July 29, 2006
Hot-House Dining
Portland restaurateurs must come to grips with global warming and accept the fact that summers in Portland city proper are hot.
The air conditioning systems in almost all of our restaurants are grossly inadequate. Fore Street is the only place in town that offers a cool dining room no matter the outside conditions. And that’s a pretty incredible feat when you consider the effect of their enormous open kitchen spewing hot air into the dining spaces.
Some eateries still have an AC unit through a sleeve in the wall as though it were a bedroom that was being cooled off.
I for one am not a fan of spending a lot of money to dine out only to be uncomfortable in hot-house dining rooms. The other night I was at one of our better eateries to find that all the doors and windows were open because the AC just wasn’t up to snuff.
That’s ridiculous. Restaurant owners will just have to spend the money to improve their dining atmosphere. It’s as vital as having a good kitchen, fine ingredients or great chefs at the helm. It’s a capital expenditure that’s part of doing business.
Many of our restaurants are in ancient buildings, where installing central air conditioning systems are more difficult. Well, if there’s a basement under the dining room, it’s perfectly easy to install ductwork to effect the cooling process.
At the newly opened Vignola, for example, where money was no object in getting the place started, they got stuck apparently with an inadequate condenser from their AC provider and the room can be quite uncomfortable indeed. They’re trying like mad to fix the problem. Even our AC contractors don’t know what they’re doing. I suppose it’s like trying to rid Newcastle of coal; it’s just not endemic to our locale to know much about the cooling process.
Modern systems are so less invasive now; the cool air flow can travel through thin flexible tubing easily snaked through walls.
When I bought my house on the West End, I had central air installed, which seemed like a difficult process for a 3–story 1907 brick house with steam heat and no forced air system in place. I interviewed three companies who scratched their heads about how to do it.
I said, listen, it’s easy. There's a basement and an attic. The first floor is cooled by installing ductwork in the basement, the second floor gets cooled by running the ductwork overhead from the various attic rooms, and the rest of the third floor, which I don’t’ use anyway, could be cooled by a window AC if I wanted to. And that’s how it was done: easily, fairly cheaply and I think I’m the only air conditioned house along the W. Prom.
Most of my Mainer friends thought I was a wimp at best to think that such an apparatus was necessary in Maine. Well, if I were on a breezy cove off the ocean then they’d have a point. But the West End is hardly waterfront.
A response from one local restaurateur whose dining room must have registered above 90 degrees the night I was there was that it’s way too expensive to install a good air conditioning system. This was in response to my admonishing her—in good humor and with good intentions--for offering us such unsuitable conditions in which to have a great meal. And the meal was great. But by the time we were finished with dinner, we were nearly drenched and exhausted from the ordeal.
Let’s get out of here, I said to my dinner mate, and go home where it’s cool and comfortable.
Portland, wake up and be cool.
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Even The Good Table out in Cape Elizabeth is in the process of installing central A/C.
Also SAPPORO on Commercial Street does a great job!!
Posted by
Jim K.July 29, 2006 07:48 AM
A couple of helpful thoughts for restauranteurs, to go with yours:
1) If you have A/C, turn OFF your nice ceiling fans...they are only blowing the hot air that collects at the top of the room down on your diners...use them in the winter, when we want the warmth near the floor...
2) High velocity systems (with "ductwork" the size and flexibility of vacuum cleaner hoses) makes air conditioning 19th century structures easy and affordable. Any builder or architect who works with these buildings should know about this alternative...
Posted by stephen
July 29, 2006 09:30 AM
John - I agree with you about the comfort that air-conditioning adds. We moved here last year from the Washington. DC area and found our house (in the West End) to be inordinately hot and humid.
We promptly had central air conditioning installed (using a high velocity, flexible ductwork system) and are glad we did.
However, we also discovered that many Portlanders we spoke to did not perceive a problem with heat and humidity, so we were left to scratch our heads and wonder what was going on.
We theorize that either Portlanders simply do not complain, or they are extremely tolerant of temperature variations. Everyone we spoke to seemed to say the same thing: "There are only 3-4 bad days in the summer in Portland."
We're happy to have air-conditioning for those hot summer days and agree with you that it would be nicer to have cooler restaurants in the summer, especially when paying top dollar for fancy food!
By the way, we love your restaurant reviews.
Bill
Posted by
July 29, 2006 11:10 AM
We have central AC at our restaurant, Uffa!. It is amazing how many tourists choose you for that simple fact.
Thanks for the tip on shutting off the overhead fans, Steve. I always wondered that.
