patrick.net

Being used to smaller UK portions

Try going to restaurants with smaller portions. Alternatively, eat 2 appertizers instead of 1 entree. You can also ask the restaurant to split the entree for you and your companion. I cannot stand large portions.

Still, I’d had instilled into me as a child to finish everythng on my (reasonalby portioned) plate and that to waste food was a sin.
Forget evoloutionary factors, a Mother’s Guilt Trip will get you every time…; )

I naturally finish everything... on the table. My mom had to stop me from eating everything.

"Monkey Brains"

I started to put on weight in my mid- 20's. After leaving "shore duty" and going back to an aircraft carrier I was able to lose almost all of the weight. This however requires an 18 to 20 hour day and plenty of rigorous exercise! Just to get down to 186 lbs! Maybe I could get a part time job digging ditches?

Here's the thing about food: When I was growing up, we were kind off financially strapped so we grew most of our vegetables and didn't eat tons of meat. My grandparents did the same thing. My grandmother canned everything. A LOT of the food at dinner was fried, dipped in some sort of lard, or put into equally fatty cassarole dishes full of cheese and mayonaise. You would think we'd all be fat as hell, but we're all thin as sticks.
I moved to SF and I got SPOILED! I mean- I cannot eat at Chilis or any of those nasty sweet tasting places anymore. prior to that, I thought Applebee's was a luxury.

I always feel bad when I go to restaurants and (1) get water instead of a drink (2) forgo one entree (3) skip dessert. I feel like I have to tip around 20% because the wait person has missed out on so much expected gross.

I always feel bad when I go to restaurants and (1) get water instead of a drink (2) forgo one entree (3) skip dessert. I feel like I have to tip around 20% because the wait person has missed out on so much expected gross.

Do this:

1) order sparkling water
2) order more appertizers
3) skip dessert but get a coffee

Muggy Says:

Hey, since we’re already waaay OT, grant me this one rant: would somebody please smack that girl that is on CNN complaining about not being able to take a shower during the evacuation from Lebanon.? Please? I can’t believe how much airtime they have given her.

You might have to form a line behind me.

I've got CNN on as sort of background noise while I work, and have noticed the shift from "The Sky is Falling" to "Plucky Americans Hitch Rides on European Ships" over the last couple of days.
No word of thanks to the host countries for making room for them, just, "Well, my Mom thinks its a Cruise Ship, but I can tell her its not...."

Am I the only one thinking that, like post-Katrina, the US Govt has sort of dropped the ball on this? I've heard stories of 25K Ausralians being stranded (was that you Different Sean?) and of 50K Canadians being stranded, so maybe the US isn't doing so badly.
Don't mean to step on any Pro-Bush feet, really, just wondering what anyone else thinks.

And, yes, totally off-topic. Sorry, its my lunchbreak. Normal HB ranting will resume shortly....

For two people, try sharing 2-3 appertizers and 1 splitted entree.

Back from my hiatus -- I've officially given up on buying anytime soon, and rented an overpriced place on the beach. No more renting dumpy places in the name of "saving for the housing crash". I don't want to be 40 years old and realize that my entire young years were spent "living for tomorrow". Stop the insanity!

Peter P:
You've got it right. Small portions, baby. Restaurant portions are rediculous. The logistics of what to do with a four inch tall mound of pasta with 28 shrimp on it end up making me want to cook my own dinner. Split first, take half home and have to carry it around as you stroll after dinner? Split entree with date, and everybody including the date look at you like you're cheap? Ugh. Plus, the markup on wine in the last five or six years has gone from 2.5x to more like 6x, which further ruins the dining out experience. Thank God I love to cook and don't mind cleaning up afterwards.

SQT:
I finally solved the "buffet dilemma" by avoiding buffets at all costs. Try as I might, I could not prevent myself from overeating. Even when I tried the "take only one bite of each thing" approach, it still ends up being 1.5 times what I would normally eat! And I hate to overeat. Considering how little needs to be eaten at mealtime, the whole concept of a buffet is just stupid. Not only that, I have NEVER ONCE ordered an entree at a restaurant and NOT been satisfied afterwards. Never. P.S. -- How are the parents' "financial fiasco" progressing?

Muggy,

I avoid cable news so I missed that one. I guess reality TV is not the only place where Americans can make complete arses of themselves...

