IL POSTO

Ladner's casual Italian eatery is a gem!

Close friends Ken and Jane who live in Ladner asked Barbara and I if we would like to join them for dinner at Il Posto. We could not say no; I was excited to experience this extremally popular restaurant; Barbara had been here previously but I had not.

Il Posto did not disappoint, it was a delightful experience from the start. We knew we were in good hands when Andrew, the manager cheerfully accommodated Ken's request for a table in the covered outdoor section of the restaurant. A short wait was involved, which we agreed to, and were seated at a counter overlooking the kitchen.

It was an interesting experience to watch the coordinated efforts of the busy kitchen team putting the meals together. We were all impressed with the food safety procedures they followed The experience was so enjoyable the wait time speed by, and Andrew was there to show us to our table.

We were given a very nice corner table overlooking the sidewalk. Our server Christie was a delight and very efficient. We were amazed to learn that she was not long out of the corporate world, one would have thought she had been a server for years! With a growing family she had decided a career change was in order.  She made us feel important, and cared that we enjoyed our dining experience.

The food was exceptional! Jane had lasagna. Ken and I enjoyed the chicken parmesan. Barbara went with the ricotta bruschetta to ensure she would have room for dessert. After sampling my chicken Barbara put it on her list to try for our next visit.

The dessert menu features the traditional family recipe tiramisu, New York style cheesecake, and of course, gelato. We all chose the tiramisu with kahlua, mascarpone, espresso and dark chocolate.. Oh so good.

Their drink menu is excellent; my interest, of course, was the wine menu. It features a number of very good British Columbia wines. The list included whites; Summerhill Cipes Brut, Mt Boucherie Pinot Gris, and Checkmate Fools Mate Chardonnay. For the reds; Rust Wine Co. Cabernet Franc, McWatter Meritage, and Nk'Mip Qwam Qwmt Syrah.

Chef Terry Pichor and his partner, Julie Marcopoulos, are the owners. Pichor is best known for his long-standing position as executive chef of the Relais & Châteaux property Sonora Resort. Prior to that, the chef worked at Four Seasons Vancouver and, more recently, helped open Vancouver Island’s Summit Restaurant at Villa Eyrie Resort, which was shortlisted for Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2017 by Air Canada's enRoute magazine.

Julie grew up in Tsawasseen where her Dad was the long-time owner of Mario's Restaurant.

We are looking forward to our next visit to IL Posto! Reservations are highly recommended!

 Hospitality Its the Attitude! 

When asked the question: Who is the most important person in your business. The answer is of course the customer. In most cases you are relying on the continuous support of the customer and the reference they may provide for your business. The easy part of building a successful business is to get the customer to enter your establishment the first time. The hardest part is to get them to return. If you are like the average company, up to 40% of your customers walk out the door and never come back. What's worse, the "average" business is totally oblivious to their actual churn rate—so they do nothing to correct the problem.

The number one reason people fail to return to a business is related to attitude. The attitude of indifference from the individual(s) who they encounter. To repeat that the number one reason for lost customers is the attitude. A poor attitude, poor service, disinterest service is the number one reason a customer does not return. When someone is happy with the services provide by a company the chances of them telling someone are less than 10% if they are unhappy the chances of them telling someone are over 80% the changes of them telling multiple people over 65%.

So if you ask your employees who the most important person in the company is; the answer is me. Me referring to each individual employee. Me because it is each personal individual attitude that determines the success of the business. 

Since I spent over 25 years in the hospitality business including writing a super host training program and at one time owned two restaurants I am very critical of the standards of service I receive in any business. I have had a few bad experiences as a customer dealing with improperly trained employees and management people. I'll never eat again at Boston Pizza.

There are other ways besides direct contact with a poor attitude that can also result in a business losing customers. Included here; not respond to inquiries either by phone, email or letters,or keep customers, investors, media and stakeholders updated. Today your online presence is also a key factor. Respect those who support your business.

The Wineries:

It is not often that I experience a bad or unsatisfying visit to a winery. But it does happen.

I can recall waiting twenty minutes for the winery to open after the stated time on the door.

I've been told I can't offer you more than four tasting because its against the law. It is not.

(I spit sometimes). I've been told a wine listed on their tasting menu will not be tasted because we don't want to open a new bottle. I've even been subjected to a lecture on how good German wines are. What your working for a BC winery not Germany. O yes we have been ignored too and on a couple of occasions found the winery door open but no one around. 

Perhaps what irritates me the most is when your tasting room host is paying attention to you until some else comes in, be it a regular or a friends and suddenly your forgotten about. The host must have the ability to include everyone. 

At one respected winery restaurant our waitress seemed to disappear after the main meal was served. When she finally returned she said "Oh I forgot about you" 

I do not request any special treatment when visiting a winery. In fact I prefer just to walk in and see how good or indifferent their hospitality is on a first time visit. 

Where I have more of a concern for lack of hospitality and a poor attitude is at major wine tasting events. Here you often find bored sales agents and hired day staff. Often these people know little about the wines and wineries they are representing and far too often their cell phone rates ahead of you. You been the person the winery wants at their table and should be impressing; why else is the winery there! 

I think its import that the winery selects the right people to be representing them, skilled at greeting and acknowledging people. Skilled at pouring wines, skilled at communications and have a knowledge of the wines and winery they are representing. Do not leave it up to the hotel, the event organizers or your marketing company. It up to you to protect the interest of your business.

 White Spot Guildford

White Spot is a classic among family restaurants in British Columbia. Nat Bailey opened Canada's first  drive-in Restaurant  in 1928, located in the Marpole neighbourhood of Vancouver. It would become known as the Granville House. A "Car Hop would deliver food directly to your car.

More restaurants would follow with car hop service and "dinning in". By the 1990s  the drive ins were rapidly disappearing as the newer and renovated restaurants advanced into indoor seating.

White Spot was sold in 1968 to General Foods. In 1982 Shato Holdings, a lower mainland Company under Peter Toigo bought the chain.

The Gilford location in Surrey is one of the older restaurants still remaining with a  Drive Inn. Barbara and  I visited the location last week. Sadly our visit could be descripted as a mixed bag of the Good and the Ugly

The Building been old and needing a good renovation.

The staff, however was terrific. They were friendly and full of smiles. They responded quickly and efficiently to a few requests we made.

In todays world restaurants of that size would be required to have more than one restroom. This location had one for women and one for men. The men's was small, slowing visible signs of aging and could have been cleaner.

Barbara had the Classic Hamburger, one of the items that helped make White Spot famous. I had the traditional breakfast. Without saying too much I would give it a D plus. 

The White Spot offers the Jackson -Triggs  table wines which are actually very good!

I did not see any cars in the Drive-inn section.

Time to build a new Guilford White Spot!!

White Spot Tsawwassen:

Barbara and I dropped by for a quick lunch.  WE ordered a Clubhouse Sandwich to be shared. The food was good the original entry greeting was good.  The restaurant did have a few failing points.

The washroom for men was dirty and had a cracked toilet seat. The cutlery was nor properly clean . I gave the dirty knife to a server who just grabbed the knive. She did not return with a new one.

AS to the service. The young lady was quite stiff. Her approach did not add to the enjoyment of the meal. No extra plate was provide to share the sandwich. There was no contact by the server asking if all was well or did we enjoy our meal.

I have no choice but to give a F to White Spot!