When Og the caveman first tossed a mastodon haunch on the fire, charred it for a few minutes, sliced it and passed the pieces around, his friend Nog probably cried, “Hey, I asked for medium-rare!” 
That’s how I felt recently when I ordered steak in two local restaurants and got them overcooked, in one case woefully so.
That was at Cafe 1912, and while I realize that there’s a new chef in the kitchen, I mean, we’re talking about cooking a steak here, something chefs learn in Grilling 101 at cooking school. I asked for my strip steak to be cooked medium-rare; when it arrived at the table and I sliced into the center, it was gray. Not red, not pink, not pinkish, not faintly pinkish. Gray. I pointed this out to the waiter, she was sympathetic, back it went. A few minutes later, here comes another steak. I cut into it; this time it achieved a state of faint pinkishness in the center, surrounded by gray-brown, still cooked way beyond medium-rare. I gave up, ate what I could and we left.
More recently, we dined with a guest from out of town at Encore, Jose Gutierrez’s contemporary bistro-style restaurant in Peabody Place. Now if there’s one thing a Frenchman should know about, it’s cooking a steak; after all, steak frites is a staple of bistros in France and around the world. Not that the executive chef himself would handle a steak order; there’s usually a grillman for that job. Whoever cooked this steak, however, must have sneaked out for a smoke or something, because it arrived on my plate more at the medium state than medium-rare, not as drastic as the first example I got at Cafe 1912, but still …
So I decided that if I wanted a steak cooked the way I like it, I would have to do it myself.
First, let’s look at the degrees of steak doneness.
According to bbqreport.com, the color of a very rare steak is blood red in the center; rare is red in the center; medium-rare is pinkish red in the center; medium is pink in the center with a grayish-brown surround; medium-well has a grayish-brown center; well-done is unspeakable, I mean, gray in the center. bbqreport.com says that a very rare steak, measured with an instant-read thermometer, should be at 120 degress; rare — 125 degrees; medium-rare — 130/135; medium — 140/145; medium-well — 150/155; well-done — 160. You can check on other Web-sites or in cookbooks and most authorities will be in agreement about these criteria, though the USDA recommends that steaks be cooked to at least 145 degrees, which it defines as “medium-rare,” which would actually take a steak to the far side of medium.
Remember that as you cook your steak, whether searing, broiling or grilling, the juices migrate 
to the outside, so it’s important to allow the steak to rest for five or 10 minutes before serving. But in those five or 10 minutes, the steak will continue to cook, all on its own, and the interior temperature can rise five or 10 degrees. In other words, what you intended to be a medium-rare steak can turn out to be medium, just by doing nothing. The rule here: ALWAYS UNDERCOOK YOUR STEAK!!!!!!!
Pictured above is an aged Hereford t-bone steak that I bought at Fresh Market. It has nothing on it but kosher salt and fresh-cracked pepper. I put butter and olive oil in a cast-iron skillet, turned the burner on high and let the skillet get REALLY hot before sliding the steak in there (meanwhile turning on both fans in the hood to suck out the tremendous amount of smoke produced). I cooked the steak five minutes on the first side and three minutes on the second, removed it from the pan and let it sit on a plate for six or seven minutes, while roasting potatoes and sauteeing green beans with shallots. Poured some red wine in the skillet, stirred up the bits and let it cook down and make a sauce. Sliced some cherry tomatoes. This was great with the Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon 2003.
As you can see in the second image, I finally got a steak my way.
Responses to “Can I Get a Steak Right?”
July 27th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
I like to do steak on a cast iron pan, too. I usually use one of those ridged grill pans, since it gives those cute grill marks. But I must remember to disable the smoke detector first! Even with the exhaust fan on full force.
July 27th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
I can cook a decent steak on my cast-iron griddle, but if I get it right on the grill, it’s just luck. I need a lesson on grilling a steak (anything else I grill is fine) and on frying chicken.
July 27th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
I can do steak on the grill. The key is VERY high heat, and if you think you’ve done it to the correct doneness, you’ve probably overcooked it. Basically 3 to 5 minutes on each side on very high heat just to brown it. it’s very quick.
July 27th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
They don’t know how to cook steaks at Spindini either. the one time I visited the place, my sister sent one back several times. I agree if a restau/cook can’t get a steak right, something is wrong.
