Hotels Review Site

Up in the Old Hotel

Mitchell explored a New York City that has now vanished in his four books and his classic reportage for The New Yorker. Mitchell’s eccentrics live again in this omnibus volume that contains all of his books and several previously uncollected stories.

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars An observer of people
Mitchell, a well-known reporter, has filled a role in history that will always be remembered and loved by those who lived the life he wrote about.

The people in his stories are unique and have qualities some would find interesting. His writing is very descriptive and he captures countless details not understood or seen by the casual passerby. You can easily place yourself as a fly on the wall soaking in your surroundings.

If you read Up in the Old Hotel with literary merit in mind, then you will be in for a good dose of excellent writing by a standard of yesteryear. If you are looking for people who fit outside the box, you will surely find them. If you are looking for a glimpse of the past, then be prepared to journey back with a fine guide who didn’t miss a thing.

There will be many of the older generation that will remember, with clarity, when Mitchell’s writings first appeared and the impact they made. It is to this group that I recommend Up in the Old Hotel.

Though a brilliant writer, I was not drawn to his stories. For me they lacked the “snap, crackle, and pop” of today’s aggressive writing style. If New York had been my home over the years, then I would have found a deeper appreciation and understanding for those who made up Mitchell’s fine work.

Armchair Interviews says: From a man who knew how to observe and then put it down on paper.

4 Stars Great reading!
A book that covers the nooks and crannies of lower Manhattan. Oddball characters are brought to full

bloom under the author’s pen. He knew how to listen! Towards the back some great essays on

growing up along the Carolina coast.

5 Stars Up In The Old Hotel by Joseph Mitchell
Joseph Mitchell, a fine writer for The New Yorker magazine, put together a wonderful grouping of short stories during his many years of searching out the people and interesting places in New York City which was his beat for many years. I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy a good story about ordinary people, or one of an interesting landmark s such as McSorley’s Bar and the people who frquented it during the 1920’s and 1930’s. It has been at the same location since 1854 and is still there today. My favorites are the first story, The Old House At Home (about Mcsorley’s) and Mr. Hunter’s Grave, towards the end of the book. Many others are excellent and bring out the heart of the city and its people. To me it brought back New York as it was then with kids “roasting mickies” as I did as a child in New York. G. H. Owens

5 Stars An American Classic
I have been known to complain that five star reviews are given out way too freely. In this case, however, five stars may not be enough. In fact, I am surprised that some reviewers ONLY gave this book four stars, but to each his own. Other reviews have already very eloquently praised this book, so I will not repeat them, except to confirm they are on target. The book is 716 pages, and I only wish it were longer. If you enjoy great writing, great storytelling, great (and real!) characters I could not imagine a better choice than Up In The Old Hotel. It also transports us to a different time and place in America, one that existed before I grew up, but one that this book almost makes you long for. If you do not read this book, all I can say is, it is your loss.

5 Stars Buy several
My father put me on to this book shortly after it was published. I recently ordered a copy from Amazon to give my son, an aspiring writer. This book is for anyone who appreciates good writing and, given that most of the pieces were written in the 1940’s, recent American cultural history. Good writing? No, it’s matchless. There’s a reason this book has 33 5-star reviews and two 4-stars. Read any of them, they’re all on the mark. Buy several copies; share the wealth.

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Running a Bar For Dummies For Dummies Business and Personal Finance

Have you ever thought of owning your own bar? Did you ever stumble into an overpriced watering hole and think how much better it could be if you ran the place? Or maybe you walked into your dream bar and realized that running one was the dream job you’ve always wanted?

With Running a Bar for Dummies, you can live your dream of operating your own establishment. This hands-on guide shows you how to maintain a successful bar, manage the business aspect of it, and stake your place in your town’s nightlife. It provides informative tips on:

• Understanding the business and laws of owning a bar
• Developing a business plan
• Creating a menu, choosing décor, and establishing a theme
• Stocking up on equipment
• Choosing and dealing with employees
• Handling tough customers
• Controlling expenses, managing inventory, and controlling cash flow
• Getting the word out about your place
• Preparing for your grand opening, step-by-step

This guide cues you in on how to keep your bar safe and clean, making sure everyone is having fun. It warns you about the pitfalls and no-nos that every owner should avoid. There are also helpful resources, such as contact information for State Alcohol Control Boards and Web sites with valuable information.

