Daily Pampering: New restaurant opens at The Landings in St. Lucia

by Tom Johansmeyer on

If you haven’t been to The Landings St. Lucia lately, the restaurant that just opened is probably worth a trip. This RockResort just threw open the doors of The Palms, which is located in the grand entrance pavilion as an extension of the open-air Viscount Lounge. The menu boasts a Caribbean flavor, not to mention sustainably produced seafood from local St. Lucian farms.

The restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday and serves the creations of Executive Chef Richard Tonks. His menu includes potted pork and duck appetizers with pickled vegetables and potato pancakes, but what really excites me are the shredded braised lamb shanks wrapped in lettuce girolles, shallots and merlot sauce – I might book a flight just to toss that into my mouth.

And then there’s the art …

I could spend hours staring at contemporary art, and The Landings is making that pretty easy. In The Palms, the walls are adorned with the creations of local artist Llewellyn Xavier. Every piece on display in the restaurant is made from recycled materials.

With only 28 seats, this is an intimate environment and an ideal space for a meal on a romantic getaway. Be sure to take in at least one meal at The Palms when your down at The Landings.

Get your daily dose of Pampering right here.

Learn what’s fresh, and eat that – Dining out tip

by Gadling Staff on

Order dishes made with locally grown, produced, or just-caught ingredients, like cheeses, tomatoes, oranges, olives, seafood, and other bounty. Ask your restaurant server or research your dining destination so you’ll be in the know.

Also, check out local markets to see what vendors have stocked in their bins. If you spot a huge vat of eggplant, then you’ll probably be happy ordering some eggplant parmesan at dinner that night. Tanks filled with squirming lobsters? Yep, there’s your splurge. If your dining spot has an onsite bakery and you’re not a carbo-phobe, you can fill up on warm buns and breads straight from the oven.

Make yourself a Hiltini in the Bahamas

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The British Colonial Hilton in Nassau is looking for help celebrating both its 10th anniversary and a multi-million dollar renovation. So, every Thursday night through February 25, 2010, from 8 PM to 9 PM, show up to at the Bullion Bar for a Hiltini Night experience. The bartenders are ready to create top-shelf cocktails from the traditional to the unique and will even offer classes about martini-making to those who express some interest. And, each Hiltini night will include a martini-making contest, where guests can compare their skills in the pursuit of bragging-rights riches.

If you miss the Hiltini nights, don’t sweat it. The British Colonial Hilton will have something new every Thursday night this year at the Bullion Bar.

“Best restaurant in the world” El Bulli to close for two years

by Katie Hammel on

Dedicated foodies with dreams of dining at El Bulli, long considered to be one of the best (and often the best) restaurants in the world, are in for some disappointment. The mecca of molecular gastronomy will be closing for two years, in 2012 and 2013.

The restaurant, which is located on the Catalan coast of Spain and has received the coveted Michelin 3-star rating, was named the best restaurant in the world for the fourth straight year by Britain’s Restaurant magazine and is considered to be one the places any food-lover must dine at before dying. Chef Ferran Adria assured devoted fans that though El Bulli will close temporarily, it isn’t gone for good. He did say that there may be some major changes in store though. “In 2014, we will serve food somehow. I don’t know if it will be for one guest or 1,000,” he said.

What’s the reason behind the closure? The Guardian cites Adria as saying that the long hours – he regularly puts in 15-hour days – were getting to him. Though Adria has also said before that El Bulli is not a profitable business, due to the limited seatings and the labor required to do each one. Perhaps the new model will be a better moneymaker.

Thinking you can try to get in before El Bulli shuts its doors? Think again. Seatings for 2010 have already sold out, so unless you are extremely well connected, you’re out of luck. Not that you had much chance of getting a seat anyways. The restaurant only serves 50 guests per night, six months out of the year, and according the UK Guardian, more than 2 million people have vied for a mere 8,000 seats over the past few years.

Travel Advice: Five ways to cope with bad restaurant service

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Nothing can stain a perfectly planned trip like poor restaurant service. In the hotels, this usually isn’t a problem, as the wait staff is governed by the same fanatical commitment to keeping guests happy as everyone else on the property. But, nobody wants to eat every meal on site, so you’re bound to venture out for most of your lunches and dinners. This is where you’ll wind up rolling the dice. Restaurant service varies. You can do plenty of research and get recommendations, but from time to time, you’ll either make a guess or find out that your friend’s experience was an aberration.

When you get an awful waiter, abysmal food or terrible seating, don’t forget that you have rights. I’m fresh off an awful experience with Citrus, a restaurant in my neighborhood on Manhattan‘s Upper West Side, and while “negotiating” for my food, it occurred to me that most people willingly cede control of the situation to the restaurants that have wronged them. If we work together, this ends now.

Here are five ways to address terrible restaurant service from the start and get the most value for your dining dollars.

1. Don’t ask the waitress twice
If you encounter a problem with your food or drinks — from taking too long to get them to receiving the wrong order — always start with your server. If you don’t see the person walk by within five minutes of identifying the problem, hunt him or her down: doing so sends a message. Make it clear that you will not tolerate substandard service. If the problem isn’t resolved quickly, don’t bother asking the server again … it won’t get you anywhere. Escalate it to a manager.

2. Serve yourself
Part of the point of going to a restaurant is having someone else do all the work for you. But, if the staff isn’t delivering, sometimes you need to take matters into your own hands. Drink order taking forever? Go up to the bar yourself and ask what’s taking so long. Offer to help … you’re not trying to criticize; you’re in the solutions business! Usually, this less-than-subtle behavior can serve as a wakeup call to people who’ve been sleeping on the job.

3. Become the manager’s new buddy
Experiencing continued bad service? Demonstrate to the manager that you will make it your mission to waste his time until his team finally gets its act together. When you don’t get the right food or get served in a timely manner for each course, let the manager know. Getting up to go the bathroom? Find the manager on your way back and give him an unsolicited status report.

4. Don’t settle for discounts
I’ve had problems with Citrus in the past, and on one occasion, the manager offered to knock 10 percent off my next purchase. Idiotic. After the delivery order was screwed up three times (same order, same night), I went to the restaurant to see for myself the stupidity that could yield such results. He immediately proffered the 10 percent off a future purchase. He expected a future purchase from me following a terrible experience and made clear that the current situation was meaningless to him. Learn from this: any offer that is not immediate and substantial is an insult.

5. Recognize the power of the tip
One restaurant forgot to deliver a drink to me. When the waiter realized the mistake, he not only brought the drink, but knocked that one and the previous one off my bill. This is how you turn a service error into a 30 percent tip. I believe in rewarding service, and the standard 15 percent is a starting point, not a destination. Likewise, a staff that underperforms should be compensated appropriately. Don’t be afraid to go under 10 percent — or all the way to zero. On a few occasions, I’ve actually told the manager that the restaurant owed me money following the meal.

Unlike the service on planes, where you are a captive consumer, restaurants don’t have any control. You can leave at any time. And, there are plenty of choices available to you. In major cities, in fact, you can leave one restaurant and enter another within minutes. If you do this, have a frank conversation with the manager: “Look, we just had awful service at [name the restaurant] just down the block. I know you’re crowded, but we’re hungry and, unsurprisingly, not in the best of moods. I’m not looking for anything out of this except to let you know that I’m probably not going to be as fair as I could be … and to tell you that you have a chance to be the one factor that makes my evening amazing.”

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