Recently, Buzz returned from three days in Napa attending Taste3, a conference at Copia that melds food, wine and art in deliciously unusual ways. Imagine a tour of three local artists studios, including glass designer Gordon Huether, painter Gail Chase-Bien and ceramic sculptor Renata Allen led by the legendary Margrit Mondavi that included lunch at Yountville’s Redd. Everything–and everyone, including the 12 lucky participants– from the art to the food made a terrific segue to the next two days.

This gathering was the third year of Taste3. Started by the bright and ingenious minds behind TED including the creative comedian Tom Rielly, this conference brings together cutting edge thinking presented by experts in their respective fields. Taste 3 tempts, teases and teaches…and is worth every minute of the experience.

In two jam-packed days, 32 speakers, four to a session, each talking about 18 minutes, covered such topics as “Seeds”, “Urban” and “Source”. In”Action/Reaction” I learned about climate change and its impact on viticulture and wine production from Greg Jones, who teaches geography Southern Oregon University. Earlier in “Source” Ben Roche, Moto’s pastry chef, thrilled the audience as he showed how he designs “technically innovative” desserts that use nitrogen gas, helium and more to create “explosive” and delicious confections. Darra Goldstein in “Worldview” spoke of her trip to Israel and the West Bank and how food, including falafel, can be used as a bridge to quell Arab and Israeli conflict. Also in that session, Bruce Gutlove explained how he directs a Japanese winery (worked by developmentally disabled to produce wine served at the recent G-8 Summit).

Breaks featured chocolates from Tcho and Scharffen Berger, Equator Estate Coffees & Teas and even shoes from Tom’s. Winery dinners and a lovely party and concert at Mondavi winery finished out the symposium’s evenings.

Service. There’s a lot of Buzz about it lately from local diners out for a for a business or pleasure meal.  In these tight economic times when customers think twice about where to spend their dining dollars, San Diego restaurants–new and old–need to be ever more vigilant about service.  Mind you, service begins the moment you enter a restaurant, how you’re treated–from the hostess and servers to the bartender, busser and manager–good service will keep customers, even if there’s an off night in the kitchen.  One word about bad service spreads faster than many good words about food. 

A word of caution here.  Bad service stories are not something Buzz fact checks; it’s not about he said, she said. The customer needs to let the restaurant know when there is a problem, right then and there.  Depending on the issue, a manager or owner can right a wrong, and how the restaurant handles the situation at that moment further defines service.  What did they do to make it okay for the customer who–without some sort of positive acknowledgement such as a comped dessert or drink…something…anything– will go out and tell ten pals never to patronize the place again.

A few examples: A reader sent a note to complain about Zenbu, a La Jolla mainstay for fresh sushi, a Buzz favorite and a place that doesn’t take reservations.  The customer revealed that a new hostess and the manager continuously gave their party of six the wrong wait time for their table–told 35 minutes, waited nearly 2 hours.  Why not leave?  Well, the party believed the hostess who kept saying they’d be seated any minute.  When finally seated, they waited more than an hour for food, even though other tables seated after them were served.  Management offered no comps to appease but did add 18% gratuity to the check.  Not the way to treat customers, no matter how busy your restaurant may be.

Red Marlin, a recent arrival to the Mission Bay area, caught the ire of another local who wanted to bring in a bottle of wine.   The comment by Carlo posted in Solare and Red Marlin explains the situation, and how management missed the cue from a customer looking to buy a bottle from the list and still bring his own for a special evening.  

On the positive side, Buzz popped in for the first time to Urban Solace. I sat at the bar while most diners were on the patio enjoying the warm day.  The bartender/server helped me decide my order–no on the fabulously rich the mac and cheese and yes on the light, flavorful salad of grilled ahi pieces, diced cucumber, red pepper and avocado, innovatively served with not a leaf of lettuce–a balance of texture and flavor in a mouthful.  Sure the bar wasn’t busy, but many times that can lead to poor service when staff does chores or just stands around. Even the hostess, though not perched at the door, had it right. Every time the door opened, she was front and center to greet guests.  Good food coupled with good service makes a winner.  

Buzz would like to hear your stories:  Service–good and bad–and what the restaurant did to be sure you would return. 

A recent story in The Wall Street Journal addressed in depth the popularity of tasting menus paired with wines.  The paper’s wine writers, Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher dined anonymously at four of New York’s top restaurants (Le Bernardin, Jean George, Per Se and Daniel) to report on tasting menus and their pairings with wine.  The results were startling.  Not only did the writers have day-0ld, sometimes uninspired and pre-chosen pairings, the cost was over the top at $280 for two at Le Bernardin (separate from the the $180 per person for the food tasting menu).  Per Se and Daniel came out the best of the bunch, for service, wines and food pairings. While San Diego isn’t quite as pricey, tasting menus can be found at some of our top restaurants.  How good are they?

What do you think about tasting menus?  Are they worth ordering or are they passé ?  Do you order the wines suggested or do you order by the glass or bottle?  Does the service feel rushed because you’re ordering a set menu? Well, Buzz would like to hear from you.  Let’s see how San Diego’s chefs and sommeliers show their stuff.