More random thoughts.

Spring is definitely in the air, today. I’m finding it difficult to get myself focused on doing anything productive. The other side of that coin is that I don’t really have much to occupy myself with otherwise!

Living in a motel, there’s no yard in which to putter around (although I have friends that, I’m sure, would gladly allow me to rake their lawns and tidy up their garden beds, if I was so inclined), and I don’t see a lot of point to haunting any of our shopping centres; there’s nothing that I really need, and where would I put it if I bought anything, anyway?

I did buy a really nice folding deck chair earlier this week, and I do plan to sit out front and get some sun later. However, that will only delay the inevitable.

I have two days worth of lessons to plan – for my final two days of practice teaching – and some marking to do. After that, it’s just a matter of waiting for the paper work to make its way through the system before I am officially pronounced a Teacher. (Or, a "scum-sucking pig," by some!)

Then I begin to look for a job.

Given the recent announcement regarding staffing levels for the ADSB, I’m not sure I’ll be able to get a job here in the Sault, but I am hopeful. I may have to settle for being on the “Occasional” list.

As well, I am both willing and able to relocate, so there is the possibility of getting a job elsewhere. Which leads me to my second random thought:

Restaurant Choices

Again, living in a motel causes certain adaptations to one’s lifestyle.

I love to cook, and (if I may say so) I am a very good cook. Unfortunately, I do not have cooking facilities available to me. While the fridge is stocked with beverages, luncheon meats, and fruit cups, these do not make for a very hearty meal.

As a result, I have been eating out quite a bit over the past several weeks, and have had the opportunity to try a number of restaurants – many that I had not tried prior to selling my house last fall.

There is no denying that we Saultbies love to eat, and there are many great restaurants – family-run establishments and chains alike – available to us. What’s missing, in my opinion, is variety.

Trying to find a hearty, moderately-priced meat-and-potatoes meal here in the Sault that is not either pasta or chicken is proving to be quite a task, indeed. I have a real hankering for a good, old-fashioned roast beef dinner, but alas! I have to settle for a hot beef sandwich, instead.

When I was living in Southern Ontario friends and I would try different restaurants, and various cuisines that were available to us: British-style pub food, Polish, Japanese, German, Ukrainian, etc.

Of course, the offerings of local restaurants are most often a reflection of the cultural make-up of a particular city. In the Sault, we have a lot of Italian restaurants; in Thunder Bay there are many Finn establishments. Southern Ontario, having a more cosmopolitan make-up overall, tends to have more variety.

Still, the restaurants we do have locally are all quite good.

In the Red Room today there was some discussion of a small downtown eatery that offers home-style cooking at moderate prices. That brought to mind an old favourite that no longer exists: Barsanti’s Small Frye.

Barsanti’s was one of the last of the “family-style” restaurants in the Sault. Their menu was diverse, the food was tasty and plentiful, and the service was friendly and personal.

Which brings me to my final random thought:

Restaurant Service

I’ve eaten a fair bit of take-out food over the past several weeks, and have been invited to friends’ homes for dinner on a few occasions, but the majority of my evening meals have been at restaurants.

Without exception I have found the wait staff to be courteous, attentive, and efficient. On those few occasions when I did have to wait longer than I thought was typical, it was because the restaurant had itself become suddenly quite busy.

My only real complaint, and it can’t really be considered a “complaint,” per se, is with the staff’s sense of timing.

I have worked in a restaurant environment, albeit at a sit-down/take out pizza joint. There, we only worked the counter, although excellent customer service was of paramount importance and was insisted upon by the owners. Anyone who worked there was certainly well-trained in customer service (right, SandyB?).

Again, I will state that I have found the overall level of customer service in local eating establishments to be very good. However, not having worked in a front-of-house environment I do not know for sure what additional training is provided to wait staff in those establishments, but I am left with one question:

Are wait staff trained to watch and wait until customers take a bite of their food before coming to the table and asking, “How is everything?”

Almost invariably when my server has asked me this question I have just taken a bite of my meal, and can only nod and try to smile (often while also wiping my chin) to indicate my satisfaction with the meal.

I have worked in other customer service environments, and can say that while some jobs may involve a great deal more physical work, often in very unpleasant working environments (the coke ovens come to mind), I have found those in the customer service field to be the most difficult and demanding jobs I have held.

Dealing with people who believe that “the customer is always right, no matter how outrageous their demands might be, is no easy task.

I believe our restaurant servers deserve a tip of the hat, and an appropriate monetary tip for the excellent job they do.

But… that’s just my opinion.