Sharing is Caring

To all my readers - there is nothing more valuable than hearing your experiences with our restaurants and establishments! In fact - I do not just want to hear your T-Dot experiences; rather, I would like to hear about your experiences from around the country, continent, and the globe. Let this become a forum for those who need to vent, share, and care! So start sharing! Be specific and spare us no details! Looking forward!

Where Everybody knows your Name

A fabulous kosher establishment in the city of Toronto is actually located just above the T-Dot and not really a formal establishment at all. The Kosher Second Cup, located in the infamous "Sobey's Plaza" at Clarke and Hilda, without fail provides top quality service each and everytime I go in. And even if "the Cup" is not on my way during an outing, I will happily detour just to give the establishment my family's business! Not only do the staff (and owners) know my name, but they know my order without having to second guess themselves. They are friendly, polite, and social. My husband jokes that I am probably paying the owners' mortgage by my frequent visits, but the truth is - I enjoy my daily run because I walk out feeling happy. I cannot describe how a 5 minute visit can uplift my mood, but the employees see dozens and dozens of different faces each day and yet,  I have noticed that for that brief moment when it is your turn to order, each customer matters. Now, that is what I call quality service! It leaves me wanting to come back again, and again, and again.

Anecdote oh Anecdote, where for art thou?

So...of course there is so much I wish to share. Really, how can a blog begin without an infamous anecdote to get us all thinking? So, do I dare share mine? Well, of course!  Because I have so much to say and sitting in my room at 10pm, no one to really say it to! Now, in all fairness, I would like to avoid using restaurant names, but I think that my experiences (and my "experience" in the restaurant business) will shed some light. I also think many people can identify. I have spent countless hours, many nights, and numerous Shabbasim (yes Shabbasim) attempting to explore why service is never up to par. I think back to a Wednesday night at 8pm... It was a Wednesday night and my hubby and I decided to steal a night out without our kids. I would love to say that it was because we wanted to share our day and "communicate" as most married couples should, but really we were just hungry and neither of us felt like leftovers. So, once we put our kids to bed (of course we didn't want to make them jealous) we stole some "quiet, stress-free" time together at a restaurant in the GTA. When we got to the restaurant, it was empty, Now, on a side note, I love how when I am in an empty restaurant our seat choices are limited. I have never been able to understand why I cannot sit wherever I want at 8pm when the restaurant has maybe 4 parties total? Needless to say, I went with it and sat where I was placed. Moving on, we proceed to order. Or should I maybe say waited to order. Yes - the servers stared at us multiple times. I even used "restaurant" etiquette and encouraged my husband to shut his menu with the hopes that the servers would understand we were ready. Nope! Clueless! So of course we flagged them over. Now, this also was not the end of the world except I began to become more aggravated as the night went on. You see - when they brought out my husband's meal, it was the wrong order. And of course - this meant I may have to eat my meal while he waited for the correct meal to be cooked. So, in taking my order back (I failed to mention my chicken was missing its sauce or something to that effect), we ended up waiting another 10 minutes or so (from the then 30 minutes we had already spent nibbling on bread) for our final meals to be brought to our tables. I wish I could tell you that the service improved, but truthfully - no one ever checked on us until our meals were done and then we needed to ask for our bill (and then we had to ask to pay). I left more stressed and annoyed than I may have felt had we just stayed home! And all of this with a restaurant that was far from capacity. However, of course a week and a half later, my hubby suggested we go out to eat. And yes - we returned to the very same restaurant. This has me thinking. How will the quality of service change if these restaurants know we will return regardless? I am interested to hear your thoughts! Please share!

Food for Thought

Right after my first posting, I realized that it does not help for change. Here's the thing - kosher doesn't have to be bad. And yet, so many of my secular friends (and family) hate "doing kosher" simply because of the reality that kosher in Toronto is nothing special. Have you ever dined in NY? The restaurants, food, and ambiance are unmatched. One does not need to use the excuse "Well, it's NY!" which is usually the response when I share my positive experiences from there. Rather, let's learn from this. Let's look for a way to create service that leaves us wanting to return again and again. Let's show secular Jews that doing kosher in Toronto is worth every penny! Thoughts?

Furiously frustrated!

30 second greeting time, dinner served within 20 minutes of the initial order, the entire party's meals all served at the same time. I don't think this is too much to ask. I'm frum and I'm frustrated because I cannot seem to find one kosher restaurant in the city of TO that meets these standards! Let's face reality - I know the restaurant specs because I used to work in a number of them as this put me through university. I am baal tshuva and I live in Toronto. And yes - when I go out to eat I still hope for the best. Here is the reality - if something goes wrong or service is not to standard, it's okay because the servers, managers, and owners know I will be back. Where else will I go if I do not want to cook? So - if these specs are good enough for the non-kosher establishments, where the prices are reasonable and the choice of restaurant unlimited, why isn't it good enough for a community who's choices are limited and who spend a fortune to avoid one night of cooking?  Now, don't get me wrong - I take pride in my kashrut and I value the restaurants that our city has the potential to house. Toronto has the highest Jewish population in Canada with numerous visitors from all over the country, continent, and world. It's time Toronto house a sassy kosher restaurant style for all of us, especially those who are looking for a stress-free evening.