That’s what I’m saying–she must be a talented gal!
[QUOTE=Charlie Tan]
I really don’t understand this. Seriously. You’re in the U.S., right? The land of plenty? The place where restaurants are fucking everywhere. So a lousy waiter won’t get the tip and the custumer will go next door.
You mentioned this in two posts so I’d really would like an explanation.
[/QUOTE]
The way I see it is, your business is a success or it’s not. Once you’re a success, people come to you and this notion that restaurant owners slave over you to get your business goes out the window once you become one of the survivors. That’s not to say they treat like shit just because they can; they wouldn’t stay in business long. But, they don’t need to put up with prima donnas so much, because the door is that way, and did you notice the line?
[QUOTE=chowder]
I don’t know about the USA but here in Merrie England it is extremely rare if not impossible to encounter female waitresses in an Indian restaurant. Why is this?
[/QUOTE]
When I was living in the UK I had a business acquaintance who for various reasons was heavily involved in the Bangla community. Once (over a curry, natch) he made the comment that there are no Indian restaurants in the UK, they are all actually Bangladeshi ie Muslim (hence the hidden women). I doubted him. I made a point of asking the waitstaff conversationally where they were from in every “Indian” restaurant I went to from that point on. Every single one was actually Bangladeshi. They just call their restaurants “Indian” because that is what customers expect.
No doubt there are exceptions. My challenge to you is to find one because I never did.
[QUOTE=Princhester]
No doubt there are exceptions. My challenge to you is to find one because I never did.
[/QUOTE]
Where were you? 90% of the tandoori and balti restaurants in Birmingham are run by Indians. It doesn’t matter, though; Bangladeshis, Indians and Pakistanis are more or less the same people.
Bangladesh was the “east wing” of Pakistan until 1971, FYI.
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright]
Where were you? 90% of the tandoori and balti restaurants in Birmingham are run by Indians. It doesn’t matter, though; Bangladeshis, Indians and Pakistanis are more or less the same people.
[/QUOTE]
London primarily but I ate “Indian” in Birmingham and the waitstaff there confirmed they were Bangla. Have you actually, specifically, asked them precisely where they are from? Part of my acquaintance’s point was that because it is what is expected, “Indians” running “Indian” restaurants in the UK will call themselves Indian in a loose sense. But drill down and you will find they are not.
Check out this page [The page is down, unfortunately, but I’ve linked to google’s cache]:
As to Indians, Bangla’s and Pakistanis being more or less the same people, I know what you mean but of course the two latter broke from the former at partition precisely because (at considerable risk of oversimplifying) they tended to be muslim while Indians tend to be hindu. There are cultural tendencies, and attitudes to women are one of the areas where tendencies differ.
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright]
tandoori Birmingham .
[/QUOTE]
what state, please?
UK, wring.
[QUOTE=Princhester]
London primarily but I ate “Indian” in Birmingham and the waitstaff there confirmed they were Bangla. Have you actually, specifically, asked them precisely where they are from? Part of my acquaintance’s point was that because it is what is expected, “Indians” running “Indian” restaurants in the UK will call themselves Indian in a loose sense. But drill down and you will find they are not.
[/QUOTE]
Those links seem a bit… subjective, if you will, although I’m willing to concede that probably a lot of restaurants are Bangladeshi.
The food is essentially the same either way: they’re serving Indian-style dishes. Well, to be honest, they usually aren’t; chicken tikka masala is not exactly a staple of the Indian diet as you might think if you were a frequent patron of Indian restaurants.
Bastards. Because of this thread, I got the hankerin’ for Indian food last night. So my wife and I went and found one of the many strip-malled Indian restaurants in the area.
It burns. Bad.
[QUOTE=DudleyGarrett]
Bastards. Because of this thread, I got the hankerin’ for Indian food last night. So my wife and I went and found one of the many strip-malled Indian restaurants in the area.
It burns. Bad.
[/QUOTE]
But that’s the best kind mate
Chicken Vindaloo with extra chillis and garlic.
