Open a BBQ restaurant, they said. It will be fun, they said

[marubozo]

1) I think many of us are too critical of our cooking, in a sense, that is a lot of why we are here and all get along. We love to cook and eat, and we take pride in that. So, it is possible that you are being a tad over the top.

2) That being said, unless you are doing it all day long, in which case, that is a problem, the reality is you have to be proud of what you are serving. The problem with a lot of places is that the owner loses that sense of pride. The customer is not 'always right'. If you taste something and really know it is not what you can stand to serve, don't serve it. I would tell the customer that you tasted it, and that it is just not to the standard that you can sell it, and that while you would love to sample your brisket to him, that you simply do not want him to taste something less than your best. It is likely that he heard about your brisket, and in that moment, wanted it more than is reasonable. Later, he might decide it is, meh, maybe a little dry...

3) Bottom line it, are you tossing more than you are selling? Are you making enough that the one brisket or one chicken is not a loss proposition? If you can, hold the line on quality. If this is happening more than once every few days, then examine your processes, as that is too much.

Good stuff. It isn't happening often. Like today, that one brisket, a half rack of ribs, and probably half of a pork butt was all that didn't get served. Brisket got saved and we'll use that for burnt ends this weekend and the rest in chili. Ribs were a loss, but one of the employees wanted to take it home. And the pork, well, it was just jerky, and got tossed.

So at the end of the day, not a lot of waste really, and that is typical. I can live with that. It's just one of those things where if the customer likes it and is willing to pay $15/lb for something and I tell him no, if he likes it, is it worth it? or like you said, was he just anticipating it and saying that and could end up realizing it's just average?

I'm sure I'll figure out the bottom line as time goes on.

 

[marubozo]

I would honestly never go back to a place that subbed me ribs for brisket claiming that the brisket wasn't up to standards. That is for me to decide, and if I wanted ribs I would order them.

Sorry, I didn't make that clear. I didn't force him to take ribs instead. I just asked him what he would like as a substitution, and he opted for ribs. I'd never just tell someone that they are going to have to settle for whatever I choose as a replacement.

 

[Fleetz]

Thanks, guys.

For you local folks, I'll be on WNDU 16's morning show tomorrow (Friday) during their foodie forum segment. It wasn't so much an interview like I thought it would be, but a camera crew came and filmed a bunch of the stuff at the place like platters of food, slicing brisket, pulling pork, etc. I guess they will use that as a backdrop while someone talks about the restaurant and what we do. Either way, free advertising, so I'll take it!

But as of today we've officially got two weeks under our belt. How the time flies. I've learned a lot, the staff has come together, mistakes are becoming almost non-existent, and the customer flow is still steady.

But there is one thing I'm struggling with, and I don't know if my standards are just too high, or if customer expectations are just lower than I thought. When I taste something and it isn't perfect, at least as far as I'm concerned, I don't sell it. Like today, pulled a fresh new brisket out of the holding cabinet and started slicing it for a customer and tasted a piece. Flat was too dry for my liking, so I told the guy I wasn't going to give it to him because I felt it wasn't good enough and subbed his brisket for some ribs and gave him a free dessert. But he insisted he still wanted a sample of the brisket just to get an idea of the flavor. After he tried it he said it wasn't too dry at all and he would have loved to buy a pound to go to take home.

So what the hell do you do? I know it's dry. I'm cooking many briskets a day and it isn't hard to see when one is overcooked a bit. I know it isn't good enough, but the customers like it. If they like it and are willing to pay, is it really that bad, or am I just being too critical and am I throwing money away by resorting to using the meat in chili, beans, etc?

The same thing happened earlier when two customers both wanted chicken. One as a half bird, the other pulled. I filled the order and after sending it tried some of the chicken I was pulling and it was dry (to me). We didn't have any chicken ready at the time to replace it, so I went out there and apologized for the dry chicken and gave them dessert and a few extras, and they both insisted that the chicken was amazing and giving them free stuff was totally unnecessary.

So I don't know. Maybe I'm just overly critical, which is leading to waste. But I just think about it if I sample something and it isn't one of the best things I've put into my mouth, then it isn't good enough to charge people money for. Then again, you look at all the crap people are paying for elsewhere and it's a reminder that this isn't a KCBS competition and it's just regular people looking for good barbecue.

My guess is your standards are too high, you know what a perfect rib, brisket, pulled pork should taste and look like. I think setting high standards are good and you should be aiming for theses standards all the time.

That said when you shoot for the high standards you are and you don't get it to your standards I would think that the majority of people will love the food and be happy to pay for it. I know when I cook and occasionally do not get it exactly where I would like it everyone genuinely typically raves about it. I am apologising and all the food is gone with smiles on faces. OK it is typically family and friends and off course not charging them for the food but the comments even from what I am not totally happy with normally delight.

Believe me some of my family will call a spade a shovel!

If you have a KBSC judge sitting down to dinner sure I would not suggest serving up what your standards say is not the highest. Given that from these judges represent .0001 percent of the population the remaining 99.999 percent will be delighted.

Of course if it way off ie. over cooked by hours, totally dry, burnt. etc you won't serve. But you probably talking about 80-90% moisture content in your brisket as opposite to the 100% you aim for.....still going to be a hit for the overwhelming majority!

I am sure your staff are trained to just after serving your customers asking them "is everything to your liking?" If you get an odd compliant then you can offer an alternative, free desert etc. I would be pretty sure with the likely standard you are flaying yourself over that complaints are likely to be few and far in between.

Fleetz

 

[sliding_billy]

Sorry, I didn't make that clear. I didn't force him to take ribs instead. I just asked him what he would like as a substitution, and he opted for ribs. I'd never just tell someone that they are going to have to settle for whatever I choose as a replacement.

