Posts tagged Oregon

Gogi’s

June 4, 2008 · Filed under Restaurants, Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

My dearest friend and I went to celebrate something or other, at Gogi’s. First time for both of us. This is quaint 15-table restaurant just below the Britt gardens and is one of the most wonderful well rounded restaurants I have been to in Southern Oregon. For starters that evening; Dungeness Crab Cakes with Scallion Coulis on a bed Organic Greens with herbed Alioli. We chose a light, flowery Pinot Gris at the suggestion of our waiter. Then a second course of a nice, lightly dressed salad of field greens and warm sourdough bread.

For my main course I chose a Grilled Marinated Buffalo Skirt steak with thinly sliced truffles (the buffalo was unbelievably tender and mild, you could cut it with a spoon), a fried potato cake and oven roasted root vegetables. My friend had Coriander Lime Glazed Halibut with Stir Fry Asian Vegetables, Ginger and Soy. We chose a full bodied 2000 Pinot Noir-Hamacher Label from Willamette Valley.

Even though we were sufficiently stuffed and belly happy, for dessert we shared the most wonderful cheesecake with a ginger caramel sauce. The Pinot was an excellent complement to both dinner and dessert. We finished the evening with a rich cup of espresso.

Gogi’s menu has everything from Tuna Carpaccio to Fennel Rubbed Pork Tenderloins. They offer daily specials along with an extensive wine list and cocktail menu. They serve Brunch on Sunday’s too!

I’m kind of a food snob and have worked as a cook and sous chef in my younger life. This place is at the top of my list! The owners have the “whole package” going on. The atmosphere, wait staff, food and wine selection. The prices…a little on the high side, but worth every last bite!

Gogi’s Restaurant
235 W. Main St.
Jacksonville, OR 97530
541- 899-8699
Open Wed-Sun, 9 to 5pm
Brunch Sunday’s 10-2
http://www.gogis.net/index.html

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All American Macaroni Salad

June 3, 2008 · Filed under Recipes · Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Picnic Season is here! I love a good picnic with family and friends. I don’t picnic as often as I like, but this summer have a couple planned already.

This weekend marks the Josephine County Relay for Life event in Grants Pass, Oregon. My husbands team raised over $10,000.00. The team brought a huge potluck, picnic dinner together to eat at the track. Hamburgers, chicken, hot dogs and salads. Hubby made my All American Macaroni Salad.

1 pound elbow macaroni
1 1/2 c grated or diced cheddar cheese
3 hard boiled eggs chopped small
1/2 small red onion , diced small
2 large stalks celery , diced small
3 TB Sweet Relish
3 TB yellow mustard
1/4 c minced parsley
2 TB Dill
2 tsp celery seed
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 TB lemon juice
2 c mayo
2 TB milk – to thin
Salt and pepper

Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and macaroni and cook until nearly tender, about 5 minutes. Drain in colander and rinse with cold water until cool. Chill macaroni in refrigerator until cold.

Mix onion, celery, relish, mustard, parsley, dill, celery seed cayenne, lemon juice and let sit until flavors are absorbed, about 5 minutes. Add mayo and milk. Fold mayo mixture over chilled macaroni, eggs and cheese.
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serves 8-10

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Magnolia Grill

May 30, 2008 · Filed under Restaurants · Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

On a lovely drive the Applegate Valley to taste some local wine, husband and I had heard from friends about a great little restaurant in Ruch and decided to give it a try. The place: Magnolia Grill, owned and operated by Michael Wurster.

What a great little place. For lunch I had a delicious Cobb salad, loaded with grilled chicken, bacon, avocado, hard boiled egg and crumbled Rogue Creamery Bleu Cheese. I topped that off with a glass of crisp Griffin Creek Viognier. Husband had the “Special” a turkey and Cappicola sandwich in an herbed roll with steak fries and Iced Tea. Knowing we were way too full to have dinner later, we thought we should a least make ourselves even more miserable and try a homemade dessert. We had a Banana Spring Roll. This was a banana rolled in brown sugar, wrapped in a won ton skin, deep fried and covered with a drizzle of caramel, toasted coconut and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. WOW! DE-LISH!!

