Beer (menus) at upscale restaurants get no respect.

I agree with a lighter tip to a waiter that doesn't show much knowledge in a restaurant's offerings (drinks, specials: apps and entrees, desserts, etc.). However, if you were unimpressed with the waiter's reaction AND the others in your party knew you were a 'beer geek,' I would have simply gotten up from the table and approached the bartender for clarification (and then tipped him).

 

#firstworldproblems

if you want to know the answer to your question and the server doesn't have it, ask to speak with a manager. that's..... human interaction 101.

 

I can understand how you feel as I would probably slightly annoyed myself. I've noticed that many of the so called high end restaurants have not caught up with the world of high end craft beer. If the waiter wasn't so knowledgeable about beer, I would have insisted on seeing a lust. Even if he/she gets annoyed, it's our right as paying customers to demand good service. By the way, I'm from New York also. Out of curiosity, what restaurant was it?

 

I've run into a lot of upscale, old school restaurants that don't offer any decent craft beers and really push their wine selection. In this case though, it sounds like you just got a crappy waiter... which honestly shouldn't happen in an upscale place.

 

that might have needed to be added the Dangerfield as there are a few Rodneys in the world and not everyone would autmatically think of him... although I did.

 

This is not a big deal normally but for an upscale restaurant, this is nuts.

 

Quit going to upscale restaraunts, unless you like wine or AAL's. Also, that waiter should be fired.

 

Despite the absolute explosion that craft beer is still undergoing, it hasn't quite become as respected in upscale restaurants as it perhaps should. I'm of the belief that beer should command just as much respect as wine, and upscale restaurants would do well to hire a dedicated beer guy to curate a list just as they might have a sommelier, ideally the beer equivalent, cicerone.

I also think that in such an upper class setting where the waitstaff is usually very knowledgeable about the menu and winelist/liquor/cocktail offerings, I should be able to expect them to at least know what is on tap/in bottles and ideally be able to describe the offerings.

That said, beer is very much viewed as a working man's blue collar beverage from the perspective of many in the upper crust, and in many ways it still really is. It will be some time, I think, before so-called "classy" restaurants outside of beer-centric cities (Portland, San Diego, etc.) really adopt craft beer as a genuine alternative to wine, neat liquor, and cocktails.

 

Went to a Biaggi's Italian Restaurant last night and a full page of menu was devoted to wine, another section of menu devoted to "Craft" cocktails and desert drinks. NO MENTION OF BEER ANYWHERE. I had to ask the waitress and she rattled off the 4 taps they had (one was Surly Furious) so I stopped her and ordered a Furious. I base my dining choices greatly on the beer that is served, I couldn't give a flying phuck about wine and craft cocktails. Definitely NO RESPECT.

 

Perhaps they figured people would miss the "no respect" line since it's so hard to get past the idea of a restaurant having a good beer list and keeping its particulars secret until the end of the meal, which just seems bonkers.

 

Being a beer drinker means you can't love wine?

Personally I agree that there are few non-Belgian beers that pair well with steak or seafood. I can see why restaurants assume guests will ask for wine. You need high alcohol and/or high acidity when paired with food, huge hops, huge roast or huge sweetness is a detriment when pairing with food. The culture is what it is we aren't at a Belgian bistro.

 

Kind of this...

I would have spoken to the manager about three things.

The beer selection, the waiter, and the mandatory gratuity.

 

Let's see:
1) you could've gone and asked the bartender
or
2) you could've asked to speak with the manager
You seem like the type that would walk out on your friends if they invited you to dinner and the place didn't serve 95+ rated beer on every tap handle. Get over yourself.

 

Vote with your wallet.

 

I think Anchor Steam is a great all around choice for pairing with food.

Is it just me or is it embarrassing when beer people pair FBS, Bigfoot, Thomas Hardy's, or something along these lines with a good dinner?

It's generally accepted that sweet spirits and dessert wines come after the meal, beer doesn't defy culinary science.

,**But yeah, the restaurant should not have put the beer list on the dessert menu

 

Mandatory gratuity is always involved when it comes to larger parties because the tables don't turnover nearly as often. A party of 9 would usually take up 2-3 tables and turnover only once, when those tables by themselves would probably turnover 2-3 times in the same amount of time. Therefore the waiter(s) are losing out on a possible tip from 5-9 different tickets as opposed to one. Also, one or a handful of people complaining about the beer selection isn't going to win you any points at any restaurant, regardless of whether you're talking to the manager or not and isn't going to change the way they do business. It just makes you sound like an egocentric prick trying to tell them how to run their business, when they've been successful for a number of years already.