Restaurant Books

Leadership is one of those things that everyone recognizes when they see it but is difficult to define. Part of the problem is that it has so many forms. There is leadership on the battlefield, in the boardroom, in the factory, at academic institutions, in sports teams, in other words there is a leader in just about every activity involving more than one person. It is also a hard activity to carry out, because in nearly all cases the authority that the leader exercises is not based on any authoritarian right. Successful leadership is a partnership between the leader and the led, which means that the leader derives a great deal of their authority from the consent of the governed.
In this book, Rehkopf discusses the strategies good leaders employ from the perspective of the hospitality industry. He has managed hotels and resorts and opened golf and country clubs. His knowledge of the subject matter is thorough, yet his main themes are simple. If you are a manager, interact with your people, take an interest in their welfare and listen to their concerns. Leadership by controlling force is a managerial dead end, it works for a short time, as eventually people will leave. The first to leave will of course be your good people, as they are the ones with the most pride in their work and can more easily find another job.
The advice offered up in this book is sound, the American business world would be much more efficient if more managers were to follow it. Unfortunately, that is not the case. For a variety of reasons, so many managers choose to insulate themselves from their workers. While some professional distance is necessary in the work place, there are times when the human element must take precedence. By applying the basic courtesies of human interaction, good managers can motivate to an extent that no threat can ever achieve.
This book contains a simple blueprint for successfully managing a business in the hospitality industry. As such, all that aspire to or are currently managing in the business would be aided by reading and applying the advice.

Here's the book I wish someone had shared with me years ago.

This is a practical, back to the basics, presentation of every day service opportunities. Ed shared a copy of this book with me and I in turn shared it with one of our General Managers. She was so excited about its content that she requested I send more copies for her managers. We now utilize the book in management training programs, and all of our Department Managers receive a copy.

This book develops a level of understanding among our teams' managers that service is important to everyone, and when customers receive great service consistently, great results will occur.

Thanks Ed for sharing your valuable experiences with us!

For an industry that often lacks leadership guidance and supervisory training, this book delivers the key ingredients needed on the journey to becoming a sound leader. Well-written and easy to read, this book is beneficial for both experienced and new leaders. Rehkopf uses composite examples from his own diverse career in the hospitality industry as the basis for the book. A must read for every management trainee and aspiring leader.

Rehkopf hits a home run with this book. It is logically written, easily read, and full of pertinent examples. Although directed to the hospitality industry, the lessons are applicable to anyone in a leadership role. I've used it in my business and bought copies for all my mid-management people. This book is for owners, managers and all people who aspire to be an owner or manager one day.

A well written and concise book which presents a practical guide on leadership. This book was easy to read and offers many good examples of how to be an effective service based leader. An excellent training tool for all levels of management.

I'm Salvadoran and I'm married to a Jewish-American woman. She bought this book for us to take a tour in El Salvador. Let me tell you, this is the best guide book I've ever read. It's so easy to use and it has ALL the information about this little beautiful country that you need. I even used some of the information on my website, of course with the permission from the authors. Thank you Jeff, Julian and Veronica for making this possible.

For years I looked for a book that would cover travel to El Salvador. I have been married to a Salvadorena for 16 years and have made five trips to the country since 1991. I love El Salvador, its beauty and its wonderful people. You can't travel there without this book! Buy it today!

I found this book quite helpful. I'm a native from El Salvador who had been out of the country for 20 years. I found it a good supplement to other sources of information (e.g., local phone books in El Salvador, people and friends). Although some of the directory information may be dated, most of the facts and directions still hold. It's best to cross-reference the book with a local phone book for more accuracy. Yet, the book is a great trip planning tool. It allows you to pick and chose places and things to do at a pace that not even locals can keep up. It's clear that a lot of good work went into making the book. The level of detail is beyond what any local can know all by himself (e.g., bus routes, mores, festivals, local rituals, etc.). I found the hand-drawn maps most helpful and the history/background informaiton information least helpful. Advisories should apply to all locations outside the central city or popular foreign tourist attractions. Also, the book does not address which locations are most ideal to visit depending on the small universe weather conditions, e.g., heavy rains or dry, hot to extremely hot temperatures. I recommend this book. I've found no other books as helpful as this one but feel that the book and its contents could be much improved, e.g., day-trips, sports events, local festivity schedules, shopping information, entertainment options, ground and non-ground recreational activities, specific coverage and related-activities regarding aviation, boatin, sailing, surfing, fishing, golf, lakes, rivers and bodies of water, etc. (perhaps on future editions, beyond the 2nd). I currently own both of the first two editions. They're both pretty much worn out and it's because they go with me and take me places each time I visit there. I just wish the book were more expansive and provide material for all the other sites that one encounters while going from place to place, yet this would make it too thick and heavy. Also, if you ever go to El Teleferico, please say Hi to Mr. Moon (a local cartoonist) there for me!

