I'm making the Halibut with Fingerlings and Fava beans from Sunday Suppers at Lucques tonight, but I cannot find any fava beans. What could I use in place of them? The recipe calls for them to be added with the smashed potatoes and served with the Halibut.
I live in Knoxville, Tn and I cannot seem to find any whole ducks anywhere. Does anyone have any reliable online sources for them?
I've been making my own salad dressings lately but I am disappointed with most vinegaretts I've made. I make them with a 3:1 ration of oil to vinegar. I use a good red wine vinegar, a bit of dijon, and some salt and pepper. I find that they are falling a bit flat. I am using DaVinci olive oil.
What I need to know is will I tell a difference if I buy a really good bottle of oil? I don't mind spending $25-$30 on a bottle if I know its worth it, but a little insurance would be nice. Any recommendations?
@rachaeltb, so what about McDonalds, Burger King, Arby's and the like? I see your point, and I would be more open to tipping at a local place that I frequented if the service was always great, but it shouldn't be expected.
I've never worked in a restaurant, but do the cooks usually get a cut of the tips? As I understand it, they are just as busy as the servers, but don't get the tips, because they make a decent hourly wage.
I'm starting to sound like George Costanza, but does it ever end?
Is it common to tip in other "service" areas other than dining? I have always lived the rural south where I honestly don't think that its common. I always tip at least 20% in a restaurant / bar, because that's how servers make there living. I understand that they are payed a very low hourly wage and they really do make their living on tips.
But the "barista" at starbucks? My barber? I never tip them. Working at Starbucks is not much different that working at McDonalds or any other fast food place and those people are never tiped. The same goes for my barber. I usually go to a guy that has owned his own shop for just pays rent to work somewhere, so I figure they should charge what they want to charge.
Am I a complete asshole? I did tip at my local coffee shop (when I had one) but thats because they offered great service and would roast any of there many coffees with just a days notice.
Also, every time this debate comes up I think of Mr Pink's rant on the subject from Reservoir Dogs.
Did I miss something or did he use Doritos on those chicken strips? That really turned me off. His oven fries looked pretty good.
I'm going with peas. I wanted to make it with favas because this recipe was supposed to convert those of us who are not crazy in love with them.
Alright, I believe I have found the perfect dressing.
1.5 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 minced garlic clove
.5 tsp dry mustard
a pinch of salt/pepper
3 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
So I went to Williams-Sonoma and got a bottle of Zinfandel vinegar and a good Italian olive oil. The zin vinegar was a it too strong for me. I'm gonna try again tonight with half vinegar and half lemon juice for the acid.
Thanks for the recommendations. I was thinking about adding a bit of lemon juice to brighten things up as well. I not a huge fan of vinegar.
I know I'm a little late to the table, but this is an issue that always gets me wound up and I just wanted to add my 20%
I was a barista for years, at an independent coffee shop and I depended on tips to survive. My minimum wage salary barely covered my rent and utility costs, so my tips provided me with food and other essentials as well as funds non essential items and activities which a person needs from time to time. To me a barista is no different than a bartender, they just serve different kinds of beverages. And I would assume that most people tip their bartender, even if all they are ordering is a bottled beer.
I actually labeled my tip jar "Karma Jar" and with the exception of one Hindu woman who found it offensive, people were very responsive to it. I always tip at least $1 esp if I know the tips are being pooled.
