cobras & matadors - restaurant review

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2011

cobras & matadors - restaurant review

Cobras & Matadors  

Categories: Tapas Bars, Basque
Neighborhoods: Mid-City West, West Hollywood

There's no wine list so bring your own. We had a Tignanello which was amazing.. Too bad they didn't have any nice glasses for the vino but hey, a wine like that for $8.00 and cost in a restaurant... Great food, very simple and straight forward. Very very crowded and nice atmosphere. The portions were large, so don't over order which is hard as everything looks very nice. 

We had:

Flat bread - great v. crispy and authentic - nice touch to add the roquet salad.
Green salad - refreshing and nice to keep the freshness
Roasted Chicken - good meat, tender and juicy nice sauce!
Patatas - served with ketchup and mayonaise.. the way a dutch man like it :)
Sacca w goats cheese and honey - great to finish of the meal. Ask for some mustard if you're having it before the end and make it even better!

Didn't do dessert - didn't look too tempting for us and the savory was just much more worth it...

Total check $72.44 (with $8.00 corkage)

Yes... Damn!

An article on a different blog recently got me thinking. It spoke of how many men have a 'Yes.. Damn!' moment. For instance, they will tell themselves that they will have more time later and then when later arrives, realize they do not have this free time. 

The article was ever more striking, as recently an employee indicated he wanted to retire. After a discussion, he came back stating he would prefer to work part time, but still 30 hours. This was a shock, so I asked why he would not just retire. He told me, that he could not afford loosing his benefits or income. This man had just worked 50 years of his life (and the worrying part is, that he is not the oldest member of the team) and cannot retire. As hard as it may be, he did not think it through when he was younger. And in the USA, you get punished for that.

Even though this spoke in favour of the article, I still felt compelled to disagree. If only to prove that not everyone let's life outlive them. Sometimes things get postponed until there is more time, and sometimes one runs out of time. It is the realization that a man does not have time but creates it, that makes a difference. There are several reasons for this, but I mostly it is because men don't understand it when they say Yes! and commit to something, until they reach the Damn! moment... that it requires effort and making time.

Misinterpretation of sayings that sound positive play a part in this process. Cease the day was never intended to make people act as a a 'cloud of white noise'... It was to prove just that point that one is traveling fast towards death and you have to achieve your goals now.  You can cease the day, as long as you are ensuring that you are still on the right track towards the goal in your life, whatever that may be, and it will make the journey worth it and pleasant.

It doesn't mean that you cannot change your goal and subsequently your path, as a thinking man changes his mind, but it means that a focus in life lets you enjoy the ride. To make the comparison with the trainride and the scenery; if you know where you are going and getting off, you can enjoy the scenery and the journey without worrying about the destination as you know you are on your way.

"For we are mistaken when we look forward to death; the major portion of death has already passed. Whatever years be behind us are in death’s hands." 

–Seneca

Foghorn Leghorn

A character from the childhood of many current parents, part of a gang called "the Looney Tunes". From Porky Pig, Bugs Bunny to Foghorn Leghorn, the Looney jokes were so subtle that as a kid they were often misunderstood. That did not stop them from laughing as there was a double meaning to the jokes. This made them funny for children as well as for adults.

The question is, do modern cartoons have the same effect? The adults barely seem to laugh, it is mostly flashing and a lot of impulses stimulating the children to buy merchandise. The goal of the cartoons seems to have changed; from being a tool to make people laugh and watch it again, to finding a way to keep the viewers watching. No longer does the writer sit down and think of a funny script, he is now joined by the marketeer who has analyzed children's minds and reactions to certain colors and movements to ensure they stay hooked. Sometimes, children don't even blink when watching! 

Should a parent let their children fly with the latest trend, which has been thought up by marketeers to hook them to a product for the rest of their lives? Or should a parent try and shield the child from these influences until they reach an age where they realize they are being influenced?

One thing is certain, completely shielding a child is impossible as soon as it starts acting on its own. This means that before that time, every parent should have a game plan to find the balance between shielding and educating. The danger lies in the often innocent appearance of the cartoon and the fact that where children get hooked by the colors, sounds and flashing light, they usually annoy the parents...

The solution can be one corporations love: buying high quality movies with the content a parent wants their children to see. Or banning TV all together, however cruel it may be on both the parent as they child!

Globalization makes better leaders

A manager walks into a room to discipline an employee. The employee is told in a direct manner what he did wrong. The employee leaves and thanks the manager for his honesty and promises improvement. The same manager disciplines another employee from a different cultural background. The conversation escalates and the employee files a harassment complaint. The manager is amazed as he used the same approach. What went wrong?

Having been employed in several first class hotels where strong hierarchical cultures rule, this phenomenon has been observed many times. Although even experienced persons seem to be aware of cultural differences that cause this type of events they seem to occur over and over. In the beginning of a person’s career where the level of experience is low, mistakes that related to cultural differences are made easily.

To avoid misunderstanding; the subject of this essay relates to cultural differences based on international or geographical backgrounds. Mistakes or misunderstandings caused by these differences can lead to both very defensive and very aggressive reactions of the persons involved.

One of the differences caused by different cultural backgrounds can be that some persons want to be approached peer to peer, while others consider themselves as being part of a group. Others could perceive what can be a very usual situation to discuss by some as an insult.

It works out that differences between countries and cities all over the world can be predicted and even can be managed. Coming from Paris to London, it proved that an approach based on coaching and giving opportunities to employees result in a good atmosphere. When management takes care that working conditions are optimal and fair this results in great loyalty from all parties. Here the team had the need for feeling united, as most of them came from different locations.

To create this bond, team incentives can be a powerful tool. Instead of individual effort, it rewards team effort. In turn this feeling pushed the individuals to perform, as they wanted to be part of a successful team.

A different situation was analyzed in California, USA. Most of the employees in this specific location have worked at the property for over 10 years and have no interest in progressing. In order to perform associates only expect a monetary reward. To get the employees to accept change, as management team we had to prove that our initiatives would increase revenue, as their tip is based on the revenue. Once the team believed that the changes would lead to higher personal gains, they started accepting the initiatives made.

Knowing what motivates an individual is one of the keys to success. This can lead to implications of personal nature. An example can be that of one of the servers offering to help clean up the pool area after another staff member has called out. That has a big consequence for a server, making minimum wage and not receiving his tip for this time. In this case personal motivation has to be very strong to make him supportive.

Personal experience made me realize that characteristics of a leader in one culture can be interpreted differently in another culture. A major question is how to deal with these types of interpretations? A good leader identifies cultural differences. He also will conclude each culture respects values such as fairness, empathy and integrity. In today’s global workplace, one needs to understand the professional goals and personal needs of the team as well as each individual team member. A great leader uses this knowledge to create an environment where the associates are empowered and committed to success.

Adhering to a set of core values and being trained in cultural differences are what set leaders apart. To better understand the impact of globalization a leader should experience it, which will facilitate him to understand that within culture individuals vary largely. Identifying team and individual needs and goals are what will enable someone to create a successful environment and be a great leader.

It is striking that all facts described above probably are known widely. At the same time mistakes that relate to this phenomenon are made constantly. All managers and leaders that have the ambition to work in a multi cultural environment should be obliged to study and practice this. They also should prove that they are able to handle these differences before they start building their international career.

Ronald W.