Absurdly stupidly simple restaurant questions...

[jhlurie]

Third in the popular series!

see:

Absurdly stupidly simple cooking questions...

and

Absurdly stupidly simple shopping questions...

Collect all three!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First semi-dumb restaurant question:

Why do restaurants often service take-out customers before sit-in customers? Is there some proven benefit to this seeming madness, or are they just looking to piss off the people who likely are spending more money?

[Suzanne F]

May I take first crack at answering Jon's question?

In my experience -- when I was the antipasto plater at Zeppole -- it was to get those take-out folks from staring at me and muttering under their breath while they waited. The antipasto bar was right out there, where anyone coming into the place could see it. And that's where the taker-outers would wait for their stuff, breathing down my neck and trying to make conversation. The dining room was pretty well past the antipasto bar, and difficult for diners to see what was happening there. So in order to get rid of the annoyance of taker-outers, I would usually stop work on the tables and fill the t-o orders first.

I'm not saying it was right, but that's why it was.

[tommy]

why do the people at the drive-through speaker ask you want you want, and then you tell them, then they stop you mid-order and ask you what you just ordered, and then you're finally done and they read it back and it's all wrong, and you have to start over, and then you drive out and the wrong stuff is in the bag anyway?

just wondering.

[cakewalk]

why do the people at the drive-through speaker ask you want you want, and then you tell them, then they stop you mid-order and ask you what you just ordered, and then you're finally done and they read it back and it's all wrong, and you have to start over, and then you drive out and the wrong stuff is in the bag anyway?

just wondering.

Do drive-throughs qualify as restaurants? I think this might demand the fourth part of the series.

And aside from that, well, what the heck is a tasting menu? What's it all about, Alfie?

[tommy]

Do drive-throughs qualify as restaurants? I think this might demand the fourth part of the series.

that was part of the joke.

C'MON PEOPLE. TRY TO KEEP UP WITH ME HERE.

[NulloModo]

Why is there such an obscene markup on alcohol at restaurants? I buy a shot of Maker's Mark, and get charged like $6 or more for it, and when I figure it out by the bottle, it equates to the restaurant selling bottles of the stuff for into the hundreds, what gives?

[jhlurie]

Why is there such an obscene markup on alcohol at restaurants? I buy a shot of Maker's Mark, and get charged like $6 or more for it, and when I figure it out by the bottle, it equates to the restaurant selling bottles of the stuff for into the hundreds, what gives?

Some motives are murky, but a pure profit motive seems clear on this one.

They know they can get away with it.

-----------------------------

Okay, new question, more of a "historical" question. How did the practice of serving bread before a restaurant meal start? I'm not sure this was ever really a common practice in most households, so how did it make the jump to an almost universal restaurant practice? Financially it makes absolutely no sense--you are filling people up with something they aren't paying for and they are likely to buy less food!

[mongo_jones]

my question (asked by every guest i've ever had visiting from india): why do american restaurants put sooooo much ice in the drinking water? even in winter.

and is the man in the men's room in certain places really there to hand you a towel or is the restaurant worried that unwatched we might pee in the sink? and does he have to eat a sandwich while i do my business?

[tommy]

Financially it makes absolutely no sense--you are filling people up with something they aren't paying for and they are likely to buy less food!

i think the answer must be quite the opposite: the bread is so horrible that you can't wait to order and anything will taste good in comparison. stroke of genius.

[Cusina]

This is a regionally specific question: Why don't you heat the bathrooms? When it's January in Wisconsin and I can see my breath in your restroom, I'm not really a happy customer.

Seriously though, why does it take me 20 minutes to cook a nice thick steak myself and yet it can be served to me perfectly done in 15 at a restaurant? I don't get the equation. Do they pre-cook them somewhat or is their grill hotter?

[jhlurie]

Do they pre-cook them somewhat or is their grill hotter?

Actually I'm pretty sure their grills ARE hotter.

why do american restaurants put sooooo much ice in the drinking water? even in winter.

They think it saves them money?

See... the joke is that water and ice are made of the same stuff.

Actually, I think this IS half of an answer. Ice is often put in soda for that reason, even though the cost difference is pretty minimal if the soda is from a fountain.

[JennyUptown]

my question (asked by every guest i've ever had visiting from india): why do american restaurants put sooooo much ice in the drinking water? even in winter.

Although the ice takes up space, I for one am glad about the ice. I like a cold bevvy, not room-temp water.

[mongo_jones]

my question (asked by every guest i've ever had visiting from india): why do american restaurants put sooooo much ice in the drinking water? even in winter.

Although the ice takes up space, I for one am glad about the ice. I like a cold bevvy, not room-temp water.

yes, but is it not possible to serve us chilled water which would be easier to drink without 5000 icecubes jostling against our teeth like something that jostles against something else? (too early in the morning for clever similes).

[Winot]

Isn't ice the most expensive part of the drink? All that electricity to produce it...

[Dave the Cook]

Do they pre-cook them somewhat or is their grill hotter?

