City Paper, Digested

• How is it that a very standard dish can taste so good, and different, at one particular restaurant? David Snyder ponders (and answers) this question with regards to Ekta, and the food there. The secret there is a 10-spice, housemade garam masala, which is also a classic in Indian cooking, but this is clearly a case where care and quality of ingredients make a huge difference.

• We were aware of secret shoppers as a concept, so it makes sense that a similar thing exists for dining. Marc Kravitz
runs I-Spy, a Philly-based “hospitality audit service” and is hired by restaurants to spy on the service, food, and everything else related to the dining experience. The key is that the servers have no idea who he is, and treat him just as they would a regular customer.

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City Paper, Digested