They are open 6 days a week starting at 7:30 for breakfast, lunch and dinner (Monday’s Closed)

Other menu items include three different eggs benedicts (one with grilled tomato and Portobello mushrooms), Chicken fried steak and eggs, Build your own omelets with several delectable items to choose from along with standard breakfast fare.

Lunches range from (and just to name a few) homemade soups and salads, hamburgers and veggie burgers, a Grilled Eggplant sandwich with caramelized onions, sweet roasted red peppers and provolone on a roll with chipotle mayo. A Rueben with hand pulled corned beef, Jamaican Jerk Spiced Pulled Pork sandwich with mango chutney.

They have a large and intriguing dinner menu including a Light Fare menu with Littleneck Clams, Cajun Crawfish Won-Tons, or a Blue Bison Burger. Other dinner selections range from Pasta’s, Steaks, Jambalaya or Fish and a Pork Tenderloin that is topped with an apple and sage chutney, served with garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed veggies. Too many items to list.

There is a great kids menu at great prices too!

Magnolia Grill
7360 Hwy 238
Jacksonville, Oregon
541-899-8700

About a 35 mile drive from Grants Pass, OR
Check out this mention in April 2007 edition of Sunset Magazine

http://www.sunset.com/sunset/travel/article/0,20633,1595995,00.html

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Crazy Jobs ~ Patient Attendant

May 28, 2008 · Filed under Crazy Jobs · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Over the years I have had some crazy jobs. Some I’ve liked and most I have not. I’m pretty easy going when it comes to work as long as I have been given a clear guideline of my duties and I receive a decent check. I am a hard worker and always respectful of my superiors. I have never been fired or reprimanded. I just do my job and try to keep my sense of humor in tact to help me through the rough times. Easier said than done. Through the years I have tried many different sorts of employment. I’ve been a horse stall cleaner, hostess, house keeper, sales woman in a children’s dress shop, pizza maker, sous chef, medical receptionist, pharmacy tech and more. One of the jobs I have hated the most was as a Patient Attendant.

As a Patient Attendant at the old Josephine Memorial Hospital in Grants Pass, Oregon, my job was to sit in a room with mentally ill or elderly patients to make sure they stayed in bed, ate or stayed calm. If anything got out of hand and a patient became abusive, out of control or was in danger of harming anyone or anything, I was to yell out at the top of my lungs “Dr. Armstrong, calling Dr. Armstrong”. Or if I had time use the intercom system to page Dr. Armstrong over head. This would cause a herd of hospital employees to come crashing through the door and make everything better. Also usually meant more meds to the patient.

One night I had to watch 2 mentally ill patients. One was quite and reserved, obviously on meds, the other wired and anxious. He was about 6ft and 250 pounds. This patient was in a bed next to the window of the second story of the hospital. He would climb out of bed and try and open the blinds to see out. My job was to keep him in bed and keep him as calm as possible.

As the morning flew by, I must have put this guy back in his bed at least 20 times. As the sun came around to our side of the building, the guy became more and more agitated. His attempts to open the blinds became aggressive. No one told me his condition or gave me an other rules to go by other then keeping him in bed. After much thought I decided to open the dang blinds. I figured at least it would calm him down a bit. WRONG! As I pulled up the blinds and turned to sit back down, he flew out of bed, tore off his gown, pressed his body to the window and screamed something inaudible about the sun.

I screamed DR. ARMSTRONG at the top of my lungs. Three large dudes came flying in and settled the guy down. We tucked him back into bed. Of course no one thought to close the blinds.