This is really the only comprehensive guidebook to El Salvador that is widely available. The Lonely Planet and Let's Go and other books have chapters on El Sal in their books on Central America, but none of them go into real detail. In fact, I've noticed that most of the guidebooks don't recommend going to El Salvador, or skipping it if you're short on time.

Well, you should go. There is a lot to see and do but it's important to realize that it's different from the other Latin American countries. It's maybe a little less pretty and the people are a bit more hardened from the long guerra civil. This book does a good job providing sociopolitical background and anecdotes from important periods in history. Other than that, it's your basic guidebook, going region by region in the country, detailing sights, hotels, transportation, all that stuff. There are also several pages of decent color photos.

The one problem is that the book is now nearly ten years old. While most of the things are still accurate, a lot has changed. Things like prices and bus routes especially. There are also many different sights, museums, roads and enormous Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises that did not exist when the book was published. Likewise, some things no longer exist. The only way to find out, unfortunately, is to go and discover these things for yourself.

El Sal is not the most tourist-friendly nation in the sense that the infrastructure is not really there to support a heavy flow of tourists. The people are _wonderful_, don't get me wrong (don't think for a second that it's the people's fault), but to give one example, some of the bus routes to tourist sites make absolutely no sense and can be very frustrating to navigate. This is the fault of the government. Likewise, the El Sal government tourism agency could do themselves a big favor by publishing or funding an up-to-date guide.

But this book is as good as it gets.

If you are going to spend any time in the country and want to tool around, you'd be a fool not to get a copy of this book for your backpack. I just got home and gave my friend a hug for grabbing this book out the the bargain bin at Borders for me. In several cities I was able to pick it up and quickly flip through to find a map and make my way through the town. Or simply discover something interesting within or nearby my location. It's an absolute must for anybody going into the country. Well put together and concise - 5 stars for sure!

After hearing the Author on the radio, i decided to pick the book up.I found it most enjoyable,Hey maybe i will be a better customer now

I heard the Author on the radio,i thought the book was great,i enjoyed the stories the best

I enjoyed this book very much. I felt like i could hear the Authors voic

I see myself going through the same things,it was like the Author was writing about me

we give this book out to our new employees,before they can work for us. It has grear stories,and it is a very good learning tool,for customers and anyone else in this industry

Braiden has captured the unique flavors of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and B.C. with her lively commentary of the distinct ingredients you can find there. Her profiles of people and places make me want to visit each and every destination. If I can't get to that farm or winery, at least I can make the meal myself - and pour a glass of Braiden's hand-picked Northwest wine recommendations to accompany it.

The recipes are easy and delicious, inspiring us to use local, seasonal and sustainable ingredients. So far, our family favorites are the Grilled Asparagus Salad with Prosciutto, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and Balsamic Vinaigrette and the Dungeness Crab with Ginger-Cilantro Mayonnaise! Yummy~

This cookbook is absolutely gorgeous. It is a wonderful guide to the Pacific Northwest for both locals and visitors. The recipes are fabulous (try the Chipotle Chocolate Cake) and very easy to do at home, while still elegant. And the wine pairing suggestions are spot on. Outstanding book that would make a great addition to anyone's cookbook collection - and one that you will actually use.

This book offers many exceptional recipes however there are two from Chef Maury Bennett in Idaho that are amazing his passion for local fares radiates through his ideas. I would like to see an entire cook book done by him!!

For the wine and food nut, this book is of epic proportion. Vivid and lively pictures combined with the real people and real stories of the Pac NW illustrates the connection between Braiden Rex-Johnson and her subject. The
wine country traveler's guide to the good life in the Pac NW. Bravo!

To counter the damp and dreary days of winter I surround myself with distractions that promise better days to come. At the top of my pile is Braiden Rex-Johnson's Pacific Northwest Wining and Dining. Just looking at the cover of this love letter to NW cuisine warms me. I imagine myself dining al fresco on the patio of this restaurant or a myriad of others. Then I pour over the interior pages, like a gardener pouring over a seed catalogue in winter. I indulge in the descriptions of familiar restaurants and wineries as well as intriguing new ones. I plan our next excursion into Eastern Washington or the Willamette Valley or the always promising Vancouver area, while noting the recipes from these areas that we want to make today and the wines we will want to serve with them. I smile at the quotes from favorite and unfamiliar chefs and feel as though I now know something of what makes them who they are. And then I remember another friend who I want to share this book with and I'm back online to order it. What a perfectly luscious way to wile away the winter days.

