# Are restaurants where the staff deliberately treats you rudely still a thing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 28, 2025, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-deliberately-treats-you-rudely-still-a-thing/1014896 "2025-02-28T01:17:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2025, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-deliberately-treats-you-rudely-still-a-thing/1014896/21 "2025-03-02T12:16:33Z")
Strange - when I went to visit a friend in Chicago way back (in the 80s!) he took me to Ed Debevics, but I haven’t the slightest recollection of rude waiters. Maybe they weren’t doing it then, or I just assumed it was par for the course in Chicago. Once upon a time, I think Kettner’s in Soho had a reputation for rudeness, but takeovers have changed everything, apparently. But London now has this (not for long, I suspect): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/grxhRbL_nRE/maxresdefault.jpg "Visiting the Rudest Restaurant in London") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grxhRbL_nRE) ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2025, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-deliberately-treats-you-rudely-still-a-thing/1014896/22 "2025-03-02T16:40:57Z")
Years ago some friends of mine told me of a place in NYC called ‘The Crazy Country Club’. One of them was wearing one of their T-shirts and had the line silk screened on it: “Warm Beer, Lousy Food”. I remember them recalling the place, speaking of humorously rude staff that obviously knew the fine art of being insulting but not invoking ire, and a grate on the floor that blew air from it to uplift women’s skirts. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2025, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-deliberately-treats-you-rudely-still-a-thing/1014896/23 "2025-03-02T17:53:10Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m nearly sure you’re thinking of the Wiener Circle, a long-time hot dog stand (with my favorite char dog in the city.) And the Wiener Circle it’s only at night when it happens. One of the best segments Conan ever did was taking Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and Jack McBrayer to the Weiner Circle: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/33zPlnhymCU/maxresdefault.jpg "Jack McBrayer & Triumph Visit Chicago's Wiener's Circle | CONAN on TBS") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33zPlnhymCU) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2025, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-deliberately-treats-you-rudely-still-a-thing/1014896/24 "2025-03-02T19:30:43Z")
Wiener, people, _wiener_, as in “V **ie** nese.” There is some argument, though, whether it’s “Wiener Circle” or “Wiener’s Circle,” as I believe their signage and literature are not even consistent. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-deliberately-treats-you-rudely-still-a-thing/1014896/25 "2025-03-03T05:30:23Z")
Years ago in Washington DC, on Dupont Circle near KramerBooks and down some stairs, there was an ice cream joint run by a man very much inspired by Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi, only gay and middle eastern. “Sit your beautiful bodies down!” Damn good ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-deliberately-treats-you-rudely-still-a-thing/1014896/26 "2025-03-03T06:21:23Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > [The Original Soupman](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Original_Soupman#:~:text=The%20Original%20Soupman%20was%20a,Broadway%20and%208th%20Avenue) appears to be open again. It was the basis for the soup Nazi in Seinfeld. There was a brief period (I’m guessing maybe late 1990s or very early 2000s) where the “Soup Nazi” soups celebrated in _Seinfeld_ were being offered for retail sale in supermarkets. I recall a display of them with clips of the Seinfeld episode running on a monitor as part of the marketing display. I bought a few different ones to try out. I have no idea how close they were to the original New York “Soup Nazi” recipes, but I thought they were just OK, not great, and the different varieties all seemed to be based on the same basic broth recipe. I’ve had much better soups elsewhere, mostly in restaurants but even in some prepared soups in supermarkets. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-deliberately-treats-you-rudely-still-a-thing/1014896/27 "2025-03-03T06:49:18Z")
