BEST OF EVERYTHING WE HAVE THE LOWEST PRICES ANYWHERE OF TOP QUALITY CARRY-OUT DELI YOU CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE WITH OUR HOMEMADE GOODNESS! r S --- INNOMIIIIIIMAINIMIIIMIMIN111111101111121116111•111111 OFF! I* ON OUR -BEAUTIFUL ALREADY LOW-PRICED 1 * I MEAT OR DAIRY TRAYS With This Coupon 8* NUM • • Expires 430-90 Not Good On Holidays • mums • 10 Person Minimum I • One Per Person amii•sominmsolimos MB MEI MUNI • MN OM OE Ell IN 1111 WE MAKE ALL OUR FOOD ON OUR OWN PREMISES! • HOMEMADE COLE SLAW • HOMEMADE POTATO SALAD • HOMEMADE CHICKEN SALAD • HOMEMADE TUNA SALAD • HOMEMADE EGG SALAD I WE COOK OUR OWN CORNED BEEF & PASTRAMI OPEN 7 DAYS 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. I STAR DELI 24555 W. 12 MILE, Just West of Telegraph, Southfield 352-7377 Let Us Cater Your Next Affair *0, t*Rzt WINTER COUPON SPECIAL OFF 1000 ALL DINNER ENTREES FOR 2 With This Coupon Banquets and Private Rooms Accommodating 20-100...at no extra cost, including music OPEN 7 DAYS. MON.-FRI. LUNCH 11:30-2:30, DINNER SUN.-THURS. 440, FRI. & SAT. 4-11 CARD READING SAT. EVES. Since 1973 THE ORIGINAL IN ROSEDALE PARK 19220 Grand River Ave. 533 2910_1 - CUSTOM CATERING • Bar & Bat Mitzvahs • Weddings • All Receptions, • Showers • Open Houses Wedding, etc. TRAY CATERING FOR ALL OCCASIONS CALL ABOUT OUR TRADITIONAL PASSOVER MENU CARRY OUT & DELIVERY AVAILABLE pRinav MARN 1990 737-5190 32839 Northwestern Hwy. Tiffany Plaza Bet. 14 Mile Rd. St Middlebelt Rd. Farmington Hills Some Waitperson 'Don'ts' That Can Spoil A Meal DANNY RASKIN Local Columnist he essence of fine dining — as in any great experience — is often in the expectation of something special," writes Charles Bernstein in the Na- tion's Restaurant News. "But frequently the actuality falls far below our standards. "Perhaps our expectations are simply too high when we dine out," says Bernstein. "No matter how many times we might have been burned, we anticipate that this time everything will be almost perfect and don't allow for flaws with the food or ser- vice?' "Yet," he writes, "there are some things we feel simply should not happen or should happen another way. We'd bet that others agree. "Perhaps what occurs is simply a power struggle for control, with the waiter or waitress in effect vying with the customer from the begin- ning. It would be far better to at least have the customer feel an illusion of control. "It all starts when a person arrives at a restaurant, expec- ting an ideal or at least a half- decent location and is somehow seated next to the kitchen or in the path of all kinds of traffic. Worse still, the restaurant sometimes refuses to change the location no matter how politely one asks and no matter how many empty tables abound in other areas. "There is the propensity of the restaurant to offer so many daily specials that they overshadow the actual menu. If there are 17 menu items, there may be 20 specials. "This is most disconcerting — even more so when the waiter or waitress tries to read, or recite from memory, an endless array of specials, sometimes succeeding all too well. One is generally hard- pressed to remember an ap- petizer special and two entree specials in any specific detail from the whole list. "If the server is an aspiring actor or actress, he or she could enhance an acting career with the oral dramatizations of the specials . . . often a well-rehearsed, almost flawless performance. "How about the situation where the server can readily see that the customer is engaged in a conversation and barges in with 'Sorry to interrupt, sir, but would you like to hear the specials now?' Whatever the answer, the customer is not happy about the interruption. "Then there is the silly practice of managers and servers alike constantly ask- ing, 'Is everything OK?' or `We trust that the food and service are satisfactory.' Perhaps this is just another way of bucking for a big tip. But no doubt these questions are asked with the best of intentions. of surveys "Actual customers may make some sort of sense. But if a restaurant manager has to depend on patrons to tell him if the food is tasty, something is wrong somewhere. The manager should inherently know by tasting the food even if taste preferences do vary individually. most "Furthermore, customers are reluctant to say anything even if they are chafing at some grievances involving the restaurant. The typical response will be, `Everything is fine.' The manager learns nothing but in some cases succeeds in subtly annoying the customer. "Another bugaboo is that water is not served because of a (non-existent) water shor- tage. 'Everyone must save water,' the slogan goes. If the customer cl^ ,=!,n't specifically ask for it, he or she won't get it. "Then there is the server who tries to push the most ex- pensive liquor or the most ex- pensive dessert rather than the one the customer wants. Instead, the server em- phasizes the attributes of the most expensive item, much to the detriment of the customer. This overmerchan- dising differs from the perfect- ly acceptable suggestive mer- chandising, 'Would you care for dessert?' "Sometimes the problem is more basic. A waiter is simp- ly surly or glib — or complete- ly lacking in flexibility. It can drive a customer up a wall when a request to leave off the sauce receives this answer, 'This is the way it's served, and we can't vary it.' "Maybe the meal is served too fast or too slow. How about the server who maintains a fast pace throughout the meal, seeing that all the courses are served in rapid se- quence. But when the customer wants to order cof- fee or pay the bill, the server is nowhere to be seen for the next 10 minutes. "Then there is the credit card that drives customers crazy with separate spaces for the captain's and waiter's tips. Most people are com- pletely befuddled, although the intent is to obtain a higher overall tip. The discer- ning customer simply writes in a tip for the waiter, and it may even be less than 10 per- cent because of annoyance with the complex credit-card forms. "A restaurateur can never please everyone, but he or she surely can try a lot harder. When we search for explana- tions of declining customer It all starts when a person arrives at a restaurant, expecting an ideal or at least a half- decent location and is somehow seated next to the ' kitchen. counts at many restaurants, these gripes and resultant customer dissatisfaction are high on the list. "Restaurateurs must en- courage their staffs to outdo themselves in pleasing the customer and to equal or sur- pass expectations. The reward would be happy customers and repeat business. Disillu- sioned customers are not in- clined to return." TAKE A TIP . . . The next time you order a drink at a place you don't know, mix it yourself . . . Too many clips are done behind the bar and you wind up getting watered bar booze instead of the good stuff ordered and being paid for . . . Also don't be ashamed to check your tab, unless you like being clipped that way too. DRIVING HIS car across the country, Sam Kovens made it a practice to stop and eat at spots where big trucks were parked in front . . . "Those truck drivers;' he told his wife Selma, "know these roads in their sleep — and they've learned by experience where the best food can be gotten . . . At one place, however, the lead proved a bit , false . . . Despite the presence of four monster trucks in the parking space, the food serv- ed inside was quite bad . . . A