What I Expect from a Restaurant

• Everyone's meal, for each course, is served at the same time. More, waiters don't ask or need a cheat sheet to ascertain who gets which dish they're serving.


• Ladies are always served first.


• Waiters serve you consistently from the same side (usually on your right, depending on the table layout).


• You are told before you order, or as you're doing so, what is or isn't available from the menu.


• You aren't interrupted at inopportune moments with the pithy question "how's everyone doing?"


• You are asked if the order is complete only as a courtesy: the waiter knows exactly what's still on the way, and can, in fact tell you as much.


• The one taking your order can describe everything on the menu well and offer some other relevant information besides.


• You can ask any server for something, even if you're not in their station.


• Even if it isn't Burger King, and so long as it isn't outrageous, you can have it your way.


• If you didn't like something, it's comped on your bill.

Danny Meyer summarizes most if not all of these as three things: good cuisine, superior knowledge and excellent hospitality. That's why he's a successful restaurateur with a bestselling book, and I'm just some guy who likes to eat out from time to time who writes on a blog of limited readership.