"dining out" news and stories

Railing against cell phones in restaurants is one of those reliable screeds that seem to create sudden bonhomie whenever it's voiced. Like complaining about cold weather or high gas prices, ranting about cell-phone etiquette is a surefire way to win friends at bars and office parties.

The New York Times devoted a front-page story to the topic over a decade ago, quoting an incensed Danny Meyer, "'If clouds of cigarette smoke and pungent fragrances were the dining room scourges of the '80s, then the rampant, inconsiderate use of cell phones in restaurants has become their baneful heir as we approach the year 2000."

So what's left to say about technology at the table? All I can add is a server's perspective – from which electronic gadgets don't always look so bad.

Read on for more of our server's thoughts on technology at the table...

New York Times blogger Bruce Buschel has done a great service by compiling a list of 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do – if nothing else, he's given fed-up diners one more forum in which to vent their ever-mounting aggravations. Thanks for the break, Bruce.

Most diners and servers would stand behind the majority of Buschel's prescriptions, which include not cursing (Rule 45), opening Champagne without making a ruckus (Rule 29) and knowing what the bar stocks (Rule 81). But his list is far from perfect. While Buschel's document would make a fine training manual for butlers, it fails to acknowledge the realities of running a restaurant. Here's what Buschel apparently forgot:

Some things are beyond a server's control.

One of Buschel's first recommendations (Rule 4) is to offer a free drink to someone who's had to wait a long time for a table. "The guest may be hungry and thirsty," he explains. May be? I think it's a safe assumption that anyone who shows up at a restaurant is craving food and drink. But I don't know of a single server who's empowered to start giving that stuff away.

The same goes for Rule 23, which insists diners be alerted to 86'd items before they open their menus. Since the hostess usually drops off menus when she seats a table, cutting her off would require Usian Bolt-speed (and necessitate breaking Rule 33 – Do not bang into chairs or tables.)

Hostesses, of course, should brief diners on which items are no longer available. But often they don't, just as the kitchen often turns out the first appetizer on a ticket a full 12 minutes before the second appetizer is ready. I completely agree that servers should "bring all the appetizers at the same time" (Rule 60), but I won't let a tray of raw oysters sit in the window while a new guy struggles to properly heat a dish of crab dip.

Chances are, if you didn't make reservations last year for Valentine's Day this year, you might be out of luck, unless of course, you don't mind sitting across a table covered with a white tablecloth, candles, roses and...tiny square hamburgers?

White Castle is having their annual Valentine's Day celebration on Thursday February 14, 2008 at their restaurants around the country. But you can't just saunter in during the event, which lasts from 5 - 9 PM. Reservations are required. Check the White Castle website for locations and to make reservations.

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With all the legislation and lobbying we have here in the United States to get cigarette smokers out of all public areas, you'd never think that banning cigarettes from a restaurant would actually be a bad thing.

That's because we're not talking about the United States, where entire states like California have banned smoking not just from restaurants but in public areas.

We're dining out in China.

In Beijing, customers deserted the city's first smoke-free restaurant chain, Meizhou Dongpo, leaving it with the possibility of going out of business. Apparently, the Chinese are the world's most smoking-est people. This is great news for cigarette companies, but a problem for Chinese authorities that want to "clean up" China's reputation in international eyes.

I don't know about anyone else, but even when I was a smoker a long time ago, I never appreciated second-hand smoke in a restaurant where I was dining.

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Amazon is selling gift certificates to restaurants that range in value anywhere from $10 to $25, but selling them for a fraction of that value. For example, a $25 gift certificate for the New York Deli in Century City (Los Angeles) is only $10. The certificates are provided by restaurant.com and are for quite a long list of cities.

They might not be the highest end restaurants out there, but the places that are participating are decent enough for a good meal. There are some restrictions on the certificates, e.g. "dine-in only" and/or "weekdays only," but for the most part, it doesn't seem like a bad deal.

I wonder if they'll ever have one for The French Laundry.