An Open Letter

Dear Vice Versa,

It all started so nicely, I thought. I first saw your listing on New York's website, with that little red check promising, well, some kind of recommendation at least. You know how hard it is to find a good, affordable restaurant in midtown, and here you were in the Theater District no less. Normally, I'd never even go near any of those places on the side streets between 8th and 9th Avenue; life's too short for one more red-sauced plate of ziti. But you, you looked different.

My friends and I walked inside, and you were different. Elegant, but still casual, with comfortable chairs and just the right amount of dim lighting. A spacious bar, music not too loud. In a matter of seconds, I took all of you in and I started to feel something a little bit special about you. Like, could you maybe be that hidden gem?

We got a table right away and were given ice water, without ice cubes, which - well, slay me right here and now - was such a nice detail that I almost decided to give the waiter a hug. Vice Versa, you were getting me, you really were. Then the butter, a perfect little rectangle that was unsalted (yes!), cultured (yes!), and totally fresh (impossible!). Do you know how much I usually hate restaurant butter that inevitably tastes of the fridge? And half the time is salted? Hate, hate, hate. Best of all, when we opened our menus, I was confronted with a conundrum I haven't had in a very long time: Literally not knowing what to order because too many things sounded like just the thing I'd want to have for dinner. Maybe I'm picky or maybe I'm just a pain, but that hardly ever happens, really.

All of this to say that within the first 10 minutes of coming inside, I was thoroughly, totally impressed and maybe even a little surprised. I hadn't expected something this good. We even had a charming waiter. (And nice bathrooms!) Vice Versa, could it all be too good to be true? I didn't even ask myself that, I was too busy digging my cold, iceless water, and my crusty little roll with clean-tasting butter, and the fact that I liked the music playing but could still have a conversation with my friends, and that there was an outdoor garden for upcoming summer months, and most importantly perhaps, that I could smell - faintly - the food from the neighboring tables and everything smelled...right.

I ordered spaghetti alla chitarra with jumbo lump crab. It came a little too quickly for my taste, but I didn't really care about that. We were hungry, after all. I could tell, as I chewed, that the spaghetti were homemade. They were perfectly cooked, just right. Those spaghetti could give the the cooks at Otto a lesson about texture and, man, do I wish they would. The crab was sweet and fresh and it was just the right amount, little shreds and bigger lumps among a good tomato sauce studded with small pieces of olives that added just the right amount of briny balance. It was a meal that I could have been eating by the beach in Pesaro, which is saying quite a bit, I think you know. I was happy, already thinking of the times I'd come back, bringing Ben and friends and ordering all the other things on the menu that sounded delicious. My friends Ron and Dave ate their rigatoni with tiny lamb meatballs with gusto and all was right with the world.

And then it all came to somewhat of a screeching halt. I hate to be so abrupt, but it really was a bit of a shock. I couldn't entirely finish my plate and left a small tangle of spaghetti in the plate, as Ron and Dave were finishing up. Dave was wiping a slip of sauce up with his bread when a busboy grabbed my plate, without asking, I might add, and then loudly started piling my bread plate and my silverware on top of the dinner plate, right there, tableside. Now, far worse than bad butter at the table is when a waiter clears one diner's plate before her companions are finished. I think this is the rudest, most annoying thing that can happen in a restaurant. I hate to be a pedant about it, but come on. Seriously? Are your dishwashers that impatient to get going on my plate? We'd hardly been sitting at our table for more than 20 minutes and it's not like there were people waiting at the door. And anyway, that's beside the point. You're a classy place, so clear our plates when everyone is done, please. Is that so hard?

