September 17, 2008
LI Restaurants May Have to Reveal Prices of Specials
Long Island waiters who provide a tantalizing description of the daily specials while omitting such vulgar details as price may have to change up their patter if a proposed law in Nassau County gets passed. Of course, resistance is coming from the New York Restaurant Association, which in recent years has failed to block regulations on calorie info and bans on artificial trans fat. The executive vice president of the group maintains, "It’s good business to give the prices, but it’s beyond the purview of a legislative body to get that far into managing restaurants." But Harvey B. Levinson, a champion of the proposal, tells the Times: "I’m sure that at one time or another you have been enticed by a waiter or waitress into ordering the special of the day, only to discover that it was really the price that was special."
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Wow, is this how conflict-averse and cowardly the modern world has become? Just ask. If they can't, won't, or don't tell you and you're watching your money, order something else.
My gut feeling is that people who are cheap (and mind you, cheap is not the same thing as cash-strapped...) are sick of having this unfortunate character trait exposed whenever they dine with others and can't bear the thought of passing up the soft shell crab special.
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How about making cell phone and cable companies reveal the real price after the six or 12 month special deal is over?
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just.ask
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I went to a restaurant in chicago that shall remain unnamed and they had an "off-menu" baked clam dish that included shrimp. The clams themselves on the menu were $12.00 but the "special" with 5 extra shrimp came to $27.00. We think it was mob run so we didn't really make a fuss.
That said, everything should be printed, clearly, on the frekking menu.
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I'll have the spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, baked beans and spam.
[cue vikings]
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Grow some fucking balls and ask how much the specials cost before you order.
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Gotta agree with the Restaurant Association on this one. It's just ridiculous for the government at any level to get involved in this kind of stuff. We shouldn't, and really can't, legislate common sense. If the price matters to you, do you really need Big Government helping you find out what it is?
Just ask.
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We did fucking ask. He said there wasn't much difference. The difference was that there was 3 dollar shrimp. The other did not have 3 dollar a piece shrimp.
Always list your prices. They do that at the grocery store, they should do that at restaurants.
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I always wonder why do restaurants never list the price of drinks on the menu?
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i'm actually more inclined to get the special when they tell me the price...
Asking shouldn't be an issue but I could see how asking for the price of the special could make or break a first date.
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"We did fucking ask. He said there wasn't much difference.
OK, I'll rephrase my advice: fucking ask the price, and then wait for a direct answer to your question.
The answer to "how much is the special?" should contain a price. "There isn't much difference" isn't an answer to that question.
Oh yeah, and if you're concerned about prices and you add on extras, it's not a bad idea to ask how much they are also.