I am thinking of this less as a definitive list than a starting point for what I hope is an ongoing conversation. Post right here anyplace you think others should know about it. The list below badly needs some budget options.   

"Group Dining" is now a Top Level category, and I've assigned all of the Zippy Larson posts to it, so they'll be easy to find. Keep reporting back about your group-dining experiences.

Thanks again to Zippy for telling us about how she does what she does. Like I said when I introduced her, not everything she does for her groups will make sense for you. It's essential to remember that she's running a business. I think her take-away step is insisting that the person who arranges her group's meal is both present and visible when she arrives.

Aldo's Ristorante Italiano -- Private dining options run small, medium, and large. The barrel vaulted wine cellar, shown in the photograph, is a favorite of Cal Ripken. The second story Library and Milanese Room, each hand-worked by chef Aldo Vitale, are for grander entertaining. And it all won't necessarily run as expensive as you think.

The Capital Grille --The downtown steakhouse has a handful of private dining options, and the restaurant will customize menus for dinner-planners. One of Zippy Larson's go-to options, the groups she takes to Capital Grille for lunch get a choice of three entrees. Keeping things simple is never a bad idea.

Dalesio's of Little Italy -- Another restaurant on Zippy's circuit. The groups she brings here dine from a menu she sets in advance. I haven't been here for a while, but they must do something right to keep this tough customer happy. So, if you go, tell them Zippy sent you.

Feast at Four East -- Kind of a cheat, because the inn and its resident restaurant don't precisely overlap. Sandy Lawlor is the chef either way, though, and a succession of lovely parlors and other private rooms make this Mt. Vernon inn a good choice for rehearsal dinners, farewell parties, and other random life events.  

Ikaros -- The last of Zippy's regular destinations to make this (alphabetical) list. Her groups' meals at this Greektown mainstay always begin with a shared selection of appetizers that's placed on the table within seconds of rears hitting the chairs. Smart.

Continue reading "Top 10 group dining options" »

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 1:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Group Dining, Top Ten Tuesdays
        

Here is the conclusion of Zippy Tips for arranging group tours. Some of them are applicable for the consumer. I love what she says about insisting that the manager, or owner, BE there, and VISIBLY so.

Step # 7

After I pay the bill, and if the restaurant is generally acceptable, I ask to speak with the owner. If he isn't there, I want to see the manager or the chef. If the chef comes out of the kitchen wearing a filthy apron, note that.Say, Please sit down. I want to bring a group to your restaurant. hen shut up and note his reaction. Continue making notes. Say little. Listen a lot. Can he handle a group? Wheredoes he usually seat them? He will want to know the day and time, is that manageable for him or will the kitchen be so busy with regular guests? I need for my group to be in and out in 90 minutes, will that work? Any longer and it disturbs the rhythm of the tour I'm doing.  More than 90 minutes is too long for people to sit and they will eat too much and be uncomfortable for the afternoon part of the tour.

Step # 8

I don't like what I call "pushed together" tables. I want the tables to be left alone, in configurations of 4 or perhaps 6 but no more to a table.Conversations flow better with small tables. It's more likely that everyone will get a chance to talk.  At long tables the loud-mouth generally takes over and shy people are unable to speak. I like a service where there is a salad in the middle of the table when we arrive and people help themselves. If you do not eat tomatoes, someone else will. By encouraging this sharing of food, it prompts casual conversation. So I like my first course to be a help yourself course. A bread tray goes along with the salad and butter or at Ikaros a good olive oil with their warm bread.  Does it seem okay with him for me to specify what I want and why I want it?  I'm willing to listen to him but he's got to be responsive to me as well. I know how to handle groups in restaurants  

Continue reading "Zippy wraps it up" »

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 5:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: Group Dining
        

Remember to post any suggestions you have for tomorrow's Top 10 -- best places to dine with a large group.

Here is some more of Zippy Larson's game plan for managing a group-dining experience. The first part of

Step # 4

The diners interest me. Who are they? Get a description. Business or pleasure, old or young, adults or kids? What are they ordering? How long do they stay? Listen to their conversation. Try to learn by their body English if they have been here before. Learn to read all this. See how long people stay. Just note what time you arrive and who is there before you and when they leave.  Estimates will do. 

Step #5

Check out the bathroom and use that walk to go slowly by other tables and listen and look. Do people seem to be well-looked after? Are there plentiful restroom supplies? Is the hot water on or cut off in the rest room? If there is no paper, when you report this to the manager or waiter, what is his attitude?  If I stick around til  most of the lunch crowd is gone, I can check the men's room, I do that too, along with the owner. I dont' want to, but I gotta do it.

Step #6

The food that I am served. Are hot foods hot and cold foods cold?  Describe the portions. Watch the waiter who clears tables, as you want to see how much food goes back to the kitchen uneaten -- this is very important. Are carry-out bags acceptable and would that suit your group? 

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 5:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Group Dining
        

As promised, but later than I had planned, here are the first three steps Zippy Larson takes when she's scouting out a restaurant for her group tours. More to come.

Step # 1 

I go to the restaurant to check it out. I go alone, and make notes on my clipboard which I place on the table, in full sight. I note and write down all that I observe, good and bad. No one ever seems to notice, I guess that restaurant reviewers would never be so obvious as to write during a meal, so my mission works for me. I am not obvious, I am quiet, and just write between bites.

I do not complain about anything, I just focus, observe and make notes. I go mid-day and mid-week, when the kitchen isn't busy. I order from the menu, eat, and pay for my meal. I take my time eating and making notes. After paying my bill, I ask to speak to the owner, manager or chef.

I once reviewed a restaurant months before the date my group was coming. I did not choose the place, the group did. I wasn't happy with the restaurant after eating there and meeting the owner, but made plans to eat there anyway.  A few weeks before our date, I went back and the owner said, "You made me paint my restaurant!"  I told him the place needed more than painting. And I would not be there except for the group's choice. I've never been back.  

Step # 2

Writing what I see, feel, and note, without censoring is vital. I am a detective, looking for clues. How am I welcomed?  How long must I wait before being greeted? As a woman alone, where am I seated? Who is around me?  How close are the tables? What's my general impression?  Is the place clean? What's the noise level? Write down all impressions. Focus. Write. You want to know this place so well that no matter what question someone in your group asks, you will have the answer. Well, I dont' know how certain foods are prepared. I rely on the owner or chef or waiter for that data. And he will be around to answer it

Continue reading "Zippy does it -- "I am a detective"" »

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Group Dining
        

Tomorrow's Top 10 topic -- the best places in Baltimore for group dining -- was inspired by my conversations with Zippy Larson. I've known about Zippy Larson for years. A multiple-award winning tour guide, Larson has been crafting customized and idiosyncratic tours of her beloved Baltimore for more than 30 years.

Because her tours often will include a break for lunch, Larson has become an expert in negotiating, arranging  and overseeing group-dining experiences. When I asked her to help me put together a list of tips for dining in groups, Zippy sent instead a manifesto of sorts, her own game plan. I think it's an extraordinary document in how it reveals Zippy's level of commitment to the clients and her business. And we can all learn from it.

When Zippy brings a group to a restaurant, and everything goes right, everyone wins -- including the restaurant, which gets her return business.

Zippy's introduction to her plan of attack is below, and I'll be posting more Zippy Tips throughout the day.

Continue reading "Here's Zippy!" »

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Group Dining