Vacuum the plate...

[Free Rider]

Funny op-ed column about wine service in restaurants.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/21/op...1cohen.html?hp

[Bazza]

An amusing item, but diners and their expectations vary a great deal. One person may like to have their glass constantly topped up and another may want to pour it themselves. Me I don't mind, but the one thing I really dislike is if there is no waiter around and I decide to pour it myself, then suddenly someone rushes over and snatches it from me and says "I'll do that sir" I find that rude and patronising, as if I have behaved improperly in their restaurant. Having said that, remember that they all want to sell as much wine as possible, it is far more lucrative than food!

[foodnfoto]

I get irked at restaurants for the same reason; especially the plate vacuuming.
On more than a handful of occasions I've gotten up to visit the facilities before finishing my plate (comb my hair, fix a button or dab at a bit of something on my skirt) only to come back and find my plate gone!

Oddly, if I complain, I have never gotten a replacement.