Peter P,

Thanks for the tips. I try to just tip a bit more and order a nice main course. I usually avoid appetizers unless there's something I really want to try, appetizers tend to be even less healthy than the main course...though I can't say no to Buffalo Wing variants.

RE: portions

Luckily, I think the "small plates movement" is gaining momentum. There is going to be more Tapa-style restaurants in the future.

astrid,

Good for you! To me, tipping is half the fun of eating out. Once they recognize that you tip just as well for ice water as you do for any other drink you'll get past the whole "stink eye" thing. My wife didn't used to believe me but once she got with the program she's had a lot of fun with it too. We usually just round it up and people really appreciate it. Bill came to $31.50 just give the kid two twenties. They're almost breathless when they ask "how would you like your change"? I just tell them "I wouldn't". They get a kick out of that. Many people don't (or don't seem to want to) realize that your cocktail waitress in LV is making MINIMUM WAGE! Without your tips (which she shares with the "tarbender" and then are taxed) that's exactly what she's getting! I hear "stiffers" complain about service but this is "somebody's" daughter. Personally, I don't care if dump the drink in my lap. (I brought a change of clothes). Have FUN with these people!

New Topic? Who tips better? FB's of JBR's?

New Topic? Who tips better? FB’s of JBR’s?

FB's tip more % of their disposable income.

I meant to say, "hick", bartender!

FB eats out? I thought they're now sitting at home boiling their old shoes. :)

Howabout "JBR have all the fun"?

DinOR,

Hehe, I thought you were trying to get around some esoteric Oregonian blue law.

SQT,

Well exactly! Most of the gals there probably go to UNLV and trust me when they got to town this wasn't their "first choice" for employment! After trying all the usual haunts (and realizing their parents weren't as rich as they pretended to be) here they are. They'll probably have to do it for a while (to get the lights and phone turned back on) so can't we just please make this a little less unpleasant for all parties involved and give this girl a decent tip? Sheesh.

Well, when someone calls out "tarbender" I think their night is over!

I really am adamant about tipping though. Yes, I even tip the valet and the "barbacks" so it's not a sexist thing. I'm sure at great length they all have to explain to their folks that the reason they haven't asked for more money isn't because they "got a nice raise" at Wendy's! Why can't we all be a little more pleasant about this?

If you can't afford to tip, stay home!

It takes A LOT of courage to walk up to total strangers and put yourself in their service. I've never waited tables (but believe me I've had my share of sales rejection). I see a lot of people that won't even make eye contact with these kids. I know it always makes me feel good when people don't even think enough of me to look at me!

I worked as a waitress full-time for two years in my youth.
Despite being in my late teens/early twenties, I'd still end up at the end of a shift exhausted, simply from running around carrying 4 plates at a time and remembering 16 impossible things before breakfast....and shiflts were normally 12 hours long. Its a backbreaking and thankless job, even for the young and fit.

To my mind, anyone who works in a kitchen or bar environment deserves the biggest tip you can afford. Even in the UK, formerly notorious for stingy tipping, I would always tip 10+% when I lived there, pre-2000.

We had some friends over from the UK a while back, and at the end of thier trip they took us out to dinner. Even though we'd told our friend that tipping 15% was a minimum, he still tipped 10% at the end of the meal. Unsurprisingly, the girl who's been our waitress all night (and had done a great job, too) came over and said very pleasantly "I'm sorry if you weren't happy with my service, you've only tipped me 10%, could I have served you better?"
Needless to say both me and the husband looked daggers at him, and he very grudgingly handed her over the extra 5%..

Incedentally, in the UK, the posher you are, the tighter you are. Numerous lunchtimes, I'd have to serve a whole Rugby club full of young guys who pinch my ass, have a food fight and change thier minds on their orders after you'd given it to them. Needless to say, if they left a tip at all, it would normally be a roundup of pennies from their pockets dumped in the middle of the ruined table. As if I was a parking meter, or something.

SQT,

Well yes, generally so. Anytime we've reached that part of the week and that part of the day where Mrs. DinOR finally says it's O.K to have a drink I'm freaking ecstatic!

But that doesn't mean it's any less important to be pleasant (and generous) when ordering dinner or breakfast or getting extra towels. For many young people this is their first experience in the work force and they're expected to be professional. Why can't we at least acknowledge their efforts?