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars very very basic
I suppose I should have listened to the title. A bartending magazine suggested this book, and I understood it would be helpful to even someone who has already had the experience of opening a bar and then a restaurant. I think it would be helpful to someone without those experiences. Other “Dummies” books have been helpful even with a little knowledge of the subject…not this one.

3 Stars running a bar for dummies
A lot of good info that most people would overlook. Good reference book ,at least to steer you in the right direction

5 Stars Recommended If You Really Want to Start a Bar!
This book is very thorough in teaching you everything from A – Z on starting a bar. It even talks about getting the money for your business venture.

After reading this book I felt exhausted and decided that I wouldn’t be opening a bar anytime soon…at least not for now.

This is definitely a book you need if you want to make sure you dot all of your Is and cross all of your Ts.

Note: Starting and opening a bar takes an incredible amount of work. (Actually all business take an incredible amount of work.) As with all other retail businesses, expect to be there 90% to 100% of the opening hours. Most bars are open 7 days a week, 14 – 16 hours per day. So…that’s a lot of hours to have to be there. (Hence, my decision in not wanting to start a bar.) That’s something you should consider before starting a bar or restaurant. Make sure it’s something you’re so into that you want to live, breathe, and eat!

Best wishes.

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Hotel Restaurant and Travel Law Hotel Restaurant and Travel Law

For students and practicing professionals in hospitality, travel and tourism as well as specialized paralegal work, Hotel, Restaurant and Travel Law: A Preventative Approach, 7th Edition, addresses legal issues confronted by managers in the hotel, restaurant, travel and casino industries. The emphasis is on prevention of legal violations. By reading the book, managers can appreciate and identify what actions and precautions are necessary to avoid, or at least minimize, the number of lawsuits. The book uses the case method, long recognized as a helpful approach to learning the often-complicated discipline of law. Readers will study decisions from actual cases in which hospitality establishments were sued, as well as what legal precedents were cited.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Great Seller
The seller was very understanding when I purchsed the incorrect book and gave me a full refund. The book was sent in a timely matter despite my mispurchase.

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How Baking Works Exploring the Fundamentals of Baking Science

Understanding and applying food science to the bakeshop-now revised and updated

How Baking Works, Second Edition thoroughly covers the entire baking process, emphasizing the “whys” at work behind basic techniques. The book takes the user through the major ingredient groups, explaining how sweeteners, fats, milk, leavening agents, and other ingredients affect the appearance, flavor, and texture of the end product. The coverage also includes scaling and measurements, heat transfer, and sensory properties in baking.

This revised and updated Second Edition features:

• Hands-on exercises and experiments at the end of each chapter, with many involving the sensory evaluation of ingredients
• Expanded coverage of sweeteners, variety grains, enzymes, starch structure and gelatinization, and gluten structure
• Important coverage of changes to federal laws, such as food allergen labeling
• Coverage reflecting consumer awareness of nutrition and health, including information on dietary fiber, trans fats, and trans-free fats in the baking context
• More photographs to illustrate the science of baking
• End-of-chapter questions that both review content and require readers to apply and synthesize what they’ve learned

How Baking Works, Second Edition offers a dynamic, hands-on learning experience to both practicing and future bakers and pastry chefs.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars A Nessesity for any one aspiring to bake
This is an exceptional book. Loaded with both technical, and information geared to make you understand the world of flours. This is a “how to” and a “whats involved” for anyone looking to expand their knowledge and where to start and finish in the world of baking. From weight conversion, dough relaxation to function of fats and more. It has a very scientifc approach that will guide you beyond the ordinary cupcake baker. If you are serious minded want to enhance your skills and thinking pasty, this is the book to buy.

5 Stars For those who want to know
For many years home bakers have been producing baked goods for their family. Most have little knowledge of the science and “why” that is going on. Very useful for those with inquiring minds. I have been judging foods at county fairs for 20 years and find this book containing useful, additional information to pass on to fair exhibitors. Some people quit trying when they have product failure, this wonderful textbook might give them enough information to try again.

5 Stars Great! Just Great!!!
I’m very well impressed with this work. Here are some of the things I have learnt so far:

-The most fundamental secret that makes professional bakers an entirely different animal from serious-home bakers. Funny, but there is actually a reason professional bakers get consintently way better results than average bakers.

-Why baking is the most challenging the of culinary arts.

-Why if a recipe calls for a certain type of flour you should respect that, or else you risk having bad results.

