Serious Eats Ridiculous Article. What say you?

[JoeSousa]

I know we never go out on Valentine's Day. I will usually get something nice to cook for my wife but 4 young kids makes that tough too unless we want to eat at 9:00 after the kids are in bed. So all in all Valentine's Day isn't that big a deal to us.

I can understand what they were trying to get at in the article but shouldn't restaurant owners, cooks, bartenders, servers, etc. like it when the restaurant is full and busy? Doesn't that mean more money and more tips? Yeah, I am sure it sucks in some ways but most things that article says (less waste with a Prix Fixe menu, the cooks don't need to cook 20 different dishes, more customers and probably more wine than other nights, etc.) should lead to more money for everyone.

[Mosca]

I dunno, it didn’t bother me. We usually go out on a different day around that day, and call it Valentines Day dinner. But it’s no big deal either way.

[HouseHomey]

rickgregory pkadare

Tender no one has ever accused me of being. That funny story wouldn’t exist unless they went out on Vday. To me this doesn’t qualify for fluff. I doubt I’ve ever read any Pulitzer product though.

I’m an easy going dude. As I said I’m not sure why this bugged me. Peharps because it’s a food blog chipping away at my business with nonsense/BS, perhaps because it was written a while ago, then something similar around the "Holidays" or because they saw fit to edit and republish. (or whatever the terminology is)

Maybe my expectations for some are just unreasonable. There are some things you just can’t teach. I depend on holiday crowds and do some of my best work during that time.

And No. "restaurant managers, servers and Chefs do not all say it." Perhaps in San Francisco they do (her newspaper credit) but the ones I know like money.

[CaptainMike]

This exactly what I thought when I saw those 2 needlessly snarky comments. I would imagine they would feel a similar sense if someone, regardless of "fluffiness", denigrated the industry that pays their rent and puts food on their table. My first wife was a sous chef and happily worked her butt off on the holidays. She made a little extra money, but more importantly it's these high times that help slim margin businesses like restaurants survive the low times. Perspective.

[pkadare]

CaptainMike - you need to be careful inferring tone or intent in electronic communications. Both comments were simply expressions of opinion. Nothing more, nothing less and were not "needlessly snarky". Snark is something that is, thankfully, pretty much non-existent here, which is a breath of fresh air compared to the rest of the intertubes. Assigning tone or intent never ends well.

[HouseHomey]

CaptainMike pkadare darn that tone and context thing. All is good boys. I’ll drink to that. Gawd... I miss whiskey. I need to go back to work. Being laid up sucks. And I’m gonna miss Valentine’s Day. 😃

[GolfGeezer]

Does going to See’s Candy and buying a heart shaped box of goodies qualify as "going out" on V-Day?

[HouseHomey]

Why not. Thems good candy.

[jfmorris]

My wife hates crowds, and doesn't ever like to wait, well, for anything! This means we tend to bypass restaurants that are crowded, and go to less likely spots or just stay home. I imagine Valentines will be celebrated with a nice thick steak on the grill (or Lodge if the weather is crappy), or somewhere like the Mexican restaurant around the corner from the house.

[TheQuietOne]

The idea isn't to inform, it's to get us to click and make the article go viral. It worked, didn't it?

[JCGrill]

The prix fixe menus irritate the crap out of me and are enough to keep me away. Several years ago I read a book called Waiter Rant and there was quite a bit about the "special evenings" like Valentine's Day and New Years Eve. I would still consider going out on VDay, but I might be picky about the location.

Should be noted, though, I think it's a made up holiday. Another thing I hate about it is the jacked up price for roses. I always buy my wife flowers at other times of the year.

[Potkettleblack]

I haven't taken the wife out for V-day in over a decade. She works in the floral industry, and it's a bigger nightmare there than restaurant land. Here's my annual PSA.

A Man's Rules for V-Day Flowers:

1. Order no later than the 10th
2. Deliver no later than the 13th
3. Don't buy roses more often than every other year
4. Pick a price point, and ask what is fresh and pretty.
5. Let the florist decide.

There's thought behind all these rules.
1- Ordering early allows the florist to manage inventory better to get you what you want.
2- Delivering early is like leaving work an hour before rush hour. Delivery on V-Day is an insane marathon for everyone in the industry.
3- Roses are nice, but they are marked up extra for V-Day, often a 50% markup over the summer price. There is a wonderful world of beautiful flowers than a woman will love. When she's bored, you've lost.
4&5- You are a man. You know nothing about flowers. Trust a florist to 4: know their stock, 5: know how to assemble something pretty at a price point.

