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I will definitely send things back if there's a major problem with the food. Now, if I order squid ink pasta and discover that I don't like squid ink pasta, that's my bad and I'll deal, but if my meat is over cooked or my pasta mushy or it's way too salty (and for a girl who loves salt, it takes a lot), I will, very nicely, send it back. If it's an actual problem, and not simply that you don't happen to like a dish, I find that most restaurants respond well. There are exceptions, certainly, and those are the restaurants I don't go back to.

I'm definitely shy when it comes to this situation, but I would tell -- in a polite, non-confrontational manner, and if the issue was reasonably off-kilter. I have a coworker who I now refuse to go out with after hours because she cannot deliver her complaints about the meal in a respectful, mature tone... and trust me when I say it has happened multiple times, every time.

Alternatively, I regularly get my lunch from an award-winning bruncherie in Philly near my office. One of their items which I purchase regularly, their chicken caesar salad, had such bitter and wilted lettuce that I could barely choke down -- so the next day, I went and politely told them about the salad. I was incredibly appreciative that one of the chefs came out to explain (non-condescendingly) that the salad was made with wild romaine, which tasted more bitter than the regular romaine you'd purchase in the supermarket. Certainly, they also appreciated my feedback about the salad, and they offered to comp me on my next meal. :)

Oh, do tell.

I've been on both sides of the table. On the business side, if there's an objective reason for sending something back, like half-raw scallops or undercooked chicken or grit in your leeks, the restaurant owner would much rather comp or at least fix your dinner than be served with a lawsuit because they made you sick. When health issues are involved, you definitely send back your plate and you do so emphatically but politely. The staff should be properly mortified and offer an apology, and you should be begged to give them a chance to fix their lack of attention to your dinner. There should be no questions asked and an no excuses given--there is no excuse.

If it's a subjective matter, such as the sauce that you think is overly salty or the pasta that you think is overcooked or the chicken that you think is too curried or the pad thai that you think needs more peanuts, you could ask your server nicely, without a trace of sarcasm, if the sauce was meant to be this salty, if the chef intended for the pasta to be mushy, if you could have another plate of curry with the sauce on the side, if you could have a few extra peanuts. If it's not worth it to you to make a fuss, you could mention your problem after you've paid the bill and left the tip, or you could write a note on the check or their copy of the credit card receipt. The staff should act like they care--if they don't seem to, you are free to tell your friends, who will tell their friends, and so on and so on until the establishment closes from lack of business.

(You would be surprised at the number of chefs, sous chefs, prep cooks and line cooks who have not tasted what they've made. The excuses for undercooking and overseasoning are idiotic: They don't like seafood; they thought the recipe said 1 Tbsp. instead of 1 tsp.; they lost track of the time it took to prepare the sauce, and your pasta has been sitting in hot water for that duration; or they did taste it, but their taste buds are fuzzy from too much vodka the night before. And keep in mind that your taste buds might be defective.)

On the customer side, if I get burned toast, it goes back. Period. I worked long and hard to make enough money to pay for that toast, and it better be made by someone who cares about my dining experience and the references I might make to friends, my taste buds, and my purse. I do not expect my entire meal to be compensated (which, in effect, is like the establishment paying you to dine there) but I do expect that it will be fixed, which it won't be if I don't speak up. Politely.

I think i've only ever sent back one entree. it was at a place in Boston called The Alchemist- a bar and casual dining type of place. The spaghetti bolognese was wildly over-salted. I was very nice, explained that i "never do this" (actually true in this case), but that it was way too salty. the waitress brought it to the kitchen and then came back and said "i apologize, the chef tasted the sauce and you were completely right... would you like another order or something else from the menu? anything you want is fine".

obviously over-salting is a little easier to judge than over-saffron-ing but still, i think any restaurant appreciates being made aware of any potential problems.

I went to Minetta Tavern and while the veal sausage was incredibly delicious, the sauce on top of it was really too salty for the average person. I like my food salty, but it was excessive - I still ate most of it, but at the end of the meal I let the waitress know. Looking back, I wish I had sent it back. Instead, I told the waitress that I wasn't looking to be compensated but that she should let them know about the problem. She took me up on the "no compensation", ha!

to me the saddest thing of all is that all of these poor animals had to die without the respect they deserve. a while back in the northeast 5 million pounds of ground beef had to be destroyed because of this sort of thing. that's a lot of big brown eyes.

i'm not a vegetarian - but i do buy my meat from local farms where i know the animals are being treated humanely. i always eat my burgers which we cook at home RARE. it's not costing me an arm & a leg either...(no pun intended).... if you're able to find a local source, find it. they're out there.....

I prefer to make my own from scratch at all costs from my local trusted farmer.

preference is typically overshadowed by the extremity of the economy right now and its refelction on my finances so I don't usually get to do this,

Interesting post!

@hmw0029: Thanks for pointing out the talk topic! I'll add it to the post.

Also, Young and Hungry pulled out some key quotes from the article.

i gave up on buying ground meat from the supermarket years ago, but i haven't given up on burgers. i go to a butcher and ask him to grind the meat fresh for me, usually chuck or sirloin for burgers.

I gave up burgers about 2 years ago when the e-coli incidents were on the rise; the NY Times did an excellent job of reporting then too. This article details that even bulk packaged ground sirloin is mixed from multiple sources, not all of which is actually sirloin - it's not just patties. So even though relatives and friends have been bugging me about being unnecessarily worried, and I have really been longing for a nice juicy burger at BBQs and restaurants, I'm most certainly going to stick to my ban on pre-ground beef.

Glad I prefer the taste of well done.

I've gained five pounds in the three and some years I've been at college, and some of that was my body just finishing up it's growing and whatnot. But I have seen some fall to the Freshman 15. Just not me.

But, I eat healthy at the dining halls, keep healthy snacks on hand, and eat vegetarian when I'm at my apartment.

And I also haven't fallen into spending too much time with Mr. Booze. That's a definite diet breaker.