The recipes are very doable, although some ingredients, like tripe, may make you hesitate a bit. The recipes work, and introduce some new ways to prepare ingredients that are sometimes not a first choice, or hard to find, worth hunting for. All of the recipes are written in such a way that even a novice can do them, but advanced chefs will be inspired by texture and flavor combinations. After all, simple preparation of the finest ingredients can result in far fonder memories than complex dishes that mask the true flavor of the ingredients. The book is beautifully lllustrated with features on local purveyors and harvesters of wild mushrooms etc, and the stories about them give insight to cooking and buying from one of California's richest farming regions.
Some restaurants run two registers in the bar.
One for cash and one for credit and checks. Another common practice is for the bartender to bring his own bottle of vodka, etc, and instead of pouring from the bar stock, they pour from theirs. Then they keep the cash. Well, we all had a lot to say about staff meal and the animosity it engenders at almost every restaurant just a few months ago in the discussion areas. I've worked in a few places like that, and it was actually fun to make staff meal for people who enjoyed it, and were part of our extended family.