About 15 minutes later the guy starts getting agitated again. He flew out of bed, tore off his second gown and this time ran past me faster than lightning. I yelled Dr. Armstrong again and picked up the intercom to do the same hoping for more backup. As I hung up the phone I saw the guy out of the corner of my eye, stop in the middle of the hall. He turned around and faced me nakeder then a jay bird and started running for the window. Stupid me, I stepped in front of the window with my hands out to stop him. He crashed full force into me and we both flew into the window. My head smacked glass and I became instantly dizzy and petrified. The guy pushed me aside and started out the door into the hall way again for a second attempt. Fortunately, the half the hospital staff came flying down the hallway. This startled the poor guy. He panicked and ran smack onto another person who suffered more injuries than I. A broken arm. The hospital staff finally got him pinned down, medicated and back to bed. The staff looked me over, and as they were walking out the door I realized that the second guy I was watching, the quite reserved guy, snuck out of the room and took off while all this was going on. The hospital staff found him safe and sound.

I quit my job that night.

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Shan Creek Cafe

May 26, 2008 · Filed under Restaurants · Tagged , , , , , ,

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One of my favorite restaurants in Grants Pass is Shan Creek Cafe. It’s about a 15 minute drive from Grants Pass on Riverbanks road. The restaurant at one time was the Shan Creek Market, a local fixture for several years. I was happy to see an old piece of history still hanging above a counter from the old market. The once proud owner self-proclaimed his business as “The Smallest Country Super Market in the World.”

The lovely owner of Shan Creek Cafe is Angel Taylor. We were told that she and her husband bought the property in 2003 and spent many a night and weekend remolding the old store. During the remodel, Angel worked as a chef at the Sundance River Center in Merlin. She shyly told us that she had the honor of cooking for Martha Stewart when she was in Oregon filming for one of her shows.

Before that Angel lived and worked in Marin County staring her career at age of thirteen. She worked her way up from dishes to prep cook. At age fifteen she was in charge of her first dinner shift as the chef at the time had not show up for work. At eighteen she spent a year traveling and working in pubs in England.

Along with standard fare, the menu offers some unique dishes including a Veggie Omelet loaded with fresh veggies, herbs and feta cheese. A Breakfast Burrito with black beans, eggs, cheese, salsa, avocado and sour cream and French toast stuffed with cream cheese berries and pecans. They also serve fresh homemade muffins and coffee cakes. They also offer homemade jams. Yum!

The lunch and dinner menu has a nice offering of homemade soups, salads and salad dressings. You can order a cup, bowl or Bread Bowl of the soup of the day. Or try one of four different salads like the Field Greens with warm pecan crusted goat cheese, (this would be delish with the homemade creamy lemon dressing) or a Greek Salad with red onion and Kalamata Olives.

How about a hamburger made from Oregon organic free range beef? This comes with the standard toppings for or add grilled mushrooms or grilled onions or avocado. Not interested in burgers? Try the Marinated Grilled Chicken breast sandwich smothered in grilled apples and brie. Or try one of the many other sandwich selections such as the Veggie sandwich with carrots, zucchini and olives smothered in Jack cheese and served on toasted whole wheat with tomatoes, sprouts and avocado for. The selection of sandwiches comes with French Fries or homemade Cole Slaw or Potato Salad.

Other options to try include Beer Battered Fish and Chips (my husband and I think they are the best fish and chips in Grants Pass) and Fish Tacos. The main menu is not large however the daily specials make up for what is not on the menu. Chef Angel offers five to six specials a night including seafood, (one is Clam Steamers with perfect amounts of garlic, wine and herbs) a veggie dish, pasta dish and the best aged steaks in the valley.

Along with Free Trade Coffee, they offer espresso drinks, both black and green iced tea. Fresh squeezed lemonade and orange juice and a small but nice selection of beer and wine.