A piece of meat should always be a room temp before you cook, also. Don’t be afraid of seasoning either.
July 27th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Funny, I had a steak at Spindini that was perfectly cooked. Maybe I just got lucky!
July 28th, 2007 at 10:16 am
Maybe I was (or my sister) was outta luck the night we visited. We did enjoy a nice cocktail.
I will say that after recently moving back here from places where there are exceptional restaurants (service and food), I wonder why Memphians celebrate mediocrity–in food, in service , and, by the way, in your city leadership.
July 28th, 2007 at 11:41 am
Speaking of overcooking meat and Spindini, if there is anything worse than overcooked meat, it’s overcooked fish. I had the halibut with red pepper pesto crust and crab risotto at spindini a couple of weeks ago. The fish was so overcooked it fell apart in several pieces. It actually looked like they dropped it and tried to reassemble it on the plate. Risotto was very gummy too. Expected more from them.
July 28th, 2007 at 11:54 am
Fredric - I am so glad you posted on steak doneness. I have had similar frustrating experiences at restaurants who can’t get this right. Could it be that they assume people really don’t want rare steak or are they afraid that someone might get ill from undercooked meat and sue?
July 29th, 2007 at 9:53 am
I do my steals in the cast iron skillet, but put it on a gas grill turned all the way up. It seems to get hotter than inside, which we have also tried. We spread a little (not too much) minced or pressed garlic on each side, with kosher salt and cracked pepper. The garlic caramelizes and doesn’t over-power.
July 29th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
You would think that a restaurant whose meat products come from reputable sources wouldn’t be too concerned about someone getting ill from undercooking. If I were presented w/an underdone meat entree, I could always send it back to be cooked just a tad more. That seems preferable to all the gray meat everybody is describing. One tactic I use, because I nearly always bring part of my food home from a restaurant, is eating the more done parts & saving the rare parts to be reheated as leftovers. That is particularly true of leftover prime rib.
Talbot, unless you live in the county, Memphis is now your home & our city leadership is your city leadership too(!) Hopefully, we are going to have new city leadership soon & then we’ll all be happier & better off.
July 30th, 2007 at 9:53 am
We went to Cafe Society early this month to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I ordered the “dry aged” filet, cooked rare. It came out on the far side of medium. Very disappointing, especially at $31. Cullen wasn’t in the kitchen that evening. Also, our waiter seemed “distracted”.
A group of 15 guys (we call it Guys Night Out) went there a couple of weeks later. About half ordered the filet and everyone raved about their meal. The steaks were cooked as requested. Both Cullen and Michel were hovering around our table to make sure everything was alright. Our waitress was excellent.
July 30th, 2007 at 10:24 am
Ditto on all the above. Every. Single. Post. (with an opinion) and doubly for the halibut at Spindini. We did eat late, so I wrote it off to being prepped earlier. My wife had a great pizza and the apps I’ve had in the past were great, so I wrote it off to the lateness/long night in the kitchen.
July 30th, 2007 at 11:06 am
As for Cafe 1912, the place is certainly going through a transition, both with a new chef and with the expansion, but still …
And Talbot, where did you come from that has exceptional restaurants? and why do you think Memphis celebrates mediocrity? I would say that the readers of and responders to this blog have a keen sensibility when it comes to mediocrity in food and service. And let’s face it, most people don’t care a great deal about why, how and where they’re eating; hence the proliferation of chain restaurants.
July 30th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
I don’t mean to impugn Memphis or anyone on this blog. I do agree that the bloggers here know more than a fair share about food. I have been back in Memphis (off and on) for almost three years now. I have had to travel a great deal though.
I think I am here for good now .
Memphis dining has improved vastly since I first left years ago. I would visit several times every year and go to the “hotspots” and recently I have been listening to others’ recommendations. I have been very disappointed in the places recommended as the best in town. Many of the chefs I have met here have not spent much time out of the region.
A new perspective is always good for those in the creative professions.
And why is service so surly here in Memphis? I just don’t get it.
I lived in Connecticut and worked in the city for many years. While everyone thinks New Yorkers are so rude, I have found it more so here–at least as far as service goes. Of course, New Yorkers will generally not put up with bad service and put an end to it on the spot.
