We went to the Chelsea Market in NYC recently. http://www.chelseamarket.com/. It is a collection of shops and food places in an indoor venue on 9th ave and 15th Street. We were exploring the market and got hungry. We found Dickson's Farmstand Meats http://chelseamarket.com/index.php/Shops/single_shops/dicksons-farmstand. This a butcher shop with trendy pretentiousness i.e. artisanal,grass fed, heritage. They have a sandwich menu and I asked for the ham and cheese sandwich without mayo/mustard which was standard, as my wife likes neither and mayo does not belong on a ham sandwich. They told me that the sandwiches are pre-made and they don't make them to order. Mind you, this is a shop with lots of butchers and people all over filling meat orders.
Anyway, I declined to buy the sandwich and went to another shop, Num Pang sandwiches. My son was eating a sandwich there and said it was good. Num Pang is another trendy shop with all of the pretentious trappings. I went up to the window and ordered a brisket sandwich. The sandwiches are made to order. I asked for no hot sauce, because hot sauce was standard. My wife is allergic to hot peppers. I was told that they have a yogurt sauce. We did not want that either. I was then told that we had to have one of the sauces because the owner would not sell a sandwich without one of the sauces. I said no thanks.
We settled for a so-so slice of pizza from an Italian place in the market.
I bring this up because one of the top 5 restaurant in NYC is 11 Madison Park. It has a top rating from every food reviewer of repute. It is one of the top restaurants in the world. Current prix fixe meal is $295 per person. The New York Times had an article about the restaurant recently.11 Madison Park http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/06/dining/eleven-madison-park-menu.html?ref=dining has been adjusting it menu for the last few years and actually consults with patrons as to what they would like to eat and how they would like it prepared. Like any good restaurant they are concerned about allergies and ask people if they are allergic to specific ingredients.
The article states:"Mr. Guidara and Mr. Humm said they want to foster the pleasures of conversation by reducing the number of interruptions from servers. Early in the meal, customers will talk with a waiter about what kind of menu rollout feels right, and dishes will emerge from the kitchen without a surplus of pedagogical explanation.
“It’s not about us just serving you the meal we think you should eat,” Mr. Guidara said."
What do you think about this; should you have some choice on how food you order is prepared? I understand that as a cook I would like people to trust my taste and try my food. However if you know you hate peppers or brussel sprouts, should you be required to order them with food that you are ordering. This assumes that the offending ingredient is not cooked into dish.
Years ago when McDonald's came to the NY area they put mustard and ketchup on their burgers. Interestingly there are some areas of the country where mustard goes with burgers and some where ketchup goes with burgers. McDonald's quickly changed to ketchup only in the NY area. You also might remember that Burger King advertised "special orders don't upset us" to position them against McDonald's which did not encourage special orders.
What do you put on your hot dog, mustard or ketchup? Do you have a corned beef or pastrami sandwich on rye with mustard or white bread with mayo?
Just came back from Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. Will report on our trip shortly. We had a great time.
Enjoy!
