"...makes you jump through all kinds of hoops to get a table, but it's worth it to experience their perfectly cooked beef."

No! Get a life! Have some dignity. You're just enabling abusive management.

No food is worth being abused over; no matter how "perfect" it may seem.

You're a human being first and foremost. Being a food disposal unit is far down the list of attributes of that.

I can remember my parents had a love-hate relationship with the A.V. Ristorante in the '70's and early '80's.

They used to enjoy the food, but they didn't particularly enjoy arguing with the staff. They moved on to different restaurants over time...

Having dined at both, it is unfair to compare Ray's the Steaks with Sushi Nozawa. Ray's the Steaks is very popular, thus difficult to get a table. However whenever I've dined there, the service has been polite and efficient. At Sushi Nozawa, there is a sign that warns that if you order a California Roll, you will not be served. The Sushi chef reserves the right to throw any patron out of his restaurant if they order the wrong thing -- Not the ideal model of customer service...

I have worked at cheap restuarants, I have worked in facny restaurants. The difference in kitchen equipment and competence of the kitchen staff does not vary much. The primary restaurant experience is the courtesy of the wait staff--this is a hospitality industry, after all. Don't be a wimp.

An entertaining restaurant in many ways, including customer service is the Original Hot Dog Shop in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh,PA. At the O, as it is usually know, you better know your order, and depending on who takes your order, say please and thank you. If you don't say please the commanding woman who works the hot dog/40s counter will probably admonish you a la "Do you talk to your mother that way?" and possibly send you right to the back of the line to try again.

From Chicago. If an uptight service person at any level was rude or condescending the local media would bring that to light and it would be the end of the road for that establishment.
Maybe mid-westerners just don't put up with that rudeness.
I don't care if thier serving Prime or not, but when i'm paying, you had better smile and listen.

Hey, Chicago was on their list! Brett's Café Americain, to be specific.

Better not say where I used to cook, but when I was chefin' and a vegetarian would ask for a veg version of a non-veg item, some veal stock was going to end up in there. They would say "Wow, that was the best veggie stirfry of my whole life, mister! Thanks!" Then they would come back every night for more veggie food, raving about the rich flavors and boasting of how shiny their nails and hair were growing, how the circles around their eyes were gone, and how they could see after nighfall. Does this make me a soup nazi? I hope so. Special needs customers are to be treated according to the chef's or owner's professional discretion, whether or not they know what is good for them.

It is chefs like the above -- who put beef stock -- VEAL STOCK, NO LESS!!! who make me afraid to eat out any longer. The nerve! What a creep. At least I don't have to live with someone like that. Vegans have rights, too -- even at fancy restaurants!

I hope mkultra (or was that nyi kulturi?) develops a lethal food allergy that someone takes as seriously as he took the dietary restrictions of his customers. Some people might say "vegetarian" because it's NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS why they don't eat meat.

I can't believe after eight posts, no one's mentioned Ms. Carole "My Way Or The Highway" Greenwood. I will never eat there even for free; if the staff told me that they don't advise a certain substitution because the items are supposed to complement each other, I'd probably listen, as I don't have any food allergies, but I'd like for them to at least try to remember that I'm their customer, and I'm paying for a good and a service.

mkultra - Sure, some vegetarians can be really annoying in expecting everyone to accomodate them, BUT: it is unprofessional and totally unacceptable to do what you did. To them that's just as disgusting as spitting in their soup. I can only hope (but am not really convinced now) that that isn't common practice, either.

mkultra does not need to address the issue of whether a vegetarian's motives are his business. My business is customer satisfaction, which I gladly provide to even the spiteful vegetarian who wishes death-by-food-allergy upon me (then thanks me).

"I'll have the roasted chicken, but can you make that grilled instead, and can I have mashed potatoes instead of carrots, but no butter in the potatoes, and instead of rosemary jus can I have the red wine reduction that you're serving on the filet?" PLEASE!! Is it any wonder that chefs lose their patience with customers after a while? If you don't want to eat what's offered on the menu, then don't eat at restaurants. Chefs spend a lot of time and taste a lot of bad combinations before arriving at the items that end up on the menu. When you decide to completely change how something is cooked, you are not only insulting the chef but you are also messing up the "line" in the kitchen, where everything is placed in precise order (called "mise en place,") according to how it is prepared and served. That increases the chances that your order or someone else's order at your table will be messed up...leading to more complaints and an unpleasant dining experience. How did people come by this sense of entitlement, anyhow? This idea that everyone should cater to their slightest whim or desire, no matter how ridiculous? A legitimate food allergy is one thing...but there *are* limits to how accommodating a business needs to be for a small percentage of customers.

Oh, I am sure they spit in the soup, too. Restaurant kitchens are filthy. Take a look at the Health Department's reports before you go.

It's a rodent jungle out there. If some vengeful maniac hasn't been slipping unwanted ingredients into your dinner, chances are some nasty rodent has been close to it!

Of course, I have never heard of anyone actually being allergic to veal stock...? I have many food allergies, so I stay home.

Any restaurant run by Robert Donna except for Labortorio. The service is awful, condesending and 5th rate. I have received better service at IHOP! shame the front of the house does not show the same care as the cokking from the back of the house. I waited tables for 4 years to put myself through college. It isnt that difficult.

I've never heard of a specific allergy to meat, but a friend of mine has been a vegetarian all her life, including in utero (her mother was also a lifelong vegetarian). One time someone thoguht it would be cute to slip some meat into her meal (I think it was finely ground beef or something) and she was violently ill. So I think it's safe to say Mr. "Refers to Himself in the Third Person to Sound More Important" mkultra is trying to stir things up, because he knows he would be liable for an awful lot of money for knowingly making a customer sick.

My husband does not have an allergy to veal and beef, but he has a condition that does not permit him to eat those items. If he does, he is in excruciating pain and has difficulty walking for several days afterward. If mkultra put veal stock in his food after specifically being asked not too, would he/ she be prepared to accept the lawsuit that would inevitably follow?

Mono Loco in Charlottesville, VA. I don't put up with them, but many seem to enjoy being mistreated. Decent food, terrible attitude.

mkultra contends that ske's husband's borderline allergic reaction presents an opportunity for gastronomic growth. The subtle homeopathic stress veal stock exerts might cure his condition, opening the door to veal fun.

What kind of hoops do you have to jump through at Ray's the Steaks? You show up, tell the hostess your name and how many people you are, and you wait for them to call your name. Obviously the wait is much longer because it's so crowded. But hoops? How is what they do different from 100% of other restaurants that don't take reservations?