Monday, July 20, 2009

Friday Five

The Excuse

I didn’t leave Tampa until Saturday, so I didn’t have a chance to sit down and peck one out. I didn’t finish it before landing, and when I finally landed I was all about dinner, Rock Band and Dexter.

The Week

As you’ve no doubt figured out, I was in Tampa this week. Alas it was a week of me and a hotel room and work, well, that and heat and humidity. While I’ve heard all the jokes about, “an oven’s a dry heat”, I’m here to tell you it does make a difference. As this was really just a hotel/work week I unfortunately don’t have too much else to add here.

The Exercise

I wish I had an excuse.

The Restaurant

I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned a restaurant here twice, but I have to hand it to The Oyster Catcher. Stopped by there again last night and the bartender remembered me (even hooked me up with half price drinks). Started with a portobello and goat cheese quesadilla, and then moved on to wood fire grilled scallops. Just out of this world. If you’re in Tampa you really need to swing by.

The Travel Note

By far the best part about being elite access is being able to jump the “stand by” line. I was able to get a much earlier flight into San Diego today because of that fact.

The Five

If you have any suggestions out there I’m listening… ;-)

A long while ago I did a 5 things every waiter/waitress should know. I had meant to do a 5 things every guest should know but never got around to it. Well, Abram, here it is.

  1. Keep in mind that your server lives on tips. In most states the minimum wage for a tipped employee is much lower than the regular minimum wage, making it just enough to cover taxes and little else. That extra $1 to go from 15% to 20% makes a big difference for the server.
  2. Don’t bug the host. Yes, they know there are empty tables. Yes, they know you’ve been waiting a long time. But really, there’s a lot more going on than just sending you to an open table. After you put your name on the list, just leave them alone.
  3. Be nice. Not only because of the honey/vinegar thing, but simply because it’s the right thing to do.
  4. It’s OK if you don’t know what you want. The one thing to avoid, however, is trying to make decisions while the server is at the table. If you’re not sure, let the server know; they’ll appreciate the chance to move on to other things while you contemplate the menu.
  5. Reward a server for things they can control and don’t take it out on them if the kitchen messes up. If you order a rare steak and it comes out medium, that’s not the fault of the server. At the same time, if you go with the recommendation of the server and you love it, reward them.

1 comment:

Abe said...

6. No matter where you are eating, it is always a pain in the a$$ to fill an order for hot tea. It seems every restaurant requires these elaborate setups with hot water in one container, a mug, a saucer, a box with 20 different varieties, a linen, and a bouquet of roses. It takes 5 minutes to make, which is an eternity when you're a server. We won the war, people. Drink coffee.