One of my first meals was the Fish Tacos and let me tell you that as a lover of fish tacos, these ranked at the top of my list. I was served two with a plate of black beans steamed rice topped with grated cheese, lime wedges and home made salsa. The fish was very lightly seasoned and breaded, sautéed, wrapped in a grilled corn tortilla. The taste was sensational. I reluctantly offered a meager bite to my partner to get his take. He loved it. He ordered the Beer Battered Fish and Chips. He too offered up a reluctant and meager bite of his selection, and I do declare it was fantastic. The fish was fried in a light seasoned beer batter and served with fries and a homemade tartar sauce and a crisp Cole Slaw. Even though we were happily stuffed, we were encouraged by the chef’s mother, Grace Alexander, to try one of several home made desserts or cookies. She proudly stated that her daughter not only made the best fish and chips she has ever tried but was indeed a “master baker.” We were sold. I had a wonderful slice of Marion Berry Pie slightly warmed with a crust that was to die for and my husband had a piece of a rich and creamy Kaluha Cheesecake.

Back to those steaks. My husband and I have tried several meals at Shan Creek and beside the Fish and Chips, Angel’s steaks are to die for. Perfectly aged and cooked, I have yet to try anything better in the valley. Tender, flavorful and well just darned right perfect. Her Filet Mignon is like buttah, and so full of flavor you’ll be humming through the entire steak. Oh did I mention the sautéed mushrooms piled on top?

The food is outstanding, the service was beyond compare and the friendly neighborly atmosphere is very comforting. My one critique is the limited hours. Only open Thursday through Sunday, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Always call first. Angel’s family always comes first, one of the many reasons my husband and I love this place so much.

Shan Creek Café
5547 Riverbanks Road
Grants Pass, OR 97527
(541) 479-5057

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Tome Raider

May 23, 2008 · Filed under Books · Tagged , , , ,

I love books. Other then the obvious, reading, I love to hold them, feel them, smell them and buy them. My dream is to have a huge fireplace with large bookshelves on each side filled with books, books and more books. I think more then new books, I prefer used and old books. A good used book has much character. I can pick up a used book and day dream about who would have read it before myself. Did they like it? Would we have much in common? Would they like other books I have read? Did they hate it and why?

In Grants Pass we actually have several used book stores. I always try and buy local when I can. Oregon Books, formerly Book Depot, has been around several years. family owned and operated, they carry a nice selection of new and used. They also have web site to order what they don’t have in stock. Usually only takes a couple days for your book to arrive.

Oregon Books
937 NE D Street, Ste C
Grants Pass, OR 97526
(541) 476-3132
http://www.oregonbooks.com/

Book Lore and More is a used book store. This place is run by SPARC. The store is a training ground and a great place recycle used books that would otherwise been shredded. I love this store. They don’t always organize their books the best way possible, but they are very helpful can usually find what you are looking for.

Book Lore and More
122 SE H St
Grants Pass, OR 97526
(541) 471-4945

Middle of 6th street, downtown Grants Pass is Booktique, Books and More. A cute and cramped shop with both used books, funky antiques and collectables and used movies.

Booktique
212 NW 6th St
Grants Pass, Oregon 97526
(541) 474-9580

On Rogue River Highway is another cramped and dark book store with great finds. The $2.00 Book Store & Exchange. I have found some great books here. Not all books, however are $2.00 however so you need to make sure and check the price tags.

$2.00 Book Store & Exchange
914 Rogue River Highway
Grants Pass, OR 97527
(541) 479-6008

In the City of Rogue River, about 8 miles from Grants Pass is a new book store called Reading on the Rogue. New books, candy, games, gifts and one of the largest stuffed beavers I have ever seen. That thing must be 9 feet tall.

Reading on the Rogue
206 Main
Rogue River, OR
(541) 582-1712

I also absolutely love Powell Book’s in Portland, Oregon. This is a must see bookstore. Touted at one of the largest book stores in the World. The main store takes up an entire city block. New, used and rare. Powell has six store locations in the Portland Area. Including one specifically for Home and Garden. Powell’s is where I go when I just can’t find what I need locally. And whenever we make the trip to Portland, Powell’s is our first stop.

