Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Oh, man, I thought I had blocked out my Gatorade Gum cravings!

So I didn't see the last post, and I haven't read all the comments, but it's a topic that depends on the situation, imo. If it was a large group of people, I would ask again, because that does eat up a lot of one waitress's time. I dined at a nice little place with a friend a few months back, and it was my second time there (pretty sure the waiters recognized me). I had tipped well the first time, as it was a great experience, and the second time, my friend and I completely miscalculated the tip. My waiter came back around and asked us if everything was ok. It was a bit awkward, but I'm glad he did ask, because he deserved more than the $3 we had somehow managed to leave.

I can only speak from my own experience. Been eating dark chocolate 70%++ for about a year now. My cholesterol level came way down. Don't know if dark chocolate is "the" key factor. But it might have helped. At least, it can't hurt!

I love Fage, but I am trying to be objective.

So I bought Skyr and found it too creamy and sour. Fage is more cheesy and firm.

I tried to buy Siggi's, but it's $2.39 at Whole Foods, while Skyr is $1.99. Whole Foods couldn't tell me why. So could you tell me why Siggi's is actually worth 40 cents more than either Skyr or Fage? Thanks!

Mine just chipped last night. I've had it since Christmas and have probably used it 15 times or so. I'm very nice to it; no high heat, hand wash, no other pots are stored in it, wooden utensils. I noticed under the ratings that a few others have had the same issue. It was so nice before this. It has a limited lifetime warranty, so I'll try and get a new one.

Tip is left for service which means full-service, as opposed to self-service, right? Even if the server is not what you want or expect, if he/she walked back and forth so you can just sit at your table, shouldn't the server get the minimum 15% unless there are mistakes on the server's part (not the kitchen's)? We expect so much from servers at restaurants, yet accept lousy service everywhere else.

I was so excited when my husband told me he saw Pepsi throwback in our local supermarket. I just bought a bottle at Walgreen's. It is awesome! Since me and my husband don't eat anything with HFCS i was really missing soda, and this gave me a chance to have some! I really hope i can find more....as i hope to get a few extra to keep for when i have a soda craving! Thanks to Pepsi and Coke for making these....not only for our Jewish friends, but for people like me who refrain from eating HFCS!

I just wanted to offer some appreciation for this post. I have had a similar experience, where, after paying, my tip would have been $1 on a $60+ order. I returned the dollar "change" to the table even though they said "no change," and they were shocked and shelled out more money. It happens, and I see no reason why someone shouldn't approach their table if they believe that a mistake has happened.

I'm glad there's no rules about gratuity, I've had some great service, then i've had some nightmare services. I love it when the server knows his food, wine, and even gives us some of his personal recommendations from the menu.

Then there's the flip side, clueless servers, and you can tell they are dying to go home. I have been waited on with the server talking on his CELL PHONE! Yeah, I'm going to tip you for talking to your friend during service. NO WAY! We have witnessed arguing about who's tables are getting people between staff (yes in front of customers), whine about how tired they are, has a short-term memory, and look miserable to be at work in general. No, uh uh, no reward for that. If I behaved like that at my job, I'd be fired! It's not a pleasant experience so why should I even bother tipping.

Honey attracts more bees, even if you gotta fake it. For an awesome service all around, I don't mind overtipping, I have given 25-30%. But for a mediocre service, why bother.

The best service is the waitstaff that take their job seriously, and know their stuff! Because how you feel about your job always reflects your performance.

Your article reminded me of the time I went to a restaurant a few years ago when I left $0.00 tip on a $200+ bill. I am usually a good tipper (at least 15%, more if service was extraordinarily good). But the combination of my alcohol-induced haze, my general deer-in-headlights feeling when it comes to money, and my friend trying to explain something to me about the tip...made me think that gratuity was already included, or that my friends had already taken care of it.

I didn't realize my mistake until weeks later. I didn't take care of it then and then, when I read your column last week, it hit me like a smack in the face. I am guilt-ridden about the fact that our poor waitress got squat when she didn't do anything wrong. I am attempting to track her down now, and though I don't know how feasible it would be, in retrospect, I would have LOVED if she confronted me about the tip.

I absolutely agree that tipping well and graciously is a mandatory aspect of eating out. However, if my server ever had the audacity to approach me about what I left, I would never return to that restaurant. Honestly, I wish every restaurant added gratuity so that the debate could end. Kudos to the French.

I would not criticize Hannah for her actions for questioning the customers for her low tip if she can report on any incidence in which she ran after a customer who left a very large tip a)to thank them profusely for a very generous tip or b)to ascertain they did not make a mathematical error and offer to refund some part of the tip. I will always remember the following two incidences: 1) After a great home-style meal in the 70's, we chose to leave a $20 tip (50%) because the meal was so good and reasonable in price and the immigrant waitress was so attentative - she came running out of the resaurant to thank us with many bows. 2) We couldn't figure out why a waiter in a very expensive restuarant turned so friendly after giving us just barely adequate service during a meal. When I finally looked at our receipt, I realized my mathematically challenged ex-husband, having had a couple drinks, calculated a 40% tip!

You know what's funny? I never tip less than 30-35% (15-20% always seem inadequate to me, provided that there was nothing extraordinarily wrong with our dinner, in which case, I will make a point of calculating 15% - it's happened once in my life so far. I'm 35). That said, the line It’s your job to tip graciously at the end of your meal, unless service is included, or you're at a take-out joint, etc. made me feel very resentful. No, it's not my job, it's my choice. Big, big difference.

I work hard (at my real job) and I go out to relax, have fun and yes, enjoy being served by somebody else for a change. And make no mistake, I appreciate it tremendously, which is why, like I said, I never tip less than 30-35%. But it's not my job. My job is to make sure the audits I submit to my employer are correct.