On 11/04/2013 11:43 PM, tert in seattle wrote:
> Julie Bove wrote:
>
>> But twice when we ate at the Old Spaghetti Factory (I don't know why but my
>
> never eat at a restaurant with "factory" in its name
>
Or Spaghetti.

On 12/04/2013 12:13 AM, sf wrote:

>>>
>>>> He didn't say. He just gave the place one star and its average is 4 1/2 stars, so you can see that it's a well liked place.
>>>
>>> He rated a restaurant where he hadn't eaten nor kept his rservation?
>>>
>>> A$$HOLE.
>>
>> Happens all the time on yelp.com Someone will complain about perceived
>> rudeness of the reservation-taker on the phone, decide not to go, but
>> still put up a one-star review. Makes it hard to judge food quality or
>> service.
>
> Spoiled brats like that and disgruntled employees are why I hate Yelp
> so much. I never use it as a tool for making a choice because there
> are so many that over rate (the lemming syndrome: everybody else likes
> it so I should too) or under rate restaurants (grudge reviews).
>
I have a SiL like that... spoiled brat. In fact she once said "I am a
spoiled brat and proud of it." She often detects rudeness where no one
else does and then carries on about it. For some reason, she and I have
polar opposite reactions to restaurants. I do not like the places she
likes and she dislikes the places I like. I have not been out to
dinner with them in ages because, among other reasons, I did not like
having the times and locations of dinners dictated, and always her choice.

On 12/04/2013 12:17 AM, Polly Esther wrote:
> I have been younger. I have been lots younger but I can't imagine
> making a reservation for dinner at 9 pm at a restaurant that clearly
> closes the kitchen at 9:30. Why would anybody do that? Back in our
> Mardi Gras days we might go out for dinner at midnight but certainly
> wouldn't consider a place that was going to close in thirty minutes.
> What was that guy thinking? Never mind. He couldn't have been
> thinking. Polly

It wasn't a matter of thought. I was his attitude. The world revolves
around him.

On 12/04/2013 8:10 AM, Kalmia wrote:

>> online to rate restaurants?..... friends and family.
>
> I do. If a place is outstanding, then the world should know. I find
> the reviews esp. helpful when traveling to a new area.
>
> I DID once complain to tripadvisor.com that a husband and wife both
> panned a place - almost verbatim - and they didn't catch it.
> Certainly skews the average.
>



My problem with them is that they lack credibility. It's not like a
proper restaurant where there are supposed to be some professional
standards. There are far too many instances of of them being written by
friends and relatives or, at the other end, disgruntled customers.

On 4/11/2013 4:44 PM, gloria p wrote:
> On 4/11/2013 11:31 AM, Kalmia wrote:
>> Resto question I read on a resto review site.
>>
>> Someone beefed about a highly rated restaurant because
>>
>> a. he made a reservation for 9 pm.
>>
>> b. arrived at 9:20 ( never called to advise )
>>
>> c. when they arrived, the chef had decided to close kitchen and
>> refused to cook. The resto advertised that the kitchen closed at nine
>> thirty.
>>
>> Was the chef wrong? What does that closed time mean? If your fanny
>> kits the seat by 9:30, is the resto obligated to serve?
>> I can see where they assumed the guy wasn't going to show. Maybe this
>> was their punishment for his not calling, but maybe he got stuck on
>> the road or sumthin.
>>
>> Was he justified in his complaint?
>>
>
> I don't think so. Close means close, not "We will wait around for 90
> minutes after hours so you can have a leisurely dinner."
>
> gloria p

Exactamundo! It's not like the kitchen staff runs out the door at the
stroke of 9:30, either. They've still got work to do to get the place
ready to open the next day. That keeps them there for at least another
hour, if not more.

Jill

The restaurant needs to change from 'kitchen closes' to 'last seating'.

On 2013-04-12, jmcquown > wrote:

> It's not like cooking at home. Closing a restaurant kitchen is a
> production. If it's a decent place then the grills, griddles, fryers,
> salamanders, etc. are cleaned nightly.

Yep. When I went to college full time, I worked cleaning kitchens
after closing. Most of the preliminary work was done, but I came in
later (11pm) to clean the dining rooms, bathrooms, and kitchen/walk-in
floors with a steam hose. Other places are not nearly so nice.

