I had 2 dining experiences lst week that left me wanting. Both were a case of bad timing.

In the first instance, our wineglasses were empty and the plates had long been removed from the table when the bill finally came. I understand the server was very busy (she's also the bartender) but I'd like the bill within a couple minutes of finishing everything. I'll even accept it a little early (still drinking but food is finished).

In the second instance, the server asked if I had room for dessert. "The second half of the steak I'm still eating will do nicely." I said to myself while mentally deducting 5% from the tip.

What bothers me is the question "are you still working on that?"

No, I would not call what I'm doing to this meal "work".

How are you enjoying that?

I don't like that one either. I've also long since tired of "you guys" as a form of address, or the cutesy "you two." :rolleyes:

The morning after returning from a European trip we ate breakfast at a Denny's and obviously cleaned our senior-menu plates. We mentioned to the middle-aged waitress that we'd just returned, and she looked at us and our empty plates and drawled "Didn't they feed you over there?" :D

It was just too funny for me to feel insulted and, after all, it was Denny's. :)

There, I fixed it. :)

Also see http://theoatmeal.com/comics/restaurant_website.

When a server asks me this, or the related, "How is it tasting?" I am tempted to answer, "Orally."

It drives me crazy when you are seated and then a minute later the server comes over and asks you what you want for dinner. Give me time to read!!! Also, when plates or glasses are dropped. That noise makes the restaurant look like they cannot train staff to carry dishes.

Delta747

^ :D Much more straightforward is the Germans' Schmeckt gut?

In a fine French restaurant once the waiter came by and asked my husband, "And how is bambi?"

Actually that's not a peeve because up until that point, the place had a very stuffy uptight atmosphere. At that point we relaxed and enjoyed ourselves more. The same waiter later zipped by and refilled our wine glasses (from the bottle we'd ordered) with the comment "gotta keep an even buzz". His French accent made us ask each other, "did he really just say that?" :D

A real peeve, another time we went to a renowned American fine dining establishment and ten seconds after being seated, the sommelier asked if we would like wine. We hadn't even been handed menus yet.

When the big Mac they put in my to go bag looks nothing like the one in their advertisement! :rolleyes:

Good point.. What to do you say about "Chai Tea Latte" then? That is like saying "tea tea"... since the word for Tea in many Indian languages is "Chai". The Starbucks of the world could have just gone with just Chai or Chai latte at best

Chai Tea is similarly redundant...

And most of these chai lattes taste nothing like tea anyway......and IMO pretty lame drinks....

When I ordered a Hefeweissen using the correct pronunciation and the pub waiter corrected me with the wrong pronunciation. Um, whatever dude, just bring me one.

When the dress code for the dining room is collared shirt required, no denim allowed, but you have to walk through the bar to get there, which is full of people (who by 7pm, when our reservations are for, have already gotten blatantly drunk) in shorts and tee shirts.

I'm reading this wondering what the problem is. :confused:

I think that the issue is that one place has two different dress codes. The conflicting dress brings the "nice" restaraunt down a notch or two.

It certainly brings the "nice" place down a notch. When my wife and I go there, we expect to pay ~$100 each plus drinks, but it is like having to navigate through a local dive downtown to get to the seating area.

We having nothing against the downtown local dives, as we go there as well. It's just the fact that we are going to this particular place for its elegance.

In a related vein, I dislike restaurants that basically have two different menus. When they list $6 sandwiches on one page I am not going to believe that they'll do a good job preparing and serving the $35 filet mignon on the opposite page.

I, too, find "naan bread" and "chai tea" irritatingly redundant - in the latter case, I've been tempted to inquire if they use genuine " 'pani' water"? Speaking of naan, never was I so boggled as at an Indian restaurant near the Castle in Lisbon, highly touted by a guidebook, where said "naan" bore a striking resemblance to what in the USA would be known as
"English muffins"!

New one for me--a manager inquiring as to how our food was immediately after the server finished setting the plates on our table. How are we supposed to know how our food tastes, when we haven't had time to take a bite?

I'd love that!

"I'll tell you after it gets here!" or "I don't know, we just ordered!"

Mr. Kipper's comment after she left was, "I wouldn't know. I haven't had a chance to eat anything yet."

We just said that it looked good. And, I pointed out to our server that he might want to suggest she wait until patrons have had a chance to taste their food before inquiring. :)

naan bread is best enjoyed whilst sipping some chai tea at the la brea tar pits, but it can get crowded so please rsvp.

Can you see the Sierra Nevada Mountains from there?

I always drive Table Mesa Road to get there (a real road located north of Phoenix) :D

I have a chuckle everytime I see "baby lamb" on a menu...

Beyond redundancy, I find most menu adjectives annoying. I would prefer they stick to facts.

