Zagat lists what they view as the 10 most annoying things restaurants do. Over at their site, they offer their own commentary. here, I add what I think of them:
"1. Dogs in Cafes/Outdoor Restaurants." Predictably, this one doesn't bother me at all. To the contrary, I like it.
"2. Tables Ridiculously Close Together." Why is it that restaurants with lousy acoustics are especially fond of this one?
"3. Overzealous Wine Pouring. If there’s one thing we definitely don’t need help with, it’s pouring our own alcohol." Damned straight. I bought it. It's my bottle. Servers should keep their hands off it.
"4. Designer Ice" Who cares?
"5. Enormous Wine Glasses" I'd rather have a glass that is too big than too small. One trend that seems to be over is for high priced Italian places to use tumblers instead of real wine glasses. My $100 bottle of super-Tuscan wine belongs in a Riedel glass, not a water tumbler.
"6. Ketchup Snobbery" Who cares?
"7. Sparkling, Flat or Filtered Tap?" Filtered tap is better for the environment and, for my money, tastes better.
"8. Unisex Restrooms." Lousy idea.
"9. Excessive Punctuation/Lower-Case Letters in Restaurant Names, Menu Items Wh.at is up wi.th all the pe.ri.ods?" it's annoying, but it's better than the 1980s fad for adding extra "e's", as in "Ye Olde Taverne."
"10. Wood-Infused Food" Unless it's smoked BBQ, wood is not an ingredient.
Agreed. Although, I do not mind the tumblers if I am having a $3 chianti in some hole in the wall Italian place that does $4 kick ass lunch specials of ziti (us cows tend to be frugal--the milk money only goes so far).
Posted by: Evi L. Bloggerlady | 01/27/2012 at 01:05 AM
"Unless it's smoked BBQ, wood is not an ingredient."
Please pass that comment on to California wineries regarding their chardonneys. And, for that matter, their unblended cabernets.
Posted by: Jaws | 01/27/2012 at 11:24 AM
In Chicago every new pub has an & in the name. It's so bad I think I'm going to open a gastro pub called & & @, though @ & & is kinda punny.
I don't get the anti dog screed, outdoor eating is full of germs and exhaust and god knows what animals crawl on the tables at night to begin with. The dogs are hardly the problem.
Posted by: Christopher Buchholz | 01/27/2012 at 12:02 PM
"1. Dogs in Cafes/Outdoor Restaurants."
One thing I like about pubs is that some of them will invite well-behaved dogs *indoors*.
"Unless it's smoked BBQ, wood is not an ingredient."
Come now-- cedar planked salmon is delicious. I agree about the California chardonnay, though.
Posted by: Eric Rasmusen | 01/31/2012 at 06:55 PM