The last resto I worked in, I will not eat there, despite it serving
the best ribeye I've ever eaten. One of the then cooks, a typical
revolving door tatooed inmate type, was himself so disgusted, I once
saw him do some unscheduled kitchen cleaning on his own initiative.
He began with the comment, "I don't believe this place!".

nb

On Apr 12, 10:35*am, Thomas > wrote:
> The restaurant needs to change from 'kitchen closes' to 'last seating'.

I disagree. Kitchen closes at a specific time implies that all dishes
must be completed by that time. Useful when different dishes take
different times to prepare.

It's really only an estimate. After all, if it's 10 minutes to go and
there haven't been any customers for a while, who can blame the staff
from closing a little early after a long day's work.

http://www.richardfisher.com

On 12/04/2013 10:35 AM, Thomas wrote:
> The restaurant needs to change from 'kitchen closes' to 'last seating'.
>

That implies that there set seating times. For most people, the posted
business hours would be enough for most people. There us a good chance
that the person who wrote that bad review had asked their hours when he
called for the reservation. If I were calling to make a reservation for
a dinner that late I would certainly ask how long they were open. If
someone shows makes a reservation for a dinner than late and then shows
up 20 minutes late he has no one to blame but himself. It might be
different if he could have honestly posted that he had asked if the
kitchen would still be open that late and the closed early, but I
suspect he did not.

On 4/12/2013 1:02 PM, Kalmia wrote:
> If I could add to my original post, I would have said that the resto had the following array of ratings:
>
> Excellent 151
> Very good 39
> Average 11
> poor 11
> terrible 3
>
> So you can see that the vast majority of diners were happy there. I looked over the poors and terribles and the main beef seemed to be the noise level. Maybe some carpeting would be the ticket.
>
Carpeting would somewhat subdue the noise. But they're an PITA to keep
clean. Think about the food and beverage spills, you kidding me?
Tracked-in dirt. Kids doing who knows what on the carpet. There must
be other ways to minimize the noise level. I don't know what noise
they're talking about... music blasting doesn't seem likely? Guest chatter?

Jill

"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...
> On 4/11/2013 11:42 PM, sf wrote:
>> call, but arrogant @ssholes like that think the world revolves around
>> them -- then complain via yelp and any other media they can think of
>> about their "bad" treatment. We've gone into empty restaurants around
>> closing time and have not been refused service, but did have a limited
>> menu because they had started cleaning the kitchen. We didn't care,
>> because it's easier to choose from a limited menu in a restaurant that
>> we've never eaten in and will never return to.
>>
>> -- Food is an important part of a balanced diet.
>
> Absolutely agree. We had dinner in a restaurant in many years ago, didn't
> get into town and settled in our lodgings until late. No, we didn't have
> reservations. But we were *really* hungry. There wasn't a lot of choice
> at that hour (except for the BK's & McD's of the world). We went to a
> small restaurant *just* as they were closing up. The server graciously
> said come on in. He said due to the late hour they couldn't serve us from
> the regular dinner menu but they could certainly dig up something. Thank
> you! IIRC it was a quick hot pasta dish. With garlic bread they probably
> would have thrown away. LOL Hey, we were tired and hungry...
>
> Jill


I hope you left a good tip. They might be gracious, but most are not happy
about it at closing time with having to wait around while you eat before
heading home. Did you ever read the book "Waiter" or visit "The Stained
Apron" website? LOL


Cheri

On 4/11/2013 6:00 PM, Polly Esther wrote:
>
> "dsi1" <wrote and I saved on this: > In my awesome opinion>
> Oh my. Thank you so much. What a hoot. The newsgroups I share with a
> lot use IMHO and IMNSHO and yours of "in my awesome opinion" is even
> better. I'll just have to use that. Polly

We can safely assume that anybody that proclaims themselves to be
humble, isn't. I understand that people use IMHO in a meaningless,
trite, way but I can't see how that offers much of an excuse. :-)

On 4/11/2013 6:18 PM, sf wrote:
> On Thu, 11 Apr 2013 10:43:21 -1000, dsi1
> > wrote:
>
>> In my awesome opinion, all one star ratings should be tossed, although
>> the reviews can stay posted so the readers can evaluate the level of
>> nuttiness of the poster. Typically, these are the most entertaining anyway.
>
> I don't know enough about the system, but there should be a link to
> that particular posters other reviews so you can decided if the poster
> averages (heck, they can do it for you) negative, positive or fair and
> balanced.
>

That's a good idea. Weed out the crackpots.