Read cover to cover in Preparation for my very first cruise. This book has covered every detail. What to pack, what to expect from the ship and what to expect on the shore excursions even what the terminal looks like when we arrive at the port. Both shore excursions I have booked,(BEFORE BUYING THIS GUIDE) are rated very low...One even said don't bother. I'm hoping they were wrong about them. Excellent, Thourough book!

For family vacations which involve a certain investment ($$$) I like to know what to look for. This book does an excellent job of detailing the Disney Cruise ship and helped us plan our vacation from departure through the shore excursions and our return.

This is the best book on the market if you're planning a Disney Cruise in the future. There's more information offered than any of the other books I've purchased for our former cruises. It offers views from more than one person, including a child's point of view. I was so impressed by the information in this book I also bought the PassPorter's Field Guide to Walt Disney World. Both of these books will go with us on our trip in the near future. The only thing I didn't like was the photos, no color, so it's hard to tell just how beautiful the ship is if you haven't seen it before.

We recently went on the West Coast Disney Cruise in August and had a wonderful time. This was our first cruise, so we did not know much about cruising, Disney, etc. The book was well written and gave the pertinent information that was needed to make our trip successful and stress free. I highly recommend it and by reading it, it will make you excited for your trip!!

I was a bit sceptical since the author is a devoted Disney lover, but I have been quite impressed. We haven't gone on the cruise yet (we have another few months), but the book has been a wealth of information and a huge help in planning the other pieces to the cruise. Great investment if you've booked a Disney cruise!

"For anyone who cares about what they eat when they are on the road, this is the book. It has it all from restaurants, to farmer's markets, to places to walk and see. Don't leave home without it. I can't wait for the complimentary copies on the other areas of California to come out."
C. Fels - Educational Consultant - Tai Chi for Health Instructor
www.earthwalktaichi.com

I just used Patricia's California Healthy, as I was driving down to Los Angeles. Even though I've driven the route all my life, I can tell this book is going to change how I travel up and down the state. This time, instead of just pulling into the first or second eatery that "looked okay," we followed the book's clear map to a healthy cafe destination. Comparing a couple of the book's reviews beforehand was fun, as we narrowed down our choice. Had we not consulted California Healthy, we would have had typical, high-calorie road food, but instead we had a tasty (fresh, seasoned, mouth-watering) affordable meal.

The book's color photos add note-worthy identification to the destinations' descriptions. Not only does the book guide you to restaurants, but farmers' and whole food markets, local attractions, and wineries. The recipes in the back are another "bonus" of the book, adding to the authenticity of its message: eat delicious food at home and/or on the road. Neither time-crunches nor unfamiliar environs are an excuse to treat your body poorly. The recipes are easy and quick; the directions to the food purveyors will get you in and out quickly.

We are lucky to be in California when we're traveling because we can take advantage of so many healthy-minded food enterprises. With a little direction from California Healthy, we can proudly boast of delicious, healthy choices, whenever we hit the road.

This is a wonderful book, well researched and informative. I refer to it frequently. And I have just purchased another copy for a friend.

California Healthy, Southern California Edition (America Healthy) (America Healthy)
I REALLY LOVE THIS BOOK!!! IT'S LIKE BEING IN CALIFORNIA AGAIN.
This is a beautiful book with tons of pictures, mouth watering recipes (I liked the broccoli saute' the best) and lots of safe places for me and my dogs to go walking. You can't miss with this book. What an education I got just from reading it. I'll have my trip all planned out before I even get to California. Wa Hoo. Thanks to Patricia for making such a great book.

California Healthy: The Adventurer's Guide to Local Delicacies, Fine Wine, Great Walks and the Good Life is a guide for California residents as well as vacationers. What distinguishes California Healthy is its close attention to the healthy food and fitness-promoting activities. County-by-county listings give the address, telephone number, and open numbers of everything from restaurants with healthful cuisine to parks ideal for walks to art galleries, botanical gardens, artisan's markets, colleges, special holiday celebrations and much more. Full-color maps and photographs on almost every page add a splendid visual touch to this high-quality guide for anyone in the Southern California area seeking to stay in shape.

this book is a must have for any child's library. This book is by far my sons favorite book. The rhyming is very clever, it teaches kids how to count, and the overall message in the book is refreshing.

This is a fun rhyming book. My daughter is 7 now and we still drag it out every so often for a read although we dont' really need to as we all have it memorized! No matter how many times it's been read, we all still enjoy it. I buy it as a gift often.

