Ask Tom: Readers sound off on waiting in line, solo dining and more
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Version 0 of 1. A periodic peek at the Post food critic’s e-mail, voice mail, inbox and online chat submissions. Wine on the rocks? No, thanks. Washington resident Judd Fischer and his wife got a chilly reception when they stopped at Jake’s American Grille in the District for drinks and appetizers and his wife’s chardonnay arrived with a surprise: ice cubes. “We questioned the bartender, and his response was that he didn’t have any cold wine and insisted that ‘people all over the world put ice into their wine,’ ” Fischer wrote via e-mail. “We talked to the manager and he backed up the ‘people all over the world put ice into their wine’ story.” The couple opted to quench their thirst elsewhere, but Fischer remained curious: “Is it common for a restaurant or anyone to add ice into a glass of wine?” Common? No, although I’ll admit to adding a cube to a warm glass of wine on occasion, just long enough for the temperature to drop a bit and before the ice has a chance to dilute the grape juice. Thinking I may have overlooked a part of the world where ice is a natural addition to wine, I reached out to Dave McIntyre, the Post’s wine columnist, who has never heard of servers (as opposed to customers) adding ice to a glass. “In a restaurant, with restaurant markups, we rightfully expect wines to be served at the proper temperature,” says McIntyre. “Too often, whites are served too cold and reds too warm.” Reached for a response, Eric Moran, a bartender at Jake’s, says he was trying to be proactive by throwing a few ice cubes in a customer’s not-yet-cooled wine, which had been brought up from storage an hour before she requested it on a “really busy” night. The Fischers were smart to take their business elsewhere. Says McIntyre: “To be served wine with ice in it shows sloppy and inconsiderate service.” Is there a right way or a wrong way to hold one’s fork? The question comes via e-mail from Greg G. of Upper Marlboro, Md., who has noticed that Americans and Europeans tend to use silverware differently. Maybe you have, too. Americans use what’s sometimes called the “zigzag” method, whereby the knife is held in the right hand and the fork is in the left hand when cutting food, after which the fork is switched to the right hand, tines up, to pick up the food. Europeans favor the Continental approach: fork in the left hand, tines down, and knife in the right hand — no switching. While I feel the European style of eating is more efficient, both approaches are correct, according to manners mavens, as long as diners stick to one form throughout a meal. A few readers told me I was wrong to give my highest rating, four stars, to a restaurant that doesn’t accept reservations, the superlative Rose’s Luxury on Capitol Hill, in my Fall Dining Guide (Magazine, Oct. 11). “Like many others, I was appalled to read that you had endorsed Rose’s Luxury as the best restaurant in town,” posted a participant of my Wednesday online chat. “Its practice of not accepting reservations severely limits the number of elderly and disabled patrons, to say nothing of pregnant women who are forced to stand on line for hours with no seats, no protection from the weather and no restrooms. All of the advantages of the practice are to the restaurant, and all of the disadvantages are to the patrons.” While I sympathize with would-be patrons who either can’t or won’t stand in line for Rose’s and other no-reservations establishments, there are a few strategies for easing the hassle. One is to hire a line-sitter from companies such as TaskRabbit. Another is to bring a folding chair to the restaurant. A third is to go with the First Family, but ... good luck with that. Several chatters came to my defense. “I don’t understand the sense of entitlement shown by some people,” submitted one poster. “Waiting in line is an additional cost, either physically or (if you opt for it) financially. There are restaurants that I can’t afford to go to, and therefore they’re not an option for me. It’s unfortunate that everyone doesn’t have the opportunity to eat everywhere that looks appealing, but that’s how it goes. I don’t buy that no-reservations is any less egalitarian than reservations, which benefit the well connected and/or wealthy.” Another participant of the discussion, a self-described “non-line person,” weighed in with this amusing thought: “Separate from the merits and demerits to standing in line, do you see the irony in a place with the word Luxury in the name requiring the very pedestrian act of queueing up to get a table?” A reader who identified herself only as a married, middle-aged businesswoman in the area shared a long list of phrases she and her peers chafe at when dining out by themselves. Among the more cringe-worthy openers uttered by restaurant staff: “No friends tonight?” “I wouldn’t go out to a restaurant alone if they paid me.” “Aren’t you embarrassed to eat by yourself?” [Why more and more people are making plans to dine out alone] The anonymous letter writer said she realizes that solo diners don’t spend as much as parties of two or more, but points out that she requires just a few stops for a waiter, as opposed to the quartet she sat next to recently: “Four very well-dressed people who literally ran the waiter back and forth ... tasting a number of sample wines, making numerous changes in their drinks and dinner orders, sending food back they didn’t like, wanting to see the desserts before ordering, etc.” Meanwhile, the solo diner said her waiter “all but ignored me”; at meal’s end, she had to enlist the manager to get her check. “We aren’t sure why, in 2015, women alone would have to be confronted by these insensitive remarks, be seated at the worst tables, and frequently given poor service,” the author writes. “We’ve all been at a greeter’s station and sat next to tables with single men customers and they are not asked these questions, and they seem to receive much more attention by wait staff. Why would we single women (and our money) not be as valued as customers as men or groups are?” The lessons for restaurant staff: One isn’t necessarily the loneliest number. Stick to the positive. (“We’re glad to have you join us.”) Treat every guest as if she’s a VIP. And finally, never assume anything about a customer. Next week: Tim Carman reviews Red’s Table in Reston, Va. For stories, features such as Date Lab, Gene Weingarten and more, visit WP Magazine. Follow the Magazine on Twitter. Like us on Facebook. E-mail us at wpmagazine@washpost.com. |