"Modest? Moi?"

> > IMHO and IMNSHO and yours of "in my awesome opinion" is even
> > better. I'll just have to use that.
>
> We can safely assume that anybody that proclaims themselves to be
> humble, isn't. I understand that people use IMHO in a meaningless,
> trite, way but I can't see how that offers much of an excuse. :-)

Unless you're humble without meaning to be, like certain know-it-all posters.
Maybe not humble by disposition, but humble by their actual stature. (If you
live in Austin, you may be smarter than 90% of all Texans, but that's not
saying much.)

"sf" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 12 Apr 2013 07:07:05 -0500, George Leppla
> > wrote:
>
>> The food was good... nothing special.... but the friendliness of the
>> owner and the two people working there will be long remembered.
>
> Back when I was working, I had a similar experience. It was the
> evening before Thanksgiving and a few of us decided to treat it like a
> TGIF. There was a Hungarian restaurant that I'd been driving past and
> wanting to try for ages and suggested it. The group of us got there
> and the place was closed, but there was a light in the kitchen. We
> didn't bang on the door, but we did stand there and discuss
> alternatives. I guess we were there long enough that someone noticed
> us and came to the door. They'd closed because they were catering an
> event on Thanksgiving and needed to use the kitchen, but the person
> who talked to us told us they'd be happy to serve us dinner from a
> limited menu (probably what they were preparing for the event, now
> that I think of it). None of us cared because we'd never eaten
> Hungarian food before and there was quite a variety to choose from
> anyway. We had a really good time, the owners took time to sit with
> us and tell us about their schedule of music and dance entertainment
> (which is very Hungarian AFAIC). Unfortunately, they closed
> permanently shortly thereafter and we didn't get to make a return
> visit, but I have a feeling their catering business was quite
> lucrative so I didn't feel sorry for them.

Lovely memories though

--
--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

On 4/12/2013 8:57 AM, George M. Middius wrote:
> "Modest? Moi?"
>
>>> IMHO and IMNSHO and yours of "in my awesome opinion" is even
>>> better. I'll just have to use that.
>>
>> We can safely assume that anybody that proclaims themselves to be
>> humble, isn't. I understand that people use IMHO in a meaningless,
>> trite, way but I can't see how that offers much of an excuse. :-)
>
> Unless you're humble without meaning to be, like certain know-it-all posters.
> Maybe not humble by disposition, but humble by their actual stature. (If you
> live in Austin, you may be smarter than 90% of all Texans, but that's not
> saying much.)
>
>

Well I am a humble guy. It is however, important to point out to the
uninformed my sterling qualities. People should be up to date on the
latest news about me.

Austin --> Google Giga

On 12/04/2013 2:29 PM, dsi1 wrote:
> On 4/11/2013 6:00 PM, Polly Esther wrote:
>>
>> "dsi1" <wrote and I saved on this: > In my awesome opinion>
>> Oh my. Thank you so much. What a hoot. The newsgroups I share with a
>> lot use IMHO and IMNSHO and yours of "in my awesome opinion" is even
>> better. I'll just have to use that. Polly
>
> We can safely assume that anybody that proclaims themselves to be
> humble, isn't. I understand that people use IMHO in a meaningless,
> trite, way but I can't see how that offers much of an excuse. :-)


It ranks up there with using the word "classy". People who use that term
tend not to be and things describe that way tend not to me. Many
years ago we had an office baseball game and were supposed to meet for
drinks at a local tavern named Ricci's. As it turned out, Ricci's had
been turn into a disco and there was a greasy boucner at the door who
would not let me in, telling me "You can't come in here dressed like
that. This is a class place" My reply was "Ricci's a class place.
Yeah. Right." I waited in the parking lot for my friends to show up and
we went elsewhere. I didn't seem many people going into the classy disco
while I was waiting, and it didn't last long.

