8 Most Exotic Drinks in the World by Katie at Tripbase.com

Click on the title for these delicious drink recipes.

Here are 8 beautiful exotic cocktails to enjoy while cruising on the high seas. Thanks Katie!

Wine Word of the Week by Tim Burke of the Palm Beach Post

Wine Word of the Week

Well I am back to posting on wine and food as well as cruiseships. But this time I am going to use my twitter feed to pick out interesting articles for your reading pleasure.

It is much easier and this way I can concentrate on the other blog about cruise ships and destinations.

Stay Home Tonight

About an hour before heading to work tonight the GM calls. It has been snowing all afternoon and the roads were treacherous. I was scheduled to close tonight and it being a Monday night in February didn't hold much promise it was going to be busy.

She says with the commute would I rather just stay home and be safe and not to worry about coming in tonight. I thought about it for about 4 seconds and since I was going right back at it tomorrow night thanked her for thinking of me. So I stayed home and cooked some dinner and had some family time.

I thought that was pretty nice.

Make'em Laugh

Last night I was delivering some bacon wrapped scallops to a table. As I approached the couple I put it in the centre of the table when the ensuing conversation took place.

Her: Oh no that is for my husband. I don't like seafood.
Me: I don't like seafood either.
Her: Oh really.
Me: Yes everytime I see food I eat it!

She and the hubby laugh. Okay , okay maybe it was a bit corny but they liked it.

Thanks But I Will Just Stick To Buying My Own Beer

Last night was not one of your busy nights. I had 3 tables going and then I was cut and walked out with $46. So I planted myself at the bar and ordered myself a couple of staff beers and watched our Canadian hockey team eke out a shootout win over the mighty Swiss. For those of you who don't know what that is like it would be like watching an English Premier League all star team barely beat out a team of factory workers by day that plays pickup football by night.

Anyhoo my fellow co-worker pulls up a stool beside me and tells me that the supervisor is buying him a beer cause he received compliments from 3 out of 5 tables that he had during the evening.

Now that makes me think. If I was to mention that all my tables were extremely happy with my service would I also be entitled to a free beer and if so would I need all my tables to be happy or just 60% of them? Not saying his other two were not happy and to his credit he is a good waiter but do you have to actually tell people that someone was happy with you.

I like to go by the way of not tooting my horn too much and just doing a bang up job everyday where everyone goes away happy. I like to quietly enter and leave on the same note.

My reasoning is this and that is if I have to mention that a table was extremely happy that means there might have been some tables that were not as happy.

As mentioned in a previous post I am for comment cards because it is a hard copy of what someone thinks. Then it can be passed on to management and kept in your record.

My trade off is they are kind with my schedule so I would rather have that than a free beer.

In the meantime I will trudge along quietly and stick to buying my own beer....

If You Give Me That Look Again I Want Another Waiter

I have this 9 top tonight. The guys are all drinking and there is this one asshole who thinks he is something else.

Anyway before the meal started I asked if it was all on one bill and they say yeah. Okay that is a good start. Then there is this one guy who orders appys for the table. Then some people ordered salads. That is fine. Except I guess it was his honey saying there is hardly any dressing on her caesar so I get her some more on the side. Then when I start clearing the guy next to , I will call him asshole , says he didn't have much dressing either. Then asshole who has had too much to drink already says what is going on here? That is two salads already!

Then his honey next to him says her white wine isn't cold enough so I put it on ice. When I come back asshole says that is 3 times now something is wrong. What the fuck is going on? Can you tell me he ask. I just look at him. You know anything I say I will be wrong cause this guy has already had one beer too much already. I just stare at him.

He ask me again this time saying if I look at him the same way he is going to ask for another waiter. So he ask me the same thing. I don't say anything and give him the WTF stare back.
He says ok then!

Nothing happens and the meal moves forward. I do a quality check and ask how the meal is and he pipes up , better than the service! The rest of the group I sense is embarassed. Some want to leave cause of this rude asshole but I tell them it is all on one bill. Once I heard that at the beginning I did not bother going by seat number. Let the bastards pay one bill. I wasn't going to start sorting the drinks out.

I had a supervisor go over and talk with them and he mentioned afterwards that guy was a real prick. I say he sure was. He gave them a discount on the $600 something bill. They had a $200 gift card and paid the rest with cash. Gave me $60 for a tip. Quite crap really for the abuse but it could have been a lot worse.

I wish he had asked me something sarcastic like how long have I been waiting on tables. But just as well cause I have served in places this asshole couldn't afford to eat in. He wouldn't be allowed in anyway.

May I Suggest English as a Second Language

So I get this family of 4. It is kind of busy and I am waiting what seems like an eternity to listen to what they have to order.

They order for the kids , then the guy orders the feature with the sun-dried tomato cream sauce and then we come to her. Lady arshole!

She begins by pointing at the part of the menu that says how the steaks are cooked. So I say do you want a steak then? The guy says yeah she will have a sirloin. Fine I say how would you like it cooked and she looks over at her husband and he says well done like mine. Alright then a steak cooked well done. The husband agrees and the wife who I don't think has any idea what a steak is just grins.

The steaks come out and she calls me over and says where is my sauce? Okay I thought you just wanted the steak your husband said , not the feature. So I run back to the kitchen and order the sauce on the side. She gets it and then hardly touches it. I want to kick the guy in the head cause he ordered the meal for her without mentioning the feature.

Listen lady learn to order for yourself. Learn English! Be a pleasure to serve you even more if you could explain what it is you want. What is it with people who live here that it is so hard for them to learn some language skills. Can I suggest a Dale Carnegie course! Anything , just get out of your shell.

Tonight was a night of idiots. Another post on the way shortly.

The Five Questions of the Day

Here we go with the Tuesday quiz. Good luck!

1. Crema de Lima from Spain is what flavoured liqueur?

2. Creme Yvette is made from the petals of violet parma , is highly scented , and named after the French actress Yvette Guilbert. Where is it made?

3. This liqueur comes from the Basque region in the southwest of France and is flavoured with Armagnac , with fruits , honey , and flowers from the Pyrenees that are close by. First introduced in 1835 it comes in both yellow and green with the former at 43% and the more intensely flavoured green coming in at 55%. What is the name of this liqueur?

4. In French cuisine a chasseur sauce is made from mushrooms , shallots , tomatoes , and white wine added to a sauteed dish such as chicken for example. What does the word chasseur translated into English mean?

5. You should prepare shirred eggs where in the kitchen? It is not important how just where?

That is it. I made this one a bit harder and trickier to peak your interest.

Answers later.

It Was Going To Happen Sooner or Later

I was opening today ready to start back after a day off and make some money. When a waiter opens he or she has to prepare for the baked potatoes that come off the line during service. In other words prep the sour cream , butter , bacon bits , cut the parsley and chives enough for the evening.

So I am moving along well ahead of time and all I have to do is cut the chives and parsley. I start cutting the chives when I decide to cut a piece of skin off the tip of my thumb. Blood wouldn't stop coming out. My night ended early when I had to head to the clinic and have it seen to and fill out the Workmen's Compensation Form.

It is not serious and didn't require stitches but it needs the night to knead. I will be back tomorrow.

But honestly why does the opener have to cut this stuff when there is a kitchen crew that can do it safer and quicker. I really didn't miss tonight cause of my waiter experience but more to do with my lack of prep experience. At home I can do things but in the industry where I have to cut lots then why not let the experienced hands do it?

Maybe the good thing is they will not put me as an opener anymore. That would be nice , but they will cause no one else wants to open. No waiter wants to cut parsley and chives.

Am I wrong or am I just whining??????