You can get anything you want, at Big Als Restaurant...

Cheribelle · #21 01/09/10, 02:33 PM

Feeding people is a very satisfying job. Hard work, I wish you every success!

GoldenCityMuse · #22 01/09/10, 05:27 PM

Good to hear your report.

Try to back off some of those 17 hour days, don't want to burn yourself out.

Kmac15 · #23 01/09/10, 05:31 PM

great job !!!

I know you have worked hard to get to this point, best of luck.

Jennifer L. · #24 01/09/10, 05:38 PM

Congratulations. I hope it gets a bit easier for you every day, once you get the routine down. Sounds like BIG WORK to me! But good luck!

Jennifer

pistolsmom · #25 01/09/10, 05:43 PM

My son actually heats his house and garage with a waste oil furnace. Also...I don't know what the "rules" are where you are at but here we have to show where our used fryer oil went to by having the pickup person sign for it.

Minelson · #26 01/09/10, 05:44 PM

wo-hoo! I'm excited for you. You have to be exhausted...the good kind though!

luvrulz · #27 01/09/10, 08:19 PM

It's a great kind of tired and you are going to sleep good! All the best to you!

Natural Beauty Farm · #28 01/09/10, 08:55 PM

Congratulations, I miss my cafe days. If I'm ever in your neck of the woods I'll drop by. Do you serve breakfast? I've got a killer pancake recipe we came up with. Had a contest going during the years we were open, record stood at 26 for a long time and then the last day we were open someone ate 28. Lots on memories.

Freya · #29 01/09/10, 09:45 PM

Great job!

I hope you keep us updated!

Maybe post a pic?

texican · #30 01/09/10, 10:00 PM

That gunk was a protective coating! Just imagine the corrosion if it hadn't been on there.

If your like me, you'll have no problem falling asleep tonite!

Old Vet · #31 01/09/10, 10:09 PM

Only 17 hours? When I was a Dining Facility Manager I used to work 20 hours and get 3 hours sleep and go back and get more. Congratulations on the restaurant I love the work. The local Restaurant in our area is up for sale but it only works for 5 months and closed for the winter.

tinknal · #32 01/09/10, 11:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken Scharabok

Don't be afraid to adjust your menu to what your customer wants. If it is predominately burgers and chips, then make sure you have the best in town.

Sister and BIL tried a number of places in town looking for the best cheeseburgers for the price. Finally found a place and they now have their complete loyalty.

Yes Ken, I kind of figured all along that my final menu would bear little resemblance to the first one. I'm guessing that I will be dropping the salads, haven't sold a one. That's OK because with limited space and very limited refrigerator space salad ingredients take up a ton of space. I've already heard the phrase "best burger in town" bandied about. It helps of course that no one in town specializes in burgers....LOL. I stayed really low on price, but the funny thing is that I'm getting some really nice tips. Some approaching 80% (no lie, eighty percent). The chili cheese fries and chili cheese nachos at $5.00 and $4.00 respectively are a meal in themselves (of course add ons like sour cream, onions, and black olives bump the price up a bit. The pulled pork isn't selling very good but I'm going to tough it out for awhile. At least I can make that up in advance and just warm up what I need that day.

Funny thing happened today. By the time I was ready to roll there was a good crowd in the bar, but no orders. I brought out a bowl of chili and gave it to the homeless vet who sits in the bar and drinks coffee and bums smokes. As soon as I brought that chili out the orders started rolling in (although no chili orders...LOL). Then at 2:00 the Hold'em tournament started and that was great for business. I know all the players and in the past I've been generous in giving them all my chips so maybe they were returning the favor.

I'm terrible at accounting but I got $143. in orders and ended up with over $200. That's my kind of math!

Any way, I just got home and the water is frozen, so life on the farm never changes.

Jerngen · #33 01/10/10, 02:38 AM

Congrats!!!

wogglebug · #34 01/10/10, 06:10 AM

First, congratulations on a good start. Some people get all snooty and stuck-up about burgers as being not good enough to feed their precious high-tone guts, but the fact is good food is good food, and good food well-cooked can be great cuisine. You may have a restricted menu, but that plus the right attitude makes it more possible to produce the highest quality food. Now you've just got to develop a loyal customer base who believe that you believe that, and that you're delivering it.