I'mo not opposed to adjectives but find the morphing of adjectives annoying, eg how everything is now Panko encrusted, despite the breading on a number of the items I've ordered being exactly like the old breading and not particularly panko-ish at all.

They're annoying because most run the gamut from exaggeration to outright lies. And don't get me started on adverbs! :D

:D Oh, the horror!!! :D

"served with au jus sauce"
'nuff said.

Oh, that's one of my all time favorites! Who writes this stuff??

Eek, someone who clearly needs a lesson in marketing. I love lamb and will eat it in a heartbeat. But if you call it "baby lamb"... I visualize soft brown eyes and a fuzzy little baby, and... no thanks, I'm no monster! A bit hypocritical maybe, but as I said, it's all about marketing.

I'm the same way with dolphin. I want real dolphin, dammit! Porpoise! Not some flat, name-stealing fish...

Me pet peeve.. having to wait in line at good restaurants.. and knowing its going to be worth it.

the wait staff can't read my mind so i have to post online about it...

I disagree for two reasons. First, it is your responsibility to choose a restaurant that suits the tastes of your party. This is very easy today, given the availability of menus on the web. Second, the sadist in me rather likes the idea of "punishing" those who have such developmentally retarded palates that they refuse to eat anything other than well-done steak and macaroni & cheese. My best friend's ex-wife was one of those types, and she ruined literally every group dinner outing either by making the process of choosing a restaurant too tedious to be worthwhile or by passive-aggressively sulking when she couldn't find anything by Chef Boyardee on the menu. (Lest anyone think I'm being unreasonable, I'm not talking about restaurants where Andrew Zimmern is taping his show-- just classic Continental or New American, seafood, Japanese, Mediterranean, etc.)

The problem is not the grouping of the beers, it's the naming of the lists. It should be "Drinkable beers" and "swill". And the pricing should be reversed to punish those who prefer swill.

What? I wouldn't think of going to brunch until maybe 13:00 or later. In fact, I am often one of the last to be seated at brunch, sometimes around 15-16:00. Perhaps this is a NYC thing.

I absolutely hate this, for a slightly different reason as I drink my coffee black. My neko jita requires that my coffee be close to room temperature to be drinkable. In a diner (the only restaurant where I drink coffee during a meal) that usually means that I don't even begin drinking my coffee until I am nearly finished with the main meal. As soon as I get a third of the way down the cup, the server inevitably attempts to top it off with boiling coffee, making the whole thing undrinkably hot again. And since diner coffee is already too thin to begin with, I can't throw an ice cube in it to cool it down.

If these dishes are traditionally prepared very spicy, then this is your problem. Don't complain when your vindaloo irritates your hemorrhoids. However, I agree that a surprise application of Scotch Bonnet peppers to a tuna salad warrants some advance notice.

+1,000,000


And for a few of my own:

1. Wine glasses filled beyond halfway.

2. Dropping off the check before I ask for it. The most insulting instance was receiving the check with the appetizers.

3. Whisking by and plunking a bottle of ketchup on the table sometime between ordering and receiving the meal. Don't insult my good taste by assuming that I am one of those unwashed heathens who put ketchup on anything that contains meat, eggs, and/or potatoes.

4. Failure to check up on me shortly after I receive my entree, in case I have a problem with it or might require something else such as a condiment (but not ketchup!:p).

5. Clearing plates that have utinsels on them and failing to bring replacement utinsels. Also, removing my dirty utinsels from the plate, placing them on the bare table, then clearing the plate.

My peeve would be a waiter that rushes through a ridiculously long list of specials and featured dishes without pausing or observing punctuation.

If a restaurant has 5 specials that alone is a lot of info for a diner to digest (haha!) verbally. When management tells their waitstaff to add a bunch of unnecessary details it is almost impossible to remember what special #1 was by the time the waiter gets to special #5.

For example: "Tonight we have five specials. First we have our signature 8oz filet cut from the most choice meat from our own cattle herd raised by Norwegian refugees descended from French Huguenots that moved to Norway in the late 17th century to build yard ornaments for high ranking Ottomans. That steak is going to come with a side of asparagus raised at our carbon neutral farm in northern Washington state and shipped in via common over the road trucks in blue plastic containers wrapped in 4mil shrink wrap by our fairly compensated farm workers, who live in onsite geodesic domes during the peak growing season. You also get a choice of either our signature macaroni and cheese baked to perfection in recreation Navajo baking bowls at 350degrees in our patented word burning open oven by war vets from Laos or our stunning steamed spinach served on a plate painted with scenes of famous Canadian technological advancements in military aviation from 1963 - May of 1982. Our second special tonight is............." :mad:

Agree, but you'd hate Legal Seafoods then... IIRC you get the check right when you order. Hate that.