Success, at a price
I was at Leunig's on opening night in 1980, and since then I've been a regular customer. I've watched this restaurant evolve through several different owners, each one tweaking the formula a bit further. I think it is fair to say that, today Leunig's serves the finest food in it's 31-year history. And judging from the crowds, it is also the most successful it's ever been.
But this success has come at a price. There was a time when Leunig's served as a social hub in downtown Burlington, a place to connect with friends over a glass of wine. The bar served as more than a holding area for the restaurant. There was actual romance going on! But if you walk past Leunig's at 5:30 these days, the bar is empty. The locals are gone.
I went into Leunig's one day after work and found the bar populated with kitchen staff who had just ended their shift. This, at one of the area's premier dining establishments! It appears that things have gotten a little too loosey-goosey behind the scenes. Perhaps this is the result of Leunig's unbridled success, or just a momentary lapse. But one thing is for sure: Leunig's needs to find its soul again.
Food: 5
Ambiance: 3
Service: 4
Elizabeth Warren's suggestion that women at Michael Bloomberg's company should be released from their non-disclosure agreements shows her inexperience with how things work in the real world. An NDA is commonly used to protect a company's trade secrets and is also used to protect individuals after a dispute over inappropriate workplace behavior has been settled. The party that filed the complaint often receives a cash settlement as compensation. The amount is negotiated by lawyers representing the parties involved. By signing an NDA, the claimant is saying that they are satisfied with the compensation they received and that they will not seek further recourse or discuss the details of the claim in the future with anyone. It makes no sense to reopen those wounds after a mutually agreed settlement has been reached and money has been paid.
Bob Conlon is Burlington's Jackie Gleason. In Bob's earlier days at Leunig's, you'd find him behind the bar with the latest joke to tell and a twinkle in his eye.
@Roy Apparently you were not in Burlington during the 80's when Bernie Sanders and his administration revitalized the city in every way, working with business owners, including Republicans, to transform Burlington into one of the most desirable small cities in the country. There is something to be said for a life of public service.
Wonderful remembrance, Mark. Above all, Howard was authentic. He lived like characters in his books.
Beautifully done. I am honored to have provided a bit of the inspiration for doing it, having produced Bernie's own version of This Land in 1987.
Just to set the record straight, Bernie does not sing on his 1987 album. He talks. Once I realized that he was not a singer, we opted for a spoken-word approach, similar to what Rex Harrison did in "My Fair Lady." We called it folk-rap. Bernie also delivers some moving monologues on the 1987 album, backed up by a five-piece band and twenty-five singers.
I had the unique experience of selecting a Steinway B, 7-foot grand at the Queens factory in 1980 for my former Burlington recording studio, White Crow. Only one person per day is allowed into the factory for the piano selection process. (It only applies to their 7 & 9-foot pianos.) I was ushered into a room with four identical pianos from which to choose from. At the time, my playing was more in the singer-songwriter vein than classical pianist. It's a tricky decision because a piano can change significantly during its first year, as it adjusts to its environment.
When I purchased my piano in 1980, it was during Steinway's all-time low in manufacturing quality. This was partly to blame on CBS' ownership of the company. The metal plate inside the piano was embarrassingly shoddy, and the factory manager even admitted so. A few years prior to this, Steinway had to close their Queens foundry due to pollution issues and thereafter were dependent on a foundry in Ohio. But even with these lapses in manufacturing quality, a Steinway still sounded better than its Asian competition because many years ago Steinway discovered an ideal stringing architecture, and they still hold the patents on it.