Food v. service, part deux
OK, I admit that was a dumb poll because the voting is only going to have one outcome. I've gotten a little too caught up in the widgets here. All I wanted to do was highlight Baltofoodie's point, which was that excellent service can make up for a lot of deficiencies in the food, while excellent food to my mind doesn't return the favor. (Unless it's one of those restaurants where the customers pride themselves on being insulted by a rude wait staff, of which there are a few.)
We all have places we go back to again and again even though the food isn't great because the wait staff fusses over us and makes us feel special. I know I do.
(AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Comments
I don't know if I agree with you Elizabeth. There is a restaurant in Brooklyn (NY) that I go back to, just for the food. I travel about 80 miles one way just for the food. The restaurant is Peter Lugar's Steak House. The waiters are downright insolent most of the time. Some say it's shtick, but I don't find it funny. I put up with it for only one reason - the steak. Oh my, the steak! It's like none other. The shrimp cocktail, the tomatoes and onions, the creamed spinach, are all good, but the steak is to die for. It's expensive, they don't take reservations nor do they take credit cards (except their own Peter Lugar's card). However once you finish their porterhouse you are in heaven. You must force yourself to a have a piece of the strudel with schlag for desert.
It's worth the trip, and worth the rude waiters. I only do it once a year or so but I do enjoy it.
Posted by: jack Ziegler | September 1, 2009 4:34 PM
I'm really confused. Didn't you _disprove_ your point? 3/4 people vote for excellent food and mediocre service vs. 1/4 people voting for mediocre food but excellent service.
Am I confused, or did you not even look at the poll results, or did something else happen?
If you read the comments under the poll, you'll see that when I wrote this, the poll was messed up and it looked like no one was voting for option one. EL
Posted by: confused in columbus | September 1, 2009 5:48 PM
When you spoke of restaurants where rude waiters are part of the charm, it reminded me of Ratner's dairy restaurant on New York's Lower East Side. I lunched there years ago with an actor in a "DuPont Show the Week" production that was rehearsing in the same building. He had only a few minutes to wolf down a quick lunch and kept signaling a waiter to take our order. No response. The waiter ignored us, passing our table, serving other patrons. Finally, the actor stood up, irritably snapping his fingers. That got the waiter's attention. He shambled over on his flat feet. "You in a hurry?" he asked. The actor replied that he was. "If you're a big man," said the waiter, "they'll wait for you. If not, who needs you?" And with that he moved on to other, more patient customers.
Posted by: Michael A. Gray | September 1, 2009 6:05 PM
MAG, I think your waiter trained in the Catskills.
Posted by: City Redux | September 1, 2009 7:55 PM
EL, I totally agree with you! We frequent a couple of places that have slightly above-average food, but the servers make us feel like part of the family. What's not to like?
Posted by: Dottie | September 1, 2009 10:24 PM