Cheap eats
Should Cafes Ask Customers to Leave?
My favorite cafe asked me to leave last week. For the second time.
I’ll tell you why I feel sad: when I first found Crema Cafe two years ago, I fell in love. I spent so much time there, my sweaters absorbed its scent, an inexorable melange of lattes, carbs, and indie-pop Pandora playlists. The owners described it as a place between home and work; I took that quite literally. I proudly told my friends I was considering moving in.
Over the past two years, I’ve spent so many happy hours in that cafe. I love bringing my laptop to do work on the upstairs level. I’ve forcibly dragged friends there and bought them my favorites, just so they could be converted. I’ve blogged about them, plugged them on Serious Eats, posted photos to various food sites. When I signed up for Mint.com, I budgeted a very liberal portion for “coffee.”
If you ask me for restaurant recommendations, you’ll likely hear raves about their turkey-avocado-jicama-slaw sandwich or their baked-fresh-from-scratch pastries.
So I disappointed when I was asked to leave during a busy Saturday afternoon to make room for other customers. I’d been there for a little over 2 hours with my laptop, and had planned on taking a seat closer to a wall outlet when one of the owners stepped in. (I had polished off a medium coffee and a chicken sandwich.) He had promised that table to another customer; since I had headphones on, I hadn’t seen the line forming behind me.
He was apologetic. As I was leaving, he apologized again. And this was the second time – a month before, a different owner had asked me to leave, but relented when I bought another sandwich. I’ve generally tried to share my table or buy another pastry during marathon study sessions, but I know I’ve overstayed my welcome in the past.
And I understand why they’re taking a more aggressive tack. Mostly. They charge reasonable prices for freshly made food. They have high labor costs and rent; they depend on table turnover and volume to pay the bills. I ended up chatting that owner for about an hour about the trials of the business world and how to solve the problem of being too popular.
I’m happy Crema has done well. It clearly has no problem attracting loyal customers and long lines. But I’m disappointed that the same place that I cheered for and championed feels that its success is dependent on asking me to leave. Are the two really at odds?
Perhaps this Seth Godin (a well-known marketer) post about “best customers” summarizes some of how I’m feeling:
If you define “best customer” as the customer who pays you the most, then I guess it’s not surprising that the reflex instinct is to charge them more. After all, they’re happy to pay.
But what if you define “best customer” as the person who brings you new customers through frequent referrals, and who sticks with you through thick and thin? That customer, I think, is worth far more than what she might pay you in any one transaction. In fact, if you think of that customer as your best marketer instead, it might change everything.
If you’re a cafe lover, do you think cafe owners should ask customers who have finished eating to leave?
Cafe owners, how do you deal with slow table turnover?
Zinneken’s in Harvard Square Brings You Belgian Waffles
This exclusive tip just in: Zinneken’s, a Belgian waffle shop, will be opening in about four months in Harvard Square.
Zinneke in Brussels dialect means someone of mixed origins, which not only represents the founders, but also their ambitions to introduce authentic Belgian food to Bostonians. They promise that Zinneken’s baked-to-order offerings will to put your standard Americanized “Belgian waffle” to shame. Zinneken’s signature showpiece is the Liège waffle, aka sugar waffle, which is sweeter, smaller in size, and denser than their conventional brethren.
But it gets better!
All photos courtesy of Nhon Ma.
These sugar waffles ($4-6) are named for their caramelized sugar coating and will be served with everything from Nutella to Chantilly cream. I particularly like the proposed “Oreos Freakin’ Party” (no joke) special which involves a grind-tastic blend of Oreos, strawberries, and whipped cream. See the menu from their brochure below.
Harvard Square’s Waffle Pioneers
Who would chase the perfect waffle recipe across continents? One founder, Nhon Ma, is a Harvard grad who jumped from the corporate world to pursue his true passion: food. But it wasn’t a random coincidence, by any means. In fact, his mother was the only Asian chef to ever get a coveted Michelin star in Europe. After spending his childhood taste testing her creations, Nhon cut his teeth by working for her.
