Servers and specials

[The Late Night Gourmet]

The last time I went to Olive Garden was lunch with DD and DGDs, not my choice, theirs, I wasn't very hungry and nothing really looked appetizing so I decided to order calamari, figuring at worst it would be chewy and I knew DD would help me eat it regardless. WRONG!! There was this huge clump stuck together with some loose rings around the outside. I broke into the clump and it was still freezing cold inside! Needless to say, it got sent back and I decided I didn't want anything to eat there at all. They know now that Olive Garden is off the list if grandma is with them.

This is how I usually end up eating at Olive Garden: someone else in the extended family wants to go, we haven't seen them in a while, so we go. I don't understand the people who get excited about the bread they serve (my sister-in-law is one of those people). Sure, they're free, and you can have as many as you want. And they're...okay. Not bad, but nothing special. Mostly, their food comes across as something akin to what I could heat up in a frozen dinner. And, in your case, it seems that they forgot to defrost it!

 

[Mountain Cat]

I haven't usually been bothered by it. If there are LOT of specials, I'd prefer to be given a written list (with prices). Specials that are listed on a board when one first comes in... often we'll get there and be seated immediately (because we hate dining late when the crowds start), and thus miss really seeing what's on the board.

I went out for brunch recently... there was no written menu (on paper or on a board) but it was the very FIRST time that the server said what the item was, AND the price. There were only three specials (easy enough for me to keep mental track of).

I'd say, if more than three specials, let us see the things on paper, or on a readily-visible board or two that anyone seated in the restaurant can follow.

Most servers have indeed asked if we want to learn about the specials, rather than automatically going into a spiel. If they have to tell us - I really do appreciate that one eatery that gave prices along with the spiel. And that it was only three items.

Specials: they do seem to come in a couple overall categories.

1) food that's being re-combined in something different in order to move that food out of the kitchen. Not exactly the most prime.
2) food that has been sourced by lucky happenstance - usually happens in seafood restaurants, sushi bars, and farm-to-table seasonally sourced produce. You can usually tell by the ingredients, and by the fact they don't generally appear on the regular menu.

Maybe a third) Here in the US everthing this month and the past one apparently NEEDS a pumpkin spice variant. In December, we'll see egg-nog variants. We can call this food that needs to fit a holiday theme.

 

[Mountain Cat]

This is how I usually end up eating at Olive Garden: someone else in the extended family wants to go, we haven't seen them in a while, so we go. I don't understand the people who get excited about the bread they serve (my sister-in-law is one of those people). Sure, they're free, and you can have as many as you want. And they're...okay. Not bad, but nothing special. Mostly, their food comes across as something akin to what I could heat up in a frozen dinner. And, in your case, it seems that they forgot to defrost it!

Co-workers wanted to take me out to Olive Garden for one of my last birthdays prior to retirement.

The place is OK, but there were several independent Italian restaurants nearby, with just slightly more expensive prices. So... I talked them into taking me to the Lebanese place, which was definitely less expensive than any of the others, including Olive Garden... and if you take care in what you order, the food is wonderful.

Olive Garden.. meh.

 

[TastyReuben]

Hey, here's an idea...what I'm keying in on as bad form is the interruption. Like I said earlier, short of an emergency, I prefer to just grin and bear anything I dislike until an appropriate moment comes to say something or excuse myself.

So, medtran49, is there any way you can let the server know you already are familiar with the specials, instead of trampling on their routine? Something like:

"Hi! My name is Candy and I'll be your server tonight!"

Then, right in that pause before the next bit starts, you could say:

"Wonderful, Candy, thanks! And I've already seen the specials board, so I'm familiar with those."

That might be a nice compromise - you don't have to listen to the specials and the server doesn't have to feel like they've just been smacked down.

On a side note - quick internet search revealed an article along the lines of "What Your Server Wants You To Know," and number 2 on the list is...a request to please stop interrupting them when they're spitting out the list of specials.

Maybe we need a "What Your Dining Customer Wants You To Know," directed to the server!