Nora Ephron wants a smaller dessert spoon, among other things

9-16-2006 @7:14AM mls222 said... I really dislike it when the server, in clearing a course, puts the used silverware from the plate being removed BACK ON THE TABLE! Tables should be set with the appropriate amount of silverware.
Reply

9-16-2006 @4:37PM Kate said... I'm seated in the blond waitress's section, which does not bode well. I am given a menu, I am reading the menu, studying it closely, not looking up, not talking to my dinner mate, and this is when the waitress usually asks me: "Are you ready to order or do you need more time?"

I want to say "Does it LOOK like I'm ready to order? Does poking my face deep into the cengter of this menu, furrowing my brow as I read, remaining silent, trigger the 'Ah, she must be ready' response?". As Nora Ephron said in the linked article "I do not say this out loud." Instead I murmur "We've just been seated and I'm still reading, so yes, I need more time."

This is often followed by the waitress forgetting she gave us more time and then starts with surprise when she sees me glaring at her from across the dining area as she leans against the bar chatting up a friend, and then she rushes over with the word "Ready?"

Yes, we were ready 10 minutes ago. Which was 9 minutes after the first time you asked us if we were ready.

I dislike sitting in your section, blonde waitress at Paesano's. You also have other transgressions, like never once making eye contact with me, and always making eye contact with my boyfriend. Also, there is an elevated stand for pizza with a lit candle under it. See how every single pizza ordered by every single patron is placed on this elevated stand with a candle? Yes, I saw it too. Why then when you bring MINE you plunked it down in front of me, on a plate, and didn't use the stand or the candle, or even look at me when you did so?

For some reason, my dinner mate will never let me reflect your poor career choice in the tip, so you don't know how much I dislike being seated in your section.
Reply

9-16-2006 @6:55PM calamari said... Nora Ephron needs to get over herself. No, I'm not a waitress. No, I've never been a waitress nor worked in any capacity in the restaurant industry. Perhaps I'm just not living the good life, if I don't really care about the exact moment when the waiter asks if the food is fine because really, I have better things to think about.

A meal that is served seamlessly, pleasantly, and with beautiful timing *does* get a higher tip from me -- I appreciate neighborhood restaurants that can turn a table in 40 minutes while making the diners feel relaxed and unhurried -- but I save my high blood pressure for nonexistent service and screwing up my order.
Reply

9-16-2006 @8:30PM Joe D. said... Just read that op-ed piece and while I admit her tone is snarky I agree with her on many things,including the presence of salt and pepper on the table. But I have a real problem with her take on sea salt. For one thing, I've never seen it on a table at a restaurant. But that's not my real issue. She disses sea salt as pebbles that contribute no flavor and scratch her mouth. All I can say is she must have had some really bad sea salt.


Reply

9-18-2006 @11:44AM kacee said... I completely agree that Nora Ephron needs to get over herself. She is completely contradictory. The up scale kind of restaurants that accomodate her small dessert spoons and pelligrino in the appropriate sized glass are the same kind where the servers are REQUIRED to never let the water dip below half full and check back on the food taste and PRESENTATION within two minutes. You can never please everyone. I am a firm believer that everyone should be required to work in the service industry at least once in their lives. You will never be able to understand why a server does something until you are in their shoes!!!
Reply

9-19-2006 @9:49AM Becky said... >>but are there other things that irk you about restaurant behaviors when you're dining out?

It drives me nuts when, at casual-dining restaurants, the server says "My name is such-and-such and I'll be taking care of you tonight."

You are not my babysitter. You are not "taking care of me." You are my server. You are serving me dinner.

And I agree with comment #6 above. When I was a waitress, I always said, "My name is Becky and I'll be your server this evening."

Oh well, just a pet peeve. It could be worse. :)
Reply

9-20-2006 @2:42PM Liz said... It does seem a bit odd to be asked "Is everything okay?" when you've just been served, but then again, maybe something is not okay with the dish (it's not quite what you ordered, you realize it has ___ on it and you're allergic to it, you find out the dish is too hot/cold) but it takes a minute or two for you to discover it. By having the server come back soon after, you have a chance to let him/her know immediately as opposed to having to flag him/her down.
Reply

9-20-2006 @9:56PM Food Curmudgeon said... "M'kay... the cheeseburger?" The dining establishment -- whether represented by the server, the waitress, the expo, the busboy, or the assistant manager -- took my order, prepared it, and delivered it hot to my table. Do we really need to "figure out" who ordered it again?

If you can't remember, make a note on the order slip. If someone else is serving the food -- by the way, why do they call them "servers" if they don't serve? -- then explain how your order-slip notes make it clear who gets what.

Everyone who comes in places an order and wants to eat it when it arrives. How can you forget such a basic thing as which plate goes where?
Reply

10-17-2006 @5:46PM Nikole said... I don't like when I'm nearly finished with my meal, and perhaps I'm waiting a couple of minutes between bites, and the server comesby and asks, "Are you still working on that?"
Working on it?! That phrase bothers the hell out of me. Ask me if I'm finished. This isn't a food eating competition.
Reply