On 4/12/2013 10:15 AM, Dave Smith wrote:
> On 12/04/2013 2:29 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>> On 4/11/2013 6:00 PM, Polly Esther wrote:
>>>
>>> "dsi1" <wrote and I saved on this: > In my awesome opinion>
>>> Oh my. Thank you so much. What a hoot. The newsgroups I share with a
>>> lot use IMHO and IMNSHO and yours of "in my awesome opinion" is even
>>> better. I'll just have to use that. Polly
>>
>> We can safely assume that anybody that proclaims themselves to be
>> humble, isn't. I understand that people use IMHO in a meaningless,
>> trite, way but I can't see how that offers much of an excuse. :-)
>
>
> It ranks up there with using the word "classy". People who use that term
> tend not to be and things describe that way tend not to me. Many
> years ago we had an office baseball game and were supposed to meet for
> drinks at a local tavern named Ricci's. As it turned out, Ricci's had
> been turn into a disco and there was a greasy boucner at the door who
> would not let me in, telling me "You can't come in here dressed like
> that. This is a class place" My reply was "Ricci's a class place.
> Yeah. Right." I waited in the parking lot for my friends to show up and
> we went elsewhere. I didn't seem many people going into the classy disco
> while I was waiting, and it didn't last long.

Disco, eh? That is a funny thing. What's taking place in "classy joints"
is usually sleazy stuff. The way I imagine a classy place is mostly a
bunch of old white guys sitting on big upholstered chairs reading
newspapers and smoking cigars.

"jmcquown" wrote in message ...

On 4/12/2013 1:02 PM, Kalmia wrote:
> If I could add to my original post, I would have said that the resto had
> the following array of ratings:
>
> Excellent 151
> Very good 39
> Average 11
> poor 11
> terrible 3
>
> So you can see that the vast majority of diners were happy there. I
> looked over the poors and terribles and the main beef seemed to be the
> noise level. Maybe some carpeting would be the ticket.
>
Carpeting would somewhat subdue the noise. But they're an PITA to keep
clean. Think about the food and beverage spills, you kidding me?
Tracked-in dirt. Kids doing who knows what on the carpet. There must
be other ways to minimize the noise level. I don't know what noise
they're talking about... music blasting doesn't seem likely? Guest chatter?

