Text 21846, 106 rader
Skriven 2007-10-27 09:49:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av MANNY ROTHSTEIN
Ärende: Diner's bill of rights 2
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5. Timely seating. When you arrive on time, you shall be seated
expeditiously. If you wait more than 15 minutes for a reserved
table, the management should apologize and offer a drink at the bar.
Of course, a host can't always accurately predict when tables will
be vacated, but Donato Poto, co-owner of Providence in Los Angeles,
says even 15 minutes is too long for guests to wait. If the
restaurant is having a problem seating the guest right away, he
says, after five or 10 minutes at the most, "the minimum of courtesy
is to offer them a cocktail at the bar or a glass of Champagne for
sure."


6. Wait at the table. If you arrive at the time of your reservation
and your table is ready, you shall be promptly seated, if you wish,
not asked to wait for your party to be complete. "If you make a
reservation for 8, the table should be yours at 8," Poto says.

7. Pull out your wallet only once. If you have a drink at the bar,
the tab shall be transferred to your table; you shall not be asked
to settle up at the bar. It's the restaurant's responsibility to
make sure the bartender or bar server receives his or her share of
the gratuity; that is not your problem.

8.  Waiter's anonymity. You have the right not to be told your
server's name. "Folks don't come in to make new friends with the
service staff," says Martha  Keller, adjunct professor of
hospitality at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone.

9. Dinner conversation. Do we have to pull out the decibel meter,
kids? Part of dining is conversing. Music so loud that you have to
shout to be heard is unacceptable.

10. A wine list. Every adult diner should be offered one, just as we
are offered a menu.  Restaurateurs, welcome to the 21st century!
Many of us -- even girls -- are interested in wine. We might leave
ordering it up to the host, but we'd still  like to see what's on
offer and talk about it. (Note: We'll cut the places with 30- or
40-page wine lists some slack on this one.) Further, you have the
right  to be spared fanciful descriptions of wine. If Steve can't 
describe a wine without inventing, he shall fetch the wine director.

11. Not to be told the server's favorite dish. You have the right to
a simple, accurate description of any dish you ask about yet be
spared lengthy lists of ingredients and explanations of cooking
methods. And what of the diner who asks whether the halibut or the
tuna is better? The waiter, Poto says, "should give a full
description and guide them. They could say, 'Well, the halibut has a
little more delicate touch; it's a little more citrusy.' They should
definitely not say the halibut's better than the tuna; that means
the tuna's bad and it shouldn't be on the menu."

12. Salt on the table. Rare is the kitchen that gets seasoning right
every time. Please spare us embarrassing the chef by having to ask
for salt.

13. Tap water. You have a right to be offered tap water without
feeling stigmatized. The tap water shall be filtered. Unless there
are overriding drought conditions, the water shall be replenished
throughout the  meal. And if we do order bottled water, no funny
business (pouring gigantic glasses).

14. Your daily bread. Bread is an inalienable dining right, and you
shall be offered it not long after being  seated. You have the right
to a bread plate in white-tablecloth establishments, you have the
right to keep that bread plate through the cheese course (if any),
and the bread shall be replenished throughout the meal. "Bread and
water are  standards of graciousness," Keller says. "You don't
withhold it like it's some treat."

15. Right of refusal: wine. You have the right to refuse a wine that
is not in good condition, and you shall not be required to pay for
it.  If Steve doesn't know what a corked wine is, he should fetch
someone who does.

16. Right of refusal: food. Has the server asked how you'd like your
steak cooked? You have the right to send it back if it's not cooked
as requested.

17. Eating with the rest of your party. For any given course, all
the diners at a table shall be served at the same time. No one likes
to start before everyone else nor let their food get cold.

18. Proper level of wine in glasses. Wine shall be replenished as
necessary, but servers shall not overfill the glasses. You have the
right to keep the bottle on the table and pour it yourself if the
server's not attentive.

19.  Prices of specials. The waiter must tell you all the specials
and their prices. Corollary: Apparently diners do exist in this town
who absolutely don't want to know; we'll have to leave it up to them
to glare at the waiter if it looks as if he's about to mention
prices.

20. Silverware. You have  the right to receive new silverware with
each course; busboys should not ask us to keep our icky forks. You
have the right to a cocktail fork when ordering oysters and a steak
knife when ordering steak or when your lamb shank's undercooked.

Cheers

YK Jim


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