Tap the pairing potential of daring dinersTap the pairing potential of daring diners

Going out to dinner is meant to be an experience. And akin to a choose-your-own-adventure book, there are many different journeys to be had. Turn to page 53, and you just might order the steak for two and be off on a meat-fueled, caveman-style fantasy. Turn to page 100, kick off the night with some Champagne, and sit back as the sexiness of the occasion unfolds around your flute glasses. There are a million ways guests can go with their dining experiences, and it’s our job in the hospitality industry to listen to their needs and be prepared to unfurl the sails and go into some uncharted waters. Steering guests off the norm of a three-course dinner and into something a little more tailor-made can make for a memorable meal, be engaging for your staff and access huge parts of your beverage program that normally sit idle.

Being a server in a restaurant requires many skills: time management, knowledge of the menu, efficiency with the steps of service. Perhaps most important, however, is the ability to read and listen to guests. There is a big difference between the business dinner at table 42 with Mr. Lumbergh and his associate in town from corporate headquarters, and the wide-eyed couple at table 35 who “kept reading about this place but have never come in. We’re soooo excited!” Whereas Lumbergh may want to take charge of the night and look good in front of his colleague by handling the ordering and picking out of a fine bottle of wine, the other table may be open to something a little more adventurous. That is where a server can go from being an order taker to a hospitality wizard and where the toolbox of beverage tricks can come out to play.

At Hearth Restaurant, my employer in New York, there is nothing more fun than finding the guest who is willing to throw out the menu, sit back and trust us as we lead them into grounds they may not be familiar with, especially on the beverage front.

We begin with a conversation with the guest:

“How many courses would you like to have? Are there things on the menu you want to try? Do you have any dietary restrictions?”

And my personal favorite to get the ball rolling: “Are you open to some fun beverage pairings, including wine, beer, cider or spirits?”

Then the journey can begin.

Giving your staff the freedom to create an experience based on their instincts and knowledge of the menu both empowers them and is thrilling to the guests, who, in giving up their power to determine the course of the night, are saying, “We trust you.”

Those are our favorite types of guests. They’re rare, certainly — you may only have a couple of tables a night that are looking to throw out the road map — but they are to be prized, for they can be shown an experience that is truly unique.

The night might unfold like this: Instead of a glass of bubbles to start out, how about a Fino Sherry? By pouring something that’s both palate wakening and not what one would initially think of to kick off the meal, you’ve now got your guests’ attention. With mussels in white-wine sauce, let’s go nuts and serve a Belgian Lambic or Gueuze to cut through the richness with a bracing acidity that excites the mouth in a way that a white wine cannot. For the veal tongue and beef cheek course, rock out a couple of glasses of Bandol — a wine with a fair amount of the Mourvèdre grape in it — whose rich fruit, full body and notes of earthy leather can send the senses soaring. And with the cheese course? A trappist Belgian beer, the sweetness of which will bounce off the saltiness of the cheese like music. To finish it all up, try a pour of amaro. A genre of Italian herbal liqueur that is currently white-hot in popularity, amaro is how the Italians have been wrapping up a solid dinner for centuries. Typically served neat, the liqueur’s anise-based flavors are a perfect digestif to end the night gracefully.

Now, this experience is a whole lot different than ordering a salad, an entrée and a bottle of wine, and calling it a night, isn’t it? But for the right guests this approach can lead to a story they’ll never forget. They might even tell their grandchildren one day: “We went to a little restaurant in the East Village of New York one day, and the waiter surprised us with Hungarian dessert wine with our burnt-sugar ice cream. Man, that was the coolest experience.”

Keep in mind that not every group is as adventuresome as our fair couple, nor as inaccessible as Mr. Lumbergh. For all the guests in between, there are still subtle opportunities to introduce them to new pairings they may have simply never tried before. With the rise of craft beer as well as artisan ciders, even taking the step of suggesting an unfamiliar brew can be a revelation. There is always new beverage territory to take people to; it’s simply a matter of listening to their desires and acting accordingly.

Know your beverage program, listen to your guests, and have some fun. You may not know where the ship will sail when you leave port, but those are the journeys most worth taking.

David Flaherty is the operations manager and beer and spirits director for Hearth Restaurant and the Terroir wine bars in New York. He is the cider and spirits editor for the New York Cork Report and also writes about wine, beer and spirits on his blog, Grapes and Grains, www.grapesandgrainsnyc.com.