Powell’s Books
1005 W Burnside
Portland, OR 97209
http://www.powells.com/

I’ll be posting reviews here from my favorite tomes. I never seem to have as much time as I would like to read, or maybe I have too much time to read and not enough time to do anything else? Highly doubtful!

A good book should leave you… slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading it. ~William Styron, interview, Writers at Work, 1958

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Beacon Bar & Grill

May 22, 2008 · Filed under Restaurants · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

There once was a place called the Lantern Cafe. Half smoky bar, half cafe. The food was cheap and so-so and the cafe was always filled with smoke from the bar. If you went in for lunch and asked what the special was, the standard answer is “.50 cents off anything on the menu”. Okay then. After years and years someone bought the Lantern Cafe and refurbished the inside. Gallons and gallons of special paint were used to cover the thick smoke stained walls. They opened the wall that divided the cafe and bar which made it nice and bright. The new owners are the owners of one of my favorite restaurants, Aja. I was very excited to try this new place. If Aja was good, then surely Beacon Bar and Grill would be the same!

I have tried Beacon Bar and Grill four times now. I really wanted to like it. I tried to like it.

First time was the Cobb Salad. HUGE. Way to huge. When I am presented with a plate that could seriously feed three people, I’m not as impressed as I am concerned. First thing that came to my mind was waste. After I got over that feeling, I dug in. Or tried to. I had to ask for a separate plate as this enormous salad toppled all over the place.

The plate was a huge pile of romaine lettuce. The kind from a bag. I can handle that and I know if helps to cut the cost of cleaning and tearing your own lettuce, but I always feel that you get “seconds” in bags. Most all of the romaine lettuce pieces were the spine or rib of the leaf. Rarely a nice piece of actual green. On top of the lettuce riblets sat huge slices of red onion. The slices were way to big to fit in the mouth. Next to that chicken, again in large pieces, chunks of chopped boiled eggs, and tomatoes, UNDERCOOKED bacon, crumbled blue cheese topped with avocado slices. I chose the homemade blue cheese dressing. I’m a big fan of the Cobb, but that bacon was very undercooked and the veggie pieces cute too large. The dressing was decent and the crumble of blue good.

Next trip, my acquaintance wanted to share the Cobb again. I agreed to give it a try as long as we shared a plate of Onion Rings with roasted garlic ketchup. I was really looking forward to that garlic ketchup. It was ketchup, nothing garlic about it. Sad because the Onion rings were decent.

Then came the salad. Yep it was the same. Huge chunks of veggies and undercooked bacon. I kicked myself for not asking ahead of time to have them crisp it up. Not only that, but the avocado was so under ripe you could not eat it.

Ok one more chance. I played it safe. Ordered the veggie sandwich. This was a nice sandwich. Nothing to write home about, but tasted good. Served on Rye bread with cream cheese, cucumber, tomato, red onion, avocado, sprouts, mushrooms and ranch dressing. The bread seemed a tad dry but the fries were good.

Back again. I really wanted this place to work for me. I ordered the house salad and a bowl of clam chowder. The salad was fair, again standard Fancy greens in a bag. The soup was surprisingly good. Hot, creamy, nice tender clams and oyster crackers to top it off. Then off to sit at the bar. I ordered a Bloody Mary. WOW, this thing was a piece of art and a meal in it’s own right. Good amount of vodka to mix. Nice and spicy with Tabasco and horseradish, a bit too much acid (juice of lemon, lime and olive juice). Then the garnish. Pickled Asparagus, celery, green olives, pickled onions all place strategically on a rim of salt.

At this point they are moving up my taste bud scale.

