Tipping in Restaurants

I stumbled upon a blog post by a waitress with regular contributions to Slashfood over the past few days. After perusing the comments on that entry, I was inspired to read the entirety of Hanna’s “What Can I Get You Folks?” series along with most of the comments, and as a result I’ve been left extremely disillusioned with restaurant servers.

The vast majority of industry commenters, and the author herself, express a level of entitlement to a minimum 20% tip that I find absolutely disgusting. While I acknowledge that a vast number of states in the US are permitted to pay their employees below minimum wage (often as low as $2-and-change per hour) and subsequently do literally live off of the tips they receive, there are plenty of states that are required to pay at least minimum wage and those servers still seem to feel they deserve a 20% tip for simply showing up and doing their job. A quick calculation puts their earned income then above my most well-paid job in the States–a job that required of me a level of responsibility holding me accountable for government records and the possibility of testifying in Federal Court. While waiting tables is admittedly no easy feat, it certainly doesn’t impose anywhere near that degree of accountability, and it deeply peeves me that a waiter or waitress would feel entitled to that standard of salary based on tips.

When I worked in a bakery, I would say the level of physical and mental demand of the job was very similar to that of a waitperson, and I made just a bit over minimum wage with no tipping–it was flat out not permitted by our owner to have a tip jar on the counter. Even if it was allowed, I would never have expected tips because my job was to provide a service, and that is exactly what a waiter or waitress’s job at a restaurant is to do. The fact that so many apparently feel entitled to at least 20%–even in the cases where they are already paid the same wage as any other “unskilled” labor–is absolutely abhorrent.

It is an entirely different attitude to view tips as exactly what they are: a gratuity given as a token of appreciation and thanks for a level of service that goes beyond what is expected of the employees at an establishment. There were occasional times when I was handed a dollar bill or other relatively small amount (compared to this expected 20%) as thanks for carrying a heavy cake out to a customer’s car at the bakery; this task was not part of my job, and the customer chose to acknowledge their thanks for my added service with a tip. I always viewed that as a truly genuine gesture, and I never had a problem with helping a customer out by offering the same service of carrying products without receipt of a tip. I did my job because that was expected of me, and I would go beyond the expectation because I enjoyed my work and helping people. I expressly did not show up for work because I expected customers to pay me extra for providing them with the service I was there to provide and more specifically felt entitled to a particular percentage of their total purchase.

Tips should not be an expectation. They are not something a customer service provider is entitled to receive. Waiters and waitresses do not have a right to 20% of my bill simply for showing up for work and doing the job they are paid to do. While I will happily entertain the idea of a 15% tip as a starting point in states like NY where waitstaff are not paid minimum wage (something completely inhuman and worthy of discussion in its own right), that is a baseline for simply doing one’s job there. After being enlightened to the attitude it seems most servers possess, I’m completely disinclined to ever consider leaving a 20% tip anywhere. I’m now also inclined to start at a 0% baseline in states like Oregon and California where the servers are in fact paid at least minimum wage. They can earn a tip by doing more than what is expected of them at their job.

It’s particularly astounding because it is quite clear when one is hired what the wage will be. These people are fully informed and choose to take the job at the rate of pay that is offered. They then expect to be paid more. At what other job is this considered reasonable behavior? Where else can one have the luxury of feeling entitled to more than their offered salary? Nowhere.

Tips are not an entitlement. They are a gift. It would be nice to see these servers treat them as such.

Tags: bakery · bill · customer service · dining out · expectations · gratuity · restaurants · salary · service industry · tipping · tips · waitstaff

Written by Melody @ 9:47 am Categories: Food Musings · Linkage · No Photos · Opinions · People · Restaurant Ramblings

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Terrace Diner Dinner

After getting back to my parent’s house tonight, we all went out to dinner at the family favorite restaurant–the Terrace Diner in West Babylon. As diner’s go, this is definitely the best, in my opinion; the service is consistently good, the food is consistently good (I’ve never been at all disappointed by something I ordered), and the prices are average-or-better for this area.

