Grub Street recently got an advance copy of tip jar advocate Steve Dublanica's new book "Keep the Change: A Clueless Tipper’s Quest to Become the Guru of the Gratuity," which is chock full of rules for how to tip. Besides splitting tips for sushi chefs and tipping on buffets, Dublanica takes a look barista tipping trends. At Starbucks, one barista says a 50 cent tip is "really generous," while at Portland’s Ristretto, baristas expect to be tipped $1 a drink like a bartender. Unless they sneak Irish Coffee into that carboard cup, we'll stick to leaving our extra change. more ›

Ballpark Lanes is closing...but is it forever, or just for a while? A worried reader wrote to us last night about the 51-year-old bowling alley, bar and meeting place that faces the old Yankee Stadium: "Ballpark Lanes, is closing on Saturday due to a landlord dispute. Unfortunately that is all I know but I was there tonight before the game against the Orioles and heard it from the employees directly. Ballpark Lanes has been open since 1959, it's an institution, landmark, and beloved by New Yorkers for over a generation." However, we spoke to Ballpark Lanes and found out that's not the case. more ›

A resident of a "luxurious small building" facing Central Park got some lip over a holiday tip, and turned to the UrbanBaby message board for advice: "So, I gave my doormen/ porters and handyman 60 dollars bonus each (times 11) and to the super, 100 dollars. One of the doormen complained about his bonus, saying, 'I love the card, not so much the contents.' I couldn't believe it. I wonder how much everyone else gave this year." And so the agonizing debate over whom to tip and how much rages on! One proposed solution for this particular contretemps? Re-tipping and apologizing to the doorman. more ›

Jay-Z and Beyonce are spreading the wealth. The Daily News reports that the couple "ran up a $1,200 bill at the Upper East Side Italian restaurant Nello's last week" after savoring their Dom Perignon, white truffles and lobster salad. If they liked it so much why didn't they just put a ring on it! (Sorry.) They were so pleased with the service and food, however, that they dropped a $500 tip. That's over 40%! The News calls out another Nello's diner, a Russian billionaire, for being relatively stingy with a 15% tip of $7,328 tip on a $47,221.09 lunch. more ›

A little sleuthing by the Post has turned up about a dozen NYC restaurants which have been tacking a 15-20 percent gratuity onto the bill regardless of party size and without noting the policy on the menu. One disgruntled diner, Dazi Chen, tipped off the tabloid after finding a 20 percent "autograt" charge on his check at Midtown's Bombay Eats, where he dined with a friend. "I felt cheated and taken advantage of," Chen fumed. "They're trying to get double gratuity." It's illegal for restaurants to automatically charge a gratuity without notifying customers, and it must be a party of eight or more. But at the River Cafe in DUMBO, two diners from England recently discovered an unannounced 15 percent gratuity on a $400 check, even though the menu reads, "Gratuity and sales tax not included." A manager denies it, but it sounds like a case of tourist profiling by waiters, who always complain about paltry tips from foreigners. Check out the full list of restaurants angling for gratuitous gratuities here. more ›

It's that time of year again when everybody's looking for a handout, and those of us with means are expected to dole out extra cash to the help as thanks for simply doing their jobs. And just because this sucker's going down, that doesn't mean you're off the hook when it comes to holiday tipping, or so says the rich liberal elitist media. Despite citing surveys that at least 30% of respondents plan on tipping less (or zilch) because of the recession, the latte sippers at WABC insist "you've got to do your best to give something, particularly cash." more ›

Hey kids, you can forget all about that square old NYPD that used to bodyslam cyclists and racially profile. New York City’s now got a hip and stylish police department, with a commissioner who doesn’t need a warrant to kill roaches and a brand new text messaging tips system. OMFG LMFAO @ u 4 calling 911. more ›

Here’s a tip: the recession is screwing the service industry. Though it’s hard to quantify, the National Bartender Association says many bartenders are reporting a 30% drop in income thanks to smaller tips. The AP has a long report on the tip decline nationwide, while the Post talks to some local bartenders about the trend. Courtney Fox at the Meatpacking District’s Hog Pit says, "Now people are leaving you a dollar on $10, rather than two on whatever they gave." Come on, bros, Fox makes a slammin’ car bomb – don’t be cheap. Besides, she's totally vibing you! more ›

When restaurants charge larger parties an automatic service fee – usually 20% – it’s generally understood that the money goes to the servers as a gratuity. But some restaurants have been keeping the lion’s share of the fee and passing along just a small fraction to the staff. Now a state appeals court has ruled that the practice is as illegal as it is outrageous. more ›

New York City police commissioner Ray Kelly took a shot at the three men who hijacked a FedEx truck while posing as police by calling the case not so much an incident of police impersonation, as "criminal impersonation." The freight truck was found just hours after it was stolen with all of its contents intact. The robbers could not manage to open the locked containers in the trailer and just abandoned it in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The truck was boosted Thursday night on 47th St. and 11th Ave. when an SUV pulled in front of it and halted. The FedEx driver was forced into the car at gunpoint and driven around for a while before being dropped off in Williamsburg, Brooklyn at 1:30 am. more ›