Educate and Pontificate - Patio SZN is upon us!

In this episode, Karey and Justin break down their favorite things about patio season and enjoying food and beverages of the adult variety outside...before it gets too hot.

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Please rate, follow and share the podcast. Help us introduce the characters and characteristics of the foodservice / restaurant industry to others.

Transcript

What does people plus food service plus conversation equal? The food service for thought podcast produced by Forbes, Eva and Wallace and hosted by Carrie Clements and Justin Alverez. The bimonthly podcast connects the food service industry through in depth conversations with chefs, restaurant equipment suppliers, food service establishment owners and so many others that make up our wonderful industry. If you like food people and great conversation, we think you will enjoy the food service for thought podcast.
Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of the foodservice for thoughts Podcast, the podcast connecting the foodservice industry I am Justin that is Carrie Carrie. I can smell it in the air. It is patio season.
It is patio seeds and everything's green. I'm so excited. It happened overnight. It was like do me and gloomy and I was thinking all was lost it was never going to be beautiful and now it's green and springy.
That's I love it I love it and as we get into this episode today is going to be an educate on and pontificate episode and we're going to talk about the the best things that we look forward to our top five things that we look forward to for that first patio experience as we kick off spring and summer. And for me Carrie i This might be the my stomach talking but there was nothing I equate more to outdoor patio, then sitting there and getting the first batch of chips and salsa to arrive at the table. And that might be because most of the places that we do this with and in Texas and even now I guess in Arizona have had sort of a Tex Mex vibe but there's nothing better the weather's nice. You're sitting outside it's not too hot chips and salsa come you know the drinks are on the way. I just love that chips and salsa outdoors for the win.
Okay, but chips and salsa cold beer or Margarita
cold beer margaritas. Yeah, both of them if you want to have a great night.
I've never done I don't think I have ever done that. But it's it's 2023 the spring is here. It's gonna do it. That's right. What do they call those? You know, the margaritas and there's a beer bottle sticking in it the current
Oh yeah. Beer a beer burrito? Oh, no, I don't think Yeah, it's like a giant beer. I
know I want one of those. I want one of those. So something that's cool about our Kima office. Well, maybe I'll do this in Dallas too. But our office is on the water. So we have like that double decker deck. It's a double decker double deck Decker double decker Dec
cheerful llama landmine.
We got one of them. And and we also you might be interested in now have a Blendtec blender. So yes, can you Okay, can you hear that happening? Okay, the blender the Blendtec blender. Going and then that song, put the lime in the coconut and stir it all up or whatever that is. famous scene in the movie. Oh my gosh, what is that famous scene Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman is in it. A Practical Magic? If you haven't seen it, stop what you're doing. I have not yet. Okay. Listen. Let's be honest, we know you don't work full days anyway. at Forbes your wall is so go ahead and watch the movie. Have you not seen that movie?
I don't think so. Oh my gosh, I'll go check it out. I'll tell you what I'll do. I will go get some chips. I'll put them in a bowl. And I'll go outside with a beer and I'll watch it on my phone or my iPad. And I'll sort of simulate that patio vibe. Hey,
yeah, look in there, which is what goes better with spring than witches.
Alright, probably about 2 million things but
okay, cool. Nate. Okay, so favorite, favorite thing for me? I mean, I do love chips and salsa, by the way, had lunch with Hoyt yesterday, and we were arguing about who ate more chips. And I thought it was me and he said, What is it with you and Justin thinking you guys can out chip me? It should be a challenge where you and I against him and he's still going to eat more chips than we do. Sure, you know, I don't know.
Be curious to know if anybody listening if that's a food that you can just sort of eat endlessly, right? Because at some point you're going to the pizza is going to catch up to you or whatever it is, but I feel like chips and salsa or just you know, tortilla chips or whatever, or even popcorn, if you'd like there's no off button for that. It's just sort of like it just, it goes in and it just sort of evaporates off the side of your stomach and you just continue to make more room for that for the rest of time.
personal experience, I know it can't just occur with you.
So I sent chips it's also for me it kind of gets me ready. That's one of the things I think of what's something for you patio season.
I love I do like trying different cold beers so but beer sitting in ice is the best. And I love date drinking so Saturday or Sunday, where you know everything is done or at least your brain has decided it's too pretty I don't care if the laundry is done or what have you. You know, you're you've you've found your spot outside for me. It's either in the hill country or here by the water. You know, I get to I'm just moments away from the water. I do like that I like sitting by and it's got to be saltwater. I like sitting because Texas coast girl. I like I love that. And I'm laughing and yeah, drinking cold beverages and, and oh, and and having either the beer sitting really close in a cooler or your drinks are coming to you. There's no lag time. Okay, no lag time. Yes.
