THE BEST BACON DISCOVERY WASN'T ABOUT BACON
The bacon was right. The better discovery was underneath it.
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DOUG'S NOTEBOOK
THE ARCHIVE.
Turns out I needed a filing system.
Notes from the build, organized by what I was actually trying to figure out.
FILED UNDER
RECREATING A PENNSYLVANIA CLASSIC - THE PHILLY CHEESESTEAK
Philadelphia history meets ingredient research.
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WRITING THE MENU: WHEN A SANDWICH NEEDS TO SELL ITSELF - PART 2
A sandwich needs to sell itself. The words have a job.
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THE FRIDAY FISH FRY REIMAGINED
A Wisconsin tradition, with a few questions worth asking.
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DESIGNING THE G&C SANDWICH COMPANY MENU - PART 1
A menu starts with decisions, not a list of sandwiches.
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THREE DOGS. THREE CITIES. ONE G&C HOT DOG PROBLEM.
Three regional classics. One menu decision.
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FINAL THOUGHTS – PART 5: TIPPING ISN'T BROKEN. TRUST IS.
Service charges, tip pooling, suggested gratuities, and where I stand after five parts of the tipping debate.
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THE TIPPING DEBATE – PART 4: THE RESTAURANT I HOPE TO BUILD
The future owner’s perspective: hospitality, employee pay, and the restaurant culture I want to build.
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THE TIPPING DEBATE – PART 3: THE SERVER
Why restaurants feel different from other tipping situations, from someone who has actually waited the tables.
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WHAT EXACTLY IS BBQ?
Smoke, sauce, technique and regional tradition. The harder question is what BBQ should be at G&C.
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THE TIPPING DEBATE – PART 2: WHEN DOES A TIP STOP BEING A REWARD?
When every payment screen asks for more, appreciation starts to feel like an obligation. I want generosity to remain voluntary.
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FULL DISCLOSURE: THINGS HAVE EVOLVED
G&C Sandwich Company first. G&C BBQ Company later. Two different restaurants, with the same standard for the food.
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THE TIPPING DEBATE: THREE PERSPECTIVES
Customer. Server. Future owner. Tipping can be both out of control and absolutely deserved.
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THE TOMATO MARTINI I NEVER SAW COMING
Frozen tomatoes produced a pale-gold brine—and possibly the best martini Doug has ever made.
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THE GREAT SILVER SKIN DEBATE
Beef ribs, pork ribs and the membrane question that may not have one universal answer.
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SHOULD G&C SANDWICH COMPANY SELL HOT DOGS?
A simple menu question becomes a study in cost, speed, identity and why two dogs make more sense than one.
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SOMETIMES THE SECRET ISN'T THE INGREDIENTS
A handful of ordinary spices—and the small technique that changed what they could do.
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BUILDING OWNERSHIP: IT'S NEVER JUST THE ROOF.
A roof, some brick, a paint job—and the realization that owning a building is really a chain of decisions.
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THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE CURTAIN.
The website looks finished. The work behind it never really is.
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FOOD COST ISN'T EVERYTHING.
Thirty percent is useful. It just isn't the whole equation.
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ONE SEARCH. TWO BUILDINGS.
I went looking for one restaurant home. The second building changed the plan.
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THE IDEA.
Before there was a restaurant, a menu or a building, there was this.
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WHY OCONOMOWOC?
After all the miles, this is the place I kept coming back to.
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MOSTLY LUCK.
Right place. Right time. Good people. Planning gets too much credit.
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NOTES FILED.