When I worked down in Maryland, they had a climate controlled pastry room. That was pretty cool (no pun intended). Maine in the summer can be unbearable to manipulate chocolate and sugar.
It is a constant struggle for us here.
Have a good weekend
Chef James
Posted by
Chef JamesJuly 29, 2006 12:48 PM
Stephen--
Mainers don't like any change whatsoever. That goes for our politicians to blokes. AC would represent that. The flex tubing should be installed in every restaurant in town. It's more than just a few days of warmth. The other day, however, the temperatures were only in the 70s and I gladly opened all the French doors and windows and heard the birds chirping in the garden. That was a pleasant change.
Posted by
John GoldenJuly 30, 2006 05:53 AM
I had a really bad experience with a restaurant during a hot evening, the restaurant was not in Portland. What really made me mad was that the menu was the same as it had been on my last visit which was October when the weather was cool, at that time I welcomed the hot basil tomato soup, but NO attempt had been made to alter the menu for a hot summer night. I have not been back because of the rotten attitude of the restauranteur when I asked if cold soup on the menu could have been an option.
Posted by
John WebsterJuly 30, 2006 11:42 AM
You would want Portland restaurants, the majority of whose operating margins are negative or razor thin, to spend thousands of dollars on central AC so that you can be comfortable dining during a stretch of maybe 15 days a year? And what's the reward to the restaurant? Are they really losing business because of this? Is there a place you've been that you won't ever return because of this issue?
Show your business accumen John, give us the risk/reward profile. Do the cost/benefit analysis.
Posted by Gordon Gekko
July 30, 2006 09:23 PM
I can't stand air conditioning. I work all day in an overly cooled office. So when I go out, I refuse to sit in an artificially cold restaurant. Here's what you can do: find those restaurants with A/C that meets your needs and go there on the four nights of the summer that are hot. I seem to remember leaving Dog Fish after being seated because it was too darn cold, so check them out.
Posted by Tracy
July 31, 2006 09:34 AM
I'm with Tracy. Who wants to carry a jacket or sweater out to eat in the hot summertime because the dining environment is too cold for the summer clothes you are wearing?
Posted by hb
July 31, 2006 01:04 PM
I must say that I had a fabulous meal and dining experience at Five Five Five last week, but it was so hot that we were sweaty and feeling awful by the end of our meal. Evereything was perfect except the temp. This would NOT prevent me from returning on a lovely cool evening, but it would prevent me from returning on a hot night. If, for some bizarre reason that I cannot currently fathom, I ended up there on another hot night I would definitely order less food as the fuller and hotter I got the less I enjoyed myself.
Posted by
KrisJuly 31, 2006 01:22 PM
I agree with Tracy. Quote: " I work all day in an overly cooled office. So when I go out, I refuse to sit in an artificially cold restaurant. ".
The golden middle should be achieved.
Since the 'Heat' in Maine is generally bearable, it is the Humidity that makes all of us uncomfortable. The Air Condition solution could very well be partially solved by running some high strung 'DE-HUMIDIFIERS '
Posted by
PBWeGulletierJuly 31, 2006 03:03 PM
You are SOOOOOOOOOO right re: the need for a/c, and not only in restaurants. Many Old Port shops lack it too; who wants to browse and/or try on clothes in hot, humid weather? I also have to wonder about food safety with a lack of a/c, because I don't think one can rely on good practices always being followed re: refrigeration. I am also SOOOOOO tired of the Mainers who love to go on about toughing it out in the heat and humidity.
Posted by
AnneAugust 1, 2006 11:46 AM
i can't believe it. Now people don't like AC!! yes, I agree with Tracy it makes no sense to have AC the temp outside with the humidity is 100! come on get real. For those who are too cold I have some information you may want to know. It's called a thermostat; a device used to CONTROL the unit and thus the temp inside. Another thing everyone says it's a couple days a year?? I have had my window unit on most nights in july and will in august. Honestly i could go on but i'm at a lost for words, this is the first time I've heard people state they would rather sweat over a $100 dinner than have a temperature controlled atmosphere where you can enjoy. now i've heard everything!
Posted by nick
August 1, 2006 06:25 PM
before anyone comments sorry for the typos!
Posted by nick
August 1, 2006 06:26 PM
I too had a wonderful meal and exquisite service at 555 and will go back.....in the fall when its cooler!! The heat was almost unbearable..Thank God our server had a great sense of humor and so did we!
See you on a cool evening in the fall.
