Your opinion on Resturants..... Please (part 2)

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I guess it is a regional thing )</font>

That very well may be, or of course unless you've been to several places in that region, you may wonder whether it was just that particular restaurant. The hands down worst I ever found was in a very popular restaurant in Williamsburg, VA. And the second worst was in Mobile, AL. I suspected it was a regional thing in Williamsburg and the particular individual restaurant in Mobile, but of course I don't know for sure that was right in either case. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Junkman]

What type of tip did you leave when you went to the automat????? Aw heck.... I forgot that you youngsters weren't around when they had automats...... and probably don't even know what an automat is....... My spell checker doesn't even recognize the word "automat". To visit the automat, click here..........

 

[AndyM]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( In those type of establishments I don't leave any tip, or a very small tip depending on how often the person came to clear the plates. You are doing most of the work -- getting your own food, bringing it back to the table, etc. What is left on the table may be a buck or two. )</font>

The servers at these restaurants are still making $2 something an hour plus tips, but not working as hard as they would at a full service restaurant. We put down one dollar per person, hence my $2 tip. If the service is REALLY good we put down another dollar. If the service is terrible, we leave nothing.

 

[AndyM]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( or either of two Chinese buffets we like )</font>

Bird, there's a new Chinese buffet that opened up in Akron that has quite a large selection. All of the usual chinese stuff, plus ham, chicken cordon bleu, mashed potatos, pork chops, etc.

The best part about eating at the buffet is you can try a little of everything, and if you don't like something, you're really not out anything. It's also easier to order at the buffet than trying to pronounce your order to someone who doesn't speak English. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Docsknotinn]

Gary, The short answer is no. In a fine restaurant you might have serval courses and the dining "experience" can be two to three hours. Often tables like this are 4 to 6 people. Many of the top notch kitchens now have a "chef's Special" Table in the middle of the kitchen that requires a party of six. As you can imagine theese are often corporate or buisiness groups. Groups like this often choose to consume several Hundred dollars worth of alcahol. Mixed drinks first, 3 bottles of wine at $150 per, drinks and coffee after dinner. This means your party is your servers ONLY income for the day as its too late to turn the table over again. Now on that party of six The food bill might run $600 plus $600 for drinks. Should you leave $120 or $240 ? I bet you can guess how many choose to only leave the $120. Thats a lot of green I know but you just consumed $1200 in a restaurant and drank wine over $150 per bottle. Do you think they can afford the tip ? You betcha they can. Of course the law of averages comes in to play so hopefully it all works out at the end of the week as their are those who are REALLY good tippers. On the minimum side I never leave less than two bucks.

 

[Bird]

Yep, Andy, the two we frequent most have expanded far beyond what we used to consider "Chinese". I have one brother who won't touch rice in any form; says he got his limit of rice in Vietnam, so he never went to any of the Chinese places until I talked him into going to one we liked and he's gone back several times since. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[OkeeDon]

Breakfast or Lunch -- typical small, nothing special restaurant, minimum $1 per person, or 10% - 15% of the bill, whichever is greater.

Dinner (Supper? It's a regional thing) -- minimum $2 per person, or 15% to 20% of the bill, whichever is greater.

Desert (stop at Friendly's for Sundaes after shopping) -- minimum $1 per person (the bill is always low.)

Buffet -- minimum $1 per person, or add for very good service. Four of us ate at Golden Corral last Saturday, the server was so good I took note of her name so we could try to eat in her section again, left $6 for 4 people, and told the manager how pleased we were on the way out. What did she do to deserve that? Cleared our plates the moment the were empty, never let a glass or cup go empty, cleared trash like butter wrappers immediately, brought clean plates before they were needed, was friendly and witty without starting a conversation, and did the same thing for all of the other tables she was serving, without missing a beat.

 

[RobertN]

Re: Your opinion on Resturants..... Please (part 2

I like those Mongolian BBQ's. I don't like bell pepper, celery, and a few other things used a lot in Asian cooking. At the Mongolian BBQ, I can pick the items I want in my dish, which is great!

I like Chinese food too, a lot, but I hate having to pick things over in public. Take home is not a big deal, but dine in is.

 

[GaryM]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( What type of tip did you leave when you went to the automat????? Aw heck.... I forgot that you youngsters weren't around when they had automats...... and probably don't even know what an automat is....... My spell checker doesn't even recognize the word "automat". To visit the automat, click here.......... )</font>

Used to eat at an Automat in Manhatten back when I lived in NYC. Coffee was 5 cents as I recall. And it wasn't unusual for two folks to be sitting at a tables for four and someone else come along to share the table. Didn't have to ask for separate checks either.

Is Chock Full of Nuts still around? Coffee and Donuts if I recall correctly.

 

[Bird]

Re: Your opinion on Resturants..... Please (part 2

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I like those Mongolian BBQ's )</font>

Robert, until 15 years ago, we had some neighbors (still good friends) who had spent quite a bit of time in the Phillipines, and for several years, every 4th of July, they hosted a Mongolian BBQ (first time I'd ever heard of it and we loved it). We'd still never seen such in a restaurant until about a month and a half ago when we visited a new Chinese buffet place that we saw advertised on TV (advertising does work), and they also had the Mongolian BBQ. It was good, but not as good as our old neighbors used to do. But the rest of their Chinese buffet was great. My wife has already told me that's where she wants to go on her birthday (New Year's Eve). /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif