New York Dining Argentine Style
Posted by admin in Arts & Entertainment on January 12, 2012
Much has been written about the recent boom in Argentine wine in New York. And although it is certainly not a new discovery for many New Yorkers, the sales numbers for both Malbec and Torrontes continue to skyrocket within the state.
Similarly, Argentine cuisine has been quietly pleasing palates here for decades. The blend of French, Spanish, Italian and German, and South American influences resonates well in any setting; leading to a plethora of Argentine restaurants NYC.
To understand Argentine cuisine, it is important to note that the primary difference in Argentine eating habits versus those for North Americans has to do with the type of meals that the typical Argentine eats. Because the culture in Argentina is much closer to that in Spain, businesses are often closed during the afternoon and workers therefore eat breakfast, go to work, come home for an extended lunch, return to work in the evening, and then return home for a late supper.
The size of the meals and the menu choices are also often influenced by Spanish culture.
Breakfasts at Argentine restaurants NYC tend to be pastry and caramel cream or omelets that incorporate mozzarella, provolone, or fontina cheese. A wide range of coffees, teas, juices, and yerba mate are normally consumed at breakfast. One of the most popular pastries is shaped like a crescent moon.
As breakfast gives way to lunch, a fuller set of items becomes available. Empanadas, a turnover that often contains a mixture of meats and cheese, make an entrance. Sandwiches, salads, and soups also become part of the equation. Sandwiches tend to feature the fine cuts of beef and chicken that are an Argentine staple. Salads tend to utilize vinegar and oil dressings.
As evening draws near, Argentine restaurants NYC shift to a dinner menu. Appetizers play a large part during and after the dinner rush when lighter fare may be sampled. Entrees tend to be meat-based, again featuring beef or chicken recipes that Argentina is known for. Pastas such as cannelloni, raviolis, and spaghetti are now served. Traditional desserts that are eaten after the meal include flan, quince paste, and a variety of cakes. After-dinner drinks are often served to parties intent on pursuing discussion and conversation deep into the night, as is Argentine fashion.
One of the nicest synergies that New Yorkers will find in Argentine restaurants within the city is that as Buenos Aires is also a cafe society, the ambiance will be familiar to many.
Is a Roth IRA Good or Bad?
Like a knife, a Roth IRA is neither inherently good nor inherently bad. In the hands of a thug, a knife can be a deadly weapon. In the hands of a skilled surgeon, a knife is a life-saving device!
Roth IRAs are a special type of individual retirement account (IRA). When “traditional” IRAs were originally made available, it was on a tax-deductible basis. You could contribute up to $3,000 and if you were not participating in another retirement plan or did not make too much money, you could deduct the $3,000 on your tax return.
For 2010 and 2011, the amounts are $5,000 for people under 50 years old and $6,000 if you are 50 or older. If you are a participant in another retirement plan, you cannot contribute to a normal IRA if you make more than $109,000 in AGI (married filing jointly), or $66,000 (single). In a Roth IRA, you cannot contribute if you make more than $177,000 in AGI (MFJ) or $120,000 (single).
Under a Roth IRA, the difference is that these contributions are NOT tax deductible. The tradeoff is that if you meet certain conditions, such as holding the account for at least five years, then the increase in value of the account (interest, dividends, and capital gains) are ALSO not taxable!
Generally, the younger you are, the better it is to start putting into a Roth. The number of years of tax-free earnings will far outweigh the benefit of a traditional IRA. Conversely, the older you are, the less advantageous the few years of tax-free earnings will be. Your income tax bracket also comes into play here. If you are going from a high income tax bracket in your earning years and into a low one in your retirement years, perhaps the deferral is not as attractive.
In 2010, there was a big frenzy to convert traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs. The government was putting this forth as a taxing measure to offset some spending. If you converted to a Roth IRA, be sure to speak with a tax advisor to get the best tax treatment on the conversion. Read the rest of this entry »
Developing Hiring Standards For Better Hires
In my former life as a field manager and executive I would find myself working with plant locations that needed help. Maybe they were missing their sales and growth goals. Maybe they were missing their profit and quality objectives. Some were missing everything.
No two situations were exactly the same. But they all had two things in common… poor employee relationships and poor hiring and staffing decisions. When these combined, the locations were always characterized by high employee turnover. I learned very quickly that if we solved the hiring problems and improved employee relations, we nearly always cut employee turnover in half.
Cutting employee turnover has an immediate impact on operating costs. Expensive employee replacement costs are drastically reduced. Costly mistakes made by new employees nearly disappear. Lowering employee turnover allows managers to spend more time working with customers and coaching employees instead of recruiting and interviewing. Quality improves which reduces service costs and makes for very happy customers. What I didn’t know at the time, because of our accounting methods, was the impact that lower employee turnover was having on healthcare benefit costs and other operating problems related to health issues – like presenteeism and absenteeism.
Leaders have the responsibility to develop peak performing, “winning” teams. Whether we are running a small business or a department with a few employees – or a large operation with hundreds – the responsibility of developing people and improving performance is the same. Great leaders make good hiring and staffing decisions. They consistently select the right people for the right job.
Who we hire has more to do with the ultimate outcome of performance than anything else we do as leaders. More than anything else, our hiring practices and personal hiring skills impact our team’s success…or failure.
A poor hiring process increases employee turnover, which is death to any initiative to improve productivity. Bad hires don’t last – they leave or are asked to leave. Sometimes they leave when they realize they don’t like the job, the company, or the people. In these cases, the new hire “fires” the company. They’re asked to leave when they can’t learn, won’t learn, commit some violation, or demonstrate some character flaw. Then the company fires them. Under weak management non-performers linger on to become “deadwood”. In any case, they were miscast, and set up for failure from the beginning. Whose fault was that??
In most cases the company. The company may not have developed a hiring process – or the people using the process didn’t do their job. In the final analysis, a recent hire is out of work and going through the trauma and stress of job change, because of your mistake! Read the rest of this entry »