Jill

~~~~~~
Careful selection of materials for the walls and ceiling can often reduce
noise. I certainly would not recommend carpet, for the reasons you
mentioned.

MaryL

On 12/04/2013 8:03 PM, MaryL wrote:

> Carpeting would somewhat subdue the noise. But they're an PITA to keep
> clean. Think about the food and beverage spills, you kidding me?
> Tracked-in dirt. Kids doing who knows what on the carpet. There must
> be other ways to minimize the noise level. I don't know what noise
> they're talking about... music blasting doesn't seem likely? Guest
> chatter?
>
> Jill
>
> ~~~~~~
> Careful selection of materials for the walls and ceiling can often
> reduce noise. I certainly would not recommend carpet, for the reasons
> you mentioned.
>


My mother's favourite restaurant was the Keg which had an place about a
mile from her condo. I had no problems with the food. It was the noise
level that bothered me. The restaurant had been an old paper mill with
beautiful stone walls and floors. There was a combination of booths and
tables. They had soft rock music piped in. People had to raise their
voices to talk over the music. Then they cranked up the music to be
heard over the conversations. Then people had to speak louder to be
heard over the music.....

"Dave Smith" > wrote in message
...
> My mother's favourite restaurant was the Keg which had an place about a
> mile from her condo. I had no problems with the food. It was the noise
> level that bothered me. The restaurant had been an old paper mill with
> beautiful stone walls and floors. There was a combination of booths and
> tables. They had soft rock music piped in. People had to raise their
> voices to talk over the music. Then they cranked up the music to be heard
> over the conversations. Then people had to speak louder to be heard over
> the music.....

There was one like that in Lynnwood. Eastside Marios. Not only was it
noisy in general but the waitstaff literally yelled at each other. I can't
even remember what food we had. It was that unsettling. It didn't last for
long. But there was another Italian place that was there for years. It's
now closed too. I only hope that they changed the acoustics.

We have a Keg here. I used to love it. Had a wonderful salad bar. But
that is gone. The prices are way up and the portion size down. And now they
have nothing for me to eat. It's mostly steaks, perhaps some chicken but
pretty much all meat.

On Fri, 12 Apr 2013 17:25:24 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> wrote:

>
>"Dave Smith" > wrote in message
...
>> My mother's favourite restaurant was the Keg which had an place about a
>> mile from her condo. I had no problems with the food. It was the noise
>> level that bothered me. The restaurant had been an old paper mill with
>> beautiful stone walls and floors. There was a combination of booths and
>> tables. They had soft rock music piped in. People had to raise their
>> voices to talk over the music. Then they cranked up the music to be heard
>> over the conversations. Then people had to speak louder to be heard over
>> the music.....
>
>There was one like that in Lynnwood. Eastside Marios. Not only was it
>noisy in general but the waitstaff literally yelled at each other. I can't
>even remember what food we had. It was that unsettling. It didn't last for
>long. But there was another Italian place that was there for years. It's
>now closed too. I only hope that they changed the acoustics.

We go to restaurants for two reasons. Good food, good friends. If we
cannot have a conversation with friends over dinner, why go?

We used to go to a place that had entertainment of Friday and Saturday
night. We'd never go those nights because the music was too loud to
talk to the person next to you. Others liked it, good for them.

On Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:03:59 -0500, "MaryL"
> wrote:

> Careful selection of materials for the walls and ceiling can often reduce
> noise. I certainly would not recommend carpet, for the reasons you
> mentioned.

Cork floors would work.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On Fri, 12 Apr 2013 23:50:07 -0400, Ed Pawlowski > wrote:

> We go to restaurants for two reasons. Good food, good friends. If we
> cannot have a conversation with friends over dinner, why go?

We love going out with friends and have evolved into the stage of life
where we go out to dinner with them rather than invite them over;
because all the focus is on enjoying the conversation and their
company with none of the stress of preparing the yard, the house, the
food - serving it and cleaning up afterwards. We're in the come over
for appetizers "before" or come over for dessert "after" stage when we
go out for dinner with another couple.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

"sf" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:03:59 -0500, "MaryL"
> > wrote:
>
>> Careful selection of materials for the walls and ceiling can often reduce
>> noise. I certainly would not recommend carpet, for the reasons you
>> mentioned.
>
> Cork floors would work.

But is cork easy to clean? I would think that it would absorb spilled food.
Unless you can seal it in some way.

Sqwertz wrote:
>
> Some people are perpetually late for everything they do and I have no
