Google says 9th street … and I will take note.
We will give concerts on Tue 28 Oct in Annapolis,
and
Thur 30 Oct in Washington DC -
… just in case.
Yes, 1914 9th St. NW. Not typing carefully…
You might also consider Bistro Francais in Georgetown. Pretty extensive wine list and usually some at better than typical restaurant prices. http://www.bistrofrancaisdc.com
I never understand the concept that the cost of the service is based on the cost of the materials being purchased. While most common in food service, I have run into this recently as we are starting to plan a kitchen remodel and the first few designers my wife talked to told her that they don’t charge any fee for their work directly, instead they charge a percentage (that they will not disclose) on top of the cost of countertops and appliances that you choose. So those that want higher end products pay more for the deisgn work. I don’t like it but have been told that is the way they all work in this area.
We don´t know yet how much time we will have at all for such things … but I will save all hints - thanks.
That sounds like they are acting simply like a kitchen-shop … earning the difference between purchase and selling price … just a bit more for the design.
Back to restaurants: I wonder what will happen if you don´t tip at all … and there´s no service charge on the bill either ? (and you know you´ll never come back …) ![[wow.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/7/7d450e9830889c8943b674446a21b7254cad657e.gif "wow"){kind=small}
I guess you are not obliged to tip, it´s just a widely common and agreed practice … however illogical it is.
This notion of a windfall for the service staff strikes me as unprincipled, because it could just as easily be applied to food:
Cost of two sides, soup, an appetizer, and a steak salad: $70 + 20% gratuity
Cost of Wagyu steak: $100 + 20% gratuity
Relative difficulty for waitstaff and kitchen?
Assuming equally exceptional service by the staff, you could run these scenarios at every meal in trying to identify a proper tip. How many people do that?
Nobody here has offered a rationale why the rules suddenly change for wine because the staff does not “deserve” a lock-scale tip for a high-priced bottle. This sounds an awful lot like “I want to buy the $100 steak rather than the $40 steak, but I don’t want to pay $120 for my steak.”
I’m not saying the US compensation model makes sense. But until the restaurant industry changes, I don’t see any basis for distinguishing wine service from the ordinary tipping scheme other than the fact that people don’t want to pay the bill.
By the way, you might consider that the “bonanza” to the service staff is averaged out. That staff probably relies on a few high-tab tables to pull even against the jerks who skimp on tipping generally. Also, the staff probably worked very hard for several hours and each took home perhaps an extra $5 to $10 because you decided to drink a nice bottle of wine and tip on the full bill. You might consider that the next time you’re eyeballing the Monte Bello on the menu and worrying about a windfall to the people who will be waiting on you for two hours.
I’m going back a few years, but I was personally approached by the manager of a well respected upscale restaurant in Chicago when we left a small tip on what was absolutely horrible service. And it wasn’t I’m sorry sir what can we do to be better, but was confrontational.
More recently, also in Chicago in a not so upscale restaurant, think burger and beer (but still a nice place) I saw a server run out the door to catch up with a diner who stiffed her on the tip, demanding to know why.
As far as I know, this only happens for large groups. Some places do it for 6 or more, some for 8 or more.
A party of 2 or 4, I’ve never seen it.
Plus 1
tip on total
BUT there is very little chance of me buying a $500 bottle from the list unless it is priced nearly at retail. Even then it would take a remarkable occasion.
Even though I object to the tipping culture in the U.S., my brother is in the restaurant biz and I have followed his struggles for years.
The only circumstance in which I would ever spend $500 on a bottle in a restaurant is if $500 is less than the retail cost. In those circumstances the tip is best considered a necessary transaction cost like tax or shipping (but 25%? no way). If the $500 bottle were at a typical 300% retail markup I would never buy it, but as others have pointed out, anyone who doesn’t mind spending $500 for a ~$165 bottle of wine should also be OK spending $575-$600 for it.
Good for you on leaving a small tip for bad service. Part of the problem is that people feel shamed into tipping well even when the service doesn’t warrant it. If I know the service is obviously bad (not counting when things seem to go wrong that I can’t pinpoint whether it is my servers fault or not) I leave a lousy tip. And I am happy to tell them why if they ask.
