u/Life_Cantaloupe_6771

I once bought a book in a used bookstore. It was a hardback cookbook, fairly thick as I remember it. Maybe 2 or 3 inches thick. The title would not have had Hare Krishna in it, because I only noticed that connection when looking at the book in more detail. I want to know the title, because I like Indian food, but also because I remember it had a lot of recipes using chopped nuts as an ingredient to give a hearty texture.

I think the book must have been from the 1970s or early 80s.

Any idea of the title?

I dine out a lot. For that reason, I come across some questionable policies in restaurants. I want to vent, but also would love to hear what people in the restaurant industry think.

Maybe 7 or 8 years ago, we were on vacation in New Orleans. Our flight was leaving on a Tuesday afternoon, and since we had gone to N.O. precisely to eat and drink, we decided to have one last good meal for lunch before heading to the airport. We went to a French-style restaurant -- James Beard-award winning, not one of the old-line Creole restaurants.... Okay, it was Compere Lapin.

The dining room was almost empty for Tuesday lunch. We went whole hog. They should have appreciated that. We had two cocktails each (they were very inventive). We had an appetizer, entrees, and desert. Ran up a big check for lunch, but overall enjoyed the experience.

Except. The appetizer was something I don't remember the name of. It was sort of like fondue. Some melted cheese thingy served with medallions of baguette. We were out of bread before we finished the appetizer (the bread had one of those ginormous air bubbles -- it was almost crust only). We only needed a couple more pieces to finish. I asked the server if she could bring us a bit more bread. She just fixed me with a dead stare and finally said, "You want to order a side order of bread?" I said no. I didn't want a side order, just a couple of pieces to finish the cheese. Once again, she asked if I was intending to order a side of bread. I threw my hands up and said "Vat the Hell! Why not? Bring us a side order of bread!" Which she did. It was maybe a whole baguette. We ate two pieces and left the rest. It was $8 or something.

I get it. Someone here is going to say "restaurants are not in business to give out free food." But come on. We spent a lot of money on a lunch and they can't give us two effing pieces of bread? They probably threw away garbage bags-full of bread at the end of the day.

At another restaurant closer to home, where we ate weekly for years, the server once told us that they had a new dipping sauce to serve with different items, usually beef. Did I want the new one or my usual order? I asked if I could try a sample of the new sauce. Once again, the same blank stare, followed by "You want to place an order for the new sauce?" Nope. I guess not.

What gives? Reminds me of that scene from Five Easy Pieces about the toast.

I can go on. Why is it so hard to change tables in an empty restaurant? (This was the Rick Bayless place at Disneyworld.) It was 4:30 pm and there were dozens and dozens of empty tables of all sizes. They stuck us at a table with an industrial-strength air vent blowing down on me. My teeth were literally chattering. They eventually moved us, after servers and managers had a summit conference, with lots of head-scratching and staring at what I guess was a chart of tables. I don't need to see their process. Just put me at a different gd table!!

I got more complaints. But enough for now.