> pity for such people. With a few rare exceptions, there is nothing
> preventing people from arriving on time except their own contempt.

I completely agree with you. People being late is my biggest pet peeve.
Whenever I tell someone a time, I'm always there 5 minutes early. If traffic
might be an issue, I'll leave early just to compensate for that possibility.

Once, I set up an appointment on a Wednesday to be there the next Monday
morning at 8am to give her an estimate. I rang her doorbell right at 8am
that next Monday. She opened the door and said loudly, "Oh my god, I can't
believe you!"

I freaked. wth? I said, "What?" :-O

She replied, "You're here exactly when you said you would be. You are the
first person ever to do that." I got the job. :-D

G.

"Ed Pawlowski" > wrote in message
...

> We go to restaurants for two reasons. Good food, good friends. If we
> cannot have a conversation with friends over dinner, why go?

Like you, the only time we eat out is with friends and if we couldn't hear
them speak, there is no point.

> We used to go to a place that had entertainment of Friday and Saturday
> night. We'd never go those nights because the music was too loud to
> talk to the person next to you. Others liked it, good for them.
>

--
--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

"Gary" > wrote in message ...
> Sqwertz wrote:
>>
>> Some people are perpetually late for everything they do and I have no
>> pity for such people. With a few rare exceptions, there is nothing
>> preventing people from arriving on time except their own contempt.
>
> I completely agree with you. People being late is my biggest pet peeve.
> Whenever I tell someone a time, I'm always there 5 minutes early. If
> traffic
> might be an issue, I'll leave early just to compensate for that
> possibility.
>
> Once, I set up an appointment on a Wednesday to be there the next Monday
> morning at 8am to give her an estimate. I rang her doorbell right at 8am
> that next Monday. She opened the door and said loudly, "Oh my god, I can't
> believe you!"
>
> I freaked. wth? I said, "What?" :-O
>
> She replied, "You're here exactly when you said you would be. You are the
> first person ever to do that." I got the job. :-D

LOL I am like you and it has been said that I would be early for my own
funeral <g>
--
--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

On Sat, 13 Apr 2013 02:44:47 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> wrote:

>
> But is cork easy to clean? I would think that it would absorb spilled food.
> Unless you can seal it in some way.

Can't tell you that, I've never owned one... but the school library
had one and it lasted until they remodeled. I've also seen decorating
suggestions for putting it on walls.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 13/04/2013 6:15 AM, Gary wrote:
> Sqwertz wrote:
>>
>> Some people are perpetually late for everything they do and I have no
>> pity for such people. With a few rare exceptions, there is nothing
>> preventing people from arriving on time except their own contempt.
>
> I completely agree with you. People being late is my biggest pet peeve.
> Whenever I tell someone a time, I'm always there 5 minutes early. If traffic
> might be an issue, I'll leave early just to compensate for that possibility.
>
> Once, I set up an appointment on a Wednesday to be there the next Monday
> morning at 8am to give her an estimate. I rang her doorbell right at 8am
> that next Monday. She opened the door and said loudly, "Oh my god, I can't
> believe you!"
>
> I freaked. wth? I said, "What?" :-O
>
> She replied, "You're here exactly when you said you would be. You are the
> first person ever to do that." I got the job. :-D
>


Promptness is a trait in my family. My FiL was always prompt. The rest
of the inlaws....... different matter.
FiL used to have a birthday party/family Christmas party at on of his
clubs in the city every year. He wanted us to be there for 11 am. My
wife, son and I would drive almost 80 miles and be there on time. BN
would never be late for free food. The rest of them would be late. One
nephew was always was always last. He would be an hour or two late. He
always had an excuse and they were always good excuses. He just wasn't
honest enough to just say that he couldn't get his act together because
they world is supposed to revolve around him.

I will never again travel with a group. The last time was with my
brothers and it was one SiL who we always had to wait for. Everything we
did and everywhere we went we had to wait for her. At work there was one
guy who was always late. He arrived late every day. Sometimes we had to
car pool to meetings, sometimes 50-60 miles away, and dealing with rush
hour traffic. It is amazing how upset some people get when you get fed
up with waiting for them all the time and set a deadline and stick to
it, going ahead without them.

"Gary" > wrote in message ...
> Sqwertz wrote:
>>
>> Some people are perpetually late for everything they do and I have no
>> pity for such people. With a few rare exceptions, there is nothing
>> preventing people from arriving on time except their own contempt.
>
> I completely agree with you. People being late is my biggest pet peeve.
> Whenever I tell someone a time, I'm always there 5 minutes early. If
> traffic
> might be an issue, I'll leave early just to compensate for that
