tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710373573705518216.post4129229175327959881..comments2024-03-13T05:37:09.433-07:00Comments on A (soy) Bean: Weighing In On The Changes At Sacred ChowAbby Beanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03060920122127099172noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710373573705518216.post-52057406602006339212013-06-07T06:54:48.039-07:002013-06-07T06:54:48.039-07:00Dino- thanks so much for your thoughtful response....Dino- thanks so much for your thoughtful response. First and foremost, I want to make clear that I have not written Chow off for good and I don't suggest anyone else does either; we all have different tastebuds. <br /><br />I understand what you're saying about the prices, but diners don't want to know what it takes to get the food on the table, and they certainly don't want to be made aware of it by prices that yo-yo over the course of months; a kale salad that costs $16 on one visit and $10 on the next leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Customers also aren't thinking about the ease of cleaning a restaurant when they're seated on an uncomfortable chair; isn't there a solution that is comfortable and practical? One would think. <br /><br />I appreciate that Chow has the best of intentions on every level; it's just disappointing to witness the misses because I hold you in such high regard. Until next time...Abby Beanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03060920122127099172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710373573705518216.post-41769097798175793112013-06-07T06:52:45.821-07:002013-06-07T06:52:45.821-07:00Andrea- I'm not sure what goes through the min...Andrea- I'm not sure what goes through the minds of business anymore. They kindly took the time to respond to the post, but never mentioned the tiny tables! I'm still holding out hope, but unfortunately what used to be my friends' go-to spot has been sidelined for the time being.Abby Beanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03060920122127099172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710373573705518216.post-14101956116755786662013-06-04T13:06:00.928-07:002013-06-04T13:06:00.928-07:00Google cut off my comment, so I had to split it in...Google cut off my comment, so I had to split it into two pieces. Apologies for sending so many. <br /><br />As for Dijon Kale: Just ask! I assure you that we still make the Dijon dressing, and still have raw kale. If you or anyone else wants some, just ask the waiter to make it happen, and they will. In fact, it is an option in the tapas plate for dinner, because people did request it for the dinner menu (with the tapas, that is). <br /><br />The problem with the old mismatched chairs is that they were all bought from Ikea. They were nice, but they weren't really built for restaurant use, if you catch my meaning. That many bottoms in those chairs will only let them last so long before they decide to fall apart (literally, at times; you can imagine someone's embarrassment and anger when they sit in a chair, and it falls apart under them). The new folding chairs (with the padding to comfort our tushes) are built for restaurant use, and are a lot more sturdy. They're also more conducive to cleaning. When you can neatly stack the folding chairs atop one another, and move everything aside, it's much easier for the cleaning crew to get in there and give the floor a thorough cleaning. <br /><br />The person who opened late that day is no longer working with us. She would arbitrarily make up rules without consulting anyone in management (or even her coworkers). That's absolutely unacceptable. You've been with us for years, Abby. You know that we're really careful about letting y'all know about changes to our opening hours. There are people who come to Chow from really far away, and get (understandably) disappointed when the posted hours aren't adhered to. It's been a long-standing rule that when we have hours posted, people can come get food, full stop. <br /><br />Thanks for the feedback about the waffles. It's well possible that they're being cooked too long. The recipe, however, hasn't changed. It's the same waffle we've been making for years. The fact that it was dry (and impervious to drenching!) is likely just an issue of overcooking. The healthy part, however, is what it is. <br /><br />As always, we love and welcome your feedback. Feel free to email me (dino at sacredchow dot com) or Cliff (cliff at sacred chow dot com) if you've got any more questions, comments, or suggestions.Dinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12012498879329379828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710373573705518216.post-48664117679310266532013-06-04T13:05:17.998-07:002013-06-04T13:05:17.998-07:00RE The new prices. The thing about the explanation...RE The new prices. The thing about the explanation on facebook is that it's an extreme over-simplification of a long and boring process that involves coming up with prices for the menu. For example, the soy milk we used to buy came from Trader Joe's, because our supplier only offered Silk Soymilk, at half the size, and double the price of the 64 oz container of organic soy milk from Trader Joe's (which costs like $3). What this meant is that someone had to go to Trader Joe's (on the clock, of course, because it's not fair to ask someone to do work for us on their own time), get a load of soy milk, then have it delivered to Chow. It still ended up costing less than the overpriced stuff from the supplier, but added an unusually high labour cost to get the thing done. You and I both know that a trip to TJ's in the city from Sacred Chow (roundtrip, after navigating the subways) can easily rack up an hour. This is an hour of time that said worker is unable to get to prep for another item. What that then leads to is a large chain of events, where that worker then has to be on the clock longer to get all the work done that they need to get done, and it all ends up racking up the final costs at the end of the day. <br /><br />We finally found a supplier that sells soy milk in the 64 oz containers, that is organic, and can be ordered with our usual other vegan products, and we've switched to them. This goes the same for really insignificant seeming ingredients, like lemon juice, or orange juice. The BBQ seitan requires enormous quantities of orange juice. Because we wanted only the best quality juice to go in (because a lot of the flavour comes from it), we had to buy oranges at highway robbery style prices, and spend (very expensive) labour costs on squeezing them. Once we found a supplier who sold the juice (NOT from concentrate, and 100% juice, AND organic, and at a comparable price), we went with it, thereby cutting out a huge chunk of labour costs. This is, of course, only one of many places where we've managed to tighten up our operations, and make our business more cost-effective. Sending someone out to a speciality store to pick up organic short-grain brown rice in bulk is a lot more time and labour intensive than finding a supplier who can deliver it to us. Finding someone to hunt down organic flax seeds (when they're in stock at certain stores) is a lot more