Some (lengthy) thoughts about the other side of chain restaurants…the Morton’s, Capital Grille, Eddie V’s, Del Frisco’s, McCormick & Schmick’s, Smith & Wollensky, and so on. I don’t care for the format of the first 3 of these where you select a hunk of protein, then have another selection of very expensive vegetable add-ons in huge serving portions. Just a waste of food and money to me. We do eat out a couple of times a week and mix it up with what euphemistically is called fine dining alternating with medium-priced still-good dining. And we’re within a reasonable drive to many non-chain restaurants in both categories so for us chain dining has fallen by the wayside, even the ones I mentioned above and their ilk. But our friends and we do infrequently enjoy the still-high quality and service of these chains with my only disappointment being the rapidly escalating prices. And I do mean rapidly.
One clue to a restaurant’s quality, for me, is how they make and present cocktails. My favored choice is a dry vodka martini, straight-up, with olive(s). This should arrive at the table bitingly cold, in a frosted glass, strong, large, with one or more large Spanish Queen olives, possibly stuffed, and include my requested call brand vodka (Ketel 1). That’s typically a $15-$25 drink and I expect it to be amazing. Capital Grille for example brings a glass, sometimes frosty cold sometimes not, and a steel shaker with ice and the booze inside. The server at tableside then shakes the drink, pours a dose, then leaves the rest. While this sounds decent, by the time the drink reaches the table, it has been watered down by standing with the ice, has lost any bite, may or may not fit the glass, sprays condensation from the shaker everywhere, and wastes a lot of time simply for show. And finishing whatever is left in the shaker yields a very bland watered-down and warmer drink. Yes, drinks in a filled proper martini glass are much harder to carry on a tray, but it results in a far preferable drinking experience…for me. And since I’m paying it really is all about me. I also look to see if the wait staff makes the drinks or if they come from a bartender behind a bar (regulated by State laws in some places). Not always but usually bartender-made drinks are far superior to those made by wait staff.
At the other end of the meal, I also consider the beverage I have with dessert, usually regular coffee. If I see banks of Bunn or equivalent coffeemakers, I’ll skip the much-desired coffee and have an espresso from my machine at home.
Latest annoying trick: I’ve now seen a few restaurants devote a portion of the front page of the menu pleading for additional tips for the kitchen staff, you know, the people who actually are responsible for the food you eat. At payment time, the payment invoice includes the typical charge and tax plus a line for the wait staff gratuity and another line for kitchen staff gratuity both of the latter with suggestions STARTING at 20%.
Some restaurants now equip their servers with iPad-like devices that can completely and wirelessly check you out at the table. In doing this, they hold the tablet in your face showing a screen with recommended tip levels (usually No Tip, 20%, 25%, 30%, Other), ask you to tap on your choice (20% is always pre-selected) after which the transaction completes and a receipt is emailed to you. In my case, I always tap “No Tip” much to the surprise and disappointment of the server, but then explain I always leave cash tips and then I do so.
All that coupled with escalating prices, even if the quality remains high, demonstrates changing times from the Dunkin’ (as it is now branded in the US) to the Del Frisco’s. So goes dining out today. YMMV.
