The Moral Crusade Against Servers

[ChiantiandFava]

There's a little brewhaha going on in Philly over the role of servers in explaining the menu to patrons so I thought I'd share, in the same vein as the R.B. Myers rant. Here's the link. I don't know if I've ever heard any server explain the "Chef's philosophy" as Popp describes but I can say I generally find any extra information useful. Everybody hates a stodgy spiel but some basic framework must be conveyed to avoid awkward dining situations (usually resulting from guests who rarely dine-out or have more old-school dining paradigms in mind). In the end I think Popp really misses the point by criticizing servers whose spiels are often shaped by dictates from management--which in turn have taken cues from increased guest expectations. I defer to Portlandia.

Anyway, what does everybody else think?

[Waitman]

There has been a certain over-the-top-ness in waiter's spiels in recent years. I've gotten the instructions on what order to to eat my morsels in; the annoying "the chef prefers (that you do what he wants, not what you want, even though it's a reasonable and common request); the endless rap that follows "have you dined with us before?" in which information that any nine-year-old could have gleaned from the menu ("the chef prefers to offer a series of small plates,") is repeated with the same enthusiasm that a breakthrough in interstellar travel or tantric sex would be explained. Indeed, even at a restaurant I like, from a waiter I like, a fairly simple "what about a three-course vegetarian meal?" earned an lengthy paean to the chef's commitment to vegetarian dining which was, in fact, obvious from the presence of a vegetarian degustation printed on the menu, and which could have been replaced with a a simple: "in addition to the vegetarian items on the a la cart menu, I'll see what we can do if something on the tasting menu catches your eye."

Half the time it's pretentious or demanding, the other half of the time it seems like the product of self-esteem culture. Let no diner think that the chef cares less about their meal than about some other diner's.

Oh, and the other half of the time it's just bullshit buzzwords.

Sometimes I miss the waiters at The Palm.

[Sthitch]

Sometimes I miss the waiters at The Palm.

If you want old school professional, the charmingly grizzled waiters at Galatoire’s in New Orleans will fit the bill. Nothing pretentious, just pure unadulterated professionalism.

[jparrott]

If you want old school professional, the charmingly grizzled waiters at Galatoire’s in New Orleans will fit the bill. Nothing pretentious, just pure unadulterated professionalism.

I love Shannon. Just had lunch there this past Friday. And i think she'd rip your eyeballs out if you called her grizzled!

[Waitman]

If you want old school professional, the charmingly grizzled waiters at Galatoire’s in New Orleans will fit the bill. Nothing pretentious, just pure unadulterated professionalism.

But, not walking distance from the Metro, alas.

Let me add two things to my rant above.

1) I generally like and respect serves and all industry professionals, so any ranting should be seen in that context. And all of society has been infused with breathlessly pretentious (or alarmist) verbiage, so it's bound to trickle into the service industry.

2) Also, what is it with "Chef this..." and "Chef that..."? I think it's part of the unfortunate cult of the chef, where giving talented artisans the respect they deserve moves distastefully towards hero worship. And it's never even "Chef So-and-so prefers." Or even "the chef." Always "Chef..." with an especially reverent elocution of all the soft consonant sounds. Whatever happened to the "we" formulation, wherein the server -- the one person you actually talk to -- gets to take some credit for the meal?

[Sthitch]

Also, what is it with "Chef this..." and "Chef that..."? I think it's part of the unfortunate cult of the chef, where giving talented artisans the respect they deserve moves distastefully towards hero worship. And it's never even "Chef So-and-so prefers." Or even "the chef." Always "Chef..." with an especially reverent elocution of all the soft consonant sounds. Whatever happened to the "we" formulation, wherein the server -- the one person you actually talk to -- gets to take some credit for the meal?

This just goes to show that two people that butt heads on almost everything can at least agree on something.

[jiveturk21]

2) Also, what is it with "Chef this..." and "Chef that..."? I think it's part of the unfortunate cult of the chef, where giving talented artisans the respect they deserve moves distastefully towards hero worship. And it's never even "Chef So-and-so prefers." Or even "the chef." Always "Chef..." with an especially reverent elocution of all the soft consonant sounds. Whatever happened to the "we" formulation, wherein the server -- the one person you actually talk to -- gets to take some credit for the meal?

I actually have an issue when the server says something like, "I have some great mahi mahi today!" Seriously, you have it? Did you go catch it? Do you own the restaurant?

Overall, in my opinion, being a good server can be done in a variety of ways. Sometimes I like more personable servers, other times I like it when they are more professional. And, this doesn't depend on my mood or the type of restaurant that I am in, it just boils down to whether the server is good at what they do. I know, not the best advice for current or future servers of the world, but what I think makes a good server is someone that knows what they are good at and is able to read the situation. If you are trying to be cutsey with me and I am not responding, please stop trying to do it. And, if you are acting all professional and I try to ask you one or two personal questions, please don't be standoffish.

Oh yeah, it helps if you are good looking too.

[Escoffier]

I liked this better when the issue was MoralE Crusade.

[Heather]

If you want old school professional, the charmingly grizzled waiters at Galatoire’s in New Orleans will fit the bill. Nothing pretentious, just pure unadulterated professionalism.

I love Shannon. Just had lunch there this past Friday. And i think she'd rip your eyeballs out if you called her grizzled!

I was just thinking that.

the endless rap that follows "have you dined with us before?" in which information that any nine-year-old could have gleaned from the menu ("the chef prefers to offer a series of small plates,") is repeated with the same enthusiasm that a breakthrough in interstellar travel or tantric sex would be explained.

I really, seriously dislike "have you dined with us before?" Menus that have to be explained are the culinary equivalent of tantric sex - sometime you just want to get it on without having your consciousness raised.