When you go on your next trip, hit the ground running. Make your dinner plans well before you get there. That’s what we do. I like this from Jordi Lippe-McGraw at The Wall Street Journal:
IN THE AGE of one-click bookings and Instagram-inspired itineraries, the hotel concierge might seem like a charming anachronism. If a hotel does have a dedicated concierge, the desk often blends so seamlessly into a hotel lobby that most guests don’t realize it’s there.
The term “concierge” is French for “keeper of the keys,” originating in the Middle Ages, when European concierges managed castle keys and took care of visiting nobility. These days, Google and Tripadvisor have increasingly marginalized the venerable profession. But for those in the know—and the right hotels— the dedicated concierge signals high-end hospitality, where the art of personal service continues to thrive.
While many travelers mistakenly think a concierge’s function stops at recommending restaurants for dinner, and so blindly ignore the service, the best concierges pride themselves on stretching the boundaries of what’s possible. A good one can make a trip.
Not convinced? Consider the Conservatorium Hotel in Amsterdam, where a concierge not only snagged Phil Toronto a last-minute dinner reservation at a top restaurant but also tickets to a supposedly sold-out Vermeer exhibit. A venture capitalist based in New York City, Toronto had been struggling to get a spot for months. Asking the concierge was his Hail Mary—and it paid off. “Needless to say, I was blown away,” he said.
Ellee Pitman, a fashion marketing manager from New York, had her concierge awakening at Caesar Augustus, a Relais & Châteaux hotel in Capri, Italy. Having set her sights on the painfully cool beach club La Fontelina before her trip, she called on arrival to reserve a spot only to be told “no chance.” Devastated, she turned to the Caesar Augustus’s concierge and 24 hours later, as if by magic, she had prime lunch reservations and sun beds.
“I rarely used the concierge service,” said Pitman. “Now, I won’t go anywhere without them.”
Action Line: You know prior planning is in my DNA, both for vacations and for your investments. When you want help making a plan for your future, I’m here.
P.S. Do you want to bring Paris/France to your kitchen? As you know, from here, here, and here, Your Survival Guy spends plenty of time there. And one of the drawbacks comes when the Amex bill comes due. Kidding (sort of). No, it’s when I’m back home dreaming about some of the most delicious meals I’ve ever had, and they’re thousands of miles away.
When it comes to chicken, two specific dishes stand out the most in Paris/France: One, the chicken served at Paris’s most controversial restaurant, L’Ami Louis, where you want it served with potatoes. And the other is at Le Bistro at L’Hôtel de Beaune, where it’s served tableside and you simply point to the pieces fit for a king.
Your Survival Guy’s been trying to replicate those bites. It’s no easy task. Lucky for us, there are entrepreneurs like Ariane Daugin to help turn Saturday night into an evening abroad. Your first step, well before you decant that special bottle of Gevrey, is to go to your nearest grocer that carries her D’Artagnan chicken.
Daugin, remembering what it was like to eat at her grandmother’s table, takes her chickens seriously—almost like a religion—as you’ll see below. Once a little startup company, D’Artagnan now employs 170 and has 4,000 accounts. It shouldn’t be too hard to find D’Artagnan in your neck of the woods.
Enjoy Daugin’s story as told by the one and only Mike Rowe—of “Dirty Jobs” fame—on his new show “Somebody’s Gotta Do It.”
Bon appetite!
Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.
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