If Your Diet is That Frigging Complicated, Eat At Home!

The BBQ Pit
21

I sat down at an Indian restaurant one night. It wasn’t that packed or busy, and I didn’t want to spend a lot, so I ordered just an appetizer. They basically told me that if I wasn’t ordering an entree also, they didn’t want to serve me. I got up and walked out and never went back, and told my friends.

That said, I routinely go to a nearby Mexican restaurant. I almost always order the same thing, a half-order of nachos with beans. Costs about 3.95 total. But I leave a $2 tip.

And the only special stuff I ever ask for is slices of lemon instead of salad dressing for a salad. I’m really easy to please. And I buy my coffee at a coffee shop.

22

[QUOTE=tdn]
Carlyjay, how do you feel about customers who make simple requests?

“I’d like the steak, but can you make half of that to go right away?”

“I’d like the fish and chips, but instead of chips could I have the (on the menu) smashed cauliflower instead?”

“I’d like the pepperoni pizza. I’ll pay for the full thing, but the staff can keep half.”

“I’d like the butter-encrusted cod, but can you make it with Promise Light instead?”

These are things I might request, though I’d be prepared to hear (and live with) a no to any of them.

How unreasonable are they?

[/QUOTE]
Have you ever worked in a kitchen?

None of those “simple” requests sound bad on paper, but for one, it sounds like you’re asking the restaurant to stray from their established preparing/serving standards to do your portion/dietary control. It might mean having to get stuff out that isn’t out. It might mean having that new kid who is taught one way to do something have to think for himself (yes, that does screw things up in a kitchen under pressure.)

For instance, he gets an order for “fish & chips”. He knows. . .fish in fry basket 1, fries in fry basket 2. Five minutes each. Plate 'em up.

He doesn’t know: fish in fry basket 1. Cauliflower in steamer. Now what?

But, the other stuff isn’t necessarily simple either.

What’s the restaurant’s protocol for keeping a half pizza in back? For keeping a half steak wrapped up and waiting? For cooking something in margarine, and not butter? Is that a pan that has to be cleaned for the next guy? Do they even have margarine? Is cooking in margarine even something the guy knows how to do right?

Anything that strays from normality is just a little wrench in the works.

And it really makes one wonder why you don’t find a restaurant that meets your needs, instead of requesting another one to?

(where I’m coming from on the issue: it’s been a while but I worked in a hospital kitchen that did patient food/cafeteria food for about 4 years.)

23

[QUOTE=Archergal]
They basically told me that if I wasn’t ordering an entree also, they didn’t want to serve me. I got up and walked out and never went back, and told my friends.
[/QUOTE]

Fair enough. They chose to enforce a “Certain amount per person per hour” policy, which isn’t uncommon in the restaurant industry. You chose to deny them your money, and possibly that of your friends, from then on. Fair trade.

That being said, I never turned people away at any restaurant if it was a down-time and the restaurant was empty. If you just want a coffee at 3pm, when the lunch rush is over and dinner’s three hours away, I’ll bring you all the coffee you want.

BUT. If you come in at 6:00 and see the restaurant’s empty, and I turn you away, you’d better believe it’s because I have a lot of dinner reservations coming in soon, and I don’t want to make reservations wait because you’ve just gotten your cappucino and you’d like to nurse it.

24

[QUOTE=Carlyjay]
If, however, you become irate because we can’t supply you with a 12-oz dish of steamed squash with just-a-little-bit-of-pepper, and we don’t even have squash anywhere on the menu, you’d better expect a full-on eyebrow-raise and an “I’m sorry, but that isn’t on the menu. I’ll give you a few moments so you can read the menu and decide on a dish.”
[/QUOTE]

All of your answers sound very reasonable. I wouldn’t dream of asking (much less demanding) something the kitchen does’t have in stock, nor would I want to get a dish so far from the intent of the chef that – well, frankly, it might suck. I would expect the staff to know in this day and age, in the fattest nation in the world, that some people might have a few special requests.

But if I’m going to a restaurant, I expect to at least use the menu as a starting point. I would never go to a French bistro and expect to get pad thai, for instance.

I was amused one night at a Thai restaurant. I sat next to a (lesbian) couple who ordered steamed broccoli and brown rice. They then lectured their son on the evils of fat, sugar, salt, meat, sauces, flavor, men, makeup, and Republicans. I had to wonder what inspired them to go to a Thai place. Maybe they just liked the atmosphere. At any rate they got service with a smile.

