Welcome to the last installment in this guest blogger series from our sister company, 7×7, written by Ella Lawrence. She’s dishing out tips on how to be a better diner, something about which she has a lot to say.

What are the two legitimate reasons why you might send a wine back?

1. The wine is flawed. Wine is living and breathing. If there’s something chemically wrong with it (being “corked” is the most common flaw, which can give the wine a musty or vinegary smell and taste, but wine can also have too much volatile acidity or bacteria that affects its flavor), the restaurant will send the bottle back to the producer, who wants to know what percentage of the wine they make is flawed. If you think your wine tastes off, ask to have someone check the bottle.

2. The wine is improperly described to you. A good waiter or sommelier will not (or should not) bull shit you on expensive wine. If you order a bottle and receive something that’s nothing like what you expected, you can send it back. But it’s your job to pay attention to the waiter or sommelier as they describe a wine to you. I’ve actually described a wine, brought it to the table and presented it, and after opening it and pouring it had the person who ordered it look up at me, startled, and say, “Wait, this is WHITE wine?” There are several steps during the wine-choosing process during which you can say, “Oh, sorry, that’s not the wine I wanted,” before the bottle is actually opened. If you weren’t paying attention enough to know that the wine you ordered is white, that’s not a good reason to send it back.

Don’t be afraid to put your trust in someone at the restaurant. They’ve created a wine program specifically designed to pair with their cuisine, and allowing the sommelier (or a knowledgeable server) to help you really allows you to get the full experience of complementing flavors that the food and wine together will provide. The bottom line is that wine is meant to be enjoyed. If you’re not enjoying the wine you ordered, you should ask to return it. Our job is to find a wine that matches your palate. If we haven’t done that, we haven’t done our job.

See the original post here. Looking for more wine etiquette? You can find it here.

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Welcome back to our guest blogger series from our sister company, 7×7, written by Ella Lawrence. She’s dishing out tips on how to be a better diner, something about which she has a lot to say. Listen up.

In San Francisco, property values are high—even on your restaurant table. When you’re squeezed into the booth or canoodling at that intimate table for two, remember that you’re not the owner of that real estate: You’re renting it out for a few hours. So, please act accordingly.

Keep common spaces free of extraneous accessories. You’d complain to your landlord if your neighbor left a car up on blocks in the driveway that went between your two houses, right? Please don’t park your Prada on the back of your chair where people are going to have to maneuver around it. Many waiters I know are not above knocking large purses off the backs of chairs purposely as they walk by, so that their owners will stash the purses under the table instead. Better yet, check out one of those companies that sells little hooks you can use to hang your bag off the edge of the table (and remember the restaurant purse snatcher from last year?).

Cell phones do not belong on the table. Neither do elbows. Not only is it rude to your dining companion to be sprawled all over the table, texting your crush or your business partner, it hinders the waiter’s ability to serve you. We don’t like having to be obtrusive when we replace your silverware, fill your wine glass, or remove a plate, but we can’t help but get in the way a little bit when we have to work around your elbows. If you see a waiter bearing down on your table with several plates of hot food, please move your wallet, cell phone, clutch, lipstick, or whatever is in the space in front of you where your plate is supposed to go. If you are sharing food, please help us make sure there is a space in the middle of the table. Many people don’t realize that their waiter subtly clears these spaces right before the food arrives, and will put their personal items in these handy blank spots on the table.

Don’t linger after dessert or coffee. When you’ve finished your meal, have paid the check, and are sitting at an empty table chatting, the entire restaurant staff is wondering when you’re going to leave so they can seat the next reservation (which is most likely already there). Move it to the bar if you want to continue your evening, because rent control does not apply to San Francisco restaurant tables.

See the original post here.

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Welcome back to our guest blogger series from our sister company, 7×7, written by Ella Lawrence. She’s dishing out tips on how to be a better diner, something about which she has a lot to say. Listen up.

Whether you’re an eye-rolling guest who wonders why parents can’t feed their rug-rats at home, or a harried mom trying to keep your kids entertained through a main course, everyone knows that dining out with children is hardly a breeze. I asked several co-workers who have children and work in restaurants for tips on how to take the kids to dinner and live to tell about it.

1. Go out early. Don’t make them wait until your 7:30 reservation. Kids are usually hungry as early as 5:30 when the restaurants aren’t full, which means that there are less people to bother and your waiter will be able to give you more attention.

2. Go out often. The more you dine out with your kids, the more they’ll be exposed to restaurants and learn how to behave.