I also always tip the pizza delivery guys. They may get paid more than server rate, but they have to use their own car, and making frequent short trips does add to the wear and tear of any vehicle, plus buy their own gas and we all know how that's been lately. People have told me that it's not necessary to tip when a delivery fee is added to the bill, but more often then not that delivery fee goes to the restaurant, not the delivery guy. Pizza delivery can also be a rather dangerous occupation, for more info visit
http://tipthepizzaguy.com/
Which is a little snarky here and there but does give some perspective from the delivery guy's point of view
bitterwaitress.com a very funny and unfortunately frequently accurate site. I am a fifty-plus year old who has worked in the restaurant industry since i was old enough to hold a job and i have experienced the best and the worst that this occupation has to offer. I have been waitress, bartender, pastry chef, sous chef, manager, you name it- in several areas of the united states and in france. My personal observation is that most snarky customers who undertip or stiff the servers are generally HUGELY unhappy people who make themselves feel bigger and better by trying to make others-servers-feel small. Power trip. Supercilious behavior. General jerkiness. I once worked in a great beer-plate lunch-burger joint where we could tell the customers to screw off, get out, basically give thier guff right back to them. Sometimes it felt really good to call a jerk a jerk. I also like the line a fellow waitress friend uses on occasion when being jerked around by a customer. She sweetly smiles and says," boy, it must suck to be YOU." Generally, i love my job. I only wait part time now, and on most days it still takes me an hour or so to "decompress"--but i know that those snarks are out there and the law of averages states that i will have to wait on a few of them. I try to ignore them while giving them marginal service-sufficient service, nothing more. Then there are those times that the stereotype doesn't hold true. That is a welcome thing; unfortunately though, here in the deep south the stereotype usually holds true. I try to be a fair tipper--standard 15 percent, 20-25 percent if i have great, attentive service. Good tipping really IS good karma.
I have read the comments with great interest. I live in New Zealand and generally there is no tipping. If I take a taxi I round up the amount owing, if the fare is a straight $20, then that is what I give. That is the norm here. There is no tipping of hairdressers for instance, and you might tip a waiter/waitress after having received truly good service and on a special night out. That amount is given as a thank you but it is not expected. The minimum wage here is $12.00 per hour from age 16 and that is before tax. I can't get my head around tipping. I feel that a working person ought to receive a "proper" wage and should not have to rely on tipping (people's mood etc etc) to make a living. Let the price of the meal reflect the true cost of that meal. Having said that, should I travel to the States, I would make an effort to find out how to tip correctly but I would prefer not to have to think about what is appropriate to give and suffer embarrassment through ignorance.
Servers remember who tips and who doesn't. The tippers will get more of my time, service and hospitality than the ones who tip poorly or not at all.
If you ever leave less than 10% for ANY reason - you are a thief. By federal law at least a 10% tip must accompany all service transactions. The problem with the law is that they punish the victim. You see, whether you tip or not Uncle Sam still taxes the server for a 10% tip, thus making not tipping a crime. The server pays a fine for a bad tip in the form of income tax. So when you do not tip you are actually taking money they earned from other customers. That makes you a thief. If the service was not up to par, speak with the manager. If you do not speak with the manager but leave a poor tip the service wasn't bad; you are just cheap. And to be quite honest if you get any food, be it what you ordered or not then the server has earned a 10% tip.
I am a good tipper, WHEN my server is good. I believe that just like a bonus at other jobs, extra tip is all about how you work. For satisfactory service I'll give 15%. But, if the waiter is rude or ignores the table, I don't mind tipping less that that. I'm a reasonable person . . . if they can't figure out what they did wrong, then they'll probably just do it to someone else.
@Jnash - As far as I've been taught, by my etiquette-conscious parents, it is not expected to tip the owner of an establishment - as he or she is receiving all of the profit anyway!
So, if your barber owns his own shop, or even your server (that is, if you are being waited on by Anthony of Anthony's Pizza) - a tip is not customary, nor expected.
And why should it be?
Once while tending bar at a smallish neighborhood pub, a gentleman seated at the bar left a few bills on the bar for me and went out the door. The man seated next to him, wide-eyed, snatched up the money and followed him out the door yelling "Hey Mister. You forgot your change." (Several other patrons, and me, watched open-mouthed). Shortly, the man returned, put my tip back on the bar and muttered something like, "he said it was for you."
Another thing you have to remember, is that the US is one of very FEW countries that tip. You go pretty much anywhere else in the world and they don't - it's included in your meal price.
So when you slam tourists for not tipping, they may come from some where where this is tradition and they figure, erroneously, that you are getting paid well enough to make a living.
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