In general,people here are friendlier, but it does not translate to the service. Also, in other cities there is a professional class of servers at restaurants. Does not seem to be the same here.
I do love Memphis and have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of some of the newer places in town. Maybe I just need to get out more?
And what about the grocery stores here? I recently went to Fresh Market and tried to purchase some $18/lb prosciutto. No one in the deli dept. knew how to slice it. They handed me a mangled mess of expensive meat and I refused to accept it unless it was properly sliced. One would think I had asked for the clerk’s liver. I was told that no one there really knew how to slice it properly. Also, the fish monger couldn’t tell me which fish was the freshest that day. Strange. I finally left without the prosciutto or fish.
I later went to Schunks (sp?) only to find that there were out of many basic grocery items. What is that all about?
July 31st, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Check out the blog posts on this topic at http://fearlessvk.blogspot.com/
July 31st, 2007 at 7:26 pm
It is true that the Memphis food scene has improved greatly over the last decade or so. But I have to agree with Talbot - the culinary environment in Memphis is a pool of mediocrity punctuated with little pockets of light (like this blog and its commenters, a few really good restaurants, and some food vendors - like Alyce - who do get it.)
I grew up in Louisiana and later lived in the Portland Oregon area. In both places there was a sense of passion and excitement about food. The butcher at Meche’s Meat in Opelousas, LA knew everything about every item in his case - how to slice it, serve it, and store it. He made the store’s andouille and boudin himself.
The cashier at Elephant’s Deli in Portland would give you recipe ideas for the cheese you bought because she was a knowledgeable food professional not a high school kid. The waiters at Wildwood and other great Portland restaurants were part of a “professional class of servers” who could answer your questions about the dishes and recommend great local wines.
Sometimes you just don’t realize how second-class the food and service in Memphis is until you go somewhere else. I travel a good bit and the differences between Memphis and other cities is glaring. Last week I was in St. Paul. The local paper had an article about the plethora of grocery stores and whether the cities could support more. They have the national supermarket chains as well as specialty stores like Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and wonderful local “gourmet supermarkets” like Byerly’s and Lunds. I have access to a kitchen when I am in St. Paul so I have been to all these stores and they are outstanding. The selection beats anything in Memphis and the knowledge of the staff is amazing. The seafood counter man at Byerly’s can tell you about the provenance of almost every one of the 50+ items in his case.
What I really see lacking in Memphis is that “passion” about food. You see it at some of the local BBQ places - owner/operators who have perfected just the right smoke, the right timing, the right sauce and they love it. You see it with some of the vendors at the Memphis Farmers Market who care intensely about their products. But over all there is an “I just work here” attitude - food service people are not expected to know about food - or how to slice it.
July 31st, 2007 at 8:19 pm
GrantParish…..right on!! well said! Face it bloggers, Memphis is a mediocre town…..yes, TOWN
July 31st, 2007 at 9:10 pm
chuck b.
whoa! hold on there, partner. i never said that memphis is a mediocre town. it has a lot of soul and many colorful people. some things in memphis do smack of mediocrity; but overall a mediocre place? i don’t think so…
July 31st, 2007 at 11:07 pm
I suspect that some of the problem at Wild Oats & other places is that the people working behind the counters are most likely paid minimum wage. But it isn’t justifiable for a server in a restaurant to be rude. You’d think they would know that people don’t tip when they are displeased w/the service, & tips are how they make their living. Not so in a market or store - the paycheck only varies if overtime comes into play. No wonder there is frequent turnover, chronic absenteeism & lack of proper training. I hear stories that amaze me about high school & college aged store clerks & restaurant servers whose families intimidate the mgmt. of the establishments where their sons & daughters work. They expect their employers to let them have time off for spring breaks, family vacations, & whatever other occasions strike their fancy. Never mind that these people are only working for the summer or part-time after school & on wk-ends. It all boils down to a lack of work ethic & now I sound like my parents. But I grew up being taught that a job was important, you took care of it, & you didn’t call in sick unless you were dying. That type discipline is neither being taught nor observed anymore, in Memphis & lots of other places as well.
Hopefully everyone reading this blog also read last week’s food section article about young chef Clay Lichterman. We can only hope for a lot more like him to raise the level of Memphis dining above the mediocre.
