I have talked back and forth with them as he was checking on the plants and received an email from Millers today and: "We will not have any Raven available this year. We are currently expanding our inventory and they will be available next year. Sorry we could not supply your needs. Please feel free to call me. We may have other varieties that interest you" It is a bit annoying as in the spring he assured me the plants would be available. Perhaps they are distributing none or perhaps larger orders trumped our less than 200 plant order, have no idea. For the west coast folks Fall Creek now has a license on the Ravens as well though they don't sell retail and have a 500 plant minimum. I did inquire of them on when they would be available. Sorry folks, I tried. I have had my 14 plant row tilled, irrigation in and ready for these things for well over a year now so to say I am disappointed is an understatement. This post was edited by bamboo_rabbit on Thu, Oct 24, 13 at 16:45

Well, my favorite idea - cooking for them and then making a basket with booze & such got shot down fast. "I'm not going to cook for a CHEF!" said one of the participants. Oh well, we're back to square one. If you have any more ideas, please let me know. I'm guessing we're going to end up with gift cards simply because we won't be able to come to an agreement on anything else. Sweeby, We go to Damian's. We have seven attending and that's about the limit the table can accomodate. But I'm sure as little as two would be ok in there. However, if you're going to do it, get some friends to go with you. It takes up the entire evening and it's more fun with more people. IIRC the price is $75 + tax & tip. It might be slightly higher than that but I'm sure it's under $100. That does not include liquor of course. We end up spending somewhere around $130ish per person, that includes cocktails and wine. Although it's not a complete list, b4-u-eat.com has some chef tables listed, and you can google for more places that have them. I do highly recommend Damian's though. The food is fab. Let me know if you end up going! Here is a link that might be useful: chef tables list

I have contacted the higher-ups about this. That's a whole nuther thread in itself! I understand the dilemma that the managers have when they can't pay a lot and have to get the job done with less than stellar people. And I understand a manager's situation when they work for a corporate operation. They can't do things an independent owner can do. And I'm not looking to get meals comp'd. That in itself bugs me when people look for that. Always drove me crazy with people trying to get something for nothing because "the customer is always right". The thing that bugs me is this place USED to be SO good, that yes, I got a little spoiled. The waitstaff were all people who took pride in their work and yes they were given far more than 10% in tip from me. That is, when I got excellent service. When I get poor service, I do not even give 10%. For me, tips are earned not a part of the bill. It's not like I have to change the world. There's several other locally owned places that are a joy to patronize and I'll go there. I'll have fond memories of when this place was good and I will not be surprised to see this place close soon. No, not because of the loss of my business, but the place is pretty deserted when I've been in there lately. When I used to go there at 4am and there'd be a number of people there, they enjoyed a nice business. And of course as the day went on there'd be lines waiting. Not anymore. Part because of the economy I'm sure, but I'm convinced more because of service. Some of the issues are easily resolved. For coffee, put a carafe of coffee on the table. Other places they regularly bring a pot around. Cashiers or whatever who don't want to talk, that doesn't bother me. Some are bashful, tired or whatever. I just expect them to DO THEIR JOB and not be rude. When that happens, I'm fine with it. I guess having worked in restaurants I don't buy Shermann's philosophies completely. I was able to watch if glasses/cups were empty. I could occasionally ask if things are OK, etc. And there is inflation so costs go up. If the employees get a raise, it's an added expense. And good employees deserve raises. Although part of their income and raise in a tip oriented business will come from tips. Oh, and Dottie, thanks for the concern. I'm doing OK. Just need to eat more and drink more. Not a bad situation to endure in a lot of ways, huh? :)

I just remembered. I have had McDonalds burgers many times! Every time I traveled to a different country, I always ended up going to their McDonalds at least once. For instance, when I was in Paris, I was getting tied of French food the last days. Let me tell you, a French Big Mc tasted really good. When I was in Argentina, where they really like meat, I even had a Royal Cheese with wine. Yes, you can get wine with your "Big Mac" there. From Pulp Fiction ------------------------------------------- VINCENT: ...You know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris? JULES: They don't call it a Quarter Pounder with Cheese? VINCENT: No, they got the metric system there, they wouldn't know what the f??k a Quarter Pounder is. JULES: What'd they call it? VINCENT: Royale with Cheese. JULES: Royale with Cheese. What'd they call a Big Mac? VINCENT: Big Mac's a Big Mac, but they call it Le Big Mac. JULES: What do they call a Whopper? VINCENT: I dunno, I didn't go into a Burger King. -------------------------------------- dcarch This post was edited by dcarch on Fri, Jan 16, 15 at 14:36