It seems like just yesterday that Julia Child turned 100. Oh yeah, that was last month. Sorry.

But now I’m back and have all the latest news and gossip that my ears and googlers have turned up. First up, minimum wage hits a stall? Looks like a new minimum wage act might either be stalled by restaurant owners who are reluctant to have someone else dictating when they give raises to staff, or it could be stalled by something as simple as a typo. Not just any typo, mind you – a typo that says that restaurant owners have to pay themselves more but not necessarily their employees. Weird. Here’s the story from HuffPo and referencing an Albuquerque Journal article (if you have access): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/06/albuquerque-minimum-wage-typo_n_1862240.html

Next, great news for foo-foo salad lovers – You’d better veg out, you’d better not cry. You’d be foolish to pout – I’m tellin’ you why: Vinaigrette is coming to town! It’s like Santa Claus but with lettuce and beets, nearby in Old Town. I’m excited and hope that the quality is the same as in Santa Fe, regardless the price point Erin needs to hit to make a go of it here in the Duke City. Read the scoop on the NM Business Weekly: http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2012/09/06/vinaigrette-restaurant-to-open-near.html

Want to know which restaurants did OK on their inspections and which ones had complaints? The city is making things even more transparent (though not by going to a letter grading system like many cities use) by putting all historical inspection data online. It is not pretty, yet, but the full spreadsheet of data is yours to download, right here (look for restaurant inspections): http://www.cabq.gov/abq-data

Finally, your local restaurant association is holding a hospitality banquet to honor those that kick ass in their field of providing excellent service and giving back to the community. On September 24th, the event takes place in Old Town at the Hotel Albuquerque. It’s not cheap but is a chance to meet and greet the players in the local food scene. https://m360.nmrestaurants.org/event.aspx?eventID=54120&instance=0