Appetizer: literally "apart from the
[main] work") or the first course, are food
items served before the main courses of a meal.[2] The French (singular and plural) is hors
d’œuvre. There are several related terms, such as a one-bite appetizer, an amuse-bouche
If that is the definition of appetizer then
why do they keep bringing them to my table before or about 30 seconds before
they bring my actual meal?
I have gotten to the point where I act like
the only thing I am only going to eat is an appetizer in order to make sure I don’t
have a dump load of food all at once. Then
I order my meal once I am done with the appetizer.
This is a good trick – feel free to use
it.
I understanding that “*turning over” a
table is a huge part of the restaurant business, but do you really want to piss
off your diners?
There is a fine line between timing your
meal components… and nobody likes to wait for their meal – even if you have had
your appetizer. So here is another hint:
look around… if there are a lot of people and very few of them have dinner in
front of them… there is going to be a wait.
If you are the only person in line waiting
for a table and you are waiting – you are going to wait.
If you are seated at a table that has not
yet been completely cleared – you are going to wait.
If you don’t get your water and silver
where right after you sit down – you are going to wait.
If they give you your water, appetizer and silver
where and don’t come back for your drink order…. You are going to wait.
There is nothing wrong with getting up and
leaving. Don’t worry about their
feelings. You are the customer and they
want you to like them and come back – leaving is a good sign for them to shape
up. Get a pair….
To be perfectly honest…. Even if you have had
a drink or two and an appetizer and then left to linger for an extended period
time – it’s ok to leave. Put a little
cash you have on the table. They are not
going to chase you down at the door.
They are too busy to even notice.
And if they do notice and
confronted you then tell them that that you were waiting bla bla bla…. They hate
that shit and usually melt with apologies and a gift card or something… you are
in the power seat. If you are a dude…
then get macho and get-r-done. If you
are a chica then grab ahold of your inner bitch and show your date that you
like to take control of dumb shit.
Either person.. it will help your sex life. Who doesn’t like it when someone takes control
(not counting 50 shades of Gray) from time to time?
Sorry to burst anyone’s “love of chain
restaurant” bubble but this mostly happens when you go to chain restaurants or restaurants
that are themed as “American” fair and have a ton of televisions around off the walls. And, if the restaurant has actual
commercials – that is probably not a good sign. Advertisements in Metro Mag, Mpls, St. Paul
Mag, in a Playbill or a season brochure are usually safe and good eats.
*turning” a table is a calculation
that restaurants use as a measuring point of how many people they can get in
their restaurant per night based on how long they are open and how many tables
they have. Many times they like to “turn
over” a table as frequently as they can so they can get as many customers
through the restaurant as possible.
Obviously this is not ALWAYS the
case – so I am not totally generalizing every restaurant this way. But if you want a nice long meal to chat-up
your date… then why not go to a good restaurant that isn’t focused on turning
the table over and go to one that takes the time to focus their time on making
a good meal?
Just sayin’
BTW - is it good to eat at a restaurant that advertises on the back of a bathroom door? Hmmmm...
