The Julia Child exhibit looks like a lot of fun. If I have another business trip to the Detroit area, I will try to extend my stay to go see it. I'd like to see an exhibit mounted about Leah Chase as well.
Regarding the restaurant "extras," I think restaurant owners/operators need to be careful. Yes, I believe diners are all painfully aware of the higher cost of food ingredients from our own food shopping. And yes, I suspect most, if not all, are aware of higher costs restaurants face for labor, rent, and the other costs of doing business (again, many may face these same challenges in thier own professions). But part of going out to eat is the hospitality one enjoys as part of the experience. Restaurants that diners perceive as "nickeling and diming" them may find themselves with fewer customers, especially if a recession occurs.
Thanks, Henry. It’s hard to dial back on customer expectations once you have built them up. At the very least, restaurants should communicate to diners the reason why “we can’t do X any more.” They can do this on social, on table cards, via email, on their Web pages. They should not leave it up completely to servers, especially with the abuse they have received.
The Julia Child exhibit looks like a lot of fun. If I have another business trip to the Detroit area, I will try to extend my stay to go see it. I'd like to see an exhibit mounted about Leah Chase as well.
Regarding the restaurant "extras," I think restaurant owners/operators need to be careful. Yes, I believe diners are all painfully aware of the higher cost of food ingredients from our own food shopping. And yes, I suspect most, if not all, are aware of higher costs restaurants face for labor, rent, and the other costs of doing business (again, many may face these same challenges in thier own professions). But part of going out to eat is the hospitality one enjoys as part of the experience. Restaurants that diners perceive as "nickeling and diming" them may find themselves with fewer customers, especially if a recession occurs.
Thanks, Henry. It’s hard to dial back on customer expectations once you have built them up. At the very least, restaurants should communicate to diners the reason why “we can’t do X any more.” They can do this on social, on table cards, via email, on their Web pages. They should not leave it up completely to servers, especially with the abuse they have received.