WERE YOU BORN IN A TENT

Thursday, 24 October 2013

FRIENDS OF MINE

506 Swan St, Richmond

Visited: 2nd October 2013

Design: I always feel like I'm in the south of France when I enter this door. In some rural village like Beziers about to purchase some Crottin de Chavignol and a bottle of Pierre-Marie Chermette Vissoux Les Griottes Beaujolais 11. Its white, black and yellow palette and red blooming flower baskets hanging, OH SO RIGHT and that rustic country door that has aged so well. What more can you say. I love the signage playfully painted on the white brickwork and the yellow awnings bring an air of sophistication that make you feel defined and elegant in a Country Homes and Gardens kind of way walking through this door. Aesthetics are the key here and you know these people care about appearances. The copperesque metal plating on the base and the cast iron handle, work in unison with the natural timber of the door to form a marriage made in heaven. The handle fits to hand like a glove, with very little resistance on the push, the return is soft and pleasing. It appears this door was not made for this doorway as there is a large gap at the base where the length of the door falls short. This however, is no issue as the seating begins in the next room once you enter and go through the welcome reception area. I always find it interesting where people place their hands or their shoes hit the door on arrival. In this instance, even though the there is a door handle people have pushed just above the handle and the centre of the door. Looking at this door gives me a feeling of completeness and comfort knowing you are about to indulge in fine food and good conversation behind this door in a relaxed environment that is almost homely.

Door resistance: 2

Closure mechanism: Hydraulic arm

Draft: Minimal

Squeak level: 1

Change return time: 15 sec

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PROFESSIONAL DOOR REVIEWER

Searching the world for the perfect door to eat behind.

First impressions are always important, especially for a restaurant or cafe. So many people are focusing on the food these days that I felt there was a hole in the reviews world. No one was looking at the most important thing, THE DOOR! Everyone complains when it is left open, death stares are exchange when the unsuspecting group of friends having a fun night enter the premises from the cold only to walk straight in and go straight to their table totally oblivious they have left the door wide open to allow an arctic strength gale force wind to cut through the previously warm interior. Like a scene from a western film where everyone in the premises stops what they are doing and cuts down the new comers with a deathly stare. Occasionally you will get the confident diner who gets up, walks across the restaurant and closes the door with a BANG! Just to let the new comers know they have done wrong and to NEVER, EVER DO IT AGAIN!!!!! This individual makes their way back to the table staring at the newcomers, just to make sure they got the message. The only problem is, is that 5 minutes later another group come in and do the same thing and he/she feels obliged to continually do this for the rest of the night.

Well hopefully this blog puts a light on the owners of these establishments and encourages them to lift their game and create doors that allow diners to sit and enjoy their meal, to give the diner an experience before they enter the building. It is also a thank you to the makers of quality doors who care about craftsmanship.

I have developed a scoring system based on,

DESIGN:

This is assessed by the materials the door is made from, whether the door is themed, cluttered or minimal and whether there is an element of surprise or not.

DOOR RESISTANCE: 1 to 5

1 = light push

5 = heavy push

CLOSURE MECHANISM: Manual, automatic or

hydraulic arm

DRAFT: Minimal, medium or high

SQUEAK LEVEL: 0 up to 5

0 = No squeak

5 = Ear piercing

Then the last assessment is the,

CHANGE RETURN TIME:

This is the amount of time it takes to get my change once I have given the waiter the money for the bill. Last impressions are always just as important as first.