Is there a polite way I can tell her that it is embarrassing to me, rude to the waiter, and reflects badly on her that she tips 1/4 of what she should?

I have no problem of tipping. However, I would appreciate if the restaurant add the appropriate tip to my bill before it reaches me, be it 15% or 20%. I hate doing math.

SFWoman,

Yes. Tell her, "you are embarrassing me, you are rude to the waiter and this reflects badly on you".

I am a big tipper too, having worked at Wendy's for five years in my youth (we didn't get tips, but I learned to sympathize with my food-service brothers and sisters anyway).

My dad was a HUGE tipper. HUGE. I think his tips averaged around 100 percent. He didn't do it to be flashy, he just believed in doing nice things for people.

Althogh my dad had no ulterior motive, whenever he went back to the same restauarant, he'd always get great service. One time a client took him to this really renowned Chicago restaurant, not the kind of place he would normally patronize, and my dad really liked it. He went back, and started eating there every couple of weeks. The thing is, even though it was an expensive restaurant, he maintained his usual 100% tip policy. If the check was for $200, he'd leave $400!

Not surprisingly, he got really, really good service. When we went there with him, I remember watching the valet sprint to get my dad's car. And I mean sprint; it was like watching the Olympic trials, he was going all out. I said gee, this place has unbelievable service, I can see why you like it. My dad realized that I genuinely hadn't figured it out and, for the only time I can remember, owned up to his tipping policy. He said "well, I am a good customer," and I finally put two and two together.

I am a big tipper too, but not as big as my dad was. I hope that one day I am in a position to leave 100% tips also. It is kind of nice to do. People generally don't know you are doing it, as they don't know how much you have tipped until after you leave unless you pay by credit card or say "keep the change," but it really makes someone's day.

SFWoman,

OR! You could refer the waiter to a web-site called the STD. (No not that kind). The Shitty Tippers Data Base! It actually exists. Scotty Pippen (former Chicago Bull Champ) is referred to on the site as "No tippin' Pippen"! The next time your friend chumps the staff just slip the waiter the web address. They get her name and address from the card and post the cheap a$$es name for God and everyone to see!

"Your making up for all the cheapskates"

Absolutely true. As Joe Schmoe suggests if you really want over the top service you gotta tip over the top! (It's best to do this early on in the relationship with that establishment) and then you can get away with "just" tipping 25% on a number of occasions and everyone is super nice in anticipation of "the big one". Trust me, I get a bigger kick out of it than they do.

SFWoman Says:

I have a few friends who are exceptions to the posh= poor tipper rule. I have several English friends who did year long drives across the US on their gap year. They quickly learned how to tip properly eateing in diners and truck stops. A couple of them reported to me that they were instructed on how to tip at those places, in a nice but firm manner.

Hhehe....

These, of course, having left the confines of the Home Counties and actually lived amongst the working stiffs of the world. I don't have problems with people who want to broaden thier horizons.
As much flak as the Royal Family gets, at least the Princes have put thier money where their mouths are and volunteered in Africa for a year.

But, the British (ex)Ruling Class as a whole is about as inbred as a Red Setter puppy farm. Most of them really have no clue. Sadly, large proprortions of the Elder Sons of the Empire would chose my restaurant to eat/throw lunch in back then, and every member of staff would roll their eyes as they came rampaging in like Young Vikings.

Don't even mention food UGH! I've had such a shift in the last eighteen months. Old Job, move, New job + long commute for six weeks, and school. I'm in my forties and worked out always and never had a problem with weight. I use to weight train and was a pretty hard size 5 up until summer 05.

Since last summer the stress of relocation, my boyfriend losing his job, the physical move, aclimating to new surroundings have taken a toll. Exercise which was a priority went first suffice to say I've gained twenty pounds. I'm glad my frends in cali can't see me now. My mom says it's That peri-menopause thing I don't know. I think you can be lean at any age. I think if I get mad enough and get my"fight" back I'll lose it.

I've had to deal with alot of shit the last six years I don't want to add this to the mix.

Since this thread has taken on a food-centric bent lately, I think you'll appreciate this recent exchange from Ben's blog:

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Comment by foreclose_me
2006-07-19 12:39:35

That Stockton Record story has this:

Snaith, who coined the phrase “housing soufflé” to describe the cooling down of the market, now says that the housing market is more like a crepe - relatively flat.