Our daughter has had this one at the top of her "favorites" list for years and it's Daddy's favorite too! We have read it so many times it is practically falling apart. Get it, you'll love it.

I'm a mom of six and this is one of my children's favorite books. The rhymes are adorable, the pace fast and the pictures cute. This is a fun book and I highly recommend it!

The book just arrived on Friday and I have been reading it to my son over and over. In one sitting, he asked me to read it to him over 5 times. Once the story ended, he would say "again mommy". The book has a rhyming counting theme from 1-10 with different animals. The illustrations are fun to look at as well. I didn't know what to expect when i bought the book, but I'm glad I bought it. I bought it because it was about a panda (my son loves pandas)... so, I took a chance at the book. I'm glad I bought it. I highly recommend it!

Having spent two years in Korea and totally fallen in love with the food, I have a keen sense of taste for Korean food. I've tried just a few of the recipes so far and have been pleasantly surprised with all of them. While the recipes do make amazingly delicious food if you follow them exactly, I tend to alter them just a little to achieve the authentic Korean I am accustomed to.
Recipes are easy to follow and the ingredients can be food at your local Korean market.

This Korean cookbook is filled from cover-to-cover with beautiful photographs of all the traditional Korean dishes. The recipes are traditional as well and have not been modified for a Western palate. No Asian fusion here. I have purchased many of the other top-rated Korean cookbooks from Amazon.com but I consider this one probably the best so far.

This is the perfect cookbook for everything from everyday home cooking to Korean dinner parties! The recipes are straightfoward and easy to follow - I've even made two of the kimchee recipes with fantastic results! Making kimchee was always like a black-box to me--something only my mother and grandma did. But I just followed the instructions, and voila! KIMCHEE success!

I love the accompanying pictures and the picture-list of common Korean ingredients in the beginning of the book. I finally know the "American" names for some of these ingredients, which makes it easier for me to describe dishes to my friends. Anyway - I highly recommend this book!

I just got this book and its the BEST korean cookbook I have found. First of all I'm korean american and I've been looking forever and haven't found one as relevant, with all the recipes you will really use, beautiful colorful photos and how can you beat recipes from the best korean restaurants in LA?? I've been to most of them and this book has picked all the best dishes that these restaurants specialize in. I may stop my chase for anymore cookbooks because it covers all the recipes you need including kimchee! Beautiful, complete, well written like a korean martha stewart cookbook, great job finally!!!!

My Son-in-law is Korean and my daughter is learning to cook authentic Korean food at home. This book is both true to traditional Korean cooking and easy for a non-Korean cook to use. It does help having authentic taste buds at work in the kitchen to make sure everything tastes as it should. I purchased several books for my daughter and Son-in-law, this is the one they use.

EAT SMART IN BRAZIL

Reviewed by Sharon Hudgins, author of The Other Side of Russia: A Slice of Life in Siberia and the Russian Far East

Reading "Eat Smart in Brazil" made my mouth water! I'm a big fan of the "Eat Smart" travel guides for food lovers--and I'm always delighted when another book in this series is published. This second edition of Joan Peterson's "Eat Smart in Brazil" certainly lives up to the series' theme, promising to tell you "How to Decipher the Menu, Know the Market Foods, & Embark on a Tasting Adventure." And what an adventure this is! After an explanation of the historical, geographical, and ethnic influences on Brazilian foods and a description of five different regional cuisines within that huge country, the author then satisfies your desire to eat by providing nearly two dozen recipes for Brazilian dishes from appetizers to breads to desserts.

You'll also want to carry this book with you on your next trip to Brazil, because it contains a comprehensive glossary of food terms and cooking techniques in Portuguese (the language of Brazil), translated into English, as well as an extensive Menu Guide for translating terms that you'll find on menus and cafe chalkboards throughout Brazil. One of my favorite features of the Menu Guide is the author's marginal comments on many of the dishes listed: National Favorite, Regional Classic, Spectacular, Interesting, A Feast, Not to Be Missed, Excellent, Try Them All. Just reading these menu terms makes you want to book the next flight to Rio de Janeiro! Highly recommended!

Brazil IS NOT made of Indian, Portuguese and African people descent. Brazil was colonized by Portuguese, African, French, Italian, German, and Duth people. Other people that were very expressive in Brazilian history were Chinese, Jewish, Arabic, Spanish..I'm sorry if I'm leaving some nations out of this equation (Brazilian people are a union of many people and cultures!!), but I've never read something SO absurd as this review.
Thanks

From the authors of Eat Smart in Mexico, comes this new title, an easy-to-use menu guide for travelers to Brazil. It contains useful phrases in Portuguese when ordering and a collection of recipes for chefs who want to cook Brazilian fare at home.