I had dinner with friends from my former job last night at Beauty Shop. The service was excellent, the food was exceptional, & the others were pleased w/my choice. The champagne sangria was refreshing. The herbed goat cheese, beet, black olive & greens salad w/house made green goddess dressing was one of the best I’ve ever eaten. The ample tapas portion of beef tenderloin & gaufrette potatoes was enough to round out the meal, along w/a shared hazelnut gelato dessert. Give it a try if you haven’t been & I think you’ll find it worthy of a return visit. And if it’s not your cup of tea, there are plenty of other unique, non-chain establishments all around it to try the next time.
Talbot, do get out more…you’ll be glad you did.
August 1st, 2007 at 3:15 pm
I think I may be experiencing a different scene by living in Midtown/Downtown. There are tons of great restaurants here. I travel quite a bit too, and I’m often disappointed by the lack of good restaurants in other cities. Memphis does need better grocery stores and service, but I think the food is pretty darn good here.
August 1st, 2007 at 5:12 pm
Todd, tell us the restaurants you like downtown, so the other readers and responders to the blog can weigh in and give recommendations (OR NOT!!!!!)
August 1st, 2007 at 5:25 pm
Just to add a point that I didn’t make clear in my earlier post. While I think - despite the wonderful exceptions - that Memphis is a mediocre food market, I don’t think Memphis is a mediocre town.
I am not a Memphis native and my job doesn’t require I live here - I chose Memphis and I love living here. I think Memphis has got to be the best city in the country for business. You can work until 11:00 and still make the FedEx drop off deadline. You can get a direct flight to almost anywhere in the U.S and be there in about 3 hours. The cost of living is low and the people are the nicest anywhere. With the blues, BBQ, and the river, there is a real “sense of place” about Memphis.
I am greatly encouraged by the number of good restaurants that have opened in recent years and new chefs that have come into the area. But it is still the case in my opinion that the typical restaurant experience in Memphis - in both a food quality and level of service - is below that of other major metro areas.
August 1st, 2007 at 6:12 pm
Encore, Stella, Felicia Suzanne’s, Daily Grill, Lolo’s Table, McEwen’s, Gus’ Fried Chicken, Majestic Grille, Happy Mexican (las margaritas grande burrito), Chez Phillipe, Bluff City Pastry, Cheesecake Corner, Cozy Corner, Alencia’s, Miss Cordelia’s, Bigfoot, Pearl’s Oyster House, Arcade (lunch specials only), Bluefin, Bluff City Bayou, Cafe 61, Zanzibar, Capriccio Grill, Cielo, Hunt Phelan, Conte’s, Earnestine & Hazel’s (soulburger), Grill 83, Harry’s Detour, Circa (haven’t been, but bet it’s good), Dawgie Style (chicago dog), Huey’s, Little Tea Shop, Spindini, South Philly, Sawadii, Sauces, Lobster King, Saigon Le, Quetzal, Neely’s, Cafe Francisco
That’s 40 restaurants in the downtown and medical center area where you can have a very good meal. Most of those places are within a 5-10 minute walk of each other. That doesn’t include all the great places in Midtown.
August 1st, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Todd, you HAVE been busy enjoying good food! I would also add The Pier to the downtown list because I can’t get enough of their clam chowder. I have never been to The Pier a single time in all the years I’ve been going there & not had clam chowder. And I am usually the first one at the table to try something different when I eat out.
August 2nd, 2007 at 9:32 am
That is an excellent list, Todd…and reminds me of several places I need to check out. But, it’s too bad the service at Blue Fin is horrendous. I once loved the place but my last two visits there were awful. I walked out last time after sending the food back because we waited 30 min for the sushi appetizer only to have the entrees delivered immediately afterward. The entrees were cold and my fish was overcooked, as though they sat in the kitchen while the sushi appetizer was being assembled. I suspect that the server neglected to turn in the order for the sushi. But, the worst part about it was when I told the manager about the long wait, the sushi issue and that the entrees were quite possibly the coldest I’d ever been served, he looked at me and said “Yea, I know…sorry ’bout that” and offered nothing else. I will never return and suspect it is a matter of time before the novelty of the place isn’t enough to keep patrons willing to tolerate the poor service.
That said, I think Memphis has many fine restaurants and too many that I haven’t tried, but I think the quality of service can make or break even a great restaurant. My dining dollars are limited and I will not spend my money even on great food served by surly, lazy servers.