3. Don’t linger. Ask your waiter to bring your dinners “as ready,” or in whatever order the kitchen prepares it. Recently a young couple with a charming two year old dined in my section. They warned me that their toddler was “a ticking time bomb” and asked me to box their dinners to go when they were a little more than halfway finished. I was so grateful (it meant I avoided having a screaming child in my section on a very busy night). And when your waiter remembers you fondly, it means you’re going to get special treatment the next time they wait on you (which this family is).

4. Bring stuff. A coloring book, a doll, a book to read, the DS, or maybe some fun applications or podcasts on your iPhone will buy extra time with the little one while the adults converse.

5. Call ahead. Ask the restaurant what kinds of foods might be kid-friendly so you’re not stuck ordering plain buttered noodles every time you go out.

6. Don’t dine just anywhere. Select places that might not mind a little noise and a bustling environment and save fine dining for date night.

7. Tip accordingly. It’s not always easy to wait on a family, and the final bill for a family of four is about half as much as it would be for four adults.

See the original post here.

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Welcome back to our guest blogger series from our sister company, 7×7, written by Michelle Konstantinovsky.

Let’s be honest: Those blacklight posters don’t really carry the same weight they did in your college days. Maybe it’s time to graduate from dorm life and upgrade to some legitimate artwork. But before you blame your apartment’s drab décor on the spiraling economy, check out this amazing site: 20×200. New York gallery owner Jen Bekman is bringing limited edition, covet-worthy originals to the masses through her online endeavor. Named after the project’s first batch of 200, $20 prints (in their own words, “200×20 just didn’t sound as good”), the site now offers a variety of editions and sizes.

Join Jen for the 20×200 San Francisco Collectors Confab this Monday, April 6 at Chronicle Books (680 Second Street, between Brannan and Townsend) from 6 to 8 pm. In honor of the event, 20×200 will be featuring editions from two Chronicle-published artists: Stuart Klipper’s The Antarctic: From the Circle to the Pole, and Mark Richard’s Core Memory. RSVP via Facebook, Upcoming or via email at rsvp@20×200.com.

We caught up with Jen to learn the art of transitioning from naïve newbie to qualified collector, without breaking the bank.

You’ve had a variety of jobs, and were successful as both a chief creative officer and a VP of User Development—why art?
It was sort of a spontaneous decision. I don’t come from an arts background, but a friend of mine was an artist and I saw how frustrating it was for her to get her work shown. So I decided to open a gallery! It was that simple. But it was a two-part thing: I saw how difficult it was for her to get her work shown, and I also realized, for myself, that I was dissatisfied with the existing galleries and I wanted to create a different kind of environment.

What motivated 20×200? Had you heard complaints on both sides (from consumers and artists) that the art world was difficult to maneuver?
I opened a physical gallery in 2003, and then in 2005, I established a photo competition called “Hey, Hot Shot!”, and then 20×200 launched in 2007. The genesis of that was based on my experience that a lot of people came into the gallery and fell in love with pieces of art, but couldn’t work up the nerve to take the plunge. I always describe 20×200 as the gateway drug to the art world. I thought if you could just make it affordable, people wouldn’t worry about taking the risk as much. The idea is that people will get hooked once they try it.

Some people only ever collect $20 prints, which is fine. But I’ve seen that buying art and understanding art is intimidating for people, and because it’s intimidating, it’s hard to find a way into it. We send out two to three newsletters a week, and try to sound serious but approachable at the same time. The broader approach is for people to learn to make decisions. Once you buy enough inexpensive pieces, you become more confident about what your taste is.

The responses have been great – I’ve had people tell me they’ve never collected art before this, and I also get sheepish emails from people saying, “You call that art?!” But I encourage people to disagree with me because that’s how you find out what you like and what you don’t like, and you especially learn your tastes based on what you don’t like. I like to give people the opportunity to accept and reject different pieces.

How do you determine your artists?
It’s a combination of things. It’s not specifically emerging artists that we feature, because more established artists also have the opportunity to make works for people who normally can’t afford them. It’s affordable work, but instead of being cheap, you get the unique opportunity to get something that is usually much more expensive at an affordable price. I find artists at benefits for organizations, the photography competition is where the bulk of photographers come from. One artist I found at a museum show, I’ve found them through Chronicle books. I’ll ask anybody, anywhere—the worst they can do is say no.

Photography seems to be an important part of your life – was it essential that 20×200 offer both a printed work and a photo each week?
One of the things that’s great about “Hey, Hot Shot!” is that I engage with photographers and do small group shows, and get to build relationships. It’s a big deal to engage in relationships with the artists, and 20×200 allows me to engage with artists in other media, aside from photography. When I opened the gallery, I gravitated to photography because I was more confident in it. Now that it’s been open for 6 years, I’m a lot further along in finding my own tastes in other media than when I started.

