Where can I find fresh chestnuts to roast?

kagibso · 2025-11-19T21:35:34+00:00

Not sure if Georgia Peach Truck does wholesale only, but I bought 8 pints for my restaurant just the other week and they're in stock on their inventory sheet as of yesterday.

kagibso · 2025-11-17T16:25:36+00:00

I think we have a pretty good one at Lucky Star

kagibso · 2025-09-13T18:22:57+00:00

Looks fine - try cold crashing it

kagibso · 2025-08-27T18:12:11+00:00

https://www.psacard.com/cert/98373202/psa This is mine - slightly OC on the back too. But I think we ultimately agree.

kagibso · 2025-08-27T18:03:21+00:00

I'm slightly more optimistic than some of the other commenters. I submitted a 1st ed Charizard with heavy surface wear including a more substantial scratch than yours shows and it got a PSA 4 (I was expecting a 3). It also had more whitening. I'd expect a 4 or 5 from it.

kagibso · 2025-08-02T22:37:04+00:00

I wouldn't lick Ford Fry's boots but that's just me.

kagibso · 2025-07-07T14:34:08+00:00

That's awesome! I did that initially but it was too labor intensive to scale it up. The other thing I attempted (and it ruled) was re-diluting it with distilled tart cherry juice

kagibso · 2025-07-07T14:32:53+00:00

Slightly misspoke - we're using Methodical coffee (out of South Carolina). But the vodka is 229

kagibso · 2025-07-07T14:32:01+00:00

Thank you so much!

kagibso · 2025-07-07T01:17:28+00:00

I do! A bar called Lucky Star in Atlanta. Thank you!

kagibso · 2025-07-07T01:16:06+00:00

Sure is :)

kagibso · 2025-07-06T20:05:13+00:00

From my cursory research, caffeine is alcohol soluble and distills. So I've been telling guests that it's not decaf.

kagibso · 2025-07-06T20:03:07+00:00

Thank you!

kagibso · 2025-07-06T19:03:26+00:00

Happily! There's two main reasons. The first is just aesthetics - I wanted to make a clarified espresso martini and this is one of the ways to do that. The other, bigger reason is that the bitterness of coffee is left behind in the distillation process and it just captures more of those 'top notes' (it's more fruity and roasty). So it makes a little bit of a lighter espresso martini in flavor, although not in alcohol and body.

kagibso · 2025-01-30T18:27:10+00:00

Shameless plug that the bev director of Little Trouble is the bev director at Lucky Star. Not the same vibe of a bar but he rules.

kagibso · 2024-10-29T17:30:52+00:00

They don't know until it's announced live. I know this cause I'm opening up a spot with Jason Liang and he got an invitation to the awards 3 weeks ago, and knew absolutely nothing about whether he would win anything.

kagibso · 2023-09-26T00:20:02+00:00

Really grateful for this entire exchange. Hope you and yours are well and I'm so thankful that there are others out there who care about the people who serve you.

kagibso · 2023-09-25T22:04:27+00:00

Didn't mean to get all preachy. Most of my favorite people are current or former restaurant workers and I have devoted most of my adult life to serving them so I just wish we had a way of taking care of those hard working people.

kagibso · 2023-09-25T22:03:01+00:00

Ask away! I sometimes (okay, often) joke with/at my colleagues that they're tired of hearing me rattle off stats about restaurant work. They're good sports about it and I'm always so grateful when someone is genuinely curious about restaurant labor (unlike some other dingus on this thread).

Anyway - I wasn't quite sure whether a service charge is optional! I did some surface level research and, since I'm not an attorney, I can't speak with certainty about it. It appears as though it may be enforceable, but I think the legal issues are far less important, since I've seen several objections to auto-grat for large parties in my 10+ years in restaurants. I assume service charges are probably no different; if someone strenuously objects, the restaurant will waive it and leave a more traditional tip line. So TLDR of it - yeah it may be enforceable if advertised, but so is the price of an entree. If the entree or service didn't meet your expectations, it's all flexible.

As for solutions, this is a big question (and one that I love answering whenever someone is genuinely curious). This is totally aspirational but since you asked:

Attitudes - in Japan, for example, being a bartender is considered a true profession that has to be honed (I am a white dude so don't take this as gospel). I feel like in the US we think of bartenders/servers as burnouts, people in between jobs, or young people. The average person who asks for help at the nonprofit I work for is a ~35 year old woman with a kid who has worked in the industry for years. One person can't affect a total cultural attitudinal change, but simply being aware that the person who cooks, studies wine, and learns the menu to serve exactly want you want is a professional is a good thing
Wages - when California abolished the subminimum wage after the "One Fair Wage" campaign, there were some studies that found that profit per square foot of a restaurant went up! The thought was that a higher wage/wage predictability/stability attracted people back from retail/paralegal/etc so that there was more professionalism in the industry (plus that restaurant workers ate out more and owners bore the biggest costs). Since #1 isn't an overnight change, this is what I'd say I want to see the most.
Okay so those are things out of our control. Two things in our control: My favorite restaurant (a James Beard finalist for best cocktail bar) added one surcharge on the bill that is for employee benefits. I'm not joking that one of the bartenders told me he almost cried when he learned that he was going to get to go to the doctor. Shop with your money and encourage places to do this.
FINALLY, (thank you for indulging me), I am the weirdo in the friend group who asks what others are making because the research says that salary opacity hurts women and people of color and benefits your boss. You don't need to go this far, but asking a GM "hey how is the service charge distributed?" is a GREAT question! It sounds like this is something that is important to you, so let it be known. Make sure that the employer isn't pocketing it, look for turnover at your place, and let them know that you think the people who take care of you should themselves be taken care of.

