Bohemian San Francisco: Its restaurants and their most famous recipes—The elegant art of dining.Edwords, Clarence E. (Clarence Edgar)
History
Bohemian San Francisco: Its restaurants and their most famous recipes—The elegant art of dining.
Edwords, Clarence E. (Clarence Edgar)
Cooking; Hotels -- California -- San Francisco
"Whenever I go anywhere I find persons in humble situations who smile at
me and wish me well. I smile back and wish them well. It is because at
some time or other I have tipped them. To me the system has never been
an annoyance but a delightful opportunity for the exercise of tact and
judgment."
We look upon tipping as a part of expense to be calculated upon,
necessary to insure good service, not only now but in the future, and it
should always be computed in the expense of a trip or a dinner. Tipping,
to our minds, is the oil that makes the wheels of life run smoothly.
The amount of the tip is always a matter of individual judgment,
dependent upon the service rendered, and the way it is rendered. The
good traveler wants to tip properly, neither too little nor too much,
thereby getting the best service, for in the last analysis the pleasure
of a trip depends upon the service received. American prodigality and
asininity is responsible for much of the abuse of tipping. Too many
Americans when they travel desire to appear important and the only way
they can accomplish this is by buying the subserviency of menials who
laugh at them behind their backs.
A tip should always depend upon the service rendered. We make it a rule
to withhold the tip from a careless or inconsiderate waiter, and always
add to the tip a word of commendation when there has been extra good
service. The amount of the tip depends, first on the service, second on
the amount of the bill, and third, on the character of the place where
you are served. When we order a specially prepared dinner, with our
suggestions as to its composition and service, we tip the head waiter,
the chef, the waiter and the bus boy. We have given dinners where the
tips amounted to fully half as much as the dinner itself, and we felt
that this part of the expense brought us the greatest pleasure.
It is impossible to make a hard and fast rule regarding how much to give
a waiