Mind your Manners
Went for a long run to the Art Museum this morning and decided to reward myself with a croissant from an excellent French bakery in town
Right after I asked for a chocolate croissant/pain au chocolat the woman behind the counter asked me a question but I was too busy reading the sign on top of the glass case to respond. The sign simply read: This is not a table, please do not eat here. I almost burst out laughing. Who would dare to eat their pastry on TOP of the glass display case? The fact that there is a sign indicates that it became such a problem they had to create a sign to discourage such egregious behavior.
This brings up an interesting point for the modern day diner/eater/patron. What exactly are the rules of etiquette when enjoying food and drink these days? I will outline what mine are:
1. Always be on time, actually try to get there a little bit early. If your reservation is for 6:30, be there at 6:20. Especially in light of indoor dining restrictions, the table space allotted for you has an expiration date and it would be rude to the next reservation to eat into their time. Why should their dinner start late and possibly get cut short because you were late?
2. Tip well, especially now. My rule of thumb is to tip at least 20% on the whole check for dine in and to tip something for food and beverage you are being provided. If you're ordering a latte, a bagel, a salad to go, please tip. Most establishments took a giant hit in revenue during the pandemic and their employees have suffered greatly. An extra buck here and there makes a difference if everyone does it. You don't want to tip? Stay home.
3. Don't be a dick. If you don't like something, then you don't like it. There is no reason to complain loudly and publicly about a pasta special you thought didn't taste anything like you expected it should. In my lifetime, I have dined about a thousand times. I have sent food back twice. One time the pasta was so salty it was rendered inedible. Turns out the pasta cook had over reduced the salted pasta water and it was basically like boiling pappardelle in the Dead Sea. The entire restaurant (GM, Chef, Server, etc.) came over to apologize and then they sent out free desserts. The other time I had giant shards of crab shell in my salad. Normally I wouldn't have sent it back but the pretentious and snooty restaurant staff did everything in their power to condescend and insult my friend and I because were not famous celebrities. That was single handedly the worst "fine dining" experience of my life.
4. Manage expectations. If you're in a shot and beer bar, the ahi tuna special is probably not going to rock your world. If you're at a diner, ask yourself if the scallop pasta is a good idea. Ask questions if you're unsure of things. My favorite story of someone not managing their expectations involved a seafood salad. One of the classiest women I've ever known was driving her daughter and friends to field hockey camp. Around lunch time they got hungry and popped into a Subway franchise. The Classy Woman ordered the seafood salad. When the food arrived she exclaimed in horror, "This is imitation crab!" While it was hilarious in hindsight and she probably shouldn't have ordered it, I would guess it didn't make the employees working there feel good that someone was so disappointed in their food.
5. Don't use something for an activity it was not intended for unless you get explicit permission. Glass display cases are not tables after all.