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:12 am
I’ve had bad service as Blue Fin too, and the sushi isn’t quite as good as it used to be. When it opened, its sushi menu was very unique. Now it just seems to mimic every other Sekisui (which owns it) in town. It’s still very good, but not like it was. I think the best sushi in Memphis is at Do, but I haven’t been there in a long time.
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:19 am
Whoa, Todd, yer either a slave to dining out or you have too much time on yer hands! That’s a pretty serious and eclectic list, though Dawgie Style, we learned, closed a few weeks ago. Qaulity of food and service vary widely at these places, and if i agree with anything that has been said in this strong of posts it’s that Memphis lacks a solid cadre of good waiters, not only those who know about the cusine of the restaurant and how it’s prepared but who don’t seem familiar with the rudiments of waiting tables. Yes, of course there are places where the service is exactly what one wants, but far too many waiters in town are of the fly-by-night variety. Part of the trouble, though, is training; I have had waiters in restaurants (where they should know better) that don’t seem to have received any instruction from management. I’m going to move this discussion to a different post tomorrow (or later this afternoon), because I think it deserves its own string.
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:39 pm
I have to side with talbot and Grant. I moved here from Atlanta and nothing comes close to Alon’s bakery, Your Dekalb Farmer’s Market, Eatzi’s and the restaurants too numerous to name. Granted, with 5 million people with vastly different backgrounds, there are plenty of people to support that food infrastructure.
What bothers me is when I go to St. Louis (one of the top 5 “slow” cities per Fast Company magazine) and I see a huge selection of tremendously good food, great servers, fantastic grocery stores (whole foods & trader joes plus many others i’m sure), great bakeries supported by a population not that much larger than the Memphis MSA. Then I see Oxford supports places like L&M Salumeria. Nashville getting a Whole Foods is a final slap.
The most frustrating missing pieces to me are a great bakery and a great fish monger. The beef selection has improved tremendously with Neola thank goodness.
August 3rd, 2007 at 10:34 am
Yes, Memphis could definitely use some better service and grocery stores, but the food here is very good. It seems every time I travel, I am disappointed with the food. Last time I went to Atlanta, I did some research and ate at Buckhead Diner, South City Kitchen, and a mexican place called Zocolo. The first two were excellent, but the Mexican place was pretty bad, though it came highly recommended. Two weeks later I went back to South City, and had only a mediocre meal. It wasn’t nearly as good as when I first tried it. I’ve learned to do extensive research, if I have the time, before I travel. When I don’t, I end up disappointed. And, yes, I eat out about five times a week, or more. I’ll be in New York City in a few weeks. Does anyone know of some great places that won’t cost a fortune (probably ruling out Jean Georges and Cru), especially some good pre-theater places?
August 3rd, 2007 at 11:35 am
Where are you staying in NYC, Todd? or at least what part of town or intersection? We’re in nyc two or three times a year but tend to avoid the upper-scale places for neighborhood restaurants like August in the Village.
August 3rd, 2007 at 3:43 pm
I have to disagree with Frederic on the meat cooking issue that the original journal entry was about. I’m one of the people to whom well done meat tastes better (in addition to being disgusted by the sponge-y quality of meat cooked to less than medium), and I hate ordering food well done only to find that the chef or cook has decided I should have it rare instead. One step undercooked is understandable, but it’s ridiculous to order a well done steak and have blood run all over my plate as soon as I cut into the meat—which has happened to me twice in recent weeks.
I think chefs should assume that the customers know their own food preferences and reserve their philosophical beliefs about the “proper” level of cooking for meat that they themselves will be eating and paying for.
August 3rd, 2007 at 4:00 pm
I’m staying with some friends in West Harlem close to Columbia University, but I won’t be spending much time around there. I’m planning on going to the Met, MoMA, Guggenheim, the WTC site, some 5th avenue shopping, and some Broadway/Off-Broadway shows. We will probably going out at night in Greenwich Village. I’ll be there for 5 days, and my friends will be working during the day except on the weekend, so I’ll be by myself during the day. My friends just moved there a month ago, so they haven’t had a chance to find a lot of good places yet. I prefer neighborhood places, and I’ll eat just about anything (except soul food because I can get that here). I’m budgeting about $50 pp for dinner plus alcohol, but I can be flexible. I don’t mind dives, either.
