A Little More Upscale

A Little More Upscale

Maybe you’ve decided that a table near a window sounds better than a front seat near a windshield. It may be time to splurge on a nice dinner out.

It’s easy to find a nice sit-down restaurant without breaking the bank. Especially in a tough economy, restaurants will do almost anything to get your business. Lots of places offer a Restaurant Week menu all year. Take advantage of the early-bird special. You can have a fancy dinner at a much lower price.

Many restaurants are chain restaurants; this means they have restaurants of the same name and type in many towns or cities. At many places, you can call ahead and make a reservation, and they will save a table for you at a certain time. They’ll ask what time you’d like to eat, and how many will be in your party. Some restaurants won’t take a reservation. For those places, you check in at the hostess station when you arrive. The hostess will write down your name and call you when a table is free. Some very popular restaurants have a very long wait for a table. The hostess may give you a cool little gadget to hold while you wait in the bar or outside. When a table becomes available, the gadget buzzes and vibrates and little lights start flashing. (This can be very entertaining!) The flashing lights mean that your table is ready. The wait is no fun, but the little gadget sure is.

SERVER: Hi. Welcome to the Farkel Family Restaurant. I’ll be your server today. You’re just in time for our early-bird special, so you can choose from that menu or from the regular menu. Can I start you off with some appetizers and something to drink?

ALAN: I think I may have a beer. What do you have on draft?

SERVER: We have Statler Lite and Orange Cow on tap.

ALAN: What’s your house wine?

SERVER: The house red is a Napa Valley cabernet, and the house white is a chardonnay from Mendoza, Argentina.

ALAN: I’ll have a glass of cabernet.

SERVER: And for you, ma’am?

LIA: I’m driving so I’ll just have an OJ.

SERVER: Would you like any appetizers?

ALAN: No, I think we’ll just have the entree. I’ll have the filet mignon.

SERVER: Sure. How would you like it?

ALAN: I’d like it rare. And hold the mushrooms.

SERVER: And for you, ma’am?

LIA: I’ll have the seafood combination with rice.

SERVER: The dinner comes with a vegetable. What would you like?

ALAN: I’ll have broccoli and a side salad.

LIA: And I’ll have some sautéed onions with the seafood.