Indeed about that, that 75 to 85% of your current beer is dying. And then the next one gets put down on the table or your beverage whatever that is. Yes. But yes, cold ice cold to the nth degree. And I love that day drinking. That is great. And I know as you age, the idea of what day drinking is is different. But like how
do you make great when you're it starts earlier? It starts later?
No, like drinking used to mean like you're going hard. Oh, gotcha. Like it's gonna be a long 14. And for me, for me? No, because it turns into nitric Yeah, and for me now and maybe you feel like day drinking is just a couple hours out on the patio somewhere or outdoors somewhere with like you said just the beers and hanging out but it's you know, it's not bleeding into the evening. And then the following morning, it's just snow. I have to play a couple of nights. I
usually go into training for that kind of thing. You got to you got it. You gotta be like having the conversation with yourself for a month. You got to have your go bag with some Pedialyte or what have you. There's got to you got to plan it's not worth it to me anymore. No, no. But you know, I, I this is the spring summer I want to travel I want to do some fun things. I have a couple of trips plan. And I love the idea of somewhere that's maybe a pop up bar. And I think about that because at our company meeting we last week, or whatever it was, we were talking about our sales numbers in Geneva, and those, you know, those pop up bars that they do. I like the idea of finding a space that isn't necessarily it's not just a bar already but somebody's okay, this is pretty out here. You know, we're going to have an event here's this pop up deal or even on a golf cars, where not that I golf, but you know somewhere that it's not such a regimented kind of bar situation. I like I like that I'd like those impromptu things. And that was what's cool about Geneva as you could they have cool portable bars and I mean, so it was like side, but they're modifiable. You can do what you want with them. You know, I what I want
to do with them is get one of them is what I would like to modify. Now I
know why chemo doesn't because we're smaller office. Why don't we have that in Dallas? I'm going to write it down.
Let's write it down. So you're saying so I said chips and salsa. You said day drinking? Yeah. I'm gonna raise your day drinking to an evening time dinner out on a patio at a restaurant. Okay, that is great. It doesn't have to be fancy. It doesn't have to be a fancy place. But you know little maybe a little date night vibe. Yeah, right. Yeah. And the weather's nice.
Are you asking me out? It's not the same. Yeah. Your mom's gonna be really? She likes me. But I don't think you know, this is a really awkward. What's your friend Carrie? I just want to be your friend Justin, but thank you. Yeah. Okay, I hear you so, but it's gonna be cool out. I don't want to eat hot food when it's okay. It
can't be cool. Old and it can't be 95 degrees at nighttime. It's got to be that low 70s High 60s, where you know, maybe it's even cooler enough where you have one of those little portable heaters that kind of throw by your table or something.
hot flash. Yeah. Okay, so there's this there's this restaurant in the hill country and Driftwood called leucaena li si na. And it's a special occasion place for me. So we generally go with our friends and and wait, and it is understood that you are going and it's an hour away, okay? If you're not the DD, here's what happens. It is understood, we don't even have to speak of it anymore. Because we know you arrive and you tell the waiter keep the drinks coming. And we're not in a hurry. So that's, that's code, but we're going to reward you but this isn't going to you're not going to turn this table for a bit, you know, and I don't think they expect it to. And so you're sitting outside cold drinks you got to you got your little wine buckets sitting there. I don't drink wine but my friend and does so you know she's got her table craft wine. Sitting there. Not table crap doesn't make wine. Johnson. What was her wine bucket? Yeah.
I may or may not have one of those as well.
So that's day drinking is that's a three hour deal. Minimum. That's awesome. That's what I'm looking forward to. Oh my god. I'm also writing that down. When can I get an leucaena and I think I know what I can get into the scene.
So we got chips and salsa. You've got day drinking. We've got nighttime patio dining, and a little date night vibe. Not too hot. Not too cold. Yeah. What else do you have for patio season? That just gets your get your engine revved up. Carrie got
it. Okay. This is this is a plug for BFM their umbrellas. Okay, picture this. So Florida seating. BFM doesn't matter, whoever, whoever you float your fancy. That's not the saying is you have an umbrella out. And you take a nap in the middle of the day, outside on the patio. No, I love outside. No, I'm
super upset because that's that's I was going to say afternoon naps. Yeah, outside. Yes. Now you can't really do that at a restaurant per se. But if you're on vacation somewhere, and you have some drinks, and maybe you're fortunate enough to sit by the pool, if you have a little hotel or something or by the beach or something at an Airbnb, and you can just be outside. You're shaded. It's nice out. Drink. fall asleep. Wake up. What are you got to do? Oh, no, I don't have to check emails. I have taken another sip I
think I was gonna say you had to get up and pee.