Being a very small fan of fried/heavily sauced/otherwise loaded with fat meals, I generally only choose from a few items I know won’t send my GI tract into a violent storm of “you’ve loaded me with too much lipid, idiot!” convulsions–their vegetable wrap is one of my favorites. However, tonight I actually spotted something on the dinner specials list that seemed like something I’d enjoy: Pasta Angelica, a mélange of sautéed chicken breast, mushrooms, garlic, onion, and red pepper in olive oil and balsamic vinegar over penne. I asked for them to go light on the oil (which they did!), and lo! I was finally able to order a meal that included dessert for once!!

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A lone little ball floating in my brothMy meal began with an appropriately diminutive bowl of matzoh ball soup. The matzoh was perfect souping consistency–firm enough to hold together in broth, tender enough to easily slice off bite-sized pieces with a my spoon. It was also lightly herbed, which was a pleasant addition to the normally plain dough. I was quite thoroughly pleased by the fact that the broth wasn’t too salty, and it was definitely well-developed, the chicken flavor was satisfyingly intense.

After the soup came a small, side-salad-size plate of the house Greek salad. I didn’t bother to photograph it because it was just your standard greens + cucumber + tomato + feta + olives salad with a little cup of the House dressing. My family goes to this diner primarily for this dressing, which really is unimpressive visually–it’s a cloyingly yellow, thick dressing almost reminiscent of custard. The taste, on the other hand, is remarkable: garlicky, smooth, and oh-so-tasty but not too rich. I never use all that they give you because of how flavorful it is; just a little bit goes a very long way.

Next up was my main event for the meal. Well, at least, what most, non-dessert-oriented people would consider the main event.

The aroma of this dish was nirvanaWhat never ceases to amaze me about the Terrace Diner is how they always cook their chicken exactly right–it’s never underdone, and at the same time it’s never overcooked to the point of dry, stringy unappetizingness. I’ve tried a number of their chicken dishes, and each time it’s arrived in front of me at the perfect temperature and moist, tender, delicious. The Pasta Angelica’s chicken cubes had the benefit of being covered in balsamic vinegar and a teeny bit of olive oil. Everything in this dish was fantastically flavorful, and I’ve since become convinced that nothing goes with mushrooms like balsamic vinegar. Mmm! :yum:

Because I knew that I still had dessert coming to me, and while that pasta would be very hard to top, I had faith it would be the highlight of my dinner, so I deliberately only ate about a third of the main course. I asked our server to wrap up the rest, and after everyone else in my family had finished up their dinners, I took a short stroll over to the dessert cases and pondered my options. I was faced with the choices of rice pudding, chocolate pudding, Jello, chocolate cheesecake, plain cheesecake, strawberry-topped sugar-free cheesecake, apple pie, cherry pie, bluberry pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate layer cake, chocolate mousse cake, a streusel-topped apple tart, various small pastries and brownies and cookies, and the cake I wound up deciding on: carrot cake.

A moist, tender crumb sandwiched by cheesy frostingOn any given day, you’re bound to find me unable to pass up chocolate. I’m definitely a chocoholic. However, after such a filling meal as what preceded this dessert selection process, I wasn’t really up for the clearly decadent and heavy chocolate desserts (well, except for the pudding, but come on–who on earth in their right mind would select pudding of all things when faced with choices like the ones I had before me???). Besides, the cute little carrots on top were absolutely calling to me. I could here their squeaky little voices chirping my name as I thoughtfully considered all of my potential desserts.

And after all that consideration, the selection I settled on did not disappoint at all. The cake was splendidly most, with more than enough shredded carrot, walnut pieces, plumped raisins, and wintery spices to go around. Usually for me, cake is just an excuse to eat frosting, but I’d actually order this dessert with the intention of enjoying the cake in its own right the next time I go to Terrace. At the same time, this is not to downplay the glory of that frosting in any way, shape, or form.

The photo doesn’t do justice to that sweet toppingSeriously, this cream cheese frosting gets an A+++ in my book for Doing What Cheesecake Frosting is Supposed to Do. It perfectly balanced the spicy, carroty, tender cake with creamy, flavorful sweetness. It wasn’t so cream cheesey as to mislead me into thinking I’m eating a cheesecake when clearly I’m not, and at the same time it wasn’t so overly-sugared as to make my teeth hurt and my tongue go dry. It was Perfection. Except there should’ve been more; for the Queen of Frosting (i.e. me), there just simply wasn’t enough of this amazing concotion between and atop and around those cake layers. Alas, I really can’t complain too much in the face of the overal fantabulousness of my dessert.