Sadly, Vice Versa, it gets worse. Dave was still working on his plate, bread in hand, when the busboy moved to his side of the table, and Took His Plate Away. While Dave Was Still Eating. Obviously Still Eating. Bread In Hand. Dude. Vice Versa. This is Not Cool. Not cool at all. Dave, because he is a prince and a gentleman, gently dropped his bread into the plate, now hovering over the table and let the busboy get away with it. But I sat on the other side of the table and fumed. Suddenly we had a few more men clearing our table, as if there was a house on fire somewhere and we had to evacuate the premises immediately. Vice Versa, what was the rush? I really wish I knew. Our original waiter came by with dessert menus, oblivious to the rude ending of our meal. We declined to order dessert or coffee and got a distinctly haughty response. Was it something we did? Or said? I'm so confused.

Vice Versa, I was loving you, I really was. And then you made it so hard for me to keep loving you. I want to come back and get to know you better, and maybe I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, because it's not really fair to judge you on one visit, I know. But I won't let down my guard so fast next time. Now you've got something to prove.

Hopefully,
Luisa

Comments

[gemma]

I think you just hit on about 4 of my most serious issues with food in this city. 1. What is the deal with awful pasta at Otto? I always recommend that place for their antipasti and pizza but tell everyone to stay away from the pasta. 2. That theater district area is so appalling for food but we recently came across a bit of a gem (Roberto Passon) and had a great experience. 3. Why does this country insist on ice in the water? 4. My BIGGEST pet peeve is people clearing plates before everyone is finished - If they ever start clearing seb's plate before I have finished he tells the waiter that he still needs his plate.... even though it has been licked clean. I think that is why I love him so much x

[Jessika]

Didn't contemplate calling to complain? Or maybe you don't do that with restaurants in NYC?

[judi0044]

I believe it's all a matter of training. If the businesses do not spend the time with their employees, especially servers who will interact with the public it's a reflection on the business ... and my willingness to recommend it to others. I don't expect my plate to be removed until I have placed my utensils on the plate (usually turned over) and my hands in my lap.

[amy]

GAAH! that is not cool. i was willing to overlook the "take my plate before everyone is done" but not the "i still have my fork in my hand and i am CHEWING and you take me place?".
heartbreaking.

ps: i made your potato focaccia the other day. have i told you it's awesome and you rock? because it's true!

[Christine]

I definitely agree with you that plates being cleared before everyone is finished is the height of rudeness. But why not tell the waiter (or the hostess on your way out) about your experience?

[jenny]

sad. very sad. reminds me of my favorite thai place in boston. still my favorite place (have yet to meet a dish there that I don't like, or that I like more elsewhere), but the servers have a way of hovering and whisking that always grates. I have tried avoiding eye contact when they swoop in. I have tried picking up my fork again to scrape at errants bits of sauce--just to throw them off the scent, you know? but I agree--even when you can fend them off, it still detracts from the experience. at least no one's removed my plate in mid-bite, though. yikes.

[Rivka]

Have to agree with Christine above; the busboys' behavior was unfortunate, but unless you speak up, you can't really fault the restaurant with anything but poor busboy training. First, speak up to the busboy. There's nothing wrong with saying, "excuse me, I'm not finished." I have had to do it on occasion, and usually, I get an embarrassed "I'm so sorry" from the busboy. If you don't want to say something in the moment, it really is your loss -- literally -- because the food you're paying for goes to waste. At the very least, say something to the waiter afterward. Remember, in most restaurants, busboys get a cut of the waiter's tip, so the waiter has an expressed interest in the busboy doing his job well. In a city teeming with expensive but crappy joints, don't throw your hands up about what seems to be a hidden gem until you've at least given them a fair shot at correcting their behavior.

[Berk]

Luisa, I have read your blog for years now, admiring your work, but haven't ever posted a comment sadly to tell you how much I appreciate it!

But this post made me have to comment- this type of service is my biggest pet peeve with restaurants. It is atrociously rude, and can ruin a lovely dining experience. Your situation seems unusually abrupt and rude, sorry you were so unlucky!

