On Apr 27, 7:48�am, blake murphy > wrote:

> the salt shaker thing struck me, too. �i guess i don't
> dine in many *luxe* joints.

I recall reading Craig Claiborne's review of Le Pavillon
sometime in the sixties. I remember that he praised
it highly but was put off a bit that the tip of a red pencil
was protruding from the breast pocket of his table
captain's tuxedo jacket and that a wedge of lemon
served with a fish course had a seed. I think this was
before some restaurants started wrapping lemon
pieces in cheesecloth.

I can understand the salt/pepper shaker issue.
They aren't necessarily glass - maybe china or
metallic, so you can't see how full they are.
You wouldn't want the shakers to be empty.
There may be fingerprints from the previous
customer. In a place where you could easily
pay $500 to $1000 (maybe more) for two people,
I can see how this fits into the list.