Home > Table Talk > Archives > 2008 > September > 25 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USMy Top Tips for Dining Out
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
WANT A TIP FOR BETTER DINING OUT? RELAX AND ENJOY YOURSELF
Photo: Joey Ivansco/AJC
I’m not sure the world (and certainly me) is ready for another “I’m just a regular guy/gal and I’m going to write a book about my secret relationship with ___ (fill in food word here).
But here comes another one: “The Amateur Gourmet” (Bantam Trade Paperbacks, Oct. 7, 2008, $13) by Emory law grad Adam D. Roberts, who hosted “FN DISH” on Food Network and created the popular website www.theamateurgourmet.com. All the praise for this one, from Times’ critic Frank Bruni to foodie brothers Matt Lee and Ted Lee, is raving about the candidness of the book, which includes shopping tips from Times writer Amanda Hesser and the “ten commandments of dining out” from the great one herself: former Times critic and editor-in-chief of Gourmet Magazine Ruth Reichel.
Reichel has lunch with the author at Esca in New York, and over king crab and water she spills her tips for dining out, from making yourself a regular at a good restaurant to sharing your food, to her final testament that there are no testaments.
Some I heartily agree with: making yourself a regular, asking for help from the wait staff, knowing to order what you are hungry for, sharing your food, eating only until you are full, knowing the 411 on where you are eating to her final exclamation that “there is no should when it comes to dining out!” Her proclamation that you should wear whatever you want, I don’t — you should dress for the dining room you are eating in, whether it’s BBQ or chateaubriand.
I have a few of my own, some similar, others not:
If you can’t get reservations online for the number in your party, book the reservation for one person less. The day of the dinner, call the restaurant well in advance and let them know you’d like to add one person to your table. Rarely will this pose a problem.
Becoming a regular is a grand idea — it’s the best way to endear yourself to the restaurant’s staff. That is, if you’re a nice regular. If you continually prove to be a pain in the rear, it’s not going to get you anywhere, which leads me to:
Don’t be a pain in the rear to get what you want: know the restaurant’s specialty before you go and ask pointed questions so that the staff knows you are serious about your meal. But don’t expect unlimited time with your waiter — he has other tables, too. And remember what you learned in kindergarten — play nice. Treating staff as if they are less than you is a great way to get the “one minute rule” treatment in the kitchen (you don’t want to eat a steak that spent time on the floor, do you?).
To really enjoy yourself, share your food. Get over your anal self and switch plates. Order lots of stuff you’ve never tried before. Explore. Taste. Critically evaluate and move on. Relax. It’s food. Nobody’s curing cancer here.
Get your money’s worth: don’t accept something you feel is of inferior quality, or something you didn’t order. Politely ask for the right thing. How you ask helps, since being a bully never got anybody anywhere.
Don’t overstay your welcome — when it’s time to go, leave.
Permalink | Comments (6) | Post your comment | Categories: Dining
Comments
By francesca
September 25, 2008 3:12 PM | Link to this
I love the very last sentence of this article! I used to wait tables and I cant tell you how many times EVERYBODY from the manager,cooks,waitstaff,bartenders are ALL ready to go home, but there is ONE table that is clueless and hangs out WAY past closing. If you are one of those annoying people,please try to understand,its our job and we want to leave to go home and see our own families.Dont be disrespectful by overstaying your welcome.Be aware of your surroundings.If its past closing time and you are the only table in the restaurant..GET OUT!! trust me..everyone will despise you and remember you next time…trust me, we remember things like this. Its extremely rude.Take it outside if you must but dont hold up an entire staff of people, thats just plain selfish.
By Mike D
September 25, 2008 4:31 PM | Link to this
When I used to work in restuarants, we dealt with obnoxious tables by spitting in their food. The worst thing I ever saw was when our cook blew his nose in someones mixed vegetable order.
By JR
September 26, 2008 8:49 AM | Link to this
R-e-i-c-h-l
By ewfsha smyjzno
November 16, 2008 8:27 AM | Link to this
bqur fvwjlqect eogk vlxe djvploqxf lgnjh krgqj
By ewfsha smyjzno
November 16, 2008 8:28 AM | Link to this
bqur fvwjlqect eogk vlxe djvploqxf lgnjh krgqj
By ewfsha smyjzno
November 16, 2008 8:29 AM | Link to this
bqur fvwjlqect eogk vlxe djvploqxf lgnjh krgqj