Is the giant peppermill ridiculous?

[vandan]

or do others find it incredibly cheesy when the server comes to your table with the rediculously big pepper mill and puts it on your food for you, do you tip more because of this? is there an expectation from them? just curious, i do however enjoy having something cooked at my table though

[BBQ Brian]

I love it when the server comes anxiously with peppermill in hand eager to "serve" and you haven't even tasted the dish! A little too zealous in my opinion... yup, bugs me. Bigger tip? Definately not.

Brian

[Dianabanana]

It's perfectly idiotic. What, the restaurant can afford only one pepper mill? Pepper is so tricky to grind that we need skilled labor to do it for us? And why the ever-increasing size? Pretty soon they'll need two waiters to carry it out on their shoulders like pallbearers.

Sadly, I suppose the reason for not putting individual grinders on tables is that people would steal them, but that doesn't explain the enormity of the "house" pepper grinder in some places. I bet they only have to refill those things once in a decade.

[Poffertjes]

The pepper mill and the parmesean cheese both bother me.

I always end up getting too much pepper or cheese, and it never ends up where I want it.

A couple weeks ago at an italian restaurant in Naples, Florida I think I ended up with more cheese than pasta on my plate. But I got off better than my husband, they waiter didn't even wait for my husband's reply of whether or not he'd want cheese on his clam pasta. Cheese on seafood? Yuck.

[Special K]

Sadly, I suppose the reason for not putting individual grinders on tables is that people would steal them, but that doesn't explain the enormity of the "house" pepper grinder in some places. I bet they only have to refill those things once in a decade.

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Yep, that's it. People would (and did) definitely walk off with the individual grinders. Restauranteurs have had to turn the application of pepper into a "service."

I forget who it was, but I remember some comedian a few years ago calling the pepper-grinder guy "the peppier," pronounced "zee peppeeyay," of course.

[Zeemanb]

I forget who it was, but I remember some comedian a few years ago calling the pepper-grinder guy "the peppier," pronounced "zee peppeeyay," of course. 

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It may not be the same thing, but there was an SNL skit quite a while back with Adam Sandler as the "pepper boy in training" and Chris Farley as a customer...... "Why THANK YOU PEPPER BOY! That was the PERFECT amount of PEPPER!".

I can't stop thinking about that skit whenever someone comes up to add that magical dash of freshly ground pepper. The best is when the servers have those little pepper holsters on their belts.....ready to wield the mill like a blackjack if a pepper-related emergency should arise. I imagine one of them looking across the crowded dining room and noticing a customer about to shove a pepperless bite of caesar salad into their mouth, and they run across the room in slow motion, reaching for their pepper holster and screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOO!". Then, cut to the server station a few seconds later while the other servers console them...."there was nothing you could do.....it was too late".

Yeah, too much time on my hands today.....

[Daniel Rogov]

No, no, no!!!! You have it all wrong. Those things are not really designed as pepper mills but as weapons. Think about it. Tick a waiter off at just the right moment and he/she has a weapon in hand every bit as efficient and not quite as awkward as a mace and chain. On which I cannot resist a

[haresfur]

I thought those long pepper mills were so the waiter didn't have to reach over so far (assuming the restaurant doesn't let you wield your own pepper).

[mizducky]

Whenever I see one of those humongous pepper mills in a restaurant, I swear I can hear Freud chuckling in his grave. "Size matters!" "Ours is bigger!"

[KatieLoeb]

It's the sight of the waiter approaching with the thing that looks like a bedpost that amuses me more than anything. It's amazing how silly it is. If it's that big, one has to assume that one simple turn will cover your dinner plate with enough finely ground pepper for your next three meals, at least. It's a miracle that every single guest at the table doesn't sneeze themselves right out of the restaurant.

[markemorse]

I imagine one of them looking across the crowded dining room and noticing a customer about to shove a pepperless bite of caesar salad into their mouth, and they run across the room in slow motion, reaching for their pepper holster and screaming "NOOOOOOOOOOO!".  Then, cut to the server station a few seconds later while the other servers console them...."there was nothing you could do.....it was too late".

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ah....thanks. nice one.

[joiei]

Pepper - I always tell the waiter 4 turns and stop

Cheese - I always tell the waiter no.

No, I do not tip extra because they did this.

[Toliver]

I think they're huge for two reasons.

1) It screams "personal service" to the customer. It's of no concern if the waitstaff get a hernia toting the thing around the dining room.

2) Its absurd size is an anti-theft measure . In my lifetime, I've never seen photos or videotape of a thief running down the street carrying a monstrous pepper mill over their shoulder.

[Batard]

Why can't they just put a small pepper mill on the table? How do I know how fresh the pepper in the mill is, and how do the servers know where I want the pepper on the plate? Don't they know that I'm the only one who can season the dish to my own taste?