I'd like to see more of this kind of book. Written by experts in a readable style, "Eat Smart in Brazil" provides a succinct but informative overview of the country's culinary culture. It includes historical, ethnic and regional overviews, recipes, shopping tips (both for local markets and for when back home), a culinary phrase guide, and two Portuguese-to-English glossaries - one to help when ordering in restaurants and the other to clarify definitions of food names and cooking terminology. The Eat Smart series is published independently, under the Ginkgo Press imprint. Joan and David Peterson are literally eating their way around the world with Ginkgo. Besides Brazil, they've covered Turkey, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, Morocco, and India. Next up, Peru. Unlike the run-of-the-mill globetrotting guidebook writer, this couple knows its stuff - which, of course, would be food. (Bill Hinchberger is the editor of the BrazilMax website.)

Just got back from the trip of a lifetime to Brazil. We visited our former exchange student and his family. We used this book to find out what we were eating (wonderful food!) at every resturant. Even though we were with native Brazilians who spoke English, they often did not know the English words for food.
We used it in Campinas, Paraty, Rio, and Santa Rita (MG). Near the end of our trip we went through the book and marked which foods were our favorites. I recommend this book to anyone taking their first trip to Brazil

This was worth the time to read if you are or ever will be interested in how to open a pizzeria. It has every detail on how to run your business to include a checklist on whether you are the right person for the business. The included CD ROM with all the lists and pertinent information in the book was an awesome addition. The business plan was also very helpful.
All in all a good book if you are new to the pizza business and looking for a map to opening your own.

Shri L Henkel and Douglas R. Brown have produced a phenomenal book on how to not only open a Pizza and Sub Restaurant but on how to be successful financially in starting this type of business.

Great details have been provided in every phase of the business process from research gathering to the actual operations of the business including how to budget and control your costs, techniques on marketing the business as well as being aware of governmental requirements whether federal , state or local.

This book of instructions and guidelines will assist anyone in becoming successful in the Pizza & Sub Restaurant business if they are willing to follow the suggestions and advice the authors provide in this book. The CD included with the book is an added plus in that it provides all the necessary forms that are mentioned in the book. What better way to provide Readers with something they can use in the start-up and progress of their business.

There are plenty of books on the market which cover how to open a general restaurant and a few which even address high-class establishments; but pizza and sub venues are different and need the close inspection of a subject-specific treatment. That's why How to Open a Financially Successful Pizza & Sub Restaurant stands out from the crowd: with its companion cd-rom of all forms in the book plus an editable business plan in Word, it offers the specifics neeeded to tailor a plan to such a venue, from incorporating a wood fire stove into a structure to sales analysis and successful employee relations. A 'must' for any would-be pizza or sub shop owner or franchisee.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

As a business owner who has looked closely at opening a restaurant, I find Henkel and Brown's book to be the best single-volume insight into that process. The authors take the reader from the typical but business-flawed dreams of restaurant ownership through each step of the process. Those painstaking details, which are so accurately and thoroughly presented in the book, are truly invaluable for anyone considering a career as a restaurateur.

Most importantly, the authors have already conducted their readers' market analysis: by limiting their analysis to a specific type of restaurant, they provide readers with information that is specific to their concerns. The book's twenty-three chapters cover every important aspect of the process, from buying a shop, to bookkeeping, to marketing, and to dealing with the local food and health safety officials. The CD-ROM that is included with the book features an editable business plan.

In short, this is a must-have for anyone even remotely considering opening a restaurant. Buy it, learn, and be successful!

This is a great book whether you really want to open a pizzeria or just want to know what goes on behind the counter. I fall into the second category - I'm always interested in how other businesses are run.

The first few chapters will help you understand if owning a pizza restaurant, or indeed any kind of business, makes sense for you. It clearly lays out the skills and talents you need and the first steps to make your business successful.

Read it from cover to cover. Every little detail is in here. What kind of oven should you buy? How should your menu look? Will you offer delivery? How will you evaluate employees? There are even about 70 recipes to get you started.

Most people who go into the pizza business probably won't read this book. Reading it will give you a leg up on the competition. They may have good recipes and a strong work ethic, but they'll struggle with bookkeeping, marketing, and so on. Meanwhile you have the answers from this book, or you know where you get them (from resources listed in the book). It includes a companion CD-ROM that includes all the forms, worksheets, and recipes.

I highly recommend it.