He met his business partner Bertrand Lempkowicz in high school, who’s leaving behind his Brussels communication company to join the venture. They’re still in the process of signing the lease, but envision the shop will be “a cosy European atmosphere” that serves up authentically light and fluffy waffles to passing crowds.
Photos from their Facebook page and Twitter show a test run of snackers munching on waffles with a variety of toppings.
Beyond waffles, Nhon promises that Belgian chocolate, French macarons, flourless fudge, Belgian chocolate brownies, and sweet crepes are also in the works.
Their retail space will be at 1 Mifflin Place, #400. Looking on Google Maps, it looks like it’ll be near FedEx and Harvest. Actually, this is their administrative space – the actual location is under wraps. Nhon reveals that it’ll be closer to Harvard Square, not far from Tommy Doyle’s andUpstairs on the Square.
Can’t wait! Look forward to an interview with Nhon Ma coming soon.
Their tentative proposed menu – with delicious photos! – after the jump.
Kickass Cupcakes to add ice cream cupcakes
kickass cupcakes
Kickass Cupcakes, the Davis Square cupcakery (which famously abhors Yelp) is announcing a new line of ice cream. The inaugural flavor is vanilla with chocolate chunk – with the added kick of choco and vanilla cupcake bits. One cone is $2.99, 3.99 with frosting, and a pint is 5.99.
I always liked their Cupcake happy hours on the last Monday of the month when they give out free mini cakes. And I give them major points for flavor creativity. However, they’re not noted for excellent service (as Yelp will attest) – I remember trying to buy 5 separately boxed cupcakes for a friend’s birthday present last year to um, mild hostility. Hopefully, the sugary addition of cake bits in ice cream (frosting is over-the-top) will go far to redeem them.
Are you going to try these out?
13 Idiot-Proof Honey Recipes
Little critters I caught on camera last year when I visited an apiary.
These micro-recipes I penned were originally published on GoodEater.org (which has since undergone a facelift).
They’re the kind of recipes that are most useful for kitchen-retarded, time-strapped people like me – minimal equipment, dining-hall-able ingredients – more conceptual starting points than formulas.
If you’re a Bostonian looking for a local variety of honey to try, I highly recommend Mike Graney’s Eat Local Honey. I went through an entire jar in a week. Once you taste this stuff, it’s like the difference between Megan Fox on a magazine page and Megan Fox across the dinner table.
On second thought, maybe keep her on the magazine page.
Sweet deal - Mike Graney's Eat Local Honey
Local honey boasts flavors unique to the region it was produced in. Complexity like this deserves the simplest of treatments. Here are a few options.
1. Stir into yogurt. Add granola. Inhale.
2. Peanut butter and banana, on toast. Drizzle with honey. Sprinkle with sea salt.
3. From the bottom up: bread, sliced apples, paper-thin sweet potato, aged cheddar, drizzle of honey, bread. Put in sandwich press. Consume.
4. Alternatively: bread, sliced pear, toasted pine nut, gorgonzola dolce, drizzle of honey, bread. Press.
5. Or: bread, cream cheese, toasted walnut, sliced apple, drizzle of honey. Press.
6. Stir a teaspoon into two tablespoons of good, softened butter. Spread on toast. Or muffin. Or pancakes.
7. Thick slice of gruyere on crusty sourdough, under the broiler until melted. Drizzle with honey. Eat with napkins
8. Straight up, with cut fruit and croutons.
9. Mix with equal parts water and a good squeeze of lemon juice, freeze into ice cubes. Suck.
10. Gratuitously on top of breakfast cereal.
11. Equal parts with dijon mustard. Serve with everything grilled. Or fried.
12. In your tea and lemonade (or margaritas).
13. Sesame honey dressing: one part cider vinegar, one part honey, sesame seeds, slowly whisk in three parts oil. Add a touch of some sesame oil. Serve with spring greens.
What do you like to do with your honey?
Finding Vietnam in Dorchester: Boston’s Best Banh Mi?
There are some corners of Boston that I don’t often explore – they lie like stark question marks on MBTA maps with line colors and station names that are as exotic as Tosci’s curry apple ice cream.
