Okay, so what drives you nuts? What things may you notice in a restaurant here in New Jersey that you won’t see elsewhere? Are there certain behaviors/ticks both for servers and us diners that are acceptable here but nowhere else, and vice versa? Or is there not much difference between the Garden State and the other 49? And non-NJ related, has someone at your or a nearby table ever done something that caused your jaw to drop?
Some personal examples…
More of a musing than anything: A few years ago, I was having breakfast with a friend in the middle of bumblefarg nowhere (Shippensburg, PA to be precise). The diner we were at was ultra cheap. I’m talking two gigantic meals and two drinks for like $13. My friend, who lives out there part-time, says he will pay the tab, so I said I would leave the tip. The waitress was really nice, so I threw down $4. Shocked, my friend asks me, “Are you sure you want to do that?” I momentarily paused, afraid I had done something offensive and was not leaving enough. I responded, “Should I leave more?” He says, “No, that’s a lot of money out here. You should really take a dollar back.” Now, my friend is no cheapskate (usually a generous tipper when we had dined in New Jersey). I never quite understood why this was such a big deal. I feel that had this same situation happened here, it would have gone unnoticed and the tip would proceed to be garbled up by the server without much thought. I always leave 20% except in incredibly rare circumstances. Sometimes more, as I am sure we all do.
As for pet peeves…
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Servers/Bartenders constantly hounding me if I want another drink. This is why I have so much respect for The Globe. They pour your drink and leave you the hell alone. The bartenders are older, the been-there-done-that-type that would rather get a good tip by making sure you are having a good time instead of acting like sharks in blood-infested water when your glass is half empty.
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Menus labeling everything “craft”, “small-batch”, “artisan”, etc. As @CurlzNJ and I discussed in another thread a few days ago. What state did this start in? Because Monmouth County is LOADED with it!
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Restaurants which blatantly label a menu with the wrong information. An example being saying a sandwich comes on grilled French bread and then serving it on a Kaiser roll (this happened to me last month). The @NotJrvedivici story of “that’s not a wedge salad” also comes to mind.
A million more will come to mind I’m sure. That’s all for now.