Where Are You a Regular?

[Chris Amirault]

This morning, we were running late, but I wanted to have breakfast out with my daughter. So I called Phoenix Square Restaurant, one of hundreds of non-chain restaurants here in Rhode Island, just down the hill from our new house.

When we got there, Bebe and I sat down at the counter, and immediately our two bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches arrived with two waters and a black coffee.

"Here's yours, sweetie," said the server, giving Bebe the over-hard sandwich. (I like my yolk runny.)

Thing is, I hadn't mentioned anything about how we like our egg sandwiches in the call. At that moment, I realized we were regulars.

We're regulars at two other places in the state: Lucky Garden, a Hong Kong Chinese restaurant in North Providence, and Sun & Moon Korean Restaurant in East Providence. We don't get extra food or reduced checks in any of these places. But our girls have grown up going to these places and we know that we'll be treated well, have great food, and enjoy the relationships we've developed there.

How about you? Surely you're a regular at some places in your area. What are they? What do you get from being a regular there?

[judiu]

I'm a regular at a local place called Bobby Rubino's her in Pompano Beach. I always sit at the bar, and the bartender knows my drink, knows I like a water back, that I like my beef EXTREMELY rare, and my burgers and sandwiches loaded.

[Chris Amirault]

Here? Cool.

[judiu]

Here? Cool.

That's the place! If you ever get there, PM me, and I'll tell you who to look for!

[weinoo]

I'm not a regular anywhere such that they know what I'm going to order. But that's because I order differently every time I go in. Cafe Katja is an example; it's sometimes embarassing to walk into a small restaurant and loudly hear, "Hi, Mitch" and have the whole restaurant turn around to see who just walked in.

There are a few places that I get bumped up on the waiting list or where I can send an email to the owner and secure a table. But you don't think I'm gonna say where, do you ?

It is fun going to a place on a Saturday night with a party of 6 and getting a pretty much instant table, however.

[ChrisTaylor]

A local el cheapo Japanese place and, perhaps, http://www.embrasserestaurant.com.au/

[Chris Amirault]

Chris, what are the perks of your status in those two places?

[gfweb]

Our local sushi place. Like extended family at this point. I usually avoid regular status, but this is nice.

[mkayahara]

...I usually avoid regular status...

Why?

[Mjx]

I'm not in any place long enough to really be a regular anywhere anymore, and most of the places in NYC where I was a regular have closed. I still go to City Bakery on Eighteenth often enough to be recognized by the owner, however (I believe he suspects me of keeping a male harem, as it's my go-to meeting place--sometimes two or three times in a single day--and he always looks faintly perplexed when he sees me with yet another guy). If you get there first thing in the morning, the baked goods can be terrific.

Apart from that, the main benefit is that I know the place, and I adore predictability, plus anyone who's really looking for me knows that I'm sort of likely to be there (or at the nearby B&N).

[KD1191]

There's a little sushi place near my office called Ginza where I'm probably known as "ramen guy" by now, because if I order something other than the ramen special (it's a different style every week, repeating very rarely) the response is usually a look of mild shock and a request to repeat of my order.

It took a lot of long nights (and not a few rough mornings after), but my wife and I managed to become regulars at the Violet Hour. We've become friends with several current and former bartenders and are treated exceptionally well there. As many of these talented individuals have moved on to new ventures both in Chicago and across the country, we've found ourself with a pretty decent list of bars where we are always warmly welcomed.

[Holly Moore]

I'm a regular at Carman's Country Kitchen. I get the table next to the kitchen and Carman - unless someone gets there before me. Also Carman emails me the weekend menu on Friday and chides me if she prefers I order something more interesting or with less calories.

[nakji]

Two places: Yang Yang dumpling house, near my house. I knew I had made it when the waitress called us 老客 - regular customers. They always bring the menu over anyway, even though they know we always get the chicken, the eggplants, and the green beans. We go there when it's been a rough day and decisions are difficult.

The other place is a French-run Italian restaurant that we've gone to just about every Friday night for almost two years now. They have a really great collection of wines, and the owner or his son usually has a stash that's not on the list. He'll bring over something he thinks we'll like. Reservations are never a problem, and we always get comped a Calvados or a limoncello. I love that place.

[Smitty]

I am a regular at the taco stand 2 blocks away from my house. This place. I suppose I do get a few perks. They never charge me for extra sauce and I get a a nice discount when I buy a dozen tamales for football tailgating.

I'll forever by loyal to them because last summer I was riding a bike home from work. As I rounded their corner my phone fell from my pocket and onto a busy street. I didn't notice but the grill cook did. She left the truck, picked it up and walked it over to my house, along with a tostada

[xxchef]

We eat out at restaurants maybe a dozen times in a year but 8 of those is likely to be at the same place. It's a family-run Mexican restaurant in town that opened about same time we moved to the area, 11 years ago. We've been going, mostly for lunch, since they opened in a little one-room shack that sat maybe 20 people. They're now in a much bigger building just down the road and easily can seat 100.

I doubt 8 times a year qualifies us as "regular customers" to them but with 75% loyalty on our part, they are surely our regular restaurant.

Minor perk (probably as much from being in a small town as for being "regulars") is the owner lets us have periodic deliveries from various food-service suppliers left there for us to pick up when the company can't/won't get their truck down the 6 miles of dirt roads to get to our ranch.

(edited typo)

Edited March 3, 2011 by xxchef (log)

[edsel]

I'm a regular at a local bar that serves a great brunch on the weekend. Yes it's a bar, but they have a kitchen and the menu is fun and varies from week to week. Keeping things fresh for the regulars.

I meet up with a group of friends who usually show up at about the same time. We sit at the bar and have a nice conversation and enjoy some good food. One of us takes photos of his food (food geek!).

