Ask The Salty Waitress: How should I respond when people throw measly change in my tip jar?
Dear Salty: I work at a neighborhood grill (hot dogs, burgers) where customers walk up and order at the counter. A lot…
The Salty Waitress
Salty Waitress is The Takeout’s advice column from a real-life waitress that will teach you how not to behave like a garbage person while dining out—and maybe in real life.
Ask The Salty Waitress: How do I keep my food from getting tossed while I’m in the bathroom?
Dear Salty Waitress: I enjoy eating by myself at restaurants with a book. Depending on portion sizes, often I’ll eat…
Ask The Salty Waitress: How can I get rid of lingering customers who hang out for hours?
Dear Salty Waitress: I have noticed two alarming trends in the restaurant in which I work. The first is people having…
Ask The Salty Waitress: Is it rude to ask the server to throw away my trash?
Dear Salty: I have a friend—an old-school entitled Republican reprobate—who insists on bringing his morning junk mail…
Ask The Salty Waitress: My family is way underdressed for this restaurant—should we leave?
Dear Salty: My wife and I were recently shopping in a neighboring city with our 2-year-old. It was getting to be…
Ask The Salty Waitress: Should I tip my barista for a cup of coffee?
Dear Salty, there’s a coffeeshop between my train stop and my office, and I get a black coffee there most mornings. I…
Ask The Salty Waitress: What can I do when I’m being rushed through a meal?
Dear Salty: A while back, my spouse and I made reservations at an upscale restaurant. It was a holiday, so they had two…
Ask The Salty Waitress: Do chefs hate my well-done burger request?
Hey Salty, I live in a foodie-friendly city that allows my burger-loving heart (philosophically, not physically) to try…
Ask The Salty Waitress: Should I cut servers slack if they’re working on a holiday?
Dear Salty: On Father’s Day, we took my dad to one of his favorite restaurants. It is a local place that usually has…
Ask The Salty Waitress: Am I abusing the system if I order a brewery’s burger special, but no beer?
Dear Salty Waitress: There’s a brewery nearby that has great food. I’m a non-drinker, but I still like going there for…
Ask The Salty Waitress: How obnoxious is my litany of food questions?
Dear Salty, I generally have a difficult time deciding on what I’d like to have when I go out. (Everything looks so…
Ask The Salty Waitress: What do I do when a server presents my wine?
Dear Salty: I like wine, but I’m no expert. Somehow though, I always get stuck being the one to order wine for my…
Ask The Salty Waitress: How much should I tip at a buffet?
Dear Salty: A few years ago, friends and I ate at a buffet, and at the end of the meal, the server who’d brought our…
Ask The Salty Waitress: What can I do about super-loud kids and their oblivious parents?
Dear Salty: Yesterday we decided to go out to dinner at a nice sushi place we have frequented before. We were promptly…
Ask The Salty Waitress: How to handle it when diners fight over the bill
Congratulations, Salty readers. Because I received two questions that were related, you’re treated to a two-fer column…
Ask The Salty Waitress: Any tips on ordering lunch for the office?
Dear Salty Waitress,