25

[QUOTE=Carlyjay]
Nope. It works like this.

“Two for dinner?”
“No, we just want coffee, thanks.”
“I’m sorry, there’s a coffee shop just down the street. We’re serving dinner right now.”

OR:

“What can I get for you tonight?”
“I’ll just have a coffee, thanks.”
“Will you be ordering dinner as well?”
“No, just coffee.”
“I’m sorry, there is a coffee shop just down the street. We’re serving dinner right now.”
[/QUOTE]

The first one seems like a reasonable response by the hostess. Seems. I’m not certain how I’d react because it’s never happened to me.
The second one though…they’ve already sat down. In theory, they’ve already waited at the entrance for a table, seeing as it’s during a dinner rush. You’d then kick them out for just ordering coffee? To me that seems more rude than what you claim they’re doing. Perhaps management, in their infinite wisdom, should put a sign up saying “$10 minimum purchase from 5-7 PM.” so that customers can be forewarned.

26

[QUOTE=Enderw24]
The first one seems like a reasonable response by the hostess. Seems. I’m not certain how I’d react because it’s never happened to me.
The second one though…they’ve already sat down. In theory, they’ve already waited at the entrance for a table, seeing as it’s during a dinner rush. You’d then kick them out for just ordering coffee? To me that seems more rude than what you claim they’re doing. Perhaps management, in their infinite wisdom, should put a sign up saying “$10 minimum purchase from 5-7 PM.” so that customers can be forewarned.
[/QUOTE]

IF there’s a hostess.

As for the second, well, if they had to wait for a table in a *crowded, nice * restaurant, and then they order just coffee, I’m afraid I have no sympathy for them. I will (albeit politely) tell them that seating is currently at a premium, and we do not serve “just coffee” at this time.

27

[QUOTE=BubbaDog]
DrDeth and D_Odds,

You may debate who sets the rules but its plain to see that the rush hour “coffee only” customers are cutting the revenue of both the owners and staff.
[/QUOTE]

Tell that to Starbucks. The owners get to decide what customers are profitable. The waitstaff do not get to decide based upon expected tip.

28

[QUOTE=Martin Hyde]
Nope, don’t need a clearly stated policy. You should be able to tell any customer to leave the restaurant if they are just taking up a table and wasting people’s time.
[/QUOTE]

But it’s not the waistaff that get to decide that based upon their expected tip. It’s the management who get to decide that based upon overhead, prices and all those other factors, including goodwill. If the owners decide that *their * restaurant will serve “just coffee” then the waitstaff have to go along with that policy, no matter how little tip they may or may not get. Just like the waitstaff can’t decide not to serve dudes that just look like they are cheap tippers.

29

[QUOTE=Martin Hyde]
Nope, don’t need a clearly stated policy. You should be able to tell any customer to leave the restaurant if they are just taking up a table and wasting people’s time.
[/QUOTE]

Most restaurants that I’ve been in have a sign right as you walk in saying something like, “Management reserves the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason.” I’d think only wanting to order a cup of coffee during the dinner rush would suffice.

30

[QUOTE=BubbaDog]
DrDeth and D_Odds,

You may debate who sets the rules but its plain to see that the rush hour “coffee only” customers are cutting the revenue of both the owners and staff.
[/QUOTE]
That’s what I said.

31

[QUOTE=DrDeth]
Tell that to Starbucks. The owners get to decide what customers are profitable. The waitstaff do not get to decide based upon expected tip.
[/QUOTE]

The owners also get to decide what is appropriate behavior for their waitstaff, not DrDeth.

32

[QUOTE=DrDeth]
But it’s not the waistaff that get to decide that based upon their expected tip. It’s the management who get to decide that based upon overhead, prices and all those other factors, including goodwill. If the owners decide that *their * restaurant will serve “just coffee” then the waitstaff have to go along with that policy, no matter how little tip they may or may not get. Just like the waitstaff can’t decide not to serve dudes that just look like they are cheap tippers.
[/QUOTE]

Well now we’re arguing about how much people tip. I don’t think anyone’s said the waitstaff have a right to eyeball a person and decide not to serve them based on the fact that their slightly dirty jeans indicate that they won’t tip much.

The decision is based on the fact that, if you’re only going to spend $1.50 in the middle of a dinner rush, no restaurant manager on earth with any God-given sense will penalize an employee for politely telling that customer that they cannot be served “just coffee” during the restaurant’s busiest rush. End of story. It isn’t based on tip so much as it’s based on revenue for everyone.

