Etiquette, Pitch

Pizza delivery guy gets $10 tip on order of $1,500; what should it have been?

Ben Palosaari — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:40:00 -0600

The Internet is infatuated this afternoon with the news of a pizza delivery driver getting tipped $10 on a $1,500 order. It's not a local story, but we're going to post it anyway because pizza, well, it's been on our mind lately.…

Dining out with kids: The potty-training debacle

Jonathan Bender — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 08:00:34 -0500

Parents of young children have different variations of a weekend that is ostensibly toddler spring break. There are no pants involved.…

Restaurant Etiquette: Walking on broken glass

Charles Ferruzza — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 07:45:00 -0500

A Fat City reader wrote in to complain about the treatment he had recently received at a restaurant on the city's south side. While eating, he had discovered a piece of glass in his food.…

Tacky or Not? A server picking up the tip before you leave

Jonathan Bender — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:30:00 -0600

The end of the meal is filled with the possibility of redemption (a perfect dessert, a well-timed check or a visit from the manager to see what could be better) or the agony of a meal that won't end (food in your lap, a forgotten entree or a server who has appeared to leave the building). But in between those meal-saving or meal-ruining moments is a whole other class of awkward possibilities as Jeff Yacos discovered.…

Whatever happened to the comment card?

Jonathan Bender — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 09:30:26 -0500

At some point we forgot that people are on the other side of our order.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the story of a man who apparently lobbed a molotov cocktail at a Taco Bell drive through window in Georgia after calling to complain that his Chalupa XL didn't have enough meat.…

Caffeine Crawl tickets go on sale this Monday

Jonathan Bender — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 13:00:24 -0500

Need a lot of pep in your step? Tickets for the first-ever Caffeine Crawl, organized by local beverage impresario Lab 5702, go on sale Monday.…

The five reasons science can't take the five-second rule from me

Jonathan Bender — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 10:55:44 -0600

It's one of the last great questions faced by humankind: Do you eat something that has just fallen on the floor if you can get it back to your mouth in five seconds?

The New York Times will tell you that it's the "Zero-Second Rule." That scientific data suggests that once it's on the floor, it's gone because bacteria transfer is immediate.…

How to ask Debbie Downer at the next table to please pipe down

Charles Ferruzza — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 15:42:58 -0600

Listen, all I wanted was a nice quiet dinner. Is that too much to ask?

A friend and I stopped at a neighborhood bar and grill last night -- it wasn't my neighborhood but close enough -- and settled into a comfortable booth, opened the menu, and was suddenly assaulted by an unexpected and grotesque monologue from the peppy-looking suburban housewife and mother in the next booth.…

When should empty plates be cleared by your server?

Jonathan Bender — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 08:15:12 -0600

I had just given up trying to best my falafel sandwich at Zaina earlier this week when a server approached the table and asked if my wife and I were done.

"Yes," I replied.…

What makes a really great restaurant host?

Charles Ferruzza — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 13:51:44 -0600

I've worked with all kinds of restaurant hosts and hostesses over the years, including bratty teenagers, college students, actors and actresses, at least one drag queen, and the weird neurotic fashion plate who told everyone that he had both law and medical degrees and was working for minimum wage because, well, it was fun.

Hey, it takes all kinds of people to be attracted to the job of seating people in a restaurant. It looks easy, but it can be very stressful on a weekend night.…

Please forgive me for my check squatting

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:45:39 -0600

Hi, my name is Jonathan, and I waited too long to pay the check. There, that feels much better.…

Do you tell a fellow diner if they have food on their face?

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 10:15:13 -0600

You've got a little something....No, not there. It's just to the right (pointing next to the corner of your lip)...no, the other side...

The act of telling someone they've got cheese on their chin can be an awkward moment.…

Is that Usher at the next table? Please don't gawk

Charles Ferruzza — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 12:00:23 -0600

Was that Usher eating at the Cheesecake Factory late Saturday night after his concert at the Sprint Center? It's not unlikely -- the California-based dining chain is one of the few restaurants on the Country Club Plaza that serves late on weekends.

A bartender at the restaurant told a Pitch reporter that the staff was sure it was Usher. For one thing, he was in town.…