Wine Service

Talking wine with guests

Guests might ask for wines that we don’t carry, or might be confused by our list. New World wines (US, South America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa…) are often listed by varietal (Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc) while European (“Old World”) wines are generally listed by the region they are produced in (Chablis, Medoc, Sancerre) If a guest requests something that we don’t have, try to respond to the “spirit of the request” instead of the varietal. When we talk about wine, we are often translating what we want (for example, I might want a light, spritzy, and refreshing white) into something we know (say, Pinot Grigio). My server in this scenario might say “We don’t carry Pinot Grigio” or they might say “Let me get you a taste of Muscadet, it’s light and refreshing like Pinot Grigio.” The second answer will make me feel heard and taken care of, while the first doesn’t advance my cause for getting a glass of white wine.

When recommending or describing wine, try to use sensory descriptors rather than technical ones. Describe the flavor, texture, or body rather than the amount of time in oak or the percentage of cabernet or merlot unless those technical facts are directly responsible for the flavors or reasons for a particular pairing.

If you feel unsure, never hesitate to present someone new to the table. This only increases the trust the guests has in you.

When taking wine by the glass orders, assure the guests that we always offer a taste of the wine before pouring the glass, and that they are more than welcome to choose a different wine after tasting.

When taking bottle orders, offer to decant all red wines. A simple “would you like it decanted?” is the best way to pose that question.

Steps for bottle service

1. Place the proper glassware and decanter on the table before returning with the wine.

2. Ensure that you have the correct wine and vintage before you get to the table.

3. Present the wine from the right of the host, confirming the vintage, winery, and variety.

4. With a black wine serviette folded into a square at the heel of the bottle, hold the bottle with the label facing outward and cut the capsule below the lower rim and remove the cap.

5. Remove the cork, keeping the bottle facing forward, and place in front of the taster. With the wine serviette, wipe the top and smooth down the foil where it has been cut. Pour a generous mouthful (just under one ounce) for the taster, and wait for their approval.

6. Starting with the person to the left of the taster pour 4 ounces of wine into the glass. If there are more than four people at the table, adjust your pour accordingly to ensure that each person receives an equal portion of the wine. Proceed around the table clockwise. The taster is poured last. When pouring, face the label towards the guest and wipe the bottle top with your wrap after each pour to avoid dripping.

7. When everyone’s glass has been served, place the decanter and bottle next to each other, out of the way of the guests, the label towards the majority of people at the table or towards the person who ordered it.

8. Before walking away from the table, remove the cork. Failing to do so (unless directed by the guest) may result in said cork being thrown at server’s head by one or more of the management staff.

9. When refilling, never pour more than 4 ounces, unless directed by the guest. Wine levels should never fall below 1 oz.

Steps for wine by the glass service

1. If the glass of wine is the only beverage being poured, it’s acceptable to bring the glass and bottle at the same time.

2. If other beverages are being served, bring the glass with said beverages and return with the bottle(s). If a co-worker has the time to follow you and hand you the bottle(s) (up to two), all the best. Do a bottle/ tray swap so that you can still pour graciously!

3. Follow the procedure for wine by the bottle service. Present the bottle the same way and pour a short (less than an ounce) taste. After the guest approves it, pour 5 more ounces of wine (to total a 6 oz pour.) Always use your black serviette!

4. Never bring an unopened bottle to a table who is enjoying wine by the glass. Remove the cork in the bar or server station, and proceed as usual.

5. For second and third pours, you can simply say “The Gaillac Rouge” or “Here’s the Riesling” instead of announcing the wine’s full name, vintage, etc.

While we don’t have a “refill” limit per glass, keep a look on the general cleanliness of the glass. If it has smudge marks, lipstick or in general looks like it could use a replacement, simply bring a new one with the next pour.

7. Bottles of wine should never go on trays.

8. Don’t try to pour three glasses of different wines. You only have two hands. Find a friend!

9. Wine bottles should go immediately back to the bar or to a manager’s hands. Leaving wine in the server stations is never acceptable.