A standard PKB flower order is: I'd like to spend $xx, maybe give a color for a theme, maybe request tropicals, ask for tall, full, wide, or dense. But sometimes it's just $xx, your call, whatever is freshest and pretty.

Note: Floral prices don't include delivery. If you ask for $50, do not be surprised when your bill is $65. That's tax and delivery. V-day has inflated delivery prices due to the volume.

Note: call an actual florist. Internet flowers are nice, but impersonal.

Note: If you have to get an idea, look at the florist's website. They can customize anything there with anything they have, but it's good to have an idea of the possible.

That's the PSA. Don't be clueless.

I haven't seen my wife during V-day week in over 10 years. It's a week of extra days and overtime.

It's not as bad as Mother's Day tho.

[HouseHomey]

Nice post. SWMBO is better than I. Florists are nuts them days and leading up to. I learned a long time ago to put a quick something together. It’s amazing what 30 bucks can do in a pinch. (That was then) No we don’t do flowers as the cat pukes them up.

[jfmorris]

The stupid prix fixe menu stuff messed up my daughter and her fiancé on New Year's Eve. They had reservations to go out to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of their first date at a nice local restaurant. No one told them when making the reservation that it was this crazy menu, and the menu price included alcohol - neither of them drink. And it didn't include any of the dishes my future son-in-law likes (he's a picky kid for a 30 year old!). I think she ate all the meat, and he ate all the sides. They were pretty disappointed, and showed up hungry here at the house at 10PM or so, and ate some chips and queso that I had made earlier, and drank sparking cider with us when the ball dropped in NYC and later in NOLA.

[HouseHomey]

Yeah ya gotta check that stuff on holidays.

[Jerod Broussard]

I waited on tables in college. I did enough Friday nights, Saturday nights, and all day Sundays to happily avoid working on the "V-Day."

I splurged this Valentine's, $5 for a heart-shaped container of Reese's miniature cups. Easy grab on the way in, and it accounted for 50% of my food bill that trip. Beef Bologna and 1/2 gallon whole milk took up the other $5.

[HouseHomey]

Dang! Wow. Beef bologna here is $5.99.

[Jerod Broussard]

HouseHomey $2.83 I think. We gots lots more cow anuses to make a more complete mixture, apparently the folks who make it are pretty anal about it. Hehehe

[HouseHomey]

Oh trust me, lots of them around these parts. Not beef though.

[texastweeter]

we go out for lunch the day before. With 4 kids it works better, no babysitter needed, and then on Valentine's, the kids can help do a Valentine's dinner complete with chef, waiter, entertainment, and decorator. Who cares if the tablecloth is a power rangers blanket, the food is overcooked spaghetti with burnt garlic bread, the menus are illegible and in crayon, and the entertainment include a cheer recital, a ballet, and a sock puppet play. Those memories are better than any rack of lamb and bottle of wine on the planet.

[CaptainMike]

We Don't have kids, but we'd enjoy that repast!

[fzxdoc]

The best.

[HouseHomey]

I remember those days. Then at 50 have to do it again with the princess. Good times. Tomorrow is the party for Ava. She turned 9 on Tuesday. Pizza rolls, bagel bites and mini corn dogs plus other crap and sweets for 30 of her closest friends. We put a bounhouse in the front yard. The adults get pulled pork sammies and other crap like the kids. It’s a neighborhood rager ever year.

edit: texastweeter ,was meant to be in above post.

[texastweeter]

My oldest girl is turning 9 in March.

[ComfortablyNumb]

Hey, I remember there were pics last year. Brought back memories of the SoCal hood!

[HouseHomey]

ComfortablyNumb I’ll snap some more for your viewing enjoyment.

[Spinaker]

So glad I don't have to worry about this made up holiday. Sounds like I got the best gig in town on Valentines Day.

[HouseHomey]

2nd best. I love my work but Hallmark beats us both.

[texastweeter]

I dunno, my wife makes out like a bandit! HouseHomey Spinaker

[fzxdoc]

So glad I don't have to worry about this made up holiday...

What? I love Valentine's Day. I get a gift and I don't have to be one year older to do it. Win-win.

Kathryn

P.S. We don't care where we go to eat--sometimes it's a favorite fancy restaurant, sometimes it's a Mexican joint in the next town. Wherever it is, we have a great time together.