Today was Deb's birthday and BeezleBub and I took her out to our all time favorite restaurant to celebrate. (In case you're wondering she had a great time and we had great meals...but that isn't entirely germane to the story.)
One thing that can make or break the dining experience is the person waiting upon you. Some are merely adequate. Others are not in any way, shape, or form. And yet others can be exceptional. In our case, the waitress serving us tonight, Alicia, was one of the exceptional ones. On a scale of one to five Wes's, she scored a four and three-quarters!
That being said I should explain our rating system to you. The "Wes Scale" is named in honor of our dear friend Wes. Other than being a good friend and an excellent real estate agent, he was also known for being a heck of a waiter in his day. He knows the trade inside and out and is far less forgiving of poorly performing waitstaff than either Deb or I. Hence, we decided that if we were going to rate our dining experiences, we would use Wes as the standard to measure against.
The fact that Alicia rated 4 and three-quarters on the Wes scale means she is indeed exceptional. I believe even Wes would agree with us on our assessment.
On our way back to The Manse after the wonderful repast we experienced, we noticed the heavy traffic on the northbound side of Interstate 93. The skiers from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York were heading to the White Mountains for three days of skiing over the Martin Luther King Day weekend. I'd forgotten what it was like on the highway during ski season weekends, having moved from the foothills of the White Mountains to the heart of the Lakes Region of New Hampshire some eight years ago. Living within a stone's throw of one of New Hampshire's fine ski areas, it's easy to overlook the other, much larger ski resorts like Waterville Valley, Loon Mountain, Attitash/Bear, Cannon, Wildcat, and Bretton Woods, just to name a few. The heavy traffic seen heading north at 8PM on a Friday night is testament enough to the popularity of skiing in New Hampshire.
One thing that can make or break the dining experience is the person waiting upon you. Some are merely adequate. Others are not in any way, shape, or form. And yet others can be exceptional. In our case, the waitress serving us tonight, Alicia, was one of the exceptional ones. On a scale of one to five Wes's, she scored a four and three-quarters!
That being said I should explain our rating system to you. The "Wes Scale" is named in honor of our dear friend Wes. Other than being a good friend and an excellent real estate agent, he was also known for being a heck of a waiter in his day. He knows the trade inside and out and is far less forgiving of poorly performing waitstaff than either Deb or I. Hence, we decided that if we were going to rate our dining experiences, we would use Wes as the standard to measure against.
The fact that Alicia rated 4 and three-quarters on the Wes scale means she is indeed exceptional. I believe even Wes would agree with us on our assessment.
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Sometimes it's easy to forget that New Hampshire is a multi-season tourist destinations.On our way back to The Manse after the wonderful repast we experienced, we noticed the heavy traffic on the northbound side of Interstate 93. The skiers from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York were heading to the White Mountains for three days of skiing over the Martin Luther King Day weekend. I'd forgotten what it was like on the highway during ski season weekends, having moved from the foothills of the White Mountains to the heart of the Lakes Region of New Hampshire some eight years ago. Living within a stone's throw of one of New Hampshire's fine ski areas, it's easy to overlook the other, much larger ski resorts like Waterville Valley, Loon Mountain, Attitash/Bear, Cannon, Wildcat, and Bretton Woods, just to name a few. The heavy traffic seen heading north at 8PM on a Friday night is testament enough to the popularity of skiing in New Hampshire.
Works for me!
Goodwife's birthday is next month. Here's my thought. I'm thinking Common Man, requesting Alicia.
I'll tell her I read about her wonderful service in a blog I also write for. How's that?
Almost. Right company, wrong location.
We dined at the Common Man in Ashland, one of our all time favorite places to eat. I've been partaking of Alex's hospitality for almost 30 years now.
We have eaten at the Italian Farmhouse, though no where nearly as often as we do the Common Man. (Deb and I got married in their greenhouse out back, kind of a combination wedding and reception all in one.)
The first few times we tried the Lyon's Den we liked it. But the last couple of times we didn't enjoy it all that much, particularly with the very long wait for our food to be prepared on our last visit (and it wasn't as busy as I've seen it in the past, so that can't be the reason). Their menu wasn't particularly appetizing that time, either.
I at first thought Lion's Den in Gilford. But, no. No 93. Then I thought Homestead in Bristol. That's a good choice.
But then the answer came to me. The Italian Farmhouse in Plymouth.
Am I right?