Okay, if you lived in Boston in the early 1980’s and if you ever ate at Legal Seafood during that time, tell me I’m not crazy. I remember having to pay the check when the food was brought to the table. I recall thinking at the time this was silly, but someone explained to me that this was the way they’d always done it since it was more efficient; i.e., if there was a problem with your order you come grab any waiter to help you; it increased the efficiency of the restaurant in general, and the tips were all pooled so the waitstaff didn’t mind.
Now flash forward to the 21st century, Legal opens on Long Island (I never lived in Boston, I was visiting at the time) I'm there for dinner, the first time since that night in Boston some eightteen years ago that I've been to the joint, and I mention the pay-as-you-go policy. My wife thinks I crazy. What's worse than her thinking I'm nuts is that **she** was the one that night in Boston explaining the policy to me.
Does this make sense to anyone? Did Legal Seafood ever have a policy like this?
I think that the pay-up-front system was only in effect in the Inman Square original location (now, alas, long burned). Coffee and tea were free (but you had to get up and get them yourself) (and this persisted into some of the other locations), people ate family-style at long tables, the menu was on a blackboard, and the silverware and napkins came in plastic bags like on airlines.