10. Wine by the glass should always be rung in before it’s poured. Absolutely no exceptions, including if we have decided to gift a glass of wine to a guest. Ring it in, and then have it comped. Failure to ring in wine is considered stealing from the restaurant.

New wine BTG (not replacing anything): Bordeaux!

2011 Château Les Hauts de Plaisance Haut-Médoc

Where: Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux

Who: Chateau Les Hauts de Plaisance, part of Chateau Pontoise Cabarrus

What: 65% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon

Tastes like: Bigger body red, with mellow, well integrated tannin and chocolate notes. Slightly herbal/ green pepper on the nose (that’s CS for you.)

What to pair with: Red meat!

2011 was a solid but not spectacular year in Bordeaux. But in such vintages some people make extraordinarily good wine. Early this week the group of 24 Bordeaux lovers got together to try 14 reasonably priced wines from 2011 to see which was the best. We tasted the wines blind. Each person was asked to name his or her top four.

The group winner:

Ch. Les Hauts de Plaisance (literally the Heights of Pleasure) a second wine of Ch. Pontoise Cabarrus, classified as a Cru Bourgeois. It comes from Bordeaux's premium Haut Medoc region and is just across the border of St. Estephe, one of its four major communes.

With 2/3 Merlot and 1/3 cabernet; the wine drinks deliciously now, but it will age for two to three years.

The Tereygeol family makes it in much the same exacting way as they do Ch. Pontoise; l yields, rigorously grape selection at harvest, cool fermentation, a year's oak aging.

What's different? The vines are mostly only 10 to15 years old ( not. It is rounded and mixes soft fruit and crisp textures, the hallmark of good Bordeaux. It's a wine you can savor.

2011 Ch. Les Hauts De Plaisance (Haut Medoc); Color: very dark opaque ; Aroma: herbal, rather fullish with deep notes opaque, a sense of underlying richness; Mouth: firm & rounded forward and giving, clean, smooth textured, medium body, a strong sweet fruit note, very finely astringent on the finish.

New menu items rolling out this week

Please be aware that not all of these are on all menus yet. Keeping you on your toes!

Chicken Liver Mousse

        Chicken livers are cured overnight with salt, brown sugar and vin santo, They are then seared in grapeseed oil to an internal temperature of 165. Once seared they are pureed with sherry vinegar, and caramelized onions.  Butter is added to the mousse as it is pureed. The mousse is served in a mason jar and finished with sea salt and fennel pollen.

Boston Bibb Lettuce Salad

Blood Orange, Pistachio Butter, Sunchokes, Boquerones Bibb Lettuce is tossed with tarragon leaves, and blood orange supremes, in a pistachio and blood orange vinaigrette. The vinaigrette is made from blood orange juice, sherry vinegar, shallots, olio verde, and pistachio butter (toasted pistachios ground in the robo-coup with olive oil and salt). Garnishing the salad are sliced boquerones and sunchokes shaved to order and dressed with lemon juice and olio verde.

Blue di Bufala $8 Pasturized buffalo milk cheese from Lombardy. Animal Rennet, aged 2-3 months. Made Quattro Portoni, a by a pair of brothers near bergamo produce traditional italian cheeses but substitute buffalo milk for a twist on tradition. Crumbly and creamy, high fat, and a little tangy but not overly powerful.

Selles sur cher $7 Pasturized goat cheese, aged 3-5 weeks, named for a commune in the Loir region of france. Dusted with wood ash to promote the growth of mold on the exterior. Smooth in texture, light and fresh with a citrusy tang.

Reading ‘Raclette’ $7 Unpasturized cows milk cheese from Spring Brook Farms in vermont. The farm is a non-profit that teaches urban children about “where food comes from”. Reading is a raclette style cheese, aged 12-15 months with a natural rind. Traditional raclettes are alpine style made in france or switzerland, and are similar to gruyere. Reading is semi firm, with a creamy mouth feel, the cheese is nutty and a little sweet.

