Some Philosophy from Kenny Shopsin, Kitchen God:

For those unfamiliar with Kenny Shopsin, I would encourage you to buy/find/borrow a copy of his cookbook- Eat Me: The Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin. And while you're at it, track down the DVD "I Like Killing Flies", a documentary that focuses on Shopsin's, a very unique cafe with a 900-item menu that used to be in Greenwich Village. This guy is my hero, and his philosophy should be glorified by cooks and chefs worldwide.

" In most cases the reason I don't do special requests has to do with the customer's reason for making it. Most of the time when a customer makes a special request, it's not about the food but about his own desire to be in control and to establish his own specialness. Making people feel special through this kind of ass kissing is one of the services that a restaurant can provide to people who need it, but it's not a service that I want to provide. I have been cooking for thirty years and I've got a thousand things on the menu and you're going to take one thing and make it different? Uh-uh. Try it my way for once."