Unreasonable Hospitality

I recently finished reading Unreasonable Hospitality – The remarkable power of giving

people more than they expect by Will Guidara. Yes, I read non-magic books too. This

book shares how Will took Eleven Madison Park (a 2 star restaurant in New York) to

four stars that was ultimately named the top restaurant in the world. While the food of

course was very good, what takes a restaurant “over the top” is the service. The author

also shared lessons from running the café and gelato cart at MOMA showing the

concepts are not confined to fine dining and can be applied to almost any business.

They talk about “the last inch.” Each dish takes a long time planning and training, but

could be ruined if a garnish falls off, a smudge on the plate, etc. I experienced this

while dining at Next (Paris 1902 menu). My wife and I saw the server coming with the

next course and just as he’s close to the table he turns and returns to the kitchen.

Moments later he returns, apologizing and explaining that one of the flower garnishes

(which was very, very small) had fallen off and it needed to be fixed. Another example is

to provide seamless service. The author describes how they used hand signals so right

after the host seats the table, the server immediately comes with the correct type of

water; or how they developed a check-less coat check system.

I experienced this when I dined at Alinea – yes the food was good with some memorable dishes including the edible helium balloon. But the thing I still talk about is the end of the meal. When we were finished, the server thanked us for dining (the bill was pre-paid) and said he were welcome to stay or leave at any time. We walked downstairs where the host also thanked us for dining and as we walked outside, there was our car waiting at the valet – it felt like a magic trick. The book also briefly describes a magic trick they developed with Dan White and Theory 11 for a dessert course (so magic does seep into my other reading).

I’ll leave you with one last story showing the critical importance of hospitality (doesn’t matter how good the product is – sorry it’s another restaurant example). There was a restaurant that closed 10 years ago called Hot Dougs (we were regulars). Even though it was a very successful business (lines down the block), Doug decided it was time to step away. Doug chatted with everyone as he took their order (despite the long lines)and as it was a cash only business he seemed “flexible” with his pricing especially for his regulars. On weekends, it was not uncommon to wait over an hour to order

(remember this is for a hot dog), and there usually was a small line waiting even before

they opened. The place had such a fanatical following that some regulars got a tattoo of

the Hot Doug logo (which did get them a free hot dog every time they came in – now

that’s brand loyalty).

After it closed, two of the cooks (with permission) opened their own version called Hot G dogs (down the street from the Magic Lounge) – using most of the same recipes. While the food was still good (maybe not quite as good as the original), the business didn’t survive very long. It didn’t have the same “vibe”; the same hospitality and was never crowded. When Doug announced he was closing, the wait times increased to several hours (I waited over 2 hours on a weekday) and the final week was even more crazy with people waiting in line overnight (some even ordered, ate and got back in line, while others brought a smoker and cooked a brisket while waiting). Some of the patrons made a sign which I think sums up the experience: “Fries good. Sausages great, but our friend Doug is why we wait.”