And doesn't this whole ritual bother the chef? If he's "worth his salt", he tasted the dish before it left the kitchen. Last thing I would want is some FOH guy messing up the dish with too much pepper.

I think there is a market for a "stealth mill", a small pepper mill that fits in your pocket and that you can use surreptitiously at your table.

[petite tête de chou]

Those giant peppermills remind of 1970's haute cuisine. Mmm not so hot, methinks.

Edited April 11, 2008 by petite tête de chou (log)

[MSRadell]

I think there is a market for a "stealth mill", a small pepper mill that fits in your pocket and that you can use surreptitiously at your table.

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Ask and you shall receive: Unicorn Minimill. Unicorn makes the best pepper mills I've ever used. I actually don't have a minimill but have several of the others and I'm sure the minimill is equally as good!

[Batard]

I think there is a market for a "stealth mill", a small pepper mill that fits in your pocket and that you can use surreptitiously at your table.

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Ask and you shall receive: Unicorn Minimill. Unicorn makes the best pepper mills I've ever used. I actually don't have a minimill but have several of the others and I'm sure the minimill is equally as good!

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That's Brilliant!

Thanks, I'm off to buy one now. The fact that I can bring it camping as well as sneak it into restaurants makes it a "must have" item.

[Eliza]

i find the giant peppermill thing completely embarrassing; I'm a server and it makes me feel like I work in a 1970s country club, gussying up someone's wedge salad or chicken a la king or something. I totally agree that ideally, the food should be in a perfectly-seasoned state when it comes out of the kitchen, and shouldn't require this (mostly ornamental) show of extra seasoning.

I am, however, one of those barbarians who likes the tableside-grated cheese on my pasta, because cheese is miracle food.

[BrentKulman]

I'll take the contrarian view here.

Generally, most places I have frequented only offer freshly cracked pepper with the salad course, so the chef's seasoning is not an issue. I happen to like a lot of pepper, so the big pepper mill can provide the coating I am seeking much more rapidly than a little pepper mill at the table. And, since I prefer freshly cracked pepper, that is a much better alternative than a pepper shaker.

In fact, I am disappointed when a restaurant does not provide this service with the salad course.

With respect to the tip, I never previously considered the issue. I tip based on the overall experience, not based on the size of the pepper mill.

[dianem]

My weirdest experience was with a battery-powered peppermill with a headlight. No, really. My husband and I completely lost it. I mean, we laughed hysterically throughout the entire meal. We didn't mean to be rude, but it was just the funniest thing and every time our eyes met... well.

It was hard to get the check. I think the waiters were embarrassed. For themselves or for us, we do not know, but it was a memorable meal. I have no idea what we ate, though.

Edited April 23, 2008 by dianem (log)

[vandan]

ok , another beef here, went to a local resto the other day and the waiter picked up my cloth napkin and i thought was about to hand it to me but to my horror he went to drop it onto my lap, a very technical manouveur as if he "let go" too early it would end up on the floor and too late and he'd be groping me, very awkward indeed, and then the peeper mill came out, i returned to the same resto a few days later, different waiter hoping that , that was not restaurant "policy" but just Rico Sauve's own special"touch"thank goodness thatwas indeed the case

[Special K]

ok , another beef here, went to a local resto the other day and the waiter picked up my cloth napkin and i thought was about to hand it to me but to my horror he went to drop it onto my lap, a very technical manouveur as if he "let go" too early it would end up on the floor and too late and he'd be groping me, very awkward indeed

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Oh, yes, I hate that! Creepy.

[Leah Kinsella]

or do others find it incredibly cheesy when the server comes to your table with the rediculously big pepper mill and puts it on your food for you, do you tip more because of this? is there an expectation from them? just curious, i do however enjoy having something cooked at my table though

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I have already tried burning that God awful "thing"

Truthfully, there is no reason for it. If there is s and p already on the table... then there is no point.

The food that the customer orders should already be perfectly seasoned. If not, they will ask for more seasoning... but please, whomever reads this, please do me a favor and try your best to burn that "thing"!!!

[MSRadell]

I have already tried burning that God awful "thing"

Truthfully, there is no reason for it. If there is s and p already on the table... then there is no point.

The food that the customer orders should already be perfectly seasoned. If not, they will ask for more seasoning... but please, whomever reads this, please do me a favor and try your best to burn that "thing"!!!

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Actually, I greatly prefer ground pepper so just leave the peppermill on the table so I can use it as I can fit.

[Megan Blocker]

I love it when the server comes anxiously with peppermill in hand eager to "serve" and you haven't even tasted the dish!

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YES! This is probably my biggest restaurant pet peeve. Drives me bonkers.