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Dulce de Leche/Caramel Cheesecake in New York?
Have you tried Junior's? They have an outpost in Grand Central.
Tipping on Alcohol
As a former waitress and bartender, I can tell you that most people tip on the total bill, and $1/drink. If you order a glass of wine at your table, do you take that out of the amount you tip on? Quite honestly, I would have been pretty upset if someone took out the price of the liquor to base their tip on. Not upset enough to stalk someone out of the restaurant, but upset nonetheless.
Also, you tip $1/drink and on the 3rd drink you get a buyback (on which you should tip the price of the drink). It will ensure plenty more free drinks in the future!
Bagels & Pizza in the East Village
I think the bagels on 8th & 3rd are really good...they're just like Ess-A-Bagels (maybe they get them from there). Mariella Pizza on 16th &1st is awesome!
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Question of the Day: Ever consider a food-related tattoo?
Posted by Adam Kuban, March 20, 2007 at 8:00 AM
At what point does a recipe become your own?
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
What would you eat for 30 days?
@salpico - that sounds amazing...I haven't had an egg cream in far too long. I'm off to buy some U-bet & Seltzer!
Dulce de Leche/Caramel Cheesecake in New York?
Have you tried Junior's? They have an outpost in Grand Central.
Tipping on Alcohol
As a former waitress and bartender, I can tell you that most people tip on the total bill, and $1/drink. If you order a glass of wine at your table, do you take that out of the amount you tip on? Quite honestly, I would have been pretty upset if someone took out the price of the liquor to base their tip on. Not upset enough to stalk someone out of the restaurant, but upset nonetheless.
Also, you tip $1/drink and on the 3rd drink you get a buyback (on which you should tip the price of the drink). It will ensure plenty more free drinks in the future!
Bagels & Pizza in the East Village
I think the bagels on 8th & 3rd are really good...they're just like Ess-A-Bagels (maybe they get them from there). Mariella Pizza on 16th &1st is awesome!
Gerrit's Satellite Wafers: Cute Packaging, But Tastes Disgusting
I had NO idea that they had beads inside!!! I always thought they were like marshmallow-y candies that look like diaphragms
Best Halloween Candy?
My favorite candy was, and still is, Tootsie Rolls. However, as long as a house gave me candy, I was happy!
My least favorite things to get (and things I would NEVER give out now) were little boxes of raisins, pennies, and anything that wasn't candy. I know some people are talking about giving out pencils or stickers or whatever, but I strongly feel that Halloween is about giving kids candy and nothing else! When I was a kid, I didn't care how cool something I got was, if it wasn't candy, it might as well have been garbage.
That being said, we get a variety of candy, and let kids pick out 3 pieces (more toward the end of the night).
Must Eats in NYC?
Katz's deli for sure! This wouldn't be the place to order lox, but it is the place for Pastrami & knishes (they also have a GREAT hot dog). I would also highly recommend Ess-A-Bagel for bagels (obvs).
Tipping
20% on the post-tax amount...service has to be reeeeally bad for me to tip less.
Cook the Book: The Southern Italian Table
A good Amatriciana!
Predator Ad
The funny thing is that when I clicked on this topic, I got the Blackberry ad...
What Londoners Think of New York Food: The 'Madison Avenue Bagel'
When I lived in London, I had a devil of a time finding a decent bagel (I'm from NY, that's what I used to eat for breakfast)...Anyway, the ones in Golders Green were decent....but by work in Camden they were dreadful, like rolls with a hole in them. I eventually gave up, but I made my parents schlep bagels from Ess-A-Bagel on the plane when they came to visit!
Foodie Vacation
Costa Rica...the comida tipico es mucho delicioso!
What to do with a pancetta endpiece?
Make Pasta Amatriciana, or use it to make a fritatta...nom nom nom
Breakfast/Bagel Suggestions in NYC
Seriously, Ess-a-Bagel is just the best...I'm a 4th gen Jewish NYCer, and there's no better...it's the gold standard
NYC Bakeries field trip
OK...let's cut the BS and get right down to it - Veniero's for cannoli, and anything else you want, but you have to have the cannoli!
Also, make sure to have a black & white cookie!
Gourmet Magazine Will Fold This Year
I'm horrified...I thought the last few issues of Gourmet were incredible! What a tragedy for foodies everywhere...
How do you eat 10 courses?
Puke and Rally, tonight at the Astrodome!
How do you eat 10 courses?
This is the awesomest thread ever...
@kristen314 - I just laughed so hard, I almost puked!
