Food & Community - Lessons Learned From My Favorite Restaurants
Chelsea is an actor, so regularly travels to far-flung parts of the city for COVID testing.
On Sunday, we made a date of one of her excursions, tossed Ginger in her sling, hopped on a ferry at Wall Street, wandered Bay Ridge in 90-degree heat, and ended up at Coszcal de Allende.
It has mixed reviews on Google (and their website could use some work), but we had an excellent experience, and it is officially my new favorite Mexican restaurant in New York City.
They serve fresh off the grill tortillas, a smoky house made salsa, and an al pastor taco that leaves the grease at home but brings the flavor.
Attention to the Customer
Other than excellent eats, Coszcal made us feel like they care. They brought Ginger water and were prompt, but not rushed, with our service.
What really stood out was my second (of two) margaritas.
They ring their spicy margarita glasses with a smoky sweet sauce and tajin seasoning.
My first drink was ringed halfway. This makes sense, as customer preference will vary, so they want to give you the option to drink it with or without the seasoning.
I drank it with.
My second margarita was ringed the whole way around.
I don’t actually know if this was an intentional change (maybe they switched bartenders in the back). But, that little detail made me feel not only seen, but like our server went the extra step to really pay attention to us, and adjust our service based on our preferences.
Hi-Collar & That Special Feeling
On the edge of the East Village, Hi-Collar is a Japanese brunch joint by day, and a sake bar by night (although I’ve only been for brunch).
I’ve been going there for near on a decade. For years it was a tiny joint with maybe a dozen bar seats. The best time to go was when it was a little rainy, as it discouraged a line.
They have more ways to make coffee than I’ve seen anywhere else (not to mention a lovely variety of blends). The space was a little cramped, and the service personal. And, the food has always been delicious.
Hi-Collar felt like you were being let in on a secret. Like you were a member of a select few. It felt special.
At some point over the past few years they’ve expanded their seating.
I’m happy for them, and for their expanded customer base. More people get to experience their pour overs, their siphon brews, and their katsu. But, it’s lost a little bit of the magic.
There is something special about feeling like a true insider. About feeling like you are in on a secret, and then when you take a friend who’s in town for a weekend – like you are letting them in on that secret as well.
Lessons Learned
A strength of being an indie publisher is that we can connect with our community and supporters. We can listen to their asks, we can make them feel special.
It’s a strength that I’ve been trying to lean into with personal messages to our backers, by interacting on forums, and with e-mails and copy that is written from the heart.
Our Nut Hunt campaign is up to nearly 1,000 backers. It’s pretty incredible.
And, I think that once the game is out in the wild, we’ll see even more support. And, I expect that when Sigil launches, that campaign will be even bigger. And, our campaign after that will be bigger still.
No matter how hard I work, there is only one of me, and personally connecting will become harder and harder as we grow.
I’ll keep my personality in this blog, I’ll still have my TikTok, and I’ll still be on the forums. But, this has me wondering if there is a way to grow without losing that little bit of magic that comes with being in on something on the ground floor?
How have you seen creators maintain personal connections in a growing community?