No, that's it night, when you only pay it nine times. Yes. I'm nocturnal. lavatory user? Yes.
Oh my gosh. But seriously,
whatever your vacation looks like, even if you're just at home, right? Even if it's just a couple of days off and you're at home, or you're at a friend's house or whatever. But taking an outdoor afternoon nap, where you just kind of doze off. And you wake up. And you don't even have to worry about anything. There's no laundry to do. There's there's no bills to pay right now. There's good bills to pay after the vacation. When you get back. All you got to do is just get up taking another sip. You want to go back, go back sleep
dreaming ahead. That is so dreamy. People live their lives like that, too. I don't believe it. They must have.
I mean, I do. I just woke up for this podcast. I'm going back to bed in a few minutes.
Okay, so so we talked, we talked about these things, but I also think you know, we were gonna we were going to talk about it a little bit like what do we have to do at home? You do have to do some things at home so that you know when you're gonna do that impromptu Saturday, when you text your friends and you're like, I want a party. We're what are we going to do? What are we going to do? And I have a couple of friends that we have whatever the hell you want Saturday's which we've only done a couple of times. But this means whatever, like if they're coming over and we're playing cards in the middle of day and day drinking or we're going to Galveston to the to, you know, to the Galveston Island brewing which is fun outside or the same Castle contest? But you got to have your coolers. Ready. Right? He got Are you keep them clean cooler guy or do you need to or every time you open your cooler you're like oh man, really?
No, no, I try to I'm gonna keep it clean cooler guy because that can also have food in there for us. So part of you know we have a young young daughter well not that young for it's pretty so a lot of times we're going to go into friend's houses or they're coming over or whatever so we're there's food there's you know, hey, we'll pick up the burgers we'll do this will do that. So in addition to so for me, it is a must to keep those things clean. Because if you are ready to go and it's a whatever the hell you want carry Saturday. I don't want to waste time cleaning the floor. Because that's that's like 11 minutes. Less time I have to be hanging out with my friend carry pound and beers. Playing gin in the living room.
Okay, I've got a gin. Yes, canasta. So the cooler thing I'm going to admit, I, I I have purchased many coolers, because I have neglected them. And even spending money on those expensive coolers. You know, the ones I'm talking about? It does. It doesn't encourage me to take better care of them. So I'm just, I feel ashamed. feel shame. Oh, at
least when spring comes, you take them out all at once you hose them off right in the driveway or in the backyard. Wipe them out. Get them ready for the first Saturday.
Which I would say is a good reminder. If you have a continental cooler or freezer or whoever's you, you do also need to clean those out. From time to time
if you have one of those if you have a continental fridge at home.
Yeah. Do you have a continental fridge at home? Justin? I have a lot of beer. It's a two door isn't it with glass doors like the one we have at the office? And you can see all the beer.
Yes. I have a two door but I have a one door that fits inside of the two doors. So my beer is so cold. You have no idea. But yes, on a serious note, if you're a restaurant, like any food service establishment, yeah, yes, you do. You absolutely want to make sure that you clean all the parts and there's lots of information on that on Continentals website, our YouTube videos, just on some tips to best practices, keeping stuff clean. That's good idea.
Alright, so before we wrap up really seriously, what are the things that we do at home to get ready for the summer so we got coolers?
Yep, I always like to get my last thing I was gonna say that reminds me a patio season and it goes along with what you just asked is grilling. So I use my grill pretty much year round. But there's a few months where it's you know, the weather's kind of nasty so you're just not outside very frequently but cleaning the grill, the grates, taking them out, flipping them over cleaning the other side of the grades, pulling that sheet metal catch tray out and putting a new piece of tin foil down tin foil how to preserve that catch tray forever.