Anyway, I did the pasta tasting menu at Babbo, the portion sizes were perfect, but I definitely ate an early lunch, and didn't munch on bread before the meal came. It was perfectly portioned, and, although I was really full, I wasn't any more full than any other big meal. Now, I'm kind of obsessed with tasting menus.
Don't worry...it will be fun!
foodie related halloween costumes ideas anyone?
I went as a table one year...I took a big piece of cardboard, covered it with a tablecloth, plastic place settings, an empty orange juice container, a bagel, etc. I cut a hole in the middle for my head, wore all black, and put some plastic flowers in my hair...it was a huge hit
How do you make make edamame?
Edamame "pesto" is wonderful...try using manchego cheese and mint...no nuts, tho
Toasting pumpkin or squash seeds - is there a trick?
I toss them with egg white, agave nectar and chinese 5 spice powder...delish!
what's for dinner tomorrow night?
Tomorrow night is our last night in our house so, in an effort to get rid of as much food as possible, I'm making pea & parm ravioli and a giant salad, and all the leftovers we can eat!
Bagels & Pizza in the East Village
Jason, I live one block away from you, and I have to say there are no decent bagel and pizza places in our lazy 5-minute walk range. You have to walk at least 10 minutes to find decent pizza by the slice and bagels.
David's Bagels (1st Ave between 19th & 20th) is the best bagel joint in the area.
The best and cheapest ($1) pizza slice can be found at Mamani's at Avenue A between 9th & 10th. I can only recommend the cheese slice because it's the only thing I ever get. Other pizza places in the hood, like Stromboli's, Sal's, Vinny Vincenz, have all let me down. For sit-down pizza, I love Luzzo's (1st Ave between 11th & 12th).
Tipping on Alcohol
Storing the wine in a cellar, having the right temp, etc... is all part of the markup on the actual wine. This has nothing to do with tipping on the wine.
And with any service industry, you have to deal with people that are retarded and rude. That's just a part of the industry. The guy at Best Buy that gets no tip still deals with insanely rude people. That should not factor into the tip at all.
I generally tip on the total bill. 18% as a standard. 15% if I was a little unsatisfied and 20% if the service was good. I tip on the total bill (post tax which is kind of retarded) but if the service was horrible, I will definitely leave a tip less than 15% (more along 10%).
My point I think is that if I were to ever order $1,000 (or more) bottle of wine, I don't think any argument can convince me that the server bringing me the bottle and opening it could justify a $200 tip. I might be forced to at restaurants like Per Se, but I still wont think it's deserved.
Tipping on Alcohol
btw--certain restaurants include an 18-20% service charge on every check. Per Se, French Laundry, Charlie Trotters. Do you think they remove the charges for the wine? And have you seen their wine prices?
Tipping on Alcohol
There are so many issues floating around on this discussion. The original question was how much to tip when alcohol is involved. The restaurant (including managers and owners--not just the wait staff) assumes that, at a minimum, 15-20% of the total bill will be left as tip. For example, let's say you book a party for 30 people, you pick a menu, you pick your wine (whether it's a $50 or $1000--it has been marked up anywhere from 250% to 1000%, give or take, depending on the cost at which that particular wine was purchased, how rare/desirable/allocated, or what is motivating the sommelier, e.g. protecting the vertical or holding it to allow for further maturation, trying to move it, etc. More on factors affecting restaurant wine prices later on or on another thread if need be), you and guests eat and drink, at the end of the night, the bill will reflect the total plus gratuity on the ENTIRE bill, not just for food. They do not assign one rate of gratuity to food and another rate to beverages.
What would you eat for 30 days?
Black beans & yellow rice w/ tostones or boiled yucca...
Tipping on Alcohol
Interesting concept but I think it's appropriate to tip on the total bill. If you had a problem with his lack of serving the wine, you can factor that into your total tip and decrease the percentage a bit.
What would you eat for 30 days?
Salmon nigiri with ginger and wasabi. Give it to me baby. I can't get enough!
Tipping on Alcohol
Just a suggestion: everyone who ever considers dining out should work at least a week in the restaurant business. A server is actually a servant. You will know what it's like to have to sweat for your bread, to be blamed by everyone for problems that usually aren't your fault (and you can frequently do nothing about), and how astoundingly rude, careless, and selfish many people really are.
Tipping on Alcohol
I really enjoyed reading this thread, especially after getting back from a night waiting tables at one of the South San Francisco Bay Area's busiest restaurants. I've bartended and waited tables for years, but I'm a cash-strapped grad student, so I can see both sides (although I would never hassle someone about a poor tip, much less follow a person out to their car).