Really, the cake in general was honestly the best carrot cake I’ve ever had. It’s inspired me to attempt my own carrot cake-baking endeavor, so not only can I have a wonderfully well-endowed cake with the epitome of greatness in the form of cream cheese frosting, but I can make sure there’s enough of said frosting.

Tags: balsamic · carrot cake · chicken · cream cheese frosting · food · greek salad · matzoh ball soup · pasta angelica · terrace diner

Written by Melody @ 5:48 am Categories: Desserts · Italian · Main Meals · Pasta · Photos · Restaurant Ramblings

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Fooding Adventures in the Village

Yesterday I had the absolute pleasure of going on a gastronomical quest with Robyn! I don’t think I could have possibly created myself someone more enjoyable to roam the area near NYU/Bleeker Street/Astor Place with in search of baked goods and exotic treats sugar-loaded enough to get me fidgity.

We started off by going to the newly-opened location of Cafe Zaiya somewhere near Astor Place (forgive me for my utter lack of awareness as to the location of ANY of these places because I was completely not paying attention how to get there–I was just letting Robyn be my tummy-delighting guide ;]), where I was introduced to the fabulousness that are Japanese baked goods! I tried to let price be my guide during the whole trip, since I wanted to eat things from a variety of places, so I picked something that was only $1.50. This also meant I wouldn’t feel as bad if I wound up not liking it, heh.

Not liking it wound up being completely a non-issue. “Red bean” and “black sesame” are definitely not ingredients I ever would have thought to put in a sweet food, since to me beans go in things like rice and beans or baked beans or burritos, and sesame is used on breads and chicken, but oh. my. GOD do the Japanese know how to turn them into a delectable dessert.

The flavor of the toasted sesame really rounded out the sweetness of the bun, which being grilled rice flour dough had a mild flavor and really nice chewy-toasty texture without being too crusty/bread-like. It encapsulated the bean paste, which had a really rich flavor without being at all heavy and was perfectly sweet. Yakimochi has so been added to my list of top desserts, yum! :d

After Cafe Zaiya, we roamed some more until we came upon Black Hound Bakery, which we’d previously decided needed at least a stop-in if not tasting. After looking over the prices (too prohibitive for my budget), we settled on just oohing and aahhing at the cute-yummy-fabulous-looking cakes, desserts, bars, truffles, and cookies.

Speaking of their cookies, they had a display of all these tiny cookies that were absolutely the most adorable cookies EVAR. I was compelled to photograph what I am dubbing palmiettes–palmiers that FIT in the palm of your hand instead of being made with it, hee!! XD Too much cute in baked goodies!

After not eating anything from Black Hound, we walked back in the direction we came from to go to JAS Mart and check out their selection of Japanese snacks. Upon deciding I didn’t need a whole big bag of Kasugai gummies despite them being the best gummies on the face of the planet, I bought a small box of Meiji Yogurt Scotch–a yogurt butterscotch candy. Being accustomed to the American type of butterscotch, I was completely not expecting them to be hard candies, so it was quite a shock when I bit down on a piece only to CRUNCH on it. Heh. I did enjoy the balance of yogurty tanginess and butterscotch sweetness very much, though.

Next was a stop in at the downtown Whole Foods so Robyn could show me their assortment of chocolate and honey. I wasn’t interested in spending a ton of money on a chocolate bar or honey, but I definitely do need to expand my honey-tasting-experience well beyond “teddy bear clover from the supermarket.” BUT! I did find that Egyptian Licorice Tea–which I can’t find near me out on Long Island–so I was like MINE! MINE! MINE! And I bought it. Hee.

Some more ambling through the streets of New York City led us to Amy’s Bread because I was determined to include a cupcake in my eating endeavors of the night, and Robyn assured me they had some there. After ogling all of the very tempting baked goodies, I decided that a solitary cupcake was simply not going to do it, so I added on one of the biscotti I spotted on a shelf behind the cashwrap.