So when the literal fork in the road came up as Lipoff (of Chowhound contributor fame) steered the wheel of his Peugeot one Saturday afternooon, I decided to go with a bit of gritty urban color over a sweet suburban afternoon. Dorchester it was.
Banh mi is like a cultural and historical study packaged as a sandwich and wrapped in French bread colonialism. It typically contains some kind of protein – cold cuts, pork pate, BBQ beef, sardines, etc. – along with slivered cucumbers, bean sprouts, pickled carrots, daikon, cilantro, fish paste, chili peppers, and mayo, all on a halved crusty French baguette.
It’s also dirt cheap. At New Saigon in Chinatown, I remember they were around $3. At Ban Le in Dorchester, Lipoff’s first stop (after we feverishly consulted our respective smartphones for recs for the best), they were a mere two dollars and three quarters. In deliciousness per dollar terms, that’s a mathematically impossible to reproduce ratio.
Basil seed drink - looks like millions of fish eggs...
There was no seating inside, just a glass-paneled counter, dry goods packed high in cardboard boxes, and a somewhat-suspect looking hot buffet. Lipoff decided to throw in a basil seed drink, and the woman behind the counter composed our meal in slow, deceptively simple strokes – a smear of yellow (butter? mayo?), cilantro, beef, a squirt of sauce, the usual accoutrements. Then she wrapped it in wax paper, secured it in a red rubber band, and sent us on our merry way.
We hunkered down in the car and whipped out our cameras.
Lipoff is as equally excitable as I am about food, and even more enthusiastic. We are equally complementary as dinner partners as cultural self-descriptions: he is an egg, and I am a banana.
The consensus on the Ban Le: friggin’ delicious.
The crusty French bread enveloped fresh, crunchy vegetables, deepened by the slighty-sweet chew of BBQ beef and laced with a zip of spice and cilantro. Warming up the beef and the bread a bit would have made it even better, but even so, orgasmic in how every element and flavor – sweet, salty, savory, crunchy, soft, spicy – worked together.
Ban Le banh mi, sitting pretty
I left a bunch of crumbs in the car.
So how do you get to sandwich nirvana?
If you take the Ashmont-bound Red Line train to Fields Corner, you’ll be dropped off in a neighborhood that seems rather unlikely. Due to a highly concentration of Vietnamese, walk up and down the street to see nothing but restaurants full of pho-slurping locals and groceries stocked with glutinous rice snacks and chili paste.
“How does this place exist?” I asked in awe. My wonder was confirmed when I saw a rare sight: a pay phone in 2010.
Since my iPhone was stolen, I kind of wish these were still around.
geological cross section of sardine banh mi
Then it was off to King Do to try another round of banh mi. We decided to give sardine a try, since it was neither pork nor shellfish (Lipoff is kosher) and it seemed like the most exotic option.
Less success. The sardines were cold, mushy, flat, and tasted like they came straight from the tin. Extra cilantro perked things up a bit, but things just weren’t quite as crunchy or revelatory as our last sandwich. I blame part of it on poor selection – clearly, sardine might not have been the best choice.
Finally, the last stop was a bit of warm liquid to soothe our wind-battered souls. A big bowl of pho had to cure Bostonian ills. Pho 2000 served us a decent, gargantuan bowl of soup that I quickly laced with plenty of Sriracha, basil leaves, and lime juice.
a platter of accessories
surface tension
After toying with the cameras a bit more, I buttoned up my jacket and hit the cold winds again. How had I lived for so long without knowing the wonders of east-meets-west fast food? Hopefully, you don’t do the same.
For students, keep in mind this is truly dirt cheap: two giant sandwiches plus an enormous bowl of pho came out to less than $7 per person.
Where’s your favorite banh mi?
Photos courtesy of Lipoff’s much better camera
Find it!
——–
Banh Mi Ban Le
1052 Dorchester Ave
(between St William St & Pearl St)
Dorchester, MA 02125
(617) 265-7171
King Do Baguette and Pastry
1225 Dorchester Ave
(between Greenmount St & Dewar St)
Dorchester, MA 02125
Pho 2000
198 Adams Street
Dorchester, MA 02122
(617) 436-1908