5 Do’s and Don’ts for Dining Out

Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

 

From a restaurant’s perspective, the goal is to provide every guest with a great dining experience. Some restaurants may be better at providing that than others, but that is the heart of running a restaurant. A great server will provide high quality service no matter what but that doesn’t mean they aren’t bothered by certain customer behaviors. I can’t speak for every server everywhere but in my experience, the following five actions are enough to make your waiter/waitress clench their fists and force their smile.Continue Reading

McKinney & Doyle Celebrates 30 Years

Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

Today’s post will be short but sweet. I wanted to take a moment to congratulate my father, as well as the entire McKinney and Doyle family on celebrating the business’ 30-year anniversary this month. Last Sunday, May 8 marked three decades of early mornings, late nights, shared celebrations, working holidays, and devotion to the Corner Bakery Day 1Pawling community and beyond for M&D and I couldn’t be more proud and honored to be even just a small part of this legacy.Continue Reading

A Foodie’s Real Opinion of Yelp

Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

Before I get started here, I want you to know that I am an avid Yelp user. I like to check out some opinions about a restaurant before I head in (many times, not all the time) and I read both positive and negative reviews. That being said, I never rely 100 percent on those reviewsmy opinion of Yelp because there are just too many unknown details. Plus, not for nothing, but some people are just outrageously picky and ignorant about how a restaurant really works. Anyway, I’ve had several discussions on this topic lately so I want to touch on it a bit today. Part of me wants to say “Screw Yelp, never use it,” but the realistic part of me has settled on “Go ahead and use Yelp, but make sure you’re being smart about it.”Continue Reading

Revisiting Reputations in the Restaurant Industry

Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

Okay so this post is one that I wrote and shared at the beginning of the year but this past weekend I was reminded of why it’s so important. I was out to dinner with some friends when I heard the table next to us talking about how restaurant reputationsbadly they felt for their server because he “didn’t seem like he had any real career goals and would probably be a waiter for the rest of his life.” Ugghhh … Continue Reading