What comes after crepe?
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Comment by LAMoneyGuy
2006-07-19 12:46:49

German Chocolate Upside Down Cake
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RTBA,

No, my dad was a cab driver for 25 years, and then worked as a salesman for a moving company. He wasn't rich at all. He just believed in tipping big.

SFWoman,

I didn't really mean to call your friend a "cheap a$$". I have friends like that too! Not a lot, but a few. I always ask them (in a total kidding way of course) if they're saving up to go to college? And I say it loud enough for not everyone to hear but more than the immediate vicinity? This usually cures them (at least when they go out around me). What I love to do is after dinner and several drinks get everybody at the table to empty their pockets and ones and fives and tens hit the table and everybody leaves feeling really good about themselves! Like I say, it's half the fun.

Joe Schmoe,

And that is the whole point! You don't have to be filthy rich to get treated like you are. Once I've tipped a cocktail waitress she wouldn't care if Donald Trump walked through the door. Donald may have more money than this guy but at this point it's better to dance with those that brung ya'!

FBs probably make the worst tippers. Their math skills probably don't permit for the calculation of tip into the meal.

RTBA,

It's an investment! These young people need the money more than we do. Many of the places we go locally we are being served by our daughters classmates. They tell their folks, so on and so forth. Gosh Dad, Mr. and Mrs. DinOR are the NICEST people etc. etc. It's just good for business. (Admittedly it's a little easier on you when you're self employed) but it's STILL a good investment. I've had young people almost in tears b/c they weren't sure how they'd have gas money to get home. Or "now I'll be able to cover my insurance"! They operate on incredibly thin budgets. I've had waitresses so choked up they couldn't thank me. Figure 20% at a minimum.

HARM,

Yes, German Chocolate Upside Down cake is what I'll be ordering!

"housing souffle'" indeed!

I just spent the last half-hour reading celebrity bad-tipping stories. Too funny!

I heard that Bill Gates is a big tipper.

RTBA,

You sound like a reasonable man. In this case, I'd suggest Bellevue/Redmond/Seattle/xxxxx. You'll get a lot of snow in the mountains nearby. The closest ski place is half an hour's drive from where I live (or Seattle or Redmond or xxxx). Milder summer than Portland. Rarely do we get temperature over 90.

The downside. It's a crowded place. Very crowded. (Of course, almost any place is less crowded than the Garden State where I spent 7 years.) Certain burbs are very OK. Some are quite horsey. I like those. But I look different, so it might be difficult for me to fit in. Might not be a problem for you. The commute distance from these burbs to employment centers is surprisingly short. (half an hour.)

Fortunately, many softies don't like these burbs as they are (1) old and (2) somewhat rural. They like newer developments in Issaquah and the likes. Let them have the cakes.

If you can tele-commute, then Bellingham is an even better place.

However, having lived all my life on east coasts with certain types of climates, I sorely miss the distinct four seasons. Nothing beats the crisp air and clear sky of the autumn in Northeast. And the first feel of onset of spring after a cold winter. And walking in the snow-covered streets (during the day, not at night). And the hot and idylic summer, which in my book is the only insufferable season on the east coast (actually, more accurately, New England).

If I had money, I'd definitely buy an apartment in Manhattan and spend the fall season there.

SQT,

Is that stuff the bomb or what! Some of these gals descriptions of "the evening" and "the guests" are just too funny! You know, one of the great things about being a decent tipper is that if you really are stretched thin, they understand! Just PLEASE don't put me in the Shitty Tipper's Data Base!

Govenernor,
I tried the east coast for 3 years, more specifically Boston. Beautiful city. Nice parks, lots of history. But the winters and summers almost killed me every year. One year I recall it got so cold that the toilets in the crappy house we rented froze because we forgot to refill the heating oil tank. One summer I landed at the Boston airport at 10 PM. It was 97 degrees. I had no AC either. The last winter I was there it was -20 one day. That was enough for me! Otherwise, lovely area to live.

RTBA,

My bad. But you know, even if you can't tip "HUGE" don't worry about it. Try to be as fun and friendly as possible and make sure whoever you're with doesn't tie up this person's time with odd requests each time they happen to walk by so they can devote their time to people with larger parties (and bigger bills). The more I talk to these people I realize it's almost as if they are running their own business within a business. We should all help them become the BEST business people they can.