Actually I'm pretty sure their grills ARE hotter.

Typical steakhouse grills are so much hotter than what most people have at home that it almost requires a completely different way of cooking.

why do american restaurants put sooooo much ice in the drinking water? even in winter.

They think it saves them money?

See... the joke is that water and ice are made of the same stuff.

Actually, I think this IS half of an answer. Ice is often put in soda for that reason, even though the cost difference is pretty minimal if the soda is from a fountain.

Except Winot's right, ice is more expensive than just plain water. (I'm not sure how it compares to soft-drink syrup.)

But I think this happens mainly because there's a perception that ice water tastes better than tap- or room-temperature water. The ice also deadens the chlorine aroma.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Why is there such an obscene markup on alcohol at restaurants? I buy a shot of Maker's Mark, and get charged like $6 or more for it, and when I figure it out by the bottle, it equates to the restaurant selling bottles of the stuff for into the hundreds, what gives?

Been discussed in previous threads:

Wine Price Margins

Wine Without Food

Painfully Priced Wine Lists

World's Best Priced Wine Lists

High Prices for Wine by the Glass

BYO

There are more, actually.... this is just a start.

[Rebel Rose]

Yeah, but none of those threads address two other pertinent and restaurant-based issues:

1) There's a lot of food waste in the restaurant business, and plate markups cannot be large. Restaurant wine markups are high because they help offset the slim margins and losses on food.

2) Wine will not keep well once opened, like hard liquor will, and there are the occasional corked bottles to discard, so wine by the glass has a much higher markup. Even using a popular wine preservation system does not work well during operating hours because the bottle is opened and closed all the time.

Still, some restaurants really take it to the max. We have a few local restaurants that have reasonable markups on local wines, exciting by-the-glass programs, and charge no corkage fees for wines you want to bring. That's very friendly, and encourages customers to try new wines. I appreciate their support of the local wineries and so if I bring wine, I always pour some for the waitstaff and chefs, or bring a library bottle for the owner. Eh, then there are the places with the huge markups. A $40 bottle is suddenly $75. When I see our wines priced so high I first get a little flush that last for about five seconds before I think but, who's going to try a new wine at that price?

[srhcb]

Why is there such an obscene markup on alcohol at restaurants?  I buy a shot of Maker's Mark, and get charged like $6 or more for it, and when I figure it out by the bottle, it equates to the restaurant selling bottles of the stuff for into the hundreds, what gives?

Some motives are murky, but a pure profit motive seems clear on this one.

They know they can get away with it.

Do you mean they somehow have a way to make you order a drink?

[Rebel Rose]

Hey, Jon, how about a fourth in the series--Absurdly stupidly simple wine questions? I bet we could sweet-talk Carolyn into helping out with answers. If you can't post it here, why not in the wine forum? It would be nice to see more food forumites learning about wine, and frankly I think the wine forum needs a breath of fresh air. And some funny threads. And some gross threads . . .

They're so seerious!

Or how about a raid on the wine forum? Ala Amazon.

[srhcb]

my question (asked by every guest i've ever had visiting from india): why do american restaurants put sooooo much ice in the drinking water? even in winter.

and is the man in the men's room in certain places really there to hand you a towel or is the restaurant worried that unwatched we might pee in the sink? and does he have to eat a sandwich while i do my business?

They put sooooooo muchice in to keep it sooooooooo cold!

You can't imagine, and probably really don't want to heat about, the things people will do in restaurant rest rooms.

Do you have to pee while he eats?

Edited June 13, 2004 by srhcb (log)

[NulloModo]

Interesting. Although I was leaning more towards that hard spirits issue than wines (and hard spirits should be free of the spoilage losses mentioned above, so I guess it is just a profit thing...).

[Mayhaw Man]

and is the man in the men's room in certain places really there to hand you a towel or is the restaurant worried that unwatched we might pee in the sink? and does he have to eat a sandwich while i do my business?

Apparently you missed this important series of posts about Restroom Attendants. One of the stranger topics to get legs around here recently.

[mongo_jones]

Do you have to pee while he eats?

it wasn't peeing i was thinking about...

and brooks, i think i might have participated in that thread you linked to and mentioned this there too. this just seemed like another apposite place to ask the question.

[Mayhaw Man]

Do you have to pee while he eats?

it wasn't peeing i was thinking about...

and brooks, i think i might have participated in that thread you linked to and mentioned this there too. this just seemed like another apposite place to ask the question.

Sorry Mongo,

I should have read back through that fascinating series of posts. I should have known you would not have missed it.

Sadly, it ended up with me being quoted in the Wall Street Journal talking about guys working in bathrooms. My mother was so proud when the congratulatory phone calls started rolling in.

[Rebel Rose]

Interesting. Although I was leaning more towards that hard spirits issue than wines (and hard spirits should be free of the spoilage losses mentioned above, so I guess it is just a profit thing...).

True. Money grubbing liquor producers!