Have social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook made 20×200 even more accessible?
It’s been huge—the Internet in general—from the start. I definitely think Facebook and Twitter and blogs have all been important parts of how we spread the word about new editions. We’ll release new work, talk about it, and release images on Facebook – that’s been a big part of what we do. For me, it all falls in line with the broader goal, which is to create opportunities for people who wouldn’t normally look at art, to look at art.

How did the Chronicle Books partnership come about?
I’m friends with Nion McEvoy and Alan Rapp, who was an editor there, and I’ve done different things with some of their artists. The reason I love working with Chronicle is because I think there’s that shared responsibility of making beautiful books, and amazing objects, and they work with great artists. For me, it was perfect. It’s a publisher I admire and love working with. We’re releasing an edition with a Chronicle Books artist the day of the party, and we’re doing a bonus edition of another artist. It’s a nice opportunity. To me, I see books as a great introduction to learning about art. This is a way for people to understand the value of visual art, whether it’s because it’s beautifully made or because it features interesting artists.

Any final thoughts for amateur art collectors?
Because I own a gallery, when I started 20×200, it was never an option for us to make cheap prints. The prints are beautiful – you can get beautiful, archival prints for $20 that are worth much more. I had a friend say to me, “You start your newsletters with, ‘Hello Collectors,’ but I’m not a collector – I just bought one thing.” But I think the minute you buy a print, you’re a collector. I want people to have the experience of collecting art, and we’ve thought hard about every aspect of the experience. Our pieces cost the same as posters, but are worth much more. The hope is that once people get a print from us, they’ll never just be satisfied with posters again.

See the original post here.

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Welcome back to our guest blogger series from our sister company, 7×7, written by Ella Lawrence. She’s dishing out tips on how to be a better diner, something about which she has a lot to say. Listen up.

As a waitress, I do not often consider actually taking a tableside flirtation to the next level. But recently I was hit on with such tact that I thought I would pass along this gentleman’s method for those of you out there who might ever want to ask your waitress (or waiter) out.

Rule #1: Err on the side of politeness. Being obvious about your attraction to your friendly server will only turn him/her off completely.

Rule #2: Buy whatever your server tells you to. If you’re willing to drop coin, and you’re listening to everything I say, I’m going to notice both of these things. (And you’re going to have a nice dinner because I know what I’m talking about.)

Rule #3: Subtlety, subtlety, subtlety. When the gentleman asked me (being emboldened after consuming two bottles of my well-chosen wine with his friend) what nights I worked, I knew what was coming. But I quickly turned the conversation around to the fact that I work days somewhere else, and told him and his friend what a nice restaurant it was and that they should dine there. The gentleman then turned the conversation back around to me by remarking that it was nice that I have most of my evenings free, and I realized again what was coming and quickly excused myself from the table.

Rule #4: Leave any sexual overtures at the door. When I’m serving you, it’s my job to talk to you and if you’re overtly hitting on me that makes it hard. We’re not in a club or a bar, you’re out on the town and I’m in my place of employment. Don’t put me in a sticky situation.*

(*Once, at a venerable four-star institution in the Wine Country, a table of two young men (attractive, wealthy, but overall despicable) got drunker and drunker, and more and more forward. One of them asked, “So, what time are you off?” (never, ever, ask your server this) and wouldn’t take no for an answer when he asked me to join them for a cocktail in a far-off town, which included a couch that I could sleep on—unless, what I really wanted was to get in bed. I responded tartly with, “Oh! Well, if that’s the case, why don’t I just give you my phone number and you can come over later and we’ll have sex?” The gentlemen looked at me, astounded, meekly paid their bill, and left the restaurant.)

Rule #5: Tip 20%. This is a good tip amount. Any less and you’re a cheapskate, any more and you’re desperate. On his way out the door, the gentleman handed me a folded piece of paper, saying, “This is for you,” He could’ve left it in the check presenter, but I appreciated his boldness (brought on by my exceptionally well-selected wine).

The note read: “His Name” and then his telephone number (he was visiting from Chicago). Next line: 415 (the name of the restaurant I’d recommended). Next line: Tuesday night (my next night off). 8pm. Dinner? Next line: Call me!

This is the perfect way to ask out your server. Put everything completely in his/her hands, leave before you embarrass yourself (because the server will most likely share all details of the interaction with his/her coworkers), and don’t be too disappointed if he/she doesn’t call you back. This man was attractive, nice, well-spoken and polite. Under other circumstances, I probably would have called him.

See the original post here.

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