Table 8 For Sale?

From the LA Times:

Rumors have been aswirl lately about chef Govind Armstrong considering selling Table 8 because of slowing business. “It’s definitely not true,” Armstrong said on the phone last week from Nevis in the Caribbean. “It’s unfortunate, but you know how bloggers are. They think they’re in the know. It’s the most annoying thing in the world.”

Armstrong says that Table 8 is “so far from closing.” The recent “Top Chef” judge says he’s been spending three weeks out of the month in Los Angeles and one week in Miami or elsewhere. “L.A.’s home for me, and any time I’m in L.A., I’m at the restaurant.”

On Friday night, not a lot of others were there — the restaurant was less than half full at 9:30, but it was Labor Day weekend, and I’m blogging, so what do I know?

 Meanwhile, Sona chef David Myers says Comme Ça is set to open the last week of September or the first week of October. He says he’s still tweaking the menu of “bistro classics — steak frites, frisée lardon salad, onion soup.” And yes, there’s a cedilla under the “C” in Ça, so anyone who’s been pronouncing it “Kum Ka” — er, stop it. 

– Betty Hallock

Table 8, 7661 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 782-8258; Comme Ça, 8479 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles.

Waiter Rant is Anonymous No More

This one is not by me but by fellow Paper Palate blogger Cate O’Malley:

For those who follow food blogs, Waiter Rant is probably a familiar stop for you.  The “waiter” in question gives a behind-the-scenes look at life in the restaurant business, namely an establishment in New York City.  Recently, his blog fodder became a page-turner as it was turned into his first book, Waiter Rant – Thanks for the Tip – Confessions of a Cynical Waiter, and now, nearly five years after his first words hit the Internet, The Waiter is anonymous no more.

Making the rounds on the interview circuit, including a recent stop to chat with Matt Lauer on the Today Show, The Waiter, Stephen Dublanica, also made the August 18th issue of People magazine.  In the issue, he shared a little bit of what waiters think when you . . .

Walk in the door.  I can tell how a person is going to tip in 15 seconds.  Women, I would say, tip less, for the simple reason that they eat less.  But if we see four big guys in expensive suits, we go, ka-ching!

Use your cell phone.  It’s plain rude.  We’re reading the specials (which we despise doing) and you take a call – it’s like we’re beneath you.

Discuss private topics.  We hear everything!  If you don’t want anyone to know about something, don’t talk about it in a restaurant.

Send the food back.  Fine, if there’s something wrong with it.  But don’t say mean things about the chef before you’ve eaten.

Act disrespectfully.  I never spit in the food, but there are ways to deal with rude customers, like pretending their card doesn’t go through.  So treat us like people.

Want more behind-the-scenes dish?  Check out his blog right here, or grab a copy of the new book, which hit the New York Times bestseller list, right here.