Restaurant Week Survival Guide
Last night kicked off the autumnal portion of Center City Restaurant Week, the twice-yearly, Center City District-sponsored prix fixe dining event. It’s a great marketing idea: Offer up some discount grub to give people a reason to revisit the city after they’ve spent a lazy summer down the Shore, and rope in some new customers in the process.
But the reality can be a bit messier for diners and food professionals alike, says a local waiter/bartender/host who’s a veteran of nine consecutive restaurant weeks (including the latest one): Regular patrons may find their favorite restaurant inundated with strangers, leading to longer wait times, less than stellar service, and sometimes even inferior cuisine. On the other side of the order pad, restaurateurs and especially front-of-the-house staff must endure a sometimes backbreaking and hellish week for a lot less than they usually earn.
Here are his suggestions for what to keep in mind as you make your bargain culinary forays:
The food might not be the restaurant’s best effort: “It depends on where you go. There are plenty of restaurants that are famous for putting out crap. They just want to exert the least amount of effort and put out minimal food. Other restaurants, like Davio’s and Django, genuinely care about this week and the concept and are better known for giving good value.”
Restaurants are damned if they do, damned if they don’t: “You have this very large percentage of people that only go out during Restaurant Week. They’ll act like they’re regulars, but in fact, they’re only regulars of Restaurant Week. And restaurants that don’t participate just fall off the map.”
Poky crowds are killing your server: “The only way to make money is by having a rapid turnover, but Restaurant Week becomes a group thing. Especially with colleges. Trying to get 10 Penn students in and out in an hour can be a tremendous challenge.”
Want great service next week? Tip now: “It’s tricky for the servers. You’re faced with less than half of your usual check average. Plus it’s a week of running your ass off for a quarter of what you normally make. Some people get the deal and pay the normal tip. Others get mad because they didn’t realize that drinks and tax weren’t included in the price.”
Wait-staff zen: “It’s become an excepted part of life. You know it’s coming, you know you’re going to be working everyday, so [waiters] should just stop bitching about it and just deal with it. If you do that, it pays off. Mumbling and grumbling about it from the get go, you’re really just screwing yourself.”
Last night kicked off the autumnal portion of Center City Restaurant Week, the twice-yearly, Center City District-sponsored prix fixe dining event. It’s a great marketing idea: Offer up some discount grub to give people a reason to revisit the city after they’ve spent a lazy summer down the Shore, and rope in some new customers in the process.
But the reality can be a bit messier for diners and food professionals alike, says a local waiter/bartender/host who’s a veteran of nine consecutive restaurant weeks (including the latest one): Regular patrons may find their favorite restaurant inundated with strangers, leading to longer wait times, less than stellar service, and sometimes even inferior cuisine. On the other side of the order pad, restaurateurs and especially front-of-the-house staff must endure a sometimes backbreaking and hellish week for a lot less than they usually earn.
Here are his suggestions for what to keep in mind as you make your bargain culinary forays:
The food might not be the restaurant’s best effort: “It depends on where you go. There are plenty of restaurants that are famous for putting out crap. They just want to exert the least amount of effort and put out minimal food. Other restaurants, like Davio’s and Django, genuinely care about this week and the concept and are better known for giving good value.”
Restaurants are damned if they do, damned if they don’t: “You have this very large percentage of people that only go out during Restaurant Week. They’ll act like they’re regulars, but in fact, they’re only regulars of Restaurant Week. And restaurants that don’t participate just fall off the map.”
Poky crowds are killing your server: “The only way to make money is by having a rapid turnover, but Restaurant Week becomes a group thing. Especially with colleges. Trying to get 10 Penn students in and out in an hour can be a tremendous challenge.”
Want great service next week? Tip now: “It’s tricky for the servers. You’re faced with less than half of your usual check average. Plus it’s a week of running your ass off for a quarter of what you normally make. Some people get the deal and pay the normal tip. Others get mad because they didn’t realize that drinks and tax weren’t included in the price.”
Wait-staff zen: “It’s become an excepted part of life. You know it’s coming, you know you’re going to be working everyday, so [waiters] should just stop bitching about it and just deal with it. If you do that, it pays off. Mumbling and grumbling about it from the get go, you’re really just screwing yourself.”
