Recently, I posted about my experience at Gracie's. This particular post took me an extremely long time to compose, and I paid careful detail to all aspects of the meal- from the service, to the timing, to the food.
Before dining at Gracie's, I had met the Executive chef, Joe Hafner, at the annual Food for Thought event. He knew that I was a food blogger, and we had a brief conversation which included my eagerness to try his restaurant. While at Gracie's, he popped over to our table to say 'hello', and it was a very nice gesture considering how busy the restaurant was with all of the multiple course meals.
He told me he is a regular visitor to my blog, and thus read my Gracie's post. He then reached out to me and gave me a call to discuss my experience. He was apologetic about the timing, and not at all brash or defensive. In fact, he was wonderfully honest and appreciative of my comments. I was very happy to have the chance to speak with him, and thought it showed great class that he took the time (out of what I know must be a very busy chef's schedule) to call. It was a tribute to both his dedication to his profession, as well as to Gracie's. Joe also told me that Gracie's prides itself on satisfying its customers, and they often reach out to diners whenever possible to speak about their experiences. While my first experience at Gracie's wasn't 'ideal' I wholeheartedly look forward to trying the restaurant again.
I thought this was an important addition to my post about dining at Gracie's, and hope that everyone can appreciate this gesture as much I did.
Thank you for that update. It is a refreshing example of professionalism and commitment to quality on the restaurant's part.
Posted by: G | February 21, 2008 at 11:32 AM