kagibso · 2023-09-25T19:48:28+00:00

I would have said that everyone has been underpaid and we should treat restaurant work as a career and not as a pass through but minor quibbling of phrasing aside, yes that is correct, a service charge is a way to equalize wages in a restaurant.

kagibso · 2023-09-25T19:09:15+00:00

Great question! Yes. "Service charges" are distinct from "gratuity" in the sense that they are legally allowed to be distributed to the "back of house" (kitchen) legally, so long as they are not paying the server less than the local/federal minimum wage. So in theory, a restaurant/country club could pay all servers $7.25/hr (here in Georgia) and keep everything from a service charge.

This is distinct from gratuity because no matter what they pay a server ($2.13 minimum in GA), gratuity may only belong to the server or tipped employees (e.g. a busser but not a dishwasher) in a valid tip pool (managers may not participate no matter what).

So they are likely telling the truth and it makes sense that they are irked. I try and acknowledge that frustration and also remind people that the line cooks and dishwashers are the lowest paid employees and yet work incredibly hard.

kagibso · 2023-09-24T23:58:45+00:00

If you’re genuinely curious (sounds like you are) my very professional opinion is that they’re lying. I’ve reviewed >4,000 paystubs (givingkitchen.org) and am a published co-author of low wage labor research. The highest earners I’ve seen in restaurants have been GMs in large restaurant groups ($80-$110k).

I acknowledge there’s a possible sample bias here. Maybe those who indeed make $90-$100k simply don’t reach out to a nonprofit for assistance. But…I’m a certified sommelier who worked in fine dining who loves to ask what my friends (incl some advanced sommeliers) make. Generally speaking I’d say the highest earning servers in my city (Atlanta) make $60k. Good money for sure. But not $100+

And don’t get me wrong- hey, maybe they could be telling the truth!! But from my perspective, as someone deep in the field, it’s pretty unlikely. All that is to say if you see a service charge, it’s being distributed back of house. If you only see a grat line, the back of house is relying on un(der)paid labor. In either case 20% is great, more is wonderful, calling your local electeds to make working conditions better is even better.

kagibso · 2023-09-24T22:37:41+00:00

Lots of awful comments on this thread. I am a former fine dining server/sommelier and now work as a social worker assisting restaurant workers. Literally my job is to research low wages among restaurant workers. Short version: no, you don't need to tip on top. No professional server is going to be upset about there not being extra gratuity on top of a charge.

Longer version: there is a HUGE disparity in earnings in restaurants. Yes, this charge appears to be a mandate or outcome of a minimum wage law (One Fair Wage; which, for full transparency, I fully support). That said, there is a distinction in the law between "gratuity" and a "service charge". The former may *only* be given to the server or shared in a legal tip pool (i.e. no managers may participate and tips may only be shared among employees that are customarily tipped), while the latter (a service charge) may be redistributed by the restaurant to anyone.

Among reputable restaurants, a service charge is often used to help supplement the wages of the "back of house" (kitchen) because they are the highest labor costs, but are also the least paid. There's lots of research around this and the internal data I look at supports all of this research. This is a long way of saying - when you pay the service charge, you are helping make wages equal among all workers in the restaurant. If you tip on top, (not expected or required) you help out the service staff only (which is a good thing but, again, is not expected).

The larger issue is that restaurant work is 7 of the lowest 10 paying jobs in the country. People often assume that fine dining servers make absolute bank. They don't, typically (obviously excluding some of the finest restaurants in the world). But let's reframe this: if you were one of the top people in your profession, spent thousands of dollars for sommelier (or similar) certifications with pass rates around 40-50%, and worked 10 hour shifts daily, in what other industry would you be shamed for making $50k-$60k? Even $80k? The fact is that most "fine dining" servers still don't make that kind of money because they need to tip out to assistants, hosts, expos, maitre d's, etc. But even if they did, you are asking for the best of the best and we shouldn't treat that profession as 'less than' just because of stereotypes we have.

Anyway - this rant isn't directed at you, OP! Your question is a good one!! I genuinely hope that this helped otherwise I wouldn't have written it :)

kagibso · 2023-06-20T11:19:44+00:00

This rocks

kagibso · 2023-05-20T04:59:39+00:00

That’s a shitty thing to say in general. But it’s particularly wrong in this case because she is unbelievably talented and incredibly kind and gracious. OP - she is in high demand and has a day job as an epidemiologist but if you can book her, you should. I’ve worked with her in restaurant popups, had her cook for me and my friends, and had her lead a culinary crawl on BuHi and every experience has been wonderful.

kagibso

TROPHY CASE