As to the main question, I tip on the whole bill at the regular rate. If I can afford the bottle, I should pony up for the tip. Talking about a “windfall” for the waiter strikes me as a pretty lame justification to keep money in one’s own pocket.
if we were truly helped by a Somm who takes real time helping choose the wine, dealing with a possibly hard to extract cork, decanting, the Somm earns & deserves a tip. The $50 suggestion above seems very appropriate.
Perhaps it’s a European perspective Michel.
Why does somebody deserve $150 from you, when they are doing the exactly same thing at the next table for $15 - we just don’t understand…
I guess we generally have more of a paying ‘x’ for a job mentality, and simply doing a job is not actually classed as ‘service’ in Europe - that’s about attitude and delivery…
In Europe the price would include the service. You’re still paying it, you just don’t see it broken out. Like VAT.
Michael
A fair point Michael, but service, in many (most?) instances is ‘optional’ and can be removed by request - assuming bad service I expect - though VAT is of-course unavoidable tax, and not going to the waiting staff for doing a particular task…
So you’re saying that restaurants build in a set amount of service per bottle (instead of as a percentage)? I haven’t eaten in Europe in years, but I always thought it was percentage based like in the US, the only difference being who applies the percentage and when.
Michael
I never said that Michael.
Restaurants charging 2-6x retail is completely different discussion - but then at least I know the wait-staff are getting paid - tip or no tip 
‘Service’ here is significantly a discretionary payment based on exactly that, service - I address only the service element. As for ‘built-in’ cost. I suppost corkage could be a rough guide, and in much of France (I can’t vouch for Michelin restaurants!) you will pay €10-20 per bottle (not affected by bottle value) - of-course in such cases, you are much more likely to be more generous with a gratuity - though still assuming ‘good service’…
The American system of tipping is absurd and should be done away with entirely, or rather, the tip should reflect, if earned, a bonus for good work, rather than a amount that is “owed” based upon pre-ordained ideas of generosity, value, and effort. The reality is that those three factors can vary wildly and the idea that a tip is a calculus based upon those concepts but must somehow also be “right” (both morally right and correct) is silly. But I also think that those are the factors we are supposed to use in order to compensate service personnel in our system.
In day-to-day life I suspect most of us tip 20-25%, those numbers are easy to calculate and can be swung a bit by quality of service and the overall experience. Even poor service is unlikely to receive less than 20% unless it’s quite bad.
However, the service provided in delivering and pouring a $500 bottle vs. a $25 is typically quite similar to slightly more involved. I just can’t see that the value I receive or the work that the server does goes up by much. That leaves only generosity as an explanation for tipping more. It is more generous of you to reward the server more for the more expensive bottle. This is also true of an expensive steak vs. a simpler dish, but I feel that there is something disingenuous with that argument. We assume that food service requires a certain level of involvement and we tip accordingly.
In any case, it seems that there are a lot of complicated considerations that we all put into this. At least we do so in these conversations, regardless of whether or not we consider this when filling out our payment slip. I find it intriguing that so may take the moral high ground on this, claiming that it is “simple” or “right” or otherwise implying that there is no other acceptable decision. It seems to me that there are many ways that this can be looked at and many ways that the situation could be handled without the purchaser needing to feel as if they suffer from some moral failing because they chose not to tip $100-125 on a bottle of wine. Clearly many here think otherwise.
In Europe (at least in Austria, Germany, France …) the waiter earns a fixed minimum monthly income - even if there are no guests at all the whole day (incl. social insurance and the taxes already deduced).
These service costs are included in the prices of food and beverages … usually not shown at all on the bill.
So any tip is simply a reward for good, excellent, great service … and for me the amount depends very much on the quality … if it´s lousy I might not tip at all, if it´s great I´ll give 10, 15, even 20% … (but not if very expensive bottles are involved which is rarely the case). If I bring my own I tip very generously …
Wait - we’re supposed to tip on the tax?
At least if those of us who “refuse” to tip on the tax nonetheless tip 20% on the pre-tax, then we’re better tippers than those tipping 15% on the bottom line!
As to the poll question, I’d be inclined to tip 15% on the total (pre-tax) bill, rather than my customary 20%.
Although my favorite kind of dinner out is a waived corkage (or two) and a 30-40% tip to compensate.