> possibility.
> G.


Yes, I leave early too if I think there will be an issue. Then if I arrive
too early, I just go somewhere close by and have a cup of coffee or tea. My
MIL was the worst, so we started telling her we would be eating an hour
earlier than we actually were, and she usually made it by the actual eating
time. :-)

Cheri

On 4/12/2013 2:27 PM, Cheri wrote:
> "jmcquown" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On 4/11/2013 11:42 PM, sf wrote:
>>> call, but arrogant @ssholes like that think the world revolves around
>>> them -- then complain via yelp and any other media they can think of
>>> about their "bad" treatment. We've gone into empty restaurants around
>>> closing time and have not been refused service, but did have a limited
>>> menu because they had started cleaning the kitchen. We didn't care,
>>> because it's easier to choose from a limited menu in a restaurant that
>>> we've never eaten in and will never return to.
>>>
>>> -- Food is an important part of a balanced diet.
>>
>> Absolutely agree. We had dinner in a restaurant in many years ago,
>> didn't get into town and settled in our lodgings until late. No, we
>> didn't have reservations. But we were *really* hungry. There wasn't
>> a lot of choice at that hour (except for the BK's & McD's of the
>> world). We went to a small restaurant *just* as they were closing up.
>> The server graciously said come on in. He said due to the late hour
>> they couldn't serve us from the regular dinner menu but they could
>> certainly dig up something. Thank you! IIRC it was a quick hot pasta
>> dish. With garlic bread they probably would have thrown away. LOL
>> Hey, we were tired and hungry...
>>
>> Jill
>
>
> I hope you left a good tip. They might be gracious, but most are not
> happy about it at closing time with having to wait around while you eat
> before heading home. Did you ever read the book "Waiter" or visit "The
> Stained Apron" website? LOL
>
>
> Cheri

We always tip well (unless something absolutely horrendous occurs). I
worked as a server so I could certainly appreciate the guy (and the
chef!) hanging around to accomodate us. Never read that book. I'll
have to check the web site, thanks!

Jill

On 2013-04-13, jmcquown > wrote:
> On 4/12/2013 2:27 PM, Cheri wrote:

>> or visit "The Stained Apron" website? LOL

I jes did. I'll not visit again. It's pretty obvious the tone of
that site is us versus them. Not a good attitude for either side to
embrace.

> We always tip well

When deserved, absolutely. I even donate generously to a tip cup
--which, as a rule, I don't do-- at one establishment I frequent.
They know me as an enthusiastic steady customer and treat me as such,
even addressing me by name, which took me by surprise. That kind of
attention deserves reward, though I tend to think of the staff as
almost friends, now.

nb

On 13/04/2013 10:10 AM, Cheri wrote:

>
> Yes, I leave early too if I think there will be an issue. Then if I
> arrive too early, I just go somewhere close by and have a cup of coffee
> or tea. My MIL was the worst, so we started telling her we would be
> eating an hour earlier than we actually were, and she usually made it by
> the actual eating time. :-)
>

My mother in law used to do that with the BiL when she cooked holiday
dinners. She would tell us one time and tell him it was one hour
earlier. He would still be late. It drove my FiL crazy because he was
always punctual.

"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...
> On 4/12/2013 2:27 PM, Cheri wrote:
>> "jmcquown" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> On 4/11/2013 11:42 PM, sf wrote:
>>>> call, but arrogant @ssholes like that think the world revolves around
>>>> them -- then complain via yelp and any other media they can think of
>>>> about their "bad" treatment. We've gone into empty restaurants around
>>>> closing time and have not been refused service, but did have a limited
>>>> menu because they had started cleaning the kitchen. We didn't care,
>>>> because it's easier to choose from a limited menu in a restaurant that
>>>> we've never eaten in and will never return to.
>>>>
>>>> -- Food is an important part of a balanced diet.
>>>
>>> Absolutely agree. We had dinner in a restaurant in many years ago,
>>> didn't get into town and settled in our lodgings until late. No, we
>>> didn't have reservations. But we were *really* hungry. There wasn't
>>> a lot of choice at that hour (except for the BK's & McD's of the
>>> world). We went to a small restaurant *just* as they were closing up.
>>> The server graciously said come on in. He said due to the late hour
>>> they couldn't serve us from the regular dinner menu but they could
>>> certainly dig up something. Thank you! IIRC it was a quick hot pasta
>>> dish. With garlic bread they probably would have thrown away. LOL
>>> Hey, we were tired and hungry...
>>>
>>> Jill
>>
>>
>> I hope you left a good tip. They might be gracious, but most are not
>> happy about it at closing time with having to wait around while you eat
>> before heading home. Did you ever read the book "Waiter" or visit "The
>> Stained Apron" website? LOL
>>
>>
>> Cheri
>
> We always tip well (unless something absolutely horrendous occurs). I
> worked as a server so I could certainly appreciate the guy (and the chef!)