33

[QUOTE=Trunk]
Have you ever worked in a kitchen?
[/QUOTE]

Nope. I enjoy cooking too much.

Well, for one thing, if the waitron says no, I’ll accept that and get the F&C. Or look for something healthier. Or ask the waitron what healthier options she could suggest. Or say thank you and leave.

On the other hand, a newbie not knowing how to not put fries in fry basket is not part of my diet. If the cauliflower is on the menu anyway, someone back there knows how to deal.

That’s up to the restaurant to decide. For the steak, they can leave the styrofoam container on my table at their leisure. For the pizza, they can throw it in the trash for all I care.

Which is why I would ask but expect and accept no for an answer. And really, that’s pretty far out for a request for me. I think the fish and cauliflower thing is the wildest and craziest I’ve ever gotten.

I understand, reason #4758 why I never became a chef. But if asking for my doggie bag at the beginning of the meal instead of after throws the restaurant into a state of complete disarray, then the restaurant might want to look at its own procedures.

You mean the one that serves healthy portions? Or keeps non-trans fat alternatives around?

Point me to just such a place, and I promise to look at their menu.

34

Okay, how about a ruling on this scenario (which happened to me):

I went into a restaurant (it was Italian but that really doesn’t matter). It was a small restaurant and had a crowd but it had empty tables available in plain sight. I was planning on ordering a complete meal. I was by myself.

The manager/owner/maitre’de asked me if I was dining alone. When I said yes, he told me I would have to wait at least twenty minutes until there was a two person table available because the only available tables were for four people and they didn’t want to use up a four person table on one person. I decided to go to another restaurant to eat.

Was it reasonable for me to expect that if they had empty tables available they should serve me then rather than make me wait? Or was it reasonable for them to not want to “waste” three empty seats?

35

[QUOTE=tdn]

You mean the one that serves healthy portions? Or keeps non-trans fat alternatives around?

Point me to just such a place, and I promise to look at their menu.
[/QUOTE]

Wait, butter isn’t a trans fat. Is it?

36

Rereading my post, I realize I wasn’t clear on one point. The manager was asking me to leave and come back in twenty minutes. There was no bar or lounge for me to wait in the restaurant itself.

37

[QUOTE=Little Nemo]

Was it reasonable for me to expect that if they had empty tables available they should serve me then rather than make me wait? Or was it reasonable for them to not want to “waste” three empty seats?
[/QUOTE]

Sorry, I’m with the manager on this one.

If it’s a busy place, and tables are snapped up quickly, it makes more sense to me that they wait to seat you at a two-seater than give you a four-seater and have to turn away a table of four two minutes after you sit down because they won’t fit into the two-seater.

It’s a matter of the lesser of two evils. We know, because we are a popular and very busy restaurant, that we will get a four-person party in the door at any moment. We can either ask you to wait, and possibly lose your sale of one full dinner (let’s say $100) and be able to accommodate the four-person full-dinner table(let’s say $400), or we can pop you in a 4-person table and lose the 4-seater and their $400.

I know what choice we made, and it seems pretty reasonable to me. Possibility of making $500, $400 minimum if they ask you to wait. Definitely lose at least $300 in sales if they give you the 4-seater.

38

[QUOTE=The Swan]
Wait, butter isn’t a trans fat. Is it?
[/QUOTE]

No, it isn’t. But it’s a sat fat, nearly as bad. In this day and age, most restaurants should offer alternatives that are neither, but few do.

39

[QUOTE=DrDeth]
Umm, no. They are *customers, * who put money into the waitstaff’s pocket. If management wants to implement a clearly stated minimum purchase policy, then that’s fine. Otherwise, the “staff” needs to treat *all * customers well.
[/QUOTE]

Most nice restaurants have a policy for seating in the dining section of the restaurant (you have to order food, some palces let you get away with dessert and coffee). If you only order coffee or only order drinks during mealtimes, the management will politely ask you to remove yourself to the bar area (even if the bar area is packed). Management doesn’t do this out of concern for the waiter or waittress.

40

[QUOTE=Carlyjay]
We can either ask you to wait, and possibly lose your sale of one full dinner (let’s say $100) and be able to accommodate the four-person full-dinner table(let’s say $400), or we can pop you in a 4-person table and lose the 4-seater and their $400.
[/QUOTE]

:eek: At those prices, could you please cut up my steak for me and feed it to me? And sit in my lap as you do so?

I promise to give you a good tip. :stuck_out_tongue: