This is the kind of stuff that puts most people to sleep but can save a restaurant from certain doom. Go get some coffee cuz this is important (if you own a restaurant or are thinking about owning one). Restaurant back offices are often like giant junk drawers, with the bare minimum functionality needed to generate enough records to comply with the IRS. Someone, somewhere, stated out loud: “managers should not be in the office!”… and it stuck as restaurant lore... as if face-time with customers and employees is the only important part of controlling operations. The problem with this …

There isn’t much better than a big fat pastrami sandwich. I’m talking about the 16 ouncers…you know…the 7th Avenue crowd in New York…Carnegie or Stage or Katz?  Far too often, especially in chains like Jason’s or Schlotzky’s or Wall St., you get the sense that someone is putting the meat on a scale.  There’s no "Look at THAT!  I DARE you to try to finish it!" like at the places that have a reputation.  If you’re a Deli and you don’t serve an enormous Pastrami sandwich, are you really a Deli? (that’s rhetorical). A few years ago I used to …