I have never had this one happen...

[kuan]

I love you Andrew. You know why? You realize a few things that many people don't get. You saw a need and fulfilled it. In a sense you've created a market category all by itself, and uh, literally all by itself. One person! Good news is you've got the corner on the market. It's not about me, it's about the customer. You did well. It didn't take much to warm up the salad, and you've basically doubled your revenue from this person. I hope you use this strength to take it to the next level. Even though you weren't the one receiving the tip, or the extra revenues, it will serve you well to keep up this good attitude. It will serve you well in the end.

We all "get" it right?

[Andrew563]

Fervent greens, I like that..

[thetincook]

I got the same request for a warmed up baby spinach-pear salad. The guest wanted it hot but not wilted. I stuck in my electric pizza oven a couple of times. The salad turned out realy nice, like I had just picked the spinach from a sun drenched field. It turned a nightmare customer into a decent patron.

The sous-chef was ticked since neither the waitress nor I cleared the special request with him first, but what can ya do...

[Mike Hartman]

Now I don't have anything on the rest of you, but the worst thing I've seen was spagetti w/o sauce but instead a mustard and ketchup mix as a sauce, topped with mushrooms and a lemon. Now this was about a year ago when I worked at the local Ramada Airport Inn. We usually had some other strange things, but that one seemed to stick with me. And then we had the usual guy come in every day or every other day, order shrimp coctail, Sirloin (m/r), potatos (mashed /smashed -for the southerns), 20 wings - hot and sometimes and 2nd order of the same thing. And occasionally a few other things. Big guy I'll tell ya! He was so far in debt w/ the owner of the hotel, his meals were all practically FREE...How anyone can get all that for free and not eventually have their dues paid off by...what, 6 months maybe?
NOTE - He was the hotels lazy / non-motivated electrician. (Never hire him for anything!)

[Txacoli]

Right now we have a warm salad: roasted heirloom carrots and parsnips, pears, fennel, arugula, ricotta salata....We did it first as an iron-chef thing when the farmer's markets died, but it sells out every time, and now I am scrambling for heirloom carrots

And I am old enough to remember wilted spinach salads from the 60's: chopped bacon and grease/oil....tossed over spinach with hardboiled egg and good vinegar tableside! Salade frisée is the bomb done the same way.

Maybe your lady is on a flashback.

[Andrew563]

Last night, the server who waited on this particular person, and I were talking about he warmed salad thing. Apparently, the lady has bad teeth and cold food hurts. Let that be a lesson to everyone, take care of your teeth. Imagine , not being able to eat homemade ice cream on a hot summer day.

[Pete]

I will always accommodate a guests request, but if I think it is particularly nasty I will only send it out if the server gives that caveat that I will not guarnatee the quality of the product and if they want it is at their own risk, and they will pay for it whether they like it or not. Of course, the servers do a much better job at explaining that in a "kinder, gentler" way!!!

I also do that with well done steaks and Prime Rib. I will serve it but won't guarnatee it's quality and tenderness. Of course that doesn't include if my cook charred the crap out of it.

[blueschef]

I am not sure if this fits here but to me the worst thing i was ask to make was beer battered salmon (not my favorite fish anyhow). I dont know it just seems weird to batter a oily/greasy fish.

[chrose]

I thought about this the other night because guess what I did?!?
I made my wife and I a cold fried chicken salad, and she wanted to take the chill off the meat. Not entirely the same, but it made me think of this.
And BC I have to agree with you, batter frying an oily fish just doesn't seem quite right.

[panini]

I myself would be concerned taking the chill off something that had potentially hazzardous food in it. Otherwise if the customer wants her turnovers undercooked and partially burnt, ok no problem.

[Jolly Roger]

Andrew563,
I think the prime rib well done may be a strong indication of where this customer is coming from. Sometimes you get guests that just can't have something the way it is decribed on the menu or they have some weird phobia about cooking temps. Give 'em what they want and take their money!

[siserilla]

Some people ask for some weird things. At my old restaurant we had Buffalo Chicken Salad. The Salad had celery, tomatoes, blue cheese, fried chicken (tossed in buff sauce) and the salad itself was tossed in Balsamic vin. The salad was then topped with blue cheese dressing more buff sauce then some more blue cheese crumbles and celery. To me the salad was already to much. Well a lady came in and she wanted the salad tossed in Caesar dressing and she still wanted the blue cheese dressing and crumbles as well as the buffalo sauce. Yuck!!!

[Andrew563]

So was she able to fit through the door?