Restaurant regulations you'd like to see

[AndrewH]

@Arv R

I’d also like to see LESS regulation

This +1000.

Regulations? Seriously? How about making this suggested best practices for restaurants? I really don’t think we need the government regulating the corkage fee and what time children may attend. How about leaving it to the restaurant to figure out what kind of establishment they want to be?

[Mark_Y]

@Joe B

No children under age 12 between 6-9 pm
No children under 6. Period.

Hahahahaha
I gotta think you are joking but that’s pretty funny.

We’ve gone eating with our kid since 4 WEEKS old. Never had problems even at Michelin 3 star places. It’s not that under 6 shouldn’t be allowed. It’s shitty parents with kids that shouldn’t be allowed.

[Philip_N_Jones]

How about less complaining?
If you want everything your way, cook it yourself.
Phil Jones

[Brian_Tuite]

@Philip N. Jones

If you want everything your way, cook it yourself.
Phil Jones

Or go to the King!

Vintage Burger King Commercial - Have it Your Way - 1974

[AndrewH]

@Mark Y

We’ve gone eating with our kid since 4 WEEKS old. Never had problems even at Michelin 3 star places. It’s not that under 6 shouldn’t be allowed. It’s shitty parents with kids that shouldn’t be allowed.

So true . . . or at least unaware/uncaring parents who figure “this is MY time”.

[Ethan_Abraham]

@Markus S

Printed menus, including for the specials. I don’t want (or need) a server to recite every damn item in a dish and how it was cooked, treated, added to, so that by the time he/she is done I’ve totally forgotten what the first dish was about. Just write it down.

Join the rest of the world and get rid of tips.

Don’t “offer” something (like sparkling or spring water) and then find out there is a charge for it. I don’t want to have to ask “is there a charge for this?” each time something comes.

Too small tables…but this seems to be a problem in mostly larger cities.

At the very least there should be an agreed upon hand signal when you know you are not ordering the special after the first words…

[Merrill_Lindquist]

No baseball caps to be worn inside the bar/restaurant.

[Andrew_Kaufman]

@AndrewH

@Arv R

I’d also like to see LESS regulation

This +1000.

Regulations? Seriously? How about making this suggested best practices for restaurants? I really don’t think we need the government regulating the corkage fee and what time children may attend. How about leaving it to the restaurant to figure out what kind of establishment they want to be?

I agree. I hate all those safety rules. If employees want to wash their hands after using the restroom it is their choice. I like my meat stored at 90 degrees plus for several days before cooking. Cold storage of fresh meat, poultry and fish is for sissies.

[Jay_Winton]

Accept reservations! The no reservation policy seems to be spreading in DC and I think it’s wrong. Restaurants seem to forget you’re doing them the favor of dining with them, not the other way around.

[NED_VALOIS]

Do NOT over salt the food !

[Pete_Lawley]

• No wobbly tables.

• Servers cannot disappear after dropping the check. Be there quickly when I bring out my credit card, I might just be on a time schedule and ready to go. Now.

[Michael_Klein]

Great thread! Here are my thoughts, many echoed already:

• Rid the US of tips. Just charge me 20% more.
• Give chefs/waiters/everyone health insurance. It’s so f*cked up. Eliminating tips would solve this.
• Figure out other ways to equalize the front of the house and the back. It drives me nuts how hard chefs work for so little.
• Small pours, into large glasses please. Do not top off. God this is annoying, especially with a nice bottle.

Also, I found this comment great, lol!

@Mark Y

@Joe B

No children under age 12 between 6-9 pm
No children under 6. Period.

Hahahahaha
I gotta think you are joking but that’s pretty funny.

We’ve gone eating with our kid since 4 WEEKS old. Never had problems even at Michelin 3 star places. It’s not that under 6 shouldn’t be allowed. It’s shitty parents with kids that shouldn’t be allowed.

Are you the Allinia baby couple?! (Im joking)

In all seriousness though, my fiancee and I go back and forth on the topic all the time. When it comes to a legit 3 star restaurant, what is the right call? If I was there with a well behaved baby, I’d be totally fine with it. That being said, if it was crying the whole time, I would be really pissed. What is the restaurant supposed to do? Allow all babies but kick people out when they cry? Ban all children? Tough call!

[Corey_N]

@Russell Faulkner

List vintages on the wine list (French are terrible at this)

^ This drives me crazy.

– Mark-ups on wine should be no more than 3x wholesale.
– If the average tab exceeds $50/head, at least 25% of your wines should be > 3 years old.

[Dennis_Borczon]

@John Morris

Top of my list:

1. No red wine shall be served warmer than 68F/20C. If the establishment bills itself as a “wine bar” or otherwise holds itself out as wine centric, such temperature ceiling shall be 65F/18.5C. (Ideally it would be a bit cooler, but since we’re legislating, let’s leave a little breathing room. There will be a massive number infractions even at these thresholds.)

2. NYC-specific: Restrooms must be large enough to enter and exit without having to maneuver (a) around the door or (b) other patrons (i.e., squeeze behind the other guy who’s at the urinal between you and the unused urinal).

Your suggestions?

Compared with some of the water closets in France and Europe, the NYC restrooms are practically efficiency apartments. Oh wait…some of them are actually efficiency apartments

[NickC]

No tipping permitted, full time staff paid a fair living wage. Those costs are baked in to the price of the food and drink products.

[Joel_W]

White people problems…

[Joe_B]

@Mark Y

@Joe B

No children under age 12 between 6-9 pm
No children under 6. Period.

Hahahahaha
I gotta think you are joking but that’s pretty funny.

We’ve gone eating with our kid since 4 WEEKS old. Never had problems even at Michelin 3 star places. It’s not that under 6 shouldn’t be allowed. It’s shitty parents with kids that shouldn’t be allowed.

Im not kidding.

And who is to vett out who is the shitty parents with the obnoxious crying babies, screaming kids, rug rat under the table spilling all the glasses?

My regulation takes a lot of the guess work out.

[Joe_B]

@AndrewH

@Mark Y

We’ve gone eating with our kid since 4 WEEKS old. Never had problems even at Michelin 3 star places. It’s not that under 6 shouldn’t be allowed. It’s shitty parents with kids that shouldn’t be allowed.

So true . . . or at least unaware/uncaring parents who figure “this is MY time”.

+1000

Some parents are oblivious.

[Kyle_Schlachter]

FIFY

@Michael Klein

When it comes to a legit 3 star wine forums, what is the right call? If I logon there with a well behaved members, I’d be totally fine with it. That being said, if some were crying the whole time, I would be really pissed. What is the wine forum supposed to do? Allow all babies but kick people out when they cry? Ban all whiners? Tough call!

[Bruce_Leiser_owitz]

@Brian Tuite

No dogs - it’s a CA thing
No smoking - smoking sections are ridiculous
No child haters like Joe B - you were a child once, weren’t you?
No Chilis
No Chipotle
No Applebees
No Olive Garden
No Outback
No Red Lobster
No… You get the idea

If you’ll accept a friendly amendment, how about requiring ALL parents with kids to go to Chilis, Chipotle, Olive Garden, etc. Then they get their
restaurants and the kidless adults and me can have our own. Well, I guess you have to eliminate Chipotle, because it’s probably not healthy for ANYONE
these days, but… you get the idea.

Bruce