-What’s the role of milk in baking and why you have other options if you want to experiment.

-What baking powder is, and how it is different from baking soda? What would happen if you used too much of these ingredients or if you didn’t use them at all.

-Which ingredient in baking has many functions and is very difficult to replace in baking products.

-What kind of chocolates exist, what makes them different and when you should use one or another to obtain certain effects.

So far I have had two baking experiences with this book:

1. I was struggling with a brownie recipe I found in another book which I think is just plain-wrong. The first time I did it was just before “How baking works” arrived. The results were disastrous. The brownies turned out a little bit rocky!

When “How baking works” arrived I did some experiments and voil

Hotels Review Site Book Bakeshop, Chapter Questions, Consumer Awareness, Cupcake, Edition Features, Flours, Food Allergen, Food Science, Gelatinization, Leavening Agents, Nessesity, Nutrition And Health, Pastry Chefs, Sensory Evaluation, Sensory Properties, Starch Structure, Sweeteners, Trans Fats, Weight Conversion, Whys

Peak How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow

After fifteen years of rising to the pinnacle of the hospitality industry, Chip Conley’s company was suddenly undercapitalized and overexposed in the post-dot.com, post-9/11 economy. For relief and inspiration, Conley, the CEO and founder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, turned to psychologist Abraham Maslow’s iconic Hierarchy of Needs. This book explores how Conley’s company “the second largest boutique hotelier in the world” overcame the storm that hit the travel industry by applying Maslow’s theory to what Conley identifies as the key Relationship Truths in business with Employees, Customers and Investors.

Part memoir, part theory, and part application, the book tells of Joie de Vivre’s remarkable transformation while providing real world examples from other companies and showing how readers can bring about similar changes in their work and personal lives. Conley explains how to understand the motivations of employees, customers, bosses, and investors, and use that understanding to foster better relationships and build an enduring and profitable corporate culture.

User Ratings and Reviews

2 Stars Didn’t click for me
This isn’t a horrible book. I just wish I hadn’t spent money on it.

The idea behind the book is great. The book itself is just light. It reads like a book report about other people’s books and ideas instead of a description of personal experience as a someone building a business. I expected much more in-the-trenches talk.

Chip writes well, I only wish he brought a more concrete philosophy to the book and backed it up with more personal anecdotes or more anecdotes from other people/companies gathered first hand. Everything is told kind of at a distance and in broad strokes. I got the feeling that Chip has read a lot of the same business books that I have over the past few years, so there didn’t seem to be a lot of new ideas. The Maslow angle is what I came for but got very little of it.

5 Stars Cross Sector Partnerships
Chip’s book is an inspiration for cross sector partnerships, especially as social enterprise organizations are on the rise. Although this is not the primary intention of his book it speaks to values-based leadership that is at the core of social benefit partnerships. If you are interested in building alliances between private, public and not-for-profit entities this book can be used as an inspiration and guiding voice.

4 Stars Inspiring, but not impractical.
A business book that focuses on meeting the higher-level goals of employees, clients and investors. Well-written and interesting, with lots of suggestions for additional reading if you’re interested in reading more about the Maslow-centric ideas outlined.

Conley has an engaging writing style, and includes lots of examples from his own business to illustrate his ideas. Nothing ground-breaking here, but it’s an inspirational read for those managing a business during challenging times (like, right now) and he does a great job of providing bottom-line backup for ideas that at first might feel a little “touchy-feely” to some.

I’m lucky to work for a company that already espouses most of what Conley preaches, so for me it mostly validated what we’re already doing. But, he also provides solid thinking for those that are looking to implement these ideas inside companies that aren’t yet operating on the higher levels of the Maslow pyramid.

4 Stars Great read, good infomation
I loved how easy this book was to read. Conely is great at setting examples and painting pictures with his words. I would recommend the book if you are interested in Maslow’s theories or if you don’t even know who Maslow is, because he makes a great point in how to create a successful business enviroment.

5 Stars Insightful combination of theory and practice
Especially poignant in a time that feels equally as bad as the dot com bust, Chip offers inspiring hope that doing good for people is doing good for business. Best of all, “good” can be better defined though Maslow’s principles as interpreted for business (an investigation researched by Maslow himself and probably unknown to the greater majority of literate Americans) Chip brings his own understanding of how these principles apply to hospitality. Perhaps most hopefully the book assures and demonstrates how business itself may be the most impressive instrument of social change and justice.

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