New night. Ordered the Crispy Chicken Sandwich. Lightly coated in Panko bread crumbs, with portabella mushroom slices, Swiss cheese, fried onion rings and a smoked bbq sauce on Ciabatta. This was a bit of a disappointment. The bbq sauce tasted vaguely of bbq and more like marinara. The cook must have dunked the breaded chicken breast in the sauce. The chicken was very soggy. I only ate half of this and all the fries. The fries here are great. Hot, crispy and salted just right.

The service has been great each time and the place was nice and clean. I commend the owners for cleaning up the old Lantern.

I’ll most likely try again, but further down the line. I had high hopes but so far my hopes are dashed.

Beacon Bar & Grill

2030 NE Vine St
Grants Pass, OR 97526
(541) 472-9375

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Not everyone’s a teacher OR A wife should never teach a husband how to fish!

May 20, 2008 · Filed under Family · Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

My family are all fisherman and have had a long tradition of teaching each generation to fish. The older generations used bait and tackle the easy way to fish. The young ones fly fish, the more difficult way to fish. My uncle was the first fly fisherman of the family. He taught my aunt to fly fish and my aunt taught my brother and me to fly fish. In keeping with tradition, I thought it was time for me to teach someone in my family. I figured it couldn’t be that hard. I caught on fast myself. For my first pupil, I chose Tim, my indoor only, Star Wars loving, extremely logical, computer geek of a husband. This should have been my first clue that not everyone can be a teacher no matter what the subject.

Once I convinced Tim that fly fishing would be a blast and I assured him there would be plenty of sun screen for his pale skin. I set out to plan our trip. I decided the Umpqua River would fruitful. The Umpqua can be tricky and the wading can be dangerous but Tim has always told me he’s as nimble as a Billy Goat. I packed snacks, gear and I bought fishing licenses. Being that is was steel head season I also purchased salmon and steel head tags at an additional cost. This should have been clue number two.

We arrived at the river. It was beautiful! We came to an area that I thought would be a good start. The river pooled nicely, with a riffle above and below. There was a steep trail down to the bank of the river but this was something I was very comfortable with however, I was a little worried about Tim. So worried in fact that I decided to go first, carry ALL the gear down and have Tim follow my trail. I guided him all the way down warning him of loose rocks and stumps. Before I knew it, I was down. Down with one knee bent behind me, one leg in front and sliding fast towards the bank. Thankfully I was stopped by a stump. Tim came flying down the hill towards me to see if I was okay. I was a bit hurt, but more humiliated. I decided that it would be best for Tim to start out with a bait and tackle. At this point I was in no shape to discuss the intricacies of fly fishing. I let my humiliation sink in and waded in the cold water up to my aching swollen knee. Not a good start to our trip.

After an unsuccessful hour, I decide we should move elsewhere. About two miles down the road we spotted a great site to check out. Very private with a small deep pool ending in a riffle leading to a huge rapid. This was it. I could hear the fish calling. This is where our teaching would begin.

Being that Tim is a very logical person, I used the most logical and visual descriptions and presentations I could come up with to teach him to fly fish.

However, I am not a logical person. By the time I was done demonstrating Tim looked more confused then ever. By now I should have thrown in the towel and headed home but I ignored my instincts and decided he just needed to give it a shot and I would try guiding him from there. I handed him my favorite fly rod. He slowly got the gist of it and at some point stopped listening to me. He waded into the water up to his ankles. I stressed with urgency the danger of the Umpqua’s extremely slippery rocks. Did I mention he stopped listening to me???? Farther and farther he went. He was about 150 yards above that very powerful rapid. Not a place you should even attempt fishing but again, he was not listening to me. He was up to his knees. Then his hips. At this point I had to yell at him to get him to hear me over the roar of the rapids. The water was lapping his stomach; his fly line was wrapped around the reel. I was getting very nervous, shouting instructions to him and begging him to come back to the shore. Before I knew it, he slipped. Up to this chin. His eyes were huge orbs. I screamed at him that he better not let go of my rod. He was getting closer to the rapid. Now I was crying. He was scrambling to get a foot hold. I knew he was a goner and so was my rod. Suddenly his Billy goat senses kicked in and he found ground. Tim slowly dragged himself out of the water with me screaming at him the whole time. He was safe… my rod was safe. All was well, almost. Tim was drenched. He peeled off his shorts and shirt. His wallet survived but was soaking; his cell phone was completely water logged and forever unusable and his expensive fishing license and tags LOST to the rapids.

