kopia lustrzana https://github.com/thinkst/zippy
92 wiersze
3.8 KiB
Plaintext
92 wiersze
3.8 KiB
Plaintext
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Noshin' at the Tupelo Honey Cafe | Plus, how to get great service in
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busy restaurants
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23 Mar., 2010
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By the time I got to Asheville, I was nearing the end of my journey and the
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bottom of my wallet. The last thing on my mind was spending money: it was
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beautiful outside, and there were free things to do everywhere.
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But. When I'd posted on Facebook that I was coming to town, no fewer than three people told me
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I just had to visit the Tupelo Honey Cafe . So I checked their website, and instantly fell in
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love:
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"Tupelo Honey Café opened in downtown Asheville in 2000, an early pioneer in
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the farm to fork movement and an active advocate for the independent
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restaurant landscape that pervades the city. Our food is fresh, made from
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scratch, sassy and scrumptious. Our cuisine salutes our love of Southern
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traditions at the table, but like the good people of Asheville, marches to
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its own drum. The result is a unique riff on Southern favorites." tupelohoneycafe.com
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I was convinced but I wasn't alone. On a sunny Sunday afternoon, the waiting list
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was an hour long. After hemming and hawing and assessing my food stash
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(contents: 10 saltines), I decided to go for it anyway.
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By the time I finally got a seat at the counter, I was starved. It took me about
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thirty seconds to pick out the Charleston Chicken Sandwich: "grilled
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marinated free-range chicken breast on sourdough with melted havarti, romaine
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lettuce and cranberry mayonnaise". Free range? Cranberry? Havarti? Yes, I
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could dig it.
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While I waited for the food, I checked out the back of the store where Tupelo
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Honey Cafe hawks their homestyle wares: preserves, pickles, salsa, honey,
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t-shirts, aprons and all sorts of mini-advertisements for the restaurant.
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I've visited plenty of farm-to-fork restaurants, and this one may be the best
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I've seen at self-marketing. There's nothing wrong with it: the food in those
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jars is probably delicious, though I question whether the $10 tupelo honey had
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to come from Florida or if it's produced locally.
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Either way, it's nice to see a restaurant built on ethics that also happens to be
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incredibly busy. Some of that is surely due to good marketing, but the real
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reason for its popularity is this:
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That sandwich was so good, I found myself eating slower and slower with each bite
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to savor it more completely. The potatoes were light and un-greasy; the flavors
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were perfectly balanced; the chicken was juicy and rich; and let's be honest
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here, I'm always happier eating dead animals when I know they've lived a good
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life. I found myself silently thanking the chicken for its delicious
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contribution. Thank you, chicken. I will never forget you.
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I stopped eating halfway through, not because I was full. I stopped so I could
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take the rest home and taste it again later.
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On another topic, I made a discovery there in the Tupelo Honey Cafe, one which
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I'd like to share with you now.
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If you're going to a busy restaurant and want great service, bring a camera. Take
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a few photos of the menu, the kitchen, the food.
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No sooner had I taken the above photo, when a server (not even my server)
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appeared at my elbow. Later when I stopped eating and lifted my napkin from my
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lap, it took approximately three seconds for someone to take my food away to be
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boxed up.
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Now, I'm not saying the service before my camera-flash was bad, because it was
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awesome. But wow, it sure improved once I appeared to be some sort of food
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critic or travel writer.
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Which, it just so happens, I am. But even if you're not, try this out sometime. I
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can't guarantee it'll work, but I personally will do it againand probably back
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it up with a stellar review, just like the one I've given the Tupelo Honey
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Cafe.
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Everybody wins.
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Okay, that's it! I could talk about Asheville for weeks, but it's time to move
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on. Next stop: sunny Tennessee, where I get down on The Farm.
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