It’s not deliberate, but one of my local sports bar hangouts has a waitress who, at first glance, can be extremely rude. Really, she’s more officious and brusque than rude, though many casual patrons mistake that for rude. But strangely, a lot of the regulars (including me) appreciate her. She is very efficient, and if she’s working, I’m guaranteed my usual within two minutes of walking in the door. I must be in her good books now. She calls my by my first name, instead of “Idiot.” ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-deliberately-treats-you-rudely-still-a-thing/1014896/28 "2025-03-03T07:02:46Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Wiener, people, _wiener_, as in “V **ie** nese. [McKean’s law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKean's_law) strikes again. (That’s _Viennese_, not _Vienese_.) ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-deliberately-treats-you-rudely-still-a-thing/1014896/29 "2025-03-03T07:07:01Z")
Another ice cream example: Turkish ice cream vendors apparently tease you mercilessly, as shown in this video. It’s part of the experience that many tourists come to expect, but to the unsuspecting it can come off as rude. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/v2f09JgbZW4/maxresdefault.jpg "Scream for Ice Cream | Turkish Ice Cream Man Trolls Customers") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2f09JgbZW4) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-deliberately-treats-you-rudely-still-a-thing/1014896/30 "2025-03-03T12:53:11Z")
Fat-fingered typing on the phone, I swear! I was distracted by getting the formatting and asterisks correct for the “ie” that I missed the “nn.” And don’t we call it “Godwin’s Law” around here? (I’ve also heard “Muphry’s,” but on the Dope it’s almost invariably “Godwin’s Law.” But thanks for introducing me to “McKean’s.” That’s a new one to me.) ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-deliberately-treats-you-rudely-still-a-thing/1014896/31 "2025-03-03T13:20:33Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Fat-fingered typing on the phone, I swear! I was distracted by getting the formatting and asterisks correct for the “ie” that I missed the “nn.” And don’t we call it “Godwin’s Law” around here? (I’ve also heard “Muphry’s,” but on the Dope it’s almost invariably “Godwin’s Law.” But thanks for introducing me to “McKean’s.” That’s a new one to me.) Not sure if you’re trying to make another joke or not but Godwin’s Law is “As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one”, you’re thinking of Gaudere’s Law. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-deliberately-treats-you-rudely-still-a-thing/1014896/32 "2025-03-03T13:36:09Z")
Damn, Gaudere’s Law! I haven’t had my morning coffee yet! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-deliberately-treats-you-rudely-still-a-thing/1014896/33 "2025-03-03T13:43:49Z")
No kidding. Make it a double today! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-deliberately-treats-you-rudely-still-a-thing/1014896/34 "2025-03-03T14:12:01Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The Tube Bar in Jersey City was famous for its rude owner. It became widely known through a series of tapes of prank calls to it owner. The calls were the inspiration for Bart Simpson calling Moe’s Tavern. > > This wasn’t a marketing ploy. Red the owner was just a mean old bastard. According to the liner notes of a CD of the calls, Red had a strict rule that customers who drank hard liquor could stand at the bar when it was crowded, but others had to step back: “He’d holler, ‘Move down, move down!’” ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-deliberately-treats-you-rudely-still-a-thing/1014896/35 "2025-03-03T14:31:15Z")
There’s a restaurant on Route 1 in coastal Maine that has a reputation for heedless and rude staff, though how deliberate that is is open to question.\* A reviewer cited a diminutive older Slavic lady working there as a hostess who evidently didn’t enjoy her job. When asked what the wait time was for a table, she snapped “I dun’t heff a crystal ball!” \*on the other hand, their food is legendarily bad; Mrs. J. once stopped there at a time when nothing else was available and ordered a cheeseburger, figuring they wouldn’t ruin that. They did. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-deliberately-treats-you-rudely-still-a-thing/1014896/36 "2025-03-03T16:07:13Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > But thanks for introducing me to “McKean’s.” That’s a new one to me. The phenomenon has many different names. Erin McKean, a lexicographer (formerly for Oxford University Press) and author of lots of great books about words and language, is an acquaintance of mine. And she was nice enough to have written a blurb for my forthcoming book, which includes a chapter all about language errors. So I tend to use “McKean’s law” out of deference to her expertise. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-restaurants-where-the-staff-deliberately-treats-you-rudely-still-a-thing/1014896.md?page=1)