I am definitely of the “crispy cookies are what it’s all about” school, so I have long been a fan of biscotti. While I like crispy cookies, I don’t like crumbly cookies, and too often are crispy cookies made thicker and thus crumbly and oh-so-unappealing. However, biscotti are always perfectly crispy-but-also-held-together-y. Yay! And this Anise Almond Biscotto was FANTABULOUS. Ever since trying Yogi Tea’s Egyptian Licorice Tea and being ecstatic over it, I’ve decided that maybe I’m not so repulsed by licorice as I thought and have resolved to try anise-flavored things when given the opportunity. This biscotto was so good, I’ve decided I need to get some anise to add to my spice collection–if only to make anise biscotti! The almonds were perfect as well: flavorful, fresh, and not overly-toasted.

This cupcake (their “Black and White” variety) successfully introduced me to the world of non-mixed-based, canned-frosting-decorated cupcakes, however disappointingly. I have to say the cake was not especially impressive; while the flavor was by far much more intense and well-rounded than cakes baked from a mix, it was very dry and crumbly. I am so not down with the crumbly cakes, nope nope. The frosting, though. Oh, the frosting… At the time I tasted this cupcake, I was in absolute frosting heaven. First of all, there was plenty of it. Thanks in part to the fact that I picked out the one that looked like it had the most, heh. It was also so perfectly balanced between the butter and sugar–it didn’t at all taste like too much of one or the other, but it was still very sweet. Mmmm!

I also had a small taste of Robyn’s Monkey Cake. It’s a banana-walnut-pineapple layer cake with traditional cream cheese frosting. Like a kicked-up banana bread that’s been frosted. It was good. :]

Once we left Amy’s, we passed a couple of Italian bakeries–one had cupcakes that were oh-so-sadly ICED and not FROSTED. It was declared the So Not Cool Bakery, and we indignantly continued on our Cool Food search. It led us to Pasticceria Bruno with–*gasp*!–Pumpkin-Raisin-Walnut Biscotti summoning me from behind the storefront window. I could not pass that up, and we happily went inside. It was a little anxiety-inducing when I discovered from looking over all of their other dessert goodness that they seemed to price things by the pound. Oh, no! Could I be impeded from my squashy-spicey-fruity-nutty-indulgence by the fact that I would have to buy a GAZILLION all at once?? The horror! BUT. Thankfully, I was able to purchase a single biscotto, and Christ. It was sublime. Officially my Favorite Cookie in the History of the World. I need to find a recipe for such a cookie so I can enjoy this ambrosial treat more often.

Still not full (we are sugar-and-flour-consuming MACHINES, apparently), it was decided that more bakeries were in order! We ventured off and came to the Polka Dot Cake Studio. I wanted to at least check it out, and when I saw amazing-looking cupcakes at the counter, we agreed to split one. Boy, am I glad we did because their Red Velvet Cupcake more than made up for the disappointment that was Amy’s crumbly cake. It was a very moist and delicious cake that was at least enjoyable in the face of my own red velvet cake, which is oh-so-much better, yes. But Polka Dot’s is good. The frosting really blew me over, though. My God. It was a classic frosting for red velvet cake, cream cheese buttercream, and it was done phenomenally. It didn’t taste quite like a full-blown cream cheese frosting or buttercream–it was somewhere between the two. I enjoyed it because straight buttercream tends to be quite plain, but the slight cream cheese flavor made it just plain perfect. Definitely worth another visit, especially considering the price–while Amy’s was $2.50 for a cupcake, this was just $1.50, and way better. Try it. Now.

Continuing on our way through the streets of the Big Apple, we finally stopped at Magnolia. A person in search of baked goods in New York has utterly failed if only for the sake of visiting Places to See if they haven’t checked out Magnolia, so we absolutely had to go there. At this point, I was definitely on a sugar rush and fidgity, so I really didn’t need any more sweet things, but after sampling a piece of a cupcake with maple buttercream on top, I couldn’t leave without buying something. Conveniently, they had boxes! I could safely take it with me to go home! Woo-hoo! A box was fetched and padded with tissue paper, a yellow cupcake with yellow buttercream and sprinkles was selected, a mini chocolate pecan toffee white chip cookie was also added to the box, and I was set to go.