Despite the fact that I work at a highly popular casual dining restaurant, and I actually give the sort of service that I would want, it's difficult for me to bring home more than 10% of my sales. 2% go to the expo, bartender, and busboys each, and here in the South Bay you get a lot of immigrants who don't know how (or care to) tip. I've worked in other cities and been frustrated at getting less than 20% for what I knew was a stellar job, but I've learned here that a few tables a night will leave me less than 10%--meaning I'm lucky to make any money on them, after tipout.
We don't sell any expensive wines, but I hate the whole premise of "rules" behind tipping. These rules are to prevent the rude guests and the ignorant from jacking us servers over, but the rude people and the ignorant will do that anyway. When I go out to eat or drink, the only rule I have is that the server/bartender gets a minimum of 20% if they were competent--that's 20% of the GROSS, folks. If I sit at the bar for a few hours, I'll probably leave a $10, even if I've only had a beer or two. How many other guests could have been served in your seat while you pay $2 for 'just pouring two beers?' If my server hooked me up with freebies, or went out of his way, I'll usually just round everything up to a nice, even number that will put a smile on the server's face and, often, a free drink or dessert, depending on the location and time of day. My mother once scolded me for this, but I explained to her that, aside from the fact that I would want a tip like that, and I like to give that for good service, establishments remember me, and guess who gets free drinks, good seating, priority service?
I'm not suggesting that everyone do as I do, but I will say what I say nearly every night: if you can't afford to leave the acceptable tip, or if you're too ignorant to have any clue what said tip should be, there's a Taco Bell across the street that would love your patronage a lot more than I would.
Dulce de Leche/Caramel Cheesecake in New York?
Eileen's Cheesecake is amazing!!
Tipping on Alcohol
@lilpkstar - As you said, sales tax is a LAW. Tipping is (usually) voluntary. Also, dolts and idiots couldn't care less about a servers tax problems. If the government assumes you average 10%, perhaps that is the amount of tip that should be automatically added to the bill and we could all just forget about tipping any higher.
Tipping on Alcohol
I'm a server.
If you order something, you take into account the tax, so why not the tip? Whether you order the $40 bottle or the $1000 bottle your going to be paying the $2 tax or the $50 tax. You can't argue with that, because its the LAW. Just because you're a dolt who orders an outrageously priced bottle means that you should tip accordingly.
At the place I work at I have to declare 10% of my sales. If my cash out says I've sold a $1000 I have to tell the government I made $100 of that sale, regardless of the idiots I serve.
Tipping on Alcohol
Wow.. not to ruin the mystique a little, but a $50 bottle of wine and a $1000 bottle of wine are VERY different.
For one, the wine director of a restaurant that would sell bottles that expensive has to do the research to even have such a selection. They have to secure a good distributer to purchase bottles from, and trust that each bottle is up to quality. Even the chef can taste the caviar before plopping it onto your plate, but a bottle of wine is sealed.
Then there's the matter of storage, which would involve proper light and temperature control, (costing the restaurant money in electricty and knowledgeable designers). Accessability for the wait-staff.. a $50 bottle might be easy to grab behind the bar, but a $1000 bottle is under lock and key.. the waiter has to search out the manager to retrieve the key. Also, rarely does someone order that bottle without at least some description from the waitstaff or sommelier, who are trained to know the details and what it would taste great with.
I'm not saying the waiter in the original post didnt do his job by coming back to pour and keep the ice cold, but it's all bottles are NOT the same.
Tipping on Alcohol
@sushiburger - I stand corrected! I did not know that the employer makes up the difference to ensure actual minimum wage is met.
Tipping on Alcohol
Actually, according to the U.S. Department of Labor the following is the case:
"An employer may pay a tipped employee not less than $2.13 an hour in direct wages if that amount plus the tips received equal at least the federal minimum wage, the employee retains all tips and the employee customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips. If an employee's tips combined with the employer's direct wages of at least $2.13 an hour do not equal the federal minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference."
For New York City (where I live), the minimum they must meet is $7.25 an hour. That means that even if the server does a horrible job and receives no tips, the restaurant must make up the difference so he/she will be entitled to a federal minimum wage no matter what. That means that the tip you give will contribute to that, but also increase his wage. Why would I want to increase a person's wage that does a horrible job? If the person is putting forth minimum wage type of work, that is what he/she deserves (not an extra pat on the back).