Pilau rice, couple of nan bread and/or chapatti,poppudoms to start with onion pickle, mango chutney,lime pickle and mint dip.
Luvverley when washed down with a couple of pints of falling down water
Just remember to put a couple of rolls of toilet paper in the fridge, you’ll need 'em the following day…then it burns 
IANAIndian, but…
India is a huge and varied place and it’s as absurd to talk about “Indian food” as it is to talk about “European food.” Most Indian restaurants in America focus on Mughal cusine that comes from the traditions of Muslims in the Northwest- full of heavy sauces, bread dishes, meat and tandoori dishes. Most of these dishes are based on things that are actually eaten in India, but its not the kind of food most people eat on a daily basis.
In India you will find a multitude of cusines and it’s not uncommon for a New Delhi family to go out for South Indian food or Muslim food the same way that we will go out for Mexican or Chinese. We only see such a small bit of that spectrum.
There are some good South Indian restaurants in the SF Bay Area if you know where to look.
[QUOTE=even sven]
India is a huge and varied place and it’s as absurd to talk about “Indian food” as it is to talk about “European food.”
[/QUOTE]
Sure, but there are some more-or-less universal themes to Indian food that make it instantly recognizable; cardamom, turmeric, saffron, ghee, etc.
[QUOTE=Justin_Bailey]
It doesn’t matter how many times you say it, it doesn’t make it true.
[/QUOTE]
To be fair, you should take that up with the IRS. They’ll be happy to tell you how they tax waiters on their tips based on their sales, whether they got any tips of not.
The IRS does in fact, assume you are tipping.
[QUOTE=levdrakon]
The IRS does in fact, assume you are tipping.
[/QUOTE]
Sure, but that’s their fault, not the customer’s.
Blame the restaurant industry. Blame legislators. It doesn’t change the fact that a gratuity is just that - a gift given in return for services. If it isn’t on the bill the customer isn’t obliged to pay it.
I do- 20% unless the service is bad. But I don’t have to.
In any case, IME servers are overpaid. When I was in college, I was a minimum-wage retail jockey. All the servers I knew easily made double what I did, doing a job that required no more qualifications. Fewer qualifications in most cases, in fact.
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright]
In any case, IME servers are overpaid. When I was in college, I was a minimum-wage retail jockey. All the servers I knew easily made double what I did, doing a job that required no more qualifications. Fewer qualifications in most cases, in fact.
[/QUOTE]
I hear that all the time. If you could do that, why weren’t you doing that? There’s no secret society of waiters who only hire from within.
Juggling tables and putting up with customers can be far more complicated than it looks.
[QUOTE=levdrakon]
I hear that all the time. If you could do that, why weren’t you doing that? There’s no secret society of waiters who only hire from within
[/QUOTE]
I did at times. Didn’t fit in well with my schedule, though. I wasn’t bitter or anything, I’m just saying that servers are relatively overpaid.
[QUOTE=levdrakon]
There’s no secret society of waiters who only hire from within.
[/QUOTE]
Yes… that’s exactly what they want you to think.
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright]
I did at times. Didn’t fit in well with my schedule, though. I wasn’t bitter or anything, I’m just saying that servers are relatively overpaid.
[/QUOTE]
One of the reasons I didn’t do waitstaff work when I was a student was that the hours didn’t fit my (social) schedule. Yours too, clearly. When you do work that others don’t want to, you get paid more. Funny that.
[QUOTE=Princhester]
One of the reasons I didn’t do waitstaff work when I was a student was that the hours didn’t fit my (social) schedule. Yours too, clearly. When you do work that others don’t want to, you get paid more. Funny that.
[/QUOTE]
Other work schedule, not class schedule. I was in a co-op program in my major from sophomore year onward. Anyway, while I see your point, a server’s schedule usually fits perfectly with ongoing schooling.
RNATB, I always thought your username was not to be taken literally, but I have to ask: Do you know what the word “social” means?