August 3rd, 2007 at 4:34 pm
Whoa, Todd, you’re covering a lot of ground. Lemme get back to you; I’m about to leave the office for the weekend, but I would like to make some restaurant reccomendations for you.
Mike, I would never, as you surmise, order a steak well-done, but I will defend your fundamental right to order a steak cooked the way YOU want it. Isn’t this the issue over which Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton fought a duel? Chefs should not be so arrogant as to second-guess their patrons’ tastes and desires.
August 3rd, 2007 at 11:58 pm
I would like to propose my theory about restaurant service in Memphis being so poor…Carol H. has made some good points, but I only think it applies within the context of WHO is serving you… the teenagers who really are not pros and only care about earning some “fun” money. Talbot earlier mentioned the “professional” servers in New York, and how that level of service doesn’t exist in Memphis. I can tell you exactly why this is true, so I guess this is not exactly a theory, in my opinion, but an actual fact. The simple truth is that it is impossible to make a living in Memphis as a server, no matter how good one is at it…the tip percentage one receives here is simply pathetic. I repeat-no matter HOW good one’s service is. Add that on top of $2.30/hr wages, garnished right off the top by the IRS based on 12% of one’s total daily sales, and the actual take home pay is financially untenable. I am speaking from experience, I’m afraid. I worked in Framingham, MA as a server for two years, and made plenty enough money to afford rent that was more than twice what I pay here, not to mention other high costs that Memphians do not incur, such as no-fault auto insurance. When I came to Memphis, I was hired immediately by a very highly regarded and similar downtown Memphis restaurant. I thought I was going to starve! My average tip percentage plummeted from more than 20 percent to just over 11, along with the hourly dropping from the $8.00(!) per hour that is paid up there. I consider myself an excellent, professional quality server. But not anymore! Now I am an airline employee. Pardon the pun, but just wanted to give you some “food for thought”.
August 4th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
I think a person should be able to have a steak cooked the way requested. I will not go to O’Charley’s because they brought a charred burned steak.
My wife was entertaining a person she brought in to present that loved O’Charley’s, and I sat silently and seethed with a lump of charred up meat.
There is an expectation that a restaurant should get an order right in ingredients, quality cooking, and service.
August 4th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
While we are on the subject of steak, let’s start a discussion on the various fine dining restaurants in town that serve the same quality of beef from the same suppliers yet the prices vary among these establishments. I understand that the preparation, ingredients, and accompaniments are a factor in the price, but please, everyone in town is buying the same beef from Sysco, US Foods, or Buckhead Beef. Some of these restaurants claim to serve prime quality meat when in fact they are serving choice grades or lower. In previous years, only 3% of beef were graded out as prime. With the proliferation of steak houses opening in the past few years, even less is available now. Only 2% of cattle are graded out at USDA Prime now. Even the upscale steakhouse chains are guilty of false advertisement. My guess is that the local restauranteurs understand the fact that this is a meat and potatoes town and they can charge what they want for a steak when it’s the default choice on the menu for most folks.
August 4th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
Every supplier also sells various grades of beef. I doubt that O’Charley’s is purchasing the same grade of beef that Interim serves. Restaurateurs ( just a note:no n in the word as so many write–a pet peeve).
And the upscale chain restaurants are false in many ways. Flemings, for example, is an Outback steakhouse on steroids.
August 5th, 2007 at 8:36 am
I thought most of the local restaurants used Charlie’s Meat Market. I can remeber when there was one Hueys, and they bought their meat from John Gray & Sons Big Star.
August 5th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
And now John Gray & Sons Big Star is no longer in existence & there are Hueys all over town. Go figure. No wonder steaks cost so much in some restaurants if they aren’t buying from wholesalers.
On a recent trip to Carrabba’s w/a group of 12, we were charged an 18% gratuity due to the size of our party. There were several servers who brought food & drinks to the table & helped clear. Is the tip split among them all in that situation?
Brian, I feel bad that people have been so stingy w/their tips here. Does the recent increase in the “living wage” extend to restaurant servers or are they still allowed to only pay $2.30/hr. & expect the rest to be made up in tips? I’m certainly glad you were able to find a job w/an airline, hopefully one of the ones that isn’t also in financial distress!
47 comment.