Saturday Nine

I think I'll try this week's Saturday Nine. It is about food, after all.

1. When you go to a restaurant do you tip better if the server is good-looking? No. To be honest, I barely ever even look at the server. I've been to restaurants where I couldn't have picked my server out of a crowd. Kind of shameful, I know. I generally tip at least 20% no matter what the server looks like.

2. Have you ever asked anyone to turn off their cellphone in public because it bothered you? I have to confess that I don't understand the impulse to do such a thing. Let's say you're in a restaurant and the couple at the table next to you are having a conversation that you can hear perfectly. Would you ask them to stop? No. I don't really see the difference. About the only time I object to people talking on a cell phone is in the library--where people talking loudly in person would bother me too.

3. Is your noon meal called "lunch" or "dinner?" Lunch. Isn't "dinner" at lunch a Southern term?

4. Do you generally make reservations first? McDonald's doesn't take them. Seriously, though, no. Unless we're going somewhere that we know will be crowded, or where reservations would be a good idea (or required), we don't make them. The places we tend to go don't get up to much more than a ten minute wait, and that if we're unlucky.

5. Do you ask for a booth or a table? A booth, usually. We go to one place semi-regularly that has the bad habit of putting two people at booths built for 6-8. It messes them up when it gets crowded. I'd rant about people who ask for booths when only the big ones are open, but frankly the restaurant staff just sits people there without asking.

6. Do you ask for a doggie bag? Heck yeah, although I don't think anybody actually calls it that anymore. Restaurants pile more and more food onto plates--you paid for it, you should take it home if you can't finish it. At the restaurant I mentioned in #5, they charge you an arm and a leg for a milkshake big enough for three people, and we get a cup for the leftovers. Why let the food go to waste? They'll just throw it out.

7. Would you complain to the management if there were children crying nearby? Quite the opposite. I smile kindly at the parents to let them know that it's okay. I'm a parent; I know the deal. Kids cry.

8. Have you ever sent food back? Never. There's only been one time that I've been tempted to, and that was at a steak place that (deservedly) closed. Apparently, some people like to take a bite of meat and taste burn, but not me. The cook was a little too aggressive with the grill and with the salt. The inside was a perfect medium rare, but the outside tasted like charcoal.

9. Do you find servers singing "Happy Birthday" cute or annoying? I friggin' wish they'd sing Happy Birthday. The birthday songs they have at those lousy chain restaurants are annoying. Happy Birthday would be cute.