excerpt:
"He watches The Food Network religiously, cooks dinner for himself and his wife, Janet, at least four times a week, and said he's more than comfortable working in the kitchen, even when it isn't his own. He also has worked with local chefs at area restaurants more than a dozen times.

So it's no surprise that he leapt at the chance to be among the first to participate in a "Chef for a Day" program at The Seelbach Hilton Hotel's Oakroom restaurant when the program was launched a couple of years ago.

"To be shoulder to shoulder with a group of professional people and keeping up with them doing exactly what they were doing and to feel a part of that -- that was amazing," Frick said..."

source: "More chefs in the kitchen: Restaurants explore ways to allow diners a firsthand look at food preparation" by Shannon Leonard-Boone (Business First of Louisville, Aug.11,2006)

excerpt:
"Being a regular earns you a lot of benefits for only a few conscious behaviors, mostly just good manners. Visit frequently, follow these tips, and within a short amount of time, youre in.

Wikipedia describes a regular as

A person who appears often at a certain location and may know others who are also there often, whether out of want or occupation. For example, a regular can be one who goes to a certain coffee shop everyday, so often that the employees know him or her..."

source: "How to Become a Regular" by Greg Cerveny (urban monarch, Jul.31,2006)

excerpt:
"...Workers at some outdoor cafes say they recently have had some suspicious customers, such as people who ask to be seated and then disappear moments later. Not long after, a customer will complain of a missing purse.

Meanwhile, alarmed customers have been finding creative ways to tether their bags to their bodies, wrapping straps from the bag around their legs, a chair, or underneath a high heel. Some restaurants have been supplying hooks under the table for bags to be hung.

"...Some of the restaurants on Newbury and Boylston, they are seemingly friendly and feel like the suburbs; people forget this is a city," she said.  "Sadly, the very people you wish would have a good experience in Boston are the ones losing their purses and wallets."

source: "Purse snatchings hit cafes" by Matt Viser (Boston Globe, Aug.15,2006)

excerpt:
"Chowhound.com, a popular online message board devoted to those in search of good food and drink, has banned mentions of a Cambridge restaurant from its site.

Chowhound alleges it was receiving a suspicious number of rave reviews of the 4-month-old Conundrum in Harvard Square, many of them coming from the same computer connection.

"We've had a blitz of postings with rapturous praise for Conundrum from many, many posters, all of whom are utter newcomers to the site, and our users have been complaining that it seems like we might be getting played," Chowhound co-founder Jim Leff said. "I'm not trying to do anything but run an honest food discussion, and it's my job to defend that discussion when we feel like it's being taken advantage of."

source: "Chowhound: Rave reviews' smell suspect" by Donna Goodison (Boston Herald, Aug.12, 2006)

excerpt:
It's a television show that has attracted entries from 20,000 people who want to appear on the air. And it's not "American Idol."

It's "Check, Please!" on which a mix of three everyday diners instead of food critics each get to pick their favorite restaurant and wax rhapsodic, then bicker about them.

Creator and executive producer David Manilow calls it "Zagats meets Siskel and Ebert" and he hopes that it inspires viewers to leave their comfort zones and try new restaurants or cuisines..."

source: "Check, Please!": Reality TV that believes a viewer's heart is in his stomach" by Tara Burghart (Associated Press, Aug.2,2006)

related link:
"Check, Please!" web site

"Like Food? Like Wine? Like People who like Food & Wine? Then you've come to the right place. With hundreds of user supported recipes, wine reviews, and events, our site's chock full of information all Foodies love to have at their fingertips."

link: FoodieHeadquarters.com

You can find local wine tastings, dinner events, and cooking classes.

related link:
LocalWineEvents.com

excerpt:
SoloDining.com serves up "solo dining savvy" for you whether you despise or delight in a solitary meal in a restaurant or at home; whether you're fond of fast food or fine dining (or something in between!) AND whether you're married or divorced, single or solo, bachelor or bachelorette, widow or widower; business/pleasure traveler or stay-at-home-lover.

...The SoloDining.com web site is chockfull of strategies and tips on how to increase your comfort and options as a solo/single diner, plus need-to-know information for anyone considering solo/single travel.

You'll get the scoop on notable solo-friendly restaurants across the United States and beyond. And while discovering what's out there, you'll learn what to look for and, "just as important," what solo dining amenities to suggest to your favorite restaurants..."

link: SoloDining.com

excerpt:
"In the category of large-scale, single-site foodservice enterprises at  business and industry venues, Google's extravagant employee dining program  arguably is second to none.

In terms of subsidized cost per meal and the breadth of its chef-driven  menus, Google's dining operation appears to surpass even the most generous of  corporate kitchens, except perhaps for some exclusive executive dining rooms.

The company's culinary offerings stand out even in comparison to other  Silicon Valley firms famous for lavishing perks on employees..."

source: "Google's gourmet giveaways dispel no-free-lunch axiom" by John Anderson (Nation's Restaurant News, Jul.31,2006) [free registration req.]

excerpt:
"Table-side flourishes -- think bananas Foster set aflame by a tuxedoed waiter -- are en vogue again, but minus the fussiness. While some Chicago restaurants are breathing new life into classic dishes, others are applying the old-school European concept to a range of cuisines.

At the trendiest Mexican restaurants, and even some non-Mexican ones, guacamole mashed table-side has become something to boast about..."

source: "Turning your table into the chef's table" by Janet Rausa Fuller (Chicago Sun-Times, Jul.31,2006)

excerpt:
"But $1 extra because you don't want ice in your martini? Frank Sinatra is rolling over in his grave.

This unexpected charge recently was noted by William Dowd, associate editor of the Times-Union in Albany, N.Y. Though rare, it has been spotted at bars and restaurants across the country.

Dowd got dinged on a recent evening at the Water's Edge Lighthouse in Glenville, N.Y., after ordering martinis at the start and end of the evening. "When I got the itemized bill, it said 'Two Grey Goose martinis: $18' and then later on 'Two Grey Goose martinis: $20.' "

The waitress happily explained that she had simply forgotten to add the 'up charge' to the first set of drinks. He had ordered the drinks "up" and not on the rocks."

source: "The $1 'straight up' charge has drinkers all stirred up" by Elizabeth Weise (USA Today, 7/28/06)