London Hibs Supporters Club
07-01-2014, 08:17 PM
Quinn's has re-opened today after a two week holiday and I'm glad to report that Jean Claude has emailed me through our menu for Friday evening.
Regarding Jean Claude, there are a number of things that make or break the reputation of a restaurant, but the two things that do most are the menu and a waiter. More thought and concentrated effort have gone into these two things than have gone into any other. The waiter is probably a man, though not necessarily. He may be French, he may be gay, but not necessarily. What he will be, necessarily, is neatly turned out in a black waistcoat, tie and white apron.
A waiter does the most highly trained and demanding job that isn't called a profession. A man who might be a brilliant waiter in Quinn's could be liability in another establishment, leaving aside the surprisingly difficult prestidigitation that all servers need to master, carrying four or five plates at once, serving in cramped spaces, without rubbing their armpits into hungry noses, pouring wine and sauce accurately. They must be bespoke to their specific dining room.
As us regulars know, Quinn's is a contemporary mix of plated and silver service - that is, some dishes come ready to eat from the kitchen and some need to be finished at the table. It's not just how your waiter does this, it's the manner in which he does it. For many a customer, just having got a table at Quinn's is an achievement, a personal perk, a small measure of professional and social success, and he doesn't need to be confronted by a bloke who behaves like a deluded Jambo. But then Quinn's isn't just any old local bistro either, some how-ya-doin' diner. Customers don't want their place at the table belittled by an over-familiar drama student paying for his tuition with 'Hi, I'm Chuck'. He doesn't want some Antipodean dabbing Chablis off his dates cleavage and sitting at the table to take his order. Hitting just the right note of efficient servility with that soupçon of relaxed camaraderie is tricky enough. It's doubly tricky when the restaurant is packed, there are forty main courses due at the same time, the kitchen is screaming like a Robin Reliant going uphill in first and Hibs are one down. In fact, it's so tricky, so deeply complex and fraught, that Pierre is considering writing a manual about it.
Anyway, we'll be served two courses on Friday. One pre-match and one after the FT whistle. Pre-match is a selection of Seasonal Crudités with Pierre's Anchovy Dip. This will consist of radishes, baby carrots, florets of cauliflower (both purple and romanesco), celery stalks and chicory. After-match we'll be served Escargots à la Bourguignonne (Snails in Garlic–Herb Butter) with a selection of fresh breads. Coffee will be served along with a selection of cheeses.
This weeks house wine is a robust Château Moulin La Gravière, 2010 priced at £18 per bottle and supplied by the fine folks at www.wine-source.com
See you all on Friday
Regarding Jean Claude, there are a number of things that make or break the reputation of a restaurant, but the two things that do most are the menu and a waiter. More thought and concentrated effort have gone into these two things than have gone into any other. The waiter is probably a man, though not necessarily. He may be French, he may be gay, but not necessarily. What he will be, necessarily, is neatly turned out in a black waistcoat, tie and white apron.
A waiter does the most highly trained and demanding job that isn't called a profession. A man who might be a brilliant waiter in Quinn's could be liability in another establishment, leaving aside the surprisingly difficult prestidigitation that all servers need to master, carrying four or five plates at once, serving in cramped spaces, without rubbing their armpits into hungry noses, pouring wine and sauce accurately. They must be bespoke to their specific dining room.
As us regulars know, Quinn's is a contemporary mix of plated and silver service - that is, some dishes come ready to eat from the kitchen and some need to be finished at the table. It's not just how your waiter does this, it's the manner in which he does it. For many a customer, just having got a table at Quinn's is an achievement, a personal perk, a small measure of professional and social success, and he doesn't need to be confronted by a bloke who behaves like a deluded Jambo. But then Quinn's isn't just any old local bistro either, some how-ya-doin' diner. Customers don't want their place at the table belittled by an over-familiar drama student paying for his tuition with 'Hi, I'm Chuck'. He doesn't want some Antipodean dabbing Chablis off his dates cleavage and sitting at the table to take his order. Hitting just the right note of efficient servility with that soupçon of relaxed camaraderie is tricky enough. It's doubly tricky when the restaurant is packed, there are forty main courses due at the same time, the kitchen is screaming like a Robin Reliant going uphill in first and Hibs are one down. In fact, it's so tricky, so deeply complex and fraught, that Pierre is considering writing a manual about it.
Anyway, we'll be served two courses on Friday. One pre-match and one after the FT whistle. Pre-match is a selection of Seasonal Crudités with Pierre's Anchovy Dip. This will consist of radishes, baby carrots, florets of cauliflower (both purple and romanesco), celery stalks and chicory. After-match we'll be served Escargots à la Bourguignonne (Snails in Garlic–Herb Butter) with a selection of fresh breads. Coffee will be served along with a selection of cheeses.
This weeks house wine is a robust Château Moulin La Gravière, 2010 priced at £18 per bottle and supplied by the fine folks at www.wine-source.com
See you all on Friday