Gusto Antico Taleggio $7 Unpasturized Cows milk cheese from Lombardy. Made in the traditional style (not using modern machinery) this cheese is particularly interesting because of the use of unpasturized milk, which is uncommon in taleggios. creamy and smooth with a definite mushroomy background. Washed rind.

Pig Head Mortadella
Pistachio, Orange Peel, Nutmeg, Clove

We are getting in whole pigs heads, removing the ears and cooking them for 12 hours in the combi until tender, then dicing the ears. The rest of the head is deboned and deskinned, seasoned and allowed to rest overnight. The meat is ground twice through a fine die, during the second grinding ice is added. The ground meat is then placed in the stand mixer along with the diced ears and some diced pork fat. This is then whipped vigorously until it reaches a temperature of 60 degrees fahrenheit to ensure a smooth emulsion of meat and fat. The mixture is then stuffed into artificial sausage casings and cooked in the combi. Crushed toasted pistachios garnish the meat.

Reservation Policy

Reservation Policy at The Salty Pig

The short version: We accept reservations for parties of 6 to 15 people, for lunch and dinner, seven days a week.

The much longer version:

- Reservations should be taken by hosts and managers only, and every reservation should be initialed by the person who accepted it and the date they took it.

- We do not take reservations more than 30 days in advance (to allow for buy-outs or private parties)

- All reservations of parties greater than 8 should be approved by a manager (ideally while the guest is still on hold.)

- All parties larger than 15 should be directed to the general manager. Please encourage guests to email ines@thesaltypig.com for information on private parties.

- While we use “reservation slots” for our convenience and as a planning tool, we never discuss this with the guests. The only language we should use is “we have availability at 6:30 or 8PM that day,” or “unfortunately we are fully reserved.”

- While guests get a text message from TableUp asking them to confirm their reservations, the host is responsible to follow up with any reservations that are not marked “confirmed!” at the beginning of their shift (11:30AM or 4PM)

- For confirmed or unconfirmed reservations we will give the guests the courtesy of waiting 15 minutes for their party. If no guests have arrived and we aren’t able to reach the party by phone, we might make the table available to other guests, at the discretion of the MOD.  

- Due to our space limitations, we aren’t able to take reservations for “drinks and cocktails” or reservations for unclear numbers of guests (“There will be 20 people but not all at once”). Reservations are for lunch/ dinner only and we ask the guest making the reservation that they confirm the number of their party before making or confirming the reservation

- Any request to deviate from these procedures should be directed to a manager.

- On the occasion that a private party has been reserved for a particular day, a manager will make a “place holder” reservation on that date and indicate 99s guests. No other reservations should be taken on a day with a “99” mark

- Current slots (subject to change) are 6, 6:30, 8, 8:30 on weekdays and 6 and 6:30 on Fridays and Saturdays. Again, please don’t mention this to guests.

- When talking to guests who are looking for a date for which we have filled all slots, use the language “unfortunately we are fully reserved.” Do not encourage guests to “try their luck” at the door.

- While it might feel counter-intuitive to discourage large parties beyond the reservations, we are actively taking care of our guests by not over promising. Keep in mind that when we tell guests that “maybe the wait won’t be too long” or anything of the sort, we are in fact Over Promising something we have no control in delivering. Always strive to Under Promise and Over Deliver--That’s they way for the restaurant to shine!

- Taking care of large parties: large parties, particular those of more than 8 guests, or consecutive smaller parties, can throw a wrench in our very small kitchen. Always communicate about such parties with the managers, both FOH and BOH so that we can take care of every guest in the restaurant appropriately.

- SP guests: if a reservation is for known friends of the restaurant, industry folks, family or friends of any employee, or otherwise “special people” we should be marking the reservation notes with “SP”. This should also be communicated to the chefs and FOH managers both when going over reservations and when the guests have arrived.

-  Communication with the chefs in general, and when we are very busy in particular, is a crucial function of the host team. In addition to “open menu” counts, hosts should be communicating when large parties are arriving/ completed (“10 top is partially arrived” “10 top is complete”) as well as any SP guests or information of note.