happy.

That is when I saw that things were going downhill. Lisa and I ordered the filet mignon. This is what it looked like:

Notice that they butterflied it and did not give a full piece of filet mignon where you could identify the cut. That is a no-no. It tasted good but it is not how it should be presented. It was obviously not a full serving and not prepared properly. Now if I give him the benefit of the doubt than it is the full 6oz piece but his kitchen could not prepare it to order as a whole piece so they had to cut it up to make it medium/medium. That is not done correctly. Also they put the Bearnaise sauce on the bottom of the plate instead of on the side to mask the smaller portion. All in all not what it was supposed to be.

Omar and the new girl got steak pom frites which was also butterflied which is very weird for a rib eye steak. Not the way to do it. I didn't make a big deal out of it because I didn't want Omar to get the wrong idea. I just told him the proper way to do it if he had it in his joint. I don't think it will matter because the cuisine of his country is mostly fish so it will have that and a lot of curry.

When you put it all together this is the sign of trouble in a restaurant. No a/c because he is cutting costs. Changes in the staffing so it is only low talent staffers who are obviously illegals. The kitchen has only helpers and no real talent. The owner outside smoking cigarettes and looking worried.. The food being short changed and not prepared correctly. All in all it is time to stop going there. It's a shame. It was fun while it lasted. I don't think it will be around in August when are next in the city for the show at the Javits. We will have to find another place to go.

I know I write about Marco Polo and Incognito a lot....

I know I write about Marco Polo and Incognito a lot....but those are "real" Italian restaurants. I mean you can get a really good meal there even if you don't want to go the full guniea.

We went to Marco Polo and I had a great sirloin streak there that was off the hook.

It is when I am away from home that I get suckered into joints that are not real Italian. It takes a couple of visits to scope it out the right way. The one thing I hate is going to the chain stores that are all over the place. But I guess if that is all you know that it is a piece of home.

It is really funny to see tourists come to New York and see them eat in the Olive Garden in Times Square. But I guess it is what you are used to and familar with that you want to eat at.

Right Batman?

Good night Incognito!

So we ended the night really early by about 7pm. I paid the check and we wanted to say good bye to the owner but he wasn't around. Hassan our driver had parked right outside so we walked through the open french doors of the restaurant to the car when we heard some yelling in Italian "Aspeth a minute."

It was the chef Paolo who wanted to say goodbye. He is an interesting cat. His family immigrated from Italy in 1970's. To Scotland. He was just a young kid but spent his formative years in Scotland. Not known for its food. But he is great chef and his decor of crossed meatballs on a tartan makes for interesting decorations.

We asked Hassan to take a photo. The fucking guy shakes even more than I do! At least I will not get blamed for taking this photo!

I would never take a photo with my balls hanging out.....

But I guess it is ok if theyare in the dish.

At least I didn't do a video of me scarfing them down like I was going to the chair.

Martini's make me very hungry.

Hamilton Burger never won a case!

But the Incognito Burger is a Winner!

Served on a toasted roll it had fontina cheese and a side of guacamole. But the fries were the story. They were like the best McDonald fries you ever had. Piping hot and very salty, they also had a hit of pepper that gave them a pop that was out of this world.

A very nice burger by the bar which is surprising in an Italian joint.

Meatballs are always good!

So to start off the meal we had the meatball appetizer. Three spicy meatballs in a delicious sauce with garlic bread.

Oh I had switched from Martini's to Gin and Tonics as one Martinis is enough for me unless I am aiming to get wasted.

These were veal meatballs and they compare favorably to Marco Polo's which is saying something.

The best part of going to a place they know you....is that they know you!

So when we went to the restaurant we were really, really early. I mean it was about 4:30 in the afternoon.
On a Tuesday. So it was very empty. We decided to sit at the bar because all the doors were opened onto 18th Street and  a beautiful breeze was blowing. It's funny how you can find a spot in the hustle and bustle of New York City that is an Oasis of calm. You can watch everybody rushing by while you are enjoying a cocktail and nibbling on an appetizer. Or your honey.

We took a bunch of photo's like we always do. And while we did, the chef/owner Paolo photo bombed us. Which was great because it put the bartender back on his heels.

You see he had no idea that we frequent this joint. I mean we are by no means regulars but we hit it at least once a month. Now we usually sit at a table, in fact this is the first time we sat at the bar. So he treated us like typical tourist trash. I didn't care but the wife got a little upset. I am never a tourist wherever I go and just said "hey give it a chance...he will get the idea that his performance will be reflected in the gratuity."

Of course all that changed after the owner came in and made a big deal about us. Kissing Lisa and hugging me. So the bartender suddenly became much more friendly. Hey waddayagonnado?

It never is good to presume. Don't presume you will get special treatment. And don't presume that your patrons are just dopes who don't know any better.

Hey we have to mix it up!

So we went to the show on Tuesday and are dealing with the aftermath all week. Well we tried to go to the show.

You see the rep for Not Your Daughters Jeans made an appointment with us for Tuesday at 4pm. Since we weren't going to buy anything else we went to the Javitts center at exactly 4pm. And the show was closed!
We talked our way in but the booth was totally empty! How about them apples?

We were kind of pissed but we decided to make lemonade out of bad lemons. So we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Incognito in the city for cocktails and appetizers.

Lisa had the Incognito Cosmo and I had a dirty martini. Good stuff.