[Eliza]

Giant bummer, dang! I'm a server and it's a huge pet peeve of mine, too. I have to second Rivka's comment above, though: you've got to just say "We're not finished yet" (although you have every right to be annoyed at having to say so) thus saving yourself from the tragedy that is watching your friend's lovely crust of bread and its perfect sopping-up sauce float away to dish oblivion.

[Juli]

yeah dude just speak up. if i was there, i would have said, "He's not done yet!!!!" If I pay for the food I sure as hell am going to finish it if I want to.

[Luisa]

"Our original waiter came by with dessert menus, oblivious to the rude ending of our meal."

Folks, what about this sentence makes you think that we didn't say something?

[Dave]

So did you say something to the waiter? You didn't write that you had. I didn't get the impression from your piece that you complained. If so, what was the waiter's response? (Because until your comment I was going to write that I agree w/those above saying that you need to let the waiter and/or manager know. If they do nothing then you have every reason to fault them for inexcusable behavior.)

[EB]

That's always the rub isn't it? Crappy service can ruin a truly stellar meal... and an 'ok' meal can be made wonderful by fantastic service.

[Jessika]

I didn't get the sense you had complained either. If so, then it truly sucks.

[Neen]

Yeah, waiting with anticipation here. Did you comment to the waiter or to the busboy?

[Honeybee]

Having read your post I was under the impression that you hadn't complained. So now I'm really intrigued. What did they say?

[Robin]

Because I eat slowly (and, um, talk a lot) I am often still eating when my family's plates have been cleared. I once had a waitress ask me twice if I had finished when I obviously had not; she then came up and asked again AS I WAS PUTTING ANOTHER FORKFUL OF FOOD INTO MY MOUTH. I put my fork down and silently (I was CHEWING, after all) handed her the plate, and then SHE acted insulted for the rest of the meal. Sorry to vent, but it left me feeling very uncomfortable and I have not quite gotten over it. The restaurant was half-full, so it isn't as if we were lingering for hours while others waited (like those loud jerks I sat next to at Westville last month, which, don't get me started on them).

On a happier note, you make Vice Versa sound very appealing for anyone willing to guard her plate with sharp elbows, the way my grandma does!

[alicia]

Someone on a busboy's salary may not have many opportunities to partake of the restaurant experience from the customer's perspective.

Therefore, it's possible that this person was being what he saw as super-conscientious and efficient.

The busboy may also be juggling more than one job etc., jobs in which he may have become accustomed to being treated as "invisible," and, therefore, may have just been in overdrive mode and oblivious to the fact that he was doing anything rude.

If he wasn't obviously a jerk, why not just have pointed out to him in a friendly manner that you all were still enjoying your meal and that, alas, the tableware itself was an essential component of that so no, thank you very much for being so efficient, he could not take it.

[FlaNboyantEats]

I'll be in NYC on Friday. You've intrigued me to poke my head in and check it out; if nothing else to see how other diner's are treated...

ice in water--my first first first request when ordering. NO ICE, PLEASE! And, that's repeated numerous times until the server comes back slightly annoyed because HE/SHE didn't get it right the first time.

What happened to asking if you were done or atleast "may I" and then proceed about your business. Rudeness never prevails. VV might suffer from this review!

[LyB]

You should NEVER have to tell the busboy, waiter, etc, that you are not finished with your plate. When I was a kid my parents owned a diner-style restaurant, nothing fancy, and the first thing they taught me when I started waiting tables, was to wait until the client had finished COMPLETELY and had set his utensils in his/her plate and then ASK if they had finished, had a nice meal, etc, before taking the plate away. You should not have to complain about this, it's one of the cardinal rules of any kind of business, the client is always right.

[Sam B]

I'll usually guard my plate, and add the comment: "NOT until the lady is finished, please". We had a discussion with a wonderful waitress once about this issue, and she claimed that some people are rude about finished plates NOT being removed immediately.
Better restaurants seem to let 'em lie, lower end and chains want them back ASAP.