Is that aluminium all
that carbon? That's aluminium foil? Yes, putting a new piece of foil down because that for real as a home person that will save your that sheet metal Oh yeah, catch tray that pulls out because all that stuff eventually turns into carbon. And even for commercial use whatever brand that you have. If you don't have foil under there eventually that's going to burn and that's just going to create a nasty flavor note in some of your food because if you never clean it, so give that a clean at home and at the restaurant every every couple of months
finds a lot. Okay, so I have those I can't I don't know what the makeup is. They're recycled grocery bags for it. Amish furniture I can't remember what what the makeup is exactly, but they're frickin expensive as hell and they're this is how they sell them they don't stain they don't you know they last forever okay, they do last I will say that they're heavy as hell to so they're not gonna blow over in a strong wind. But they they they get pollen and mildew on them and they have to be scrubbed pretty vigorously with some bleach water which I don't love but but there's something about like you're all sweaty and you're clean that up and then you dry it up and you sit there with a cold beer you've got you know your music going anything Miley Cyrus, thank you and you're cleaning that up and there Something about doing all this stuff getting ready for the spring. That just makes you feel great. Or me anyway, I don't know about you, you probably never feel great. But for me I know you're pretty married to your misery. They're just That's great. Anyway,
no, I love it. You're 100% right that that first crack is spring and honestly from so I grew up in the upper Midwest, right, Michigan, Wisconsin. So when it was springtime, like I mean, we no one had been outside for five months. So that feeling of just being able to like, you walk outside, and it's like, you know, the first day when you walk out after you're hungover. Like, you're like putting your hand.
Oh, what is like after you leave a movie? Oh,
yes, that's it. Yeah, if you go watch a movie in the middle of the day, and you leave, and you're like, oh, so broken out. That's what it feels like for the first day of spring in the Midwest. But that's so true. And even here it is, you know, like when, when the weather finally shifts in Texas, or anywhere, when it's nice enough to be outside during the day, and you don't need a jacket or anything. There's something special about that. When you're just like, man, it feels great. And it just feels like fresh start just like all the good all positive vibe.
It's it's possibility and freedom at the same time, which is just, oh, I should make a candle called possibility and freedom. If I get racehorses smells like, my column, possibility and freedom possibilities are my racehorses. Yep, there you go. Gosh, I don't know if I can finish.
That's what I call my left and right bicep possibility. Let's go. All right. Anything else? We got to say before we before we finish annoying our list? Yeah,
I think I hope for everybody that they're making plans or made plans for the holidays, the food service industry, like, so many other industries have taken a hit these past three years. And, you know, we were just at Napa them not that long ago. And it was so good to see everybody. I think we're settling in to whatever we're settling into, I'm not sure what to call it. But spring really does feel more. Like we need to pay more attention to it and enjoy it more. And, you know, at work for work stuff, you know, the day and day in and day out stuff that we sell. Even that's been fun making lists about the products that we need to get in front of our customers like Tablecraft has all those pretty new things, the risers and the servingware. And just to stop the day in and day out stuff that that's not new, like the high chairs or whatever, it's just all possibility, you know, everything seems new and shiny. And I think as we wrap up, that's what I'd like to put out there is wishing everybody new and shiny.
Well, and while you were rambling, I was thinking about something else. A last one to add. When you are in a restaurant, and it's patio season, and it's nice enough and that the restaurant has the doors, the garage doors that open up to the patio, and they're sitting on both sides of the bar and the fresh air is coming in the restaurant. Okay, Showtime, okay,
loopy tortilla has these are the ones that buy where we are it Baybrook mall in Houston or Kima ces wherever Houston. And they have they have on either side like goes like this. Can everybody see me? It goes like this. And those doors open up. Now on one side, you're just looking out to the parking lot, but the other is is big deck. And it's just it changes everything. It changes everything it makes you want to stay longer and and yeah, I love that. Dang it. All right.
Another thing for you to do
this weekend. Yeah, it's cool right now, maybe this weekend, but yeah. Okay, that's what I want everybody to do. Go to a restaurant close by. It has outdoor seating, and enjoy yourself and tip your waiters.
Next Next episode, we'll talk about all the remedies to take care of your hangover from this week's episode of Just just constant day drinking between the two of us to dream, the dream. All right. Well, thank you everyone for listening to this episode of the food service for thought podcast. I am Justin. That is Carrie. We'll be back in two weeks with another episode. Happy spring and hoping everybody has a great great spring and summer.
Thank you for listening to the food service for thought podcast. We hope you enjoyed it. And a big shout out to Forbes Heever and Wallace and everyone on the team for producing the first ever food service rep driven podcast. Please Subscribe rate and review oh and go eat out at your local restaurant or grab some takeout or delivery even if you are just in the mood for some apps or dessert every bite helps