This was our FIRST and last fishing trip. Some people were born to teach and others are not. If I can ever convince Tim to fish again, I’ll leave it to my aunt to teach him.

Not only did I fail to teach him the art of fly fishing, I failed to teach him what poison oak looked like. That hill I slipped all the way down……….yep, it was loaded with poison oak. I fell…. I hurt my self….almost lose my husband AND my favorite fly rod… I came home with the worst case of poison oak I have ever had!

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To Wait or Not to Wait

May 19, 2008 · Filed under Restaurants · Tagged , , , , , , ,

I have often struggled with wait staff issues in restaurants. It’s a freaking hard job and one I have done myself. Most people are extremely rude and under tip. It can be a thankless job, the cooks can treat you badly and the busers can take your tips behind your back. However, a properly trained waiter can make a huge difference to the whole dining experience. We live in a small city, Grants Pass, Oregon, that is not known for its culinary delights nor its friendly or efficient wait staff.

My rants and one or two raves to share:

On ordering~

I appreciate when a waiter acknowledges our table right way even though he or she is busy. I hate to see waiters fly by you without making eye contact or actually going out of their way to avoid eye contact.

I really appreciate when a waiter tells me what is NOT available on the menu as they hand you the menu. Not after you have hemmed and hawed and made your final decision. This happens way too often.

I like a waiter that knows the menu. If I want to ask if a dish with chicken is really chicken or pressed chicken nugget chicken, they should know the answer to that. Not just assume it’s real. I’ve gotten mislead several times over that. Same thing with nuts. I hate nuts. A good waiter should know if something has nuts or not.

I hate a waiter that sighs when you ask for something.

On beverages~ (can you tell I like iced tea?)

I like when a waiter asks if you like lemon in your tea before they bring it to you. Not a fan of the lemon in tea.

I hate when a waiter refills your tea glass with warm tea and does not offer to bring you more ice. It’s called ICED tea people.

I hate to see a waiter pour from a pitcher of tea or water with their thumbs/fingers inside the pitcher.

I hate when a waitress can not see that your glass has someone else’s lip stick on the rim and then when you mention it says “it’s been through the dishwasher so it’s been sterilized.”

Asking for decaf coffee and getting caffinated with refill.

Asking for milk, “can I please get that when my breakfast arrives?” and then forgetting to bring it.

On serving~

I like a waiter that is attentive but not over powering. Any waiter that takes your order, brings your food to your table and then your check 20 minutes later, could care less if you’re there or not. No water or beverage refills, no checking to see if you need anything … nothing.

A good waiter should know what dish goes with what person. This just happened at a very nice restaurant. There were only three tables occupied in the entire room and the waitress could not remember what I had and what my friend had. She left it to us to switch places.

I love a waiter that has a good sense of humor. There is one particular waitress in town that pegged my husband’s personality right off the bat. He finally met his match … she got him good! I like that. She got a big tip from me.

I hate when wait staff vacuums around you while you are eating.

I think the wait staff should strive to be consistent. In other words, I’m served my dish and not offered fresh ground pepper. A few minutes later I see them doing the fresh ground pepper thing for someone else.

Extra touches I love that are rare to find … bringing extra napkins without having to ask. Asking if you prefer your dressing on the side. Asking if you want separate checks with out making a huge ordeal out of it. Making a true suggestion of “what’s good on the menu tonight?” instead of saying “everything on the menu is good”.

On saying goodbye~

A good waiter should never take your payment to the register and ask “Do you need change back?” You should always bring change back and never assume what is left over is for you.

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