Photo set of The Feve Brunch

(Fève as in "bean" in French)

Edit to add: The photo captions have links to the menus in PDF format. Click on the photo to see the set.

Every week they have a new menu. There are some constants, but there are always enough new items that it can be tough making a selection.

Edited March 4, 2011 by edsel (log)

[janeer]

I'm a regular at the Common Lunch in Little Compton, RI, where I always go early (6:00-6:30). They know to bring me my coffee and that I don't want my food for at least half an hour. They come around with the coffee pot, and know I will tell them when to put my order in; they don't keep asking. When I tell them I'm ready, they know what it is because it is always the same: 3 jonnycakes, cooked light, 2 sausages, cooked light. I have watched many of the waitresses there grow up from when they started as teens, now married women with families. Though I am away most of the year, when I return in the summer they are still there, and we pick up where we left off.

I used to be a regular at La Colombe when I lived in Philly. I was there every day. They would have my order ready when I got to the counter (always a line early in the morning) and would save me my favorite apricot danish.

But perhaps my greatest memory of being a regular was when I was a little girl in the '50's. Every Sunday we went out to dinner at the Friar Tuck Inn in Cedar Grove, NJ; my parents and 5, later 6, kids. It was a prime rib/steaks/chops house. The maitre d' adored our family and would fall all over us when we came in. We always had the same table. He brought us kids Shirley Temples with extra cherries and creme-de-menthe parfaits. Even though I was very young, I knew that a lot of these were comped. We had similar experiences as regulars at a local Chinese restaurant. I can't remember the name, but I remember going frequently, and the owners being so excited that all us little kids could use chopsticks. They used to bring us a new dish to "try" every time, they couldn't believe what we would eat. They gave us all "ivory" chopsticks to take home.

[heidih]

I hop around but I have a standing lunch date with old girlfriends at Dale's Diner. We go to a big Antique and Collectible swap meet and then head over. The owner's daughters and other young ladies are fantastic waitresses. They remember our quirks and know that we sit and talk for hours and tip accordingly. We get the "good napkins" and the stainless shake container full of ice to keep our teas cold.

[Genkinaonna]

There's a Chinese restaurant (Jin Wah) that we go to every Sunday morning for Dim Sum, no fail. The waitstaff is extremely accommodating of our children (three, four, and 8 mos) to the point of actually spoon feeding them soup...I also get dumplings that aren't on the regular dim sum carts, without having to order them, they just come about halfway through the meal. We missed the Sunday before last, and when we went in on Sunday, the first thing the host said was, "we missed you last week... where were you?" My daughter jumped in with "mommy and daddy left us at home and went out without us!" I had to explain that we had not in fact left them home unsupervised, but we had a coupon and were trying a different (non-dim sum) restaurant. I did assure them that it wouldn't happen again, and they could expect to see us this weekend as well. I think they find it amusing that my 4 year old can put away as many shrimp har gao (sp?) as that guy from Man vs. Food can...

[Chris Hennes]

It's tough to be a regular in a college town: the wait staff turn over too fast to learn to recognize you. I think I'm only a regular in the "someone who is recognized" sense at the coffee shop I go to on Tuesday mornings.

[LaurieB]

My husband & I are regulars at a couple of places. We joke that if we were ever to walk into one of them with the intention of not ordering "our usual" beverages, we would have to call ahead to warn them.

Edited March 4, 2011 by LaurieB (log)

[ChrisTaylor]

Chris, what are the perks of your status in those two places?

The Japanese joint is cheap yet the staff actually care. I live around so many places that are staffed by indifferent students indifferently serving indifferent food. No one cares. At this little Japanese cafe, tho', everyone is polite. Most of the dishes on the menu are nice. Everything is very clean.

Embrasse, on the other hand, just nails it for me. It manages to walk that line between fine dining and casual. To me, at least, it offers the perfect balance of sophistication in its dishes while still evoking lost childhood memories. I get excited about even very humble vegetables when I eat at Embrasse.

[rebecca]

Does it count if i am intending to be a regular? Once a week a friend of mine and I get together at Crixa Cakes for gossip, coffee, and a little slice of heaven. it is a recent tradition (since the new year) but they have started to recognize us and one even knows our names!! but i don't think I will ever have a regular order at this place... the assortment of hungarian and russian pastries and pleasures is always enough to suit any mood, but never too many to make choosing difficult. i have yet to eat anything less than amazing (rugelach, ginger cake, pear pie with rosewater cream, almond florio... believe me I could list every one!!) i am hoping for the day when i walk in and they can say "now HERE is something you haven't tried yet!"

[BadRabbit]

I eat at Highlands Bar and Grill every other week.

http://www.highlandsbarandgrill.com/

[Toliver]

When I first moved here to Bakersfield I found it was a little disconcerting when I would walk into a store or restaurant and they would recognize me. I'm originally from San Diego where you can go into store or restaurant 10 times and never see the same staff. But I'm used to the recognition here now.

I'm a regular customer at a mom & pop burger joint called "Carla's" down the street from where I live. It doesn't even have an interior dining space. They have picnic tables out front if you want to eat there but since it's either 110°f in the summer or 45°f in the winter I usually get my order to go.

I first started going there because they served crinkle cut french fries which was I thought was unusual for a burger joint. They also served a teriyaki burger (marinated beef on a roll) that I always used to order but stopped when the beef just got too tough and salty for me. When I first switched over to their French Burger, the owner asked the order taker "Are you sure it was him?"

Now when I phone in my order, I just have to say my name and they say "See you in 10!"

As for perks, I did get a free pineapple milkshake once as one of the staff had made one too many for someone else's order. I accepted the perk even though I am lactose intolerant.