At this point, it was after nine and we’d been adventuring for nearly four whole hours, so it was time for us to go in the direction of our respective homes. Good-byes were said, and I was off to the train. During the train ride, I came down from my sugar high and was too tempted by the memories of the goodness of the sample, and so needless to say, the Magnolia treats did not survive the trip home. That cake is so perfect–the texture is moist and fluffy-but-dense, with a crispy-buttery top that is absolutely delightful, and the flavor is vanilla-y and buttery without being too rich. The frosting is more impressive with maple, though. Their plain buttercream is basically just SWEET. It’s certainly not bad, but I definitely prefer some sort of taste in my frosting beyond sweetness.

The cookie wasn’t crispy, so that was one small point against it. It wasn’t chewy either, though, so that was better. “Fudgy” is the best way to describe the texture, almost brownie-like, and I do like fudge and brownies, so I was okay with it. The flavor, on the other hand, was definitely delectable. The combination of chocolate cookie with pieces of toffee, chopped pecans, and white chocolate chips was so amazingly good. Definitely something I am going to make in crispy-cookie form, oh yes.

To wrap up this excessively long entry, my fooding adventures were a blazing success! Robyn and I enthusiastically agreed we will have to do it again sometime during the winter, and next time we’ll include “real” food and not just desserts. Today, I am so not in the mood for sugary stuff, heh…

I absentmindedly wound up leaving my camera at my dorm room when I came home this weekend–d’oh!–so I used my camera phone. That explains the not-so-good quality of my photos and the lack of documentary after Amy’s (darn lack of memory…). For more photos, check out Robyn’s web site (linked in the first paragraph) and her Flickr gallery.

Tags: adzuki bean · amy's bread · anise · biscotti · black hound bakery · black sesame · buttercream · cafe zaiya · Cakes · cookies · cream cheese frosting · cupcake · Desserts · food · fooding · Japanese · licorice tea · magnolia · monkey cake · new york · nyu · polka dot cake studio · pumpkin · red velvet · roboppy · snacks · toffee · whole foods · yakimochi

Written by Melody @ 11:14 am Categories: Cakes · Chocolate · Desserts · Food Musings · Photos · Restaurant Ramblings

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I Want My Wild Fig!

In the process of working this weekend, I discovered that my beloved Wild Fig is currently closed! I was completely in shock when I approached the restaurant on my way into Sears and noticed the gates down and a sign in the window. I nearly had a heart attack from disappointment, until I saw that they are just relocating elsewhere in the mall. I have no idea where they could possibly be relocating to, but at least they aren’t gone forever. That would certainly be a sign of the apocalypse.

For those of you unfortunate enough to have never had a Wild Fig experience, this is one restaurant I happily and highly recommend to anyone in the area, especially people who work at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove (like I do) because they deliver there and offer a mall employee discount. That came in handy for me while I was working at Lindt as a shift supervisor, when I was alone in the store for basically my entire shift and thus couldn’t take a break to go get food.

Their authentic Mediterranean-style food appeals to a health-conscious person like me. They have lots of veggie dishes, and their salads are absolutely TO-DIE-FOR. Seriously. I’ve never had a tastier Greek salad in my entire life. Their house dressing is so flavorful that asking for it on the side and only using a little doesn’t feel like dressing-deprivation at all.

I’ve also had their chicken kebabs, which are equally enthusiasm-inducing. They grill the meat perfectly–it’s cooked thoroughly but not the least bit dry–and the veggies are sweet and caramelized but not grilled to mushiness. YUM! :yum:

It says a lot about bread for me to enjoy it since I’m not the biggest plain-bread person in the world, and I enjoy their pitas. They’re fresh-baked, tender-but-crispy-crusted, and have a pleasant, light flavor. They go very well with their yogurt sauce, which is another thing I am thoroughly enamored of–it’s not to dilly, and being very sensitive to dill, I love when yogurt sauce is only delicately seasoned with it instead of RIFE with it.

On my list of things to taste from them is their lentil soup, since a former co-worker highly recommended it, chicken gyro, imam biyaldi, and any of the baklava. Mmm…layers of flaky pastry, honey, and other fillings…

Tags: closed · food · Mediterranean · restaurant · wild fig

Written by Melody @ 3:08 pm Categories: Food Musings · Photos · Restaurant Ramblings

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