So while you may be right in that the tip is part of their pay, they will receive the minimum wage no matter what. If they want to make anything above that, they should obviously be good at what they do.
Tipping on Alcohol
" Is it a little ridiculous to get paid $200 for opening a bottle of wine? Of course! But if the customer doesn't want to pay gratuity, they shouldn't have ordered the wine."
bullshit!
Tipping on Alcohol
In the restaurant industry, the cost of the service is not "baked into the price of the product" as it is in other industries. The restaurant is only paying the server half of minimum wage because gratuity is considered a part of that server's pay. Like I said, it's not a gift. It's their pay. That's why I said it's a problem with the industry. To not live a tip would be like expecting to pay half for a DVD - to use your example.
Tipping on Alcohol
I disagree. When you pay a tip (to anyone in the service industry) it's not something the person should assume to get. My paying for the food and drinks pays for the food and the service. You don't have the option of bringing the food to the table yourself. If it's mandatory to use the service, the cost of the mandatory service is always baked into the price of the product. This is true for everything. When you buy a DVD from Best Buy, you are paying not only for the product but the guy behind the counter and other operational costs that go into bringing the product to you. My point being that the tip you give on top of the purchased product / service (cab ride, server, hair dresser, food, etc...) is paid for how well the service was in delivering what you bought. If a server is rude and not attentive and horrible at his/her job... there's no way that person will receive a 15% tip.
Tipping on Alcohol
@sushiburger - True, one does not tip waitstaff to enhance the life of their server. It's not a gift. Gratuity is payment for the full service, which is determined by a percentage of the full bill not just whatever part of the bill the customer decides they want to pay. Is it a little ridiculous to get paid $200 for opening a bottle of wine? Of course! But if the customer doesn't want to pay gratuity, they shouldn't have ordered the wine.
Tipping on Alcohol
@yayfood: If the waiters rely on their tips, shouldn't they work that much harder to make sure they get a good tip? Don't you think that if they put no effort into their job then they should be paid accordingly? The same way as any job. If i don't perform at my job, they don't give me a raise or I get fired. It should be the same way for everyone... I'm not giving them a 15% - 20% tip or any tip to enhance their lives if they are unable to perform their job well.
I agree with presenttense. There's a problem with the industry and I also agree that its not the server's fault. However, I don't see how anyone can say that paying $200 to open a bottle of wine (if it were a $1,000 bottle) or even pour a bottle of wine is reasonable.
When I go to a bar, I definitely tip the bartender and I'm not against the idea of tipping on a bottle. But just as you generally set a $1 per drink standard at a bar (weather it's a $7 drink or $18 drink), a same method should be applied to wine or any expensive bottle of alcohol that you might purchase at a restaurant.
Tipping on Alcohol
@presenttense, among others: the tip isn't (usually) going to the restaurant though; it is going to your server. Just because you feel cheated by the wine mark-up, you shouldn't take it out on your poor server.
Your tipping percentage is based on the server's efforts, but your tip is ultimately decided by your bill. It might not seem right, and it might not seem fair, but that is the way it is. It is not about the difficulty in uncorking the wine bottle, the pouring, the choosing. Your server doesn't prepare your food for you either, but your tip is still based on what you are ordering. You would end up tipping more if you got steak instead of chicken, so you tip more if you buy expensive wine than if you don't.
Yes, it is a problem that servers aren't paid realistic wages, but withholding a tip isn't doing anything to solve that problem.
Tipping on Alcohol
THis is so very interesting to read!!!
@ yayfood: as a student of business in Hospitality Mangement, i agree with your contentions entirely! BUT, if I were ever chased and it was implied that ,'hey, lady...you need to fork over a hell of a lot more'..that would just be so very unprofessional and repellent.
Recent Posts
Grape Drink/Fruit Punch @ pizza places in NYC
Posted by KateRuby, August 23, 2009 at 10:51 AM
At what point does a recipe become your own?
Posted by KateRuby, March 28, 2009 at 11:25 PM
I need a really impressive chicken or pasta recipe, please...
Posted by KateRuby, December 9, 2008 at 11:37 PM
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Question of the Day: Ever consider a food-related tattoo?
Posted by Adam Kuban, March 20, 2007 at 8:00 AM
At what point does a recipe become your own?
Posted by KateRuby, March 28, 2009 at 11:25 PM
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@salpico - that sounds amazing...I haven't had an egg cream in far too long. I'm off to buy some U-bet & Seltzer!