Now, as for the side issue of waste vegetable oil as fuel for motor vehicles - good idea. in fact, for you personally, that may make the difference between making a bare living, and making a nice profit. Let's not get mixed up, though. People here have been talking about using waste vegetable oil as a fuel, but they've been calling it biodiesel. It's not! The two are different. You need a fairly forgiving diesel engine to burn WVO mixed with ordinary diesel fuel, whereas biodiesel is pretty much the same as petrodiesel. You need to play industrial chemist to make biodiesel though, reacting the WVO with lye and alcohol (ideally rubbing alcohol or methanol).

You can't use solid animal fats (or oil with solid fats dissolved) directly as fuel, as you can use waste vegetable oil. However, you CAN make quite good liquid biodiesel out of solid fats like lard or tallow. It will tend to gel at higher temps than biodiesel from oils, but that just means you don't use it (or don't make it) until the weather warms up.

FarmerChick · #35 01/10/10, 06:21 AM

WOW you opened a restaurant!

best of luck to you!!

VERN in IL · #36 01/10/10, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinknal

Except for Al!

Open up for business today. I've been on the run for 17 hours. Really slow getting things prepped and started. Took a lot longer than I thought it would. The deep fryer has been in the basement for at least 10 years. It wasn't cleaned before it was stored down there. There was this layer of indescribable goo covering the thing. I couldn't even wash it off my hands without a green scrubby. Finally took the dang thing to the car wash. Didn't completly clean it but helped. I finally hooked it up and boiled soapy water in it. I think I have it to the point I can use it tomorrow. With no fries I offered my home made hash browns. They seemed to go over pretty well. I finally got to the point I could pass out some menus around 4 o'clock. and orders started to trickle in. It's already clear to me I'm going to live or die by my burgers. They were a huge hit. Nothing but good words (and I had some spys in the bar)

Chili cheese nachos also a big hit. My niece came and helped prep, and my wife was there most of the day. I could not have done it with out them.

I am utterly exhausted.

I feel GREAT!

What is the menu? Any Vegetarian items?

tinknal · #37 01/10/10, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VERN in IL

What is the menu? Any Vegetarian items?

Well, for a lacto-ovo most of the breakfast menu works. To be honest it wouldn't be a big seller here so any entree would have to be something that keeps well and has little prep work. Any ideas?

Ken Scharabok · #38 01/10/10, 10:35 AM

Vern in IL:

There are different shades of vegetarians. Some will not eat eggs, fish or poultry, while others will.

This is the third thread on this topic. First was considering setting up, second was getting set up. This is open and operating. Do a user id search and read the past threads to get up to date on their enterprise.

From watching Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares it seems to be common for restaurants to go through menu growth creep. Items are added, not taking off, making it difficult for the kitchen to keep up. Ramsay typically simplies the menu to a couple of appitizers and salads, a couple of entrees and couple of desserts. Seems to make it sooooo much easier on the kitchen staff. He also typically prompts them to be know for specific items, such as steaks or "The Best Meatballs in Dover".

By the way, Season #3 of BBC's The Last Restaurant Standing opens this Tuesday. Excellent program. And this year I've promised myself to not read ahead to see who won as the series has already aired in the UK. I understand the format has changed this year though to be more individual restaurant and less challenges.

tinknal · #39 01/10/10, 10:59 AM

Ken, I really enjoy Chef Ramseys shows and have tried to learn from them. One thing about the small size of the kitchen, it forces me to be picky on what stays and what goes on the menu.

Wednesday is Bingo night. I'm thinking about beer braised wild rice brats with sauerkraut and artichoke hearts with deep fried green beans and Texas toast. The brats are from a local producer. Any thoughts?

Beeman · #40 01/10/10, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VERN in IL

What is the menu? Any Vegetarian items?

French Fries.

Somehow I really don't see a VFW in MN having a big vegetarian customer base.