NYCynic's Profile
Tired of Restaurant Week Criticism
I work in a restaurant, and I am proud of it. The restaurant that I work in, along with many others in the city, happily participates in Restaurant Week. It is unnerving to me, however, when I read reviews of my restaurant, and others, criticizing it for not meeting the expectations which were based on write-ups of non-RW meals. There are a few things I'd like to clarify.
1. Neither the restaurant or its staff see a decent financial return from RW, in fact, most restaurants lose money in order to provide the service.
2. As the restaurant knows that it will be LOSING money for this period, it is absurd to expect the food to be on par with what it would be providing at a time when they are able afford to purchase and provide a more luxurious type of product. What kind of 3-course meal could you purchase raw material for, fabricate, and employ both cooks and servers to provide to you in your own home, let alone in the structure of a restaurant with dozens of people working just to pick up after you, for $24.07?! Guests should not expect to recieve foie gras when a country pate is what they're paying for. You must be out of your mind to question the quality of a restaurant week menu!
3. Your server has probably never tasted any of the dishes served during RW. With few exceptions, the items on a RW menu barely approximate what the chef would produce during a normal service. Please do not annoy your server with questions like, "Which is better, the..." and "What do you recommend?" I recommend that you just pick something instead of wasting everyone's time pretending that you are an avid diner. If you'd like help understanding what Ricotta Salata is, fine, but please don't be patronizing. Be grateful for the kindness of the restaurant because we all know that you will never darken those doorways during an normal service period.
4. Complaining that your only options for water are iced NY water (some of the best in the world) and bottled is not within the boundaries of reason. A restaurant does not owe you free house-filtered water.
5. Requesting paper bar napkins to wrap your leftover bread and stuff it into your purse is in no way dignified.
6. Upon being greeted by your server, cutting them off mid-sentence with a commanding, "WE ARE HERE FOR THE RESTAURANT WEEK MENU!" is incredibly rude and absolutely unnecessary (odds are they had just begun to forget you from the last season). Your server is a professional with your best interests at heart; let them do their job.
7. Asking things like, "Is tip included?" and "Is coffee part of the menu?" makes you not only seem cheap, but also insinuates that you think your server and their team is only worth $4.01. How can you live with yourself knowing that you are happy to sit for hours in an opulent restaurant with dozens of people catering to your needs, eat a 3-course meal and when it comes time to compensate the ENTIRE TEAM of servers, expect gratuity (the primary source of income for professional servers) to be included in a $24 menu. DISGUSTING!
8. Going home with your to-go bread and your server's pen, writing a scathing review of a restaurant just trying to do something nice for you, then waiting a few months for your next opportunity to clamor for a reservation just so you can dehumanize your fellow New Yorkers all over again is PATHETIC!
In conclusion, I would like to say how happy it makes me to serve a table of people during RW who may not have the resources to come in at other times, and who realize how much effort goes into those meals. People who understand that RW may not be a reflection of the restaurant in general, but rather an opportunity during traditionally slow weeks to fill the seats and provide a service. Be one of those people. Thank-you.