> hanging around to accomodate us. Never read that book. I'll have to
> check the web site, thanks!
>
> Jill


The website is pretty much changed, but it used to be funny.

Cheri

"notbob" > wrote in message
...
> On 2013-04-13, jmcquown > wrote:
>> On 4/12/2013 2:27 PM, Cheri wrote:
>
>>> or visit "The Stained Apron" website? LOL
>
> I jes did. I'll not visit again. It's pretty obvious the tone of
> that site is us versus them. Not a good attitude for either side to
> embrace.

It's always been us versus them with the staff, not the owners though.

Cheri

"Dave Smith" > wrote in message
...
> On 13/04/2013 10:10 AM, Cheri wrote:
>
>>
>> Yes, I leave early too if I think there will be an issue. Then if I
>> arrive too early, I just go somewhere close by and have a cup of coffee
>> or tea. My MIL was the worst, so we started telling her we would be
>> eating an hour earlier than we actually were, and she usually made it by
>> the actual eating time. :-)
>>
>
> My mother in law used to do that with the BiL when she cooked holiday
> dinners. She would tell us one time and tell him it was one hour earlier.
> He would still be late. It drove my FiL crazy because he was always
> punctual.

Yes, it is enough to drive punctual people crazy. I think the only solution
for serial late arrivals is to just go ahead without them because they're
usually not going to change.

Cheri

On 4/13/2013 10:10 AM, Cheri wrote:
> "Gary" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Sqwertz wrote:
>>>
>>> Some people are perpetually late for everything they do and I have no
>>> pity for such people. With a few rare exceptions, there is nothing
>>> preventing people from arriving on time except their own contempt.
>>
>> I completely agree with you. People being late is my biggest pet peeve.
>> Whenever I tell someone a time, I'm always there 5 minutes early. If
>> traffic
>> might be an issue, I'll leave early just to compensate for that
>> possibility.
>> G.
>
>
> Yes, I leave early too if I think there will be an issue. Then if I
> arrive too early, I just go somewhere close by and have a cup of coffee
> or tea. My MIL was the worst, so we started telling her we would be
> eating an hour earlier than we actually were, and she usually made it by
> the actual eating time. :-)
>
> Cheri

I hate being late and try to plan accordingly. You don't know what
might hold you up, be it traffic, car problems, whatever. But it's
equally annoying if you invite someone over at a specific time and they
show up and hour (or more) early. One of my brothers was notorious for
doing this. Sheesh, I *know* I told you 5:00, why are you here at
3:00?! My other brother and I started telling him to show up at 7:00 if
we really wanted him there at 5:00. LOL

Jill

Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>
>We used to go to a place that had entertainment of Friday and Saturday
>night. We'd never go those nights because the music was too loud to
>talk to the person next to you. Others liked it, good for them.

I wouldn't go to a restaurant that featured loud music either. However
I did frequent a restaurant on Long Island's north fork,
The Soundview, that besides their regular dining room they had a
separate dining room with a live band and a dance floor, usually only
on weekends, and they played mostly oldies and took requests. After
dinner in the main dining room I'd often move to listen to music and
dance while having a few 2nis. They also had dining outdoors on a
huge deck overlooking the Sound.
Great food, fantastic atmosphe
http://www.soundviewrestaurant.com/l...sound-view.cfm

"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...
> On 4/13/2013 10:10 AM, Cheri wrote:
>> "Gary" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> Sqwertz wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Some people are perpetually late for everything they do and I have no
>>>> pity for such people. With a few rare exceptions, there is nothing
>>>> preventing people from arriving on time except their own contempt.
>>>
>>> I completely agree with you. People being late is my biggest pet peeve.
>>> Whenever I tell someone a time, I'm always there 5 minutes early. If
>>> traffic
>>> might be an issue, I'll leave early just to compensate for that
>>> possibility.
>>> G.
>>
>>
>> Yes, I leave early too if I think there will be an issue. Then if I
>> arrive too early, I just go somewhere close by and have a cup of coffee
>> or tea. My MIL was the worst, so we started telling her we would be
>> eating an hour earlier than we actually were, and she usually made it by
>> the actual eating time. :-)
>>
>> Cheri
>
> I hate being late and try to plan accordingly. You don't know what might
> hold you up, be it traffic, car problems, whatever. But it's equally
> annoying if you invite someone over at a specific time and they show up
> and hour (or more) early. One of my brothers was notorious for doing
> this. Sheesh, I *know* I told you 5:00, why are you here at 3:00?! My
> other brother and I started telling him to show up at 7:00 if we really
> wanted him there at 5:00. LOL
>
> Jill


Yes, I agree. I usuall try to get where I'm going five minutes early, never
more than ten. I guess some people just don't realize the timing and
everything that goes into entertaining.

Cheri