expensive than finding and using a supplier who can send it to us for a fair price. <br /><br />The same goes for the "get everything, any time" menu we used to have. What happens when that is an option is that all the items need to be in stock at all times, no matter what. It means that instead of making exactly what's needed for each service (lunch, dinner, brunch), extra workers are needed to make those items, from scratch, as well as workers to get the food prepped for actual orders. It was getting really expensive, because we don't pay our workers the least possible amount of money. Our kitchen staff has been with us for years, and we pay them all well. Why? Because it's the right thing to do, and having a skilled worker who executes the food to the highest standards costs money, and we'd rather do that than have a rotating roster of people who don't care about Chow or its mission. Dinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12012498879329379828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710373573705518216.post-41036360039407606182013-06-04T12:14:47.899-07:002013-06-04T12:14:47.899-07:00Change is never easy — especially when the changes...Change is never easy — especially when the changes result in disappointment and higher prices. You were more than fair in visiting Sacred Chow three times before writing the review. The food still looks good, even if in reality it's disappointing, but the tiny tables are hard to disguise. What were they thinking?Andreahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16146578985330272891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710373573705518216.post-51737866829028015072013-06-04T08:47:37.872-07:002013-06-04T08:47:37.872-07:00GlutenFreeHappyTummy- IMO, Sacred Chow on its wors...GlutenFreeHappyTummy- IMO, Sacred Chow on its worst day is better than Angelica on its best!Abby Beanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03060920122127099172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710373573705518216.post-16068273423887115472013-06-03T18:45:19.631-07:002013-06-03T18:45:19.631-07:00What a major bummer! Thank you for such an honest ...What a major bummer! Thank you for such an honest review. I was really looking forward to try this restaurant. I think I'll stick with Angelica Kitchen:)GlutenFreeHappyTummyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03753574363857481759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710373573705518216.post-10422288847406716222013-06-03T18:24:05.657-07:002013-06-03T18:24:05.657-07:00BYOL- excellent point about Peacefood, but Chow...BYOL- excellent point about Peacefood, but Chow's menu was so refreshingly unique; those tapas could have stayed forever- especially since they always had specials as well. P.S. I made some Chow-inspired dijon kale today as a matter-of-fact.Abby Beanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03060920122127099172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710373573705518216.post-30060052358988270222013-06-03T18:19:29.136-07:002013-06-03T18:19:29.136-07:00Anonymous- I've heard about unusual posts; not...Anonymous- I've heard about unusual posts; not sure what's up?<br /><br />PecanSanj- Viva la tapas!<br /><br />foodfeud- Yea; I'm glad the prices have gone down again, but if there's one thing I appreciate it's consistency. And honestly I don't think any more people actually fit in the restaurant b/c people were self-spacing for comfort. The twosomes that got stuck at the two people tables were visibly annoyed. As a matter of fact, there was a table of four women behind us and three of them were pregnant; it made me realize the new seating isn't exactly conducive to folks of all shapes and sizes.Abby Beanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03060920122127099172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710373573705518216.post-38127190189564413262013-06-03T18:12:10.601-07:002013-06-03T18:12:10.601-07:00Excuse me, your nickname is not "Diplomatic B...Excuse me, your nickname is not "Diplomatic Bean"! It's Mean Bean and in this case it seems completely justified!!!!<br /><br />I'm horrified by this post. SC was my favorite go to place, although I have to admit I never really cared for their brunch, it was always too desert-y. <br /><br />I did go to the Chow for dinner shortly after they changed menus but before they got the ugly dark wooden folding chairs. The prices were a bit steep, but I had a groupon. I remember really enjoying my meal, even if I was a bit hunger walking out the door (to be completely fair, that is not totally uncommon...). I will always miss the dijion kale, but am also afraid of them bringing it back but tempering with perfection. I think I'd rather cherish the memory than be disappointed by reality. <br /><br />I would like to say, that I do appreciate the Chow's attempt to update and change their menu- even if not all the changes were for the better. How long has Peacefood's menu been exactly the same! I remain hopeful that the Chow will figure out a new balance and will return to it's rightful spot on the throne of New York Vegan dinning! <br /><br />Team Dijon now and forever! BYOLhttp://bringyourownlentils.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710373573705518216.post-73943993378278374012013-06-03T17:30:33.668-07:002013-06-03T17:30:33.668-07:00Sad! I hadn't been there as much as you but it...Sad! I hadn't been there as much as you but it holds some good memories for me and if prices are going to be yet another hurdle to getting there, that's really annoying.<br />The seating arrangements really sound like the worst of it, though. I love those old chairs and tables. You think they felt like they had to make more money and cram more people into the restaurant?foodfeudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00589414740603993442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710373573705518216.post-51538758313919217442013-06-03T16:43:30.728-07:002013-06-03T16:43:30.728-07:00I so regret not getting that Sangria! But I'm ...I so regret not getting that Sangria! But I'm now happy with my decision to not get those waffles... Who knew?? <br /><br />I'll never get over the missing tapas, especially the dijon kale. So not worth it anymore :(PecanSanjnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-710373573705518216.post-34810919979540275012013-06-03T16:21:59.234-07:002013-06-03T16:21:59.234-07:00Thank you for the honest reviews. I've heard l...Thank you for the honest reviews. I've heard lots of negative things about the new menu changes and I've avoided going to SC in fear that they were true. SC was also one of my longtime faves. I also want to point out that I've noticed some truly alarming/disturbing posts on the Sacred Chow facebook page recently. I have no idea who runs the page--but it's obviously the owner or an employee and there have been some truly bizarre and disturbing posts up there--some of which I noticed have disappeared related to disgruntled employees. Even if you check out the SC facebook page now you will see several posts, that in my opinion, make me worry about what the heck is going on behind the scenes at SC. Very strange.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com