Got it.

 

[Hugo]

Great looking food pics! Whish there was a place that sold anything like it in the Netherlands! Maybe one day......
As for the food standard question, as long as you're not waisting massive amounts of food when it's not up to your standards do what you did. Just honestly say it's not up to YOUR standards and that you would happily sell them something that is. If I were to taste something that to you would be a bit off it would probably still rock my world but I would appreciate the honesty and would come back because of it.

 

[cpw]

As a person who frequents bbq joints often, I've come to expect good days and so-so days as far as the product goes. One day I can order brisket and it'll be amazingly juicy and flavorful and the next it can be dry and a little bland. I'm still going to eat it without complaining, and I certainly wouldn't expect the proprietor to throw out an entire brisket because it ended up slightly dry.

 

[SuperJETT]

Catering to the lowest common denominator may result in you losing some of the better customers and your reputation could drop to 'just another bbq joint' instead of 'the best bbq place around here'.

 

[DaveAlvarado]

I know it isn't good enough, but the customers like it. If they like it and are willing to pay, is it really that bad, or am I just being too critical and am I throwing money away by resorting to using the meat in chili, beans, etc?

IMO, you're probably being over-critical. I'm going through the same process right now working on recipes I want to compete with. I might make something that I think is a 6 or a 7 out of 10, but I feed it to my friends and family and they absolutely rave about it.

I've run into the same thing playing in bands. I have what I think was an off night, just no real energy and maybe miss a few notes. When I talk to friends in the crowd, they say it was awesome. The difference is, I'm shooting for perfection and they're just there to have a good time. The distance between "enjoyment as a consumer" and "perfection as a producer" is huge.

Anything over the bar of "customers are happy to pay for it" is good enough to serve. Should you be happy with it? Not necessarily. But take the customer's money if they want to pay it and do better next time. As I see it, there's nothing wrong with taking money a customer wants to give you and at the same time working to improve your processes until you hit the quality level you personally are proud of.

Your mantra should be "this is good, but I can do better". Just don't forget the "this is good" part. :biggrin1:

 

[aawa]

I don't think there is anything with your approach of having a high standard for your food (provided you aren't wasting a ton of food) With not selling a brisket, half a rack of ribs and half a pork butt for a full days work, that isn't too bad of a loss if they don't live up to your standards. Your name is attached to the food to your product and you want to build your name up so that it will always be associated with the great food you know you are able to put out.

There are several things that I quantify restaurant food for my standards.

1. Would you serve it to your family? If no, toss it. If Yes go to question 2

2. Are you willing to have that product associated with your name? If no, toss it. If Yes go to question 3.

3. If you go out and order that food, would you be willing to pay your price for that brisket ($15/lb)? If no, toss it. If you wouldn't mind paying $15/lb for that food at another quality restaurant sell it.

 

[Memphis Que]

I say stick to your standards. There are enough restaurants out there that don't.

There is nothing worse than dry barbecue. I went to a well known place here in Memphis yesterday that I hadn't been to in awhile and was served bone dry barbecue. The pulled pork was stringy, the brisket was as tough as shoe leather, and they were both cold and dry.

I will never go back to that place and will share my experience on Yelp. You don't need that kind of reputation.

 

[Jayson]

Meat tease

Great looking brisket!

Jsn

 

[Hawg Father of Seoul]

If that is all that did not meet your standards... you are not too picky. Might not be picky enough. It's a waste of effort and money to operate a s4177y restaurant. Too damn many already out there. Keep up the good work.

 

[Jayson]

>> "or until we run out..." let's people know they can't slack.

That can be a strong marketing tool. If folks know that once you're out of something, that's it til tomorrow ... at the very least they'll know you cook fresh every day.

A portable sign out front, saying 'ALMOST OUT OF PULLED PORK' when you're running low, can attract a lot of impulse purchases from cars that would otherwise pass by.

Oooh, how about a sign like this:

BRISKET . . . NOW SERVING
SPARE RIBS . . . RUNNING LOW
PULLED PORK . . . AVAILABLE FRESH, NOON TOMORROW
CHILI . . . NOW SERVING

See that? Instead of saying you're out of pulled pork, turn it into a positive, saying it'll be available FRESH OFF THE SCHMOKER tomorrow at noon.

Totally agree!! Many BBQ joints do very well and are known to run out. I know of one in Austin, TX that only serves from 11 to 1 or until they run OUT. The line on a busy day is around the building and down the street with 2 to 4 hour wait. Get the product really right and runout. CK out Franklins BBQ. I know it is not the norm kind of place but running out of BBQ is way better than holding it over or making creative mystery dishes out of what everyone knows is left over, didn't sell product.

Fresh off the pit BBQ is why they have a line and also why they run out.

My 2 cents..

Jsn

 

[marubozo]

Here is the TV spot from this morning. It's about halfway through. Looks like it's working because people are calling this morning saying they saw us on the news and didn't even know we existed.

http://www.wndu.com/home/headlines/16-Foodie-Forum-Valentines-Day-244249391.html

 

[landarc]

The Pork of Love, nice spot man. Your food looks great, I am not surprised people are calling, and heck 5°F, it's a heat wave! Time for Q

 

[oifmarine2003]

The foodie lady sure talked you up! Congrats!

 

[sliding_billy]

Nice spot!

 

[DUBBAGA]

$20 sampler platter for 2... what a steal

 

[campdude]

Great advertisement. Best of luck selling out everyday.

 

[Heavy J]

Good TV spot. Wish you were near here so I could come check it out.