Posted by TAS
August 1, 2006 10:09 PM
I am so thankful that I have central air conditioning in my home. Sure I'd like to open all the doors and windows and have a cool summer breeze waft through the house. But it's not happening this summer. So, too, with our restaurants. They're going to have to bite the bullet and take care of the problem. I don't want to eat in an unbearably hot dining room when I don't have to. Yes, that was a good comment about food safety in these oven-like environments. Something to ponder.
We're in an age of global warming, however frightening and serious that might be. AC is going to become a terrible fact of life in areas where it's never been necessary. Though when I was on Deer Isle a couple of days ago, the wind off the water was so fierce and cold we had to wear sweaters. That's the Maine I like.
Posted by
John GoldenAugust 2, 2006 07:26 AM
Hi- Two people here have metioned food safety as an issue. Food will go bad whether it is at 90 F or 70 F, the cut off is 40 F, and even then improper dating and food can be bad. Also most kitchens even in winter are around 80-90F. Air conditioning a restaurant may be smart, air conditioning a kitchen is stupid. If you have to question the restaurants handling of food then you shouldn't eat there.
Posted by stevie
August 2, 2006 08:20 AM
I agree with the pro a/c camp. I do agree that there are only about 4 really HOT days in the summer, where having a/c in the home would be nice, but not neccesary, however, I think a dining establishment is a different situation.
Even if it's only 70 degrees outside, it's often MUCH warmer inside, especially if there are a LOT of people dining, and lets not forget how much heat the kitchen throws off.
When we dine out in the summer, it's often because it's too hot to cook at our home. If I wanted to sweat while eating, I'd just stay home and cook.
Posted by
jAugust 2, 2006 10:23 AM
John wrote: "Though when I was on Deer Isle a couple of days ago, the wind off the water was so fierce and cold we had to wear sweaters. That's the Maine I like."
I think I speak for many when I say that John Golden being in Deer Isle more often rather than whining about this or that in Portland is the Maine I like.
Posted by Brett Weir
August 2, 2006 11:09 AM
John wrote: "Mainers don't like any change whatsoever. That goes for our politicians to blokes. AC would represent that."
Does this strike anyone else as an amazing statement by someone who makes his living selling property in Maine?
I can think of at least one change that would be good, something having to do a certain food blog on a certain Maine Web site.
Posted by Brett Weir
August 2, 2006 11:28 AM
I think the heat brings out the whackos, too.
Posted by
August 3, 2006 09:30 AM
Hello,
Can anyone please tell me who installed your central air with the high velocity, flexible ductwork system? I seem to be having trouble finding someone. I'm in Cumberland.
Thank you!
k.
Posted by k.
August 3, 2006 11:15 AM
re: high velocity system -- my experience with it was in Boston but http://www.maineheat.com/ advertises that they do it in Southern Maine...
Posted by
August 3, 2006 01:04 PM
K:
Google the Unico System and contact them - I think they are located in the midwest and are the manufacturers of the system. They can refer you to local vendors who are qualified to install the system.
I visited Cape May New Jersey last year in weather like this and visited a historic house fitted with a Unico hi-volume system. It was very pleasant - not drafty at all and the vents are small 2" openings located discretely in the ceiling or floor. It's a very impressive system.
Posted by
EdAugust 3, 2006 01:07 PM
John "Anonymous" Golden wrote: "I think the heat brings out the whackos, too."
And apparently a break in the heat brings out the poor spellers.
Posted by Brett Weir
August 3, 2006 01:08 PM
Ed and "whoever you are"!
Thank you for the help!
k.
Posted by k.
August 3, 2006 03:51 PM
John Golden has credentials, experience and a fun, controversial blog. Brett Weir has a soapbox with nothing to show for it but a big mouth with no way to qualify his rantings. Anyone else tired of it?
Posted by
August 4, 2006 01:03 AM
Not me - I like it - keep it coming Brett.
p.s Brett read the Portland magazine article with John's property he is selling on the West end. It is hilarious.
Posted by
August 4, 2006 06:26 PM
we just ignore "brett Weir" he has decreased his annoying posts lately. He obviously has some problems i actually feel bad for him, he's just not an intelligent person. anyway, lets continue to ignore and he will go away once again!
Posted by
August 5, 2006 08:06 AM
Perhaps this is because I'm not an intelligent person, but I don't understand how writing a post about me qualifies as ignoring me.
Posted by Brett Weir
August 5, 2006 12:42 PM
Keep fighting the good fight Mr. Weir.
Somebody has to keep Golden's bloated ego in check.
Posted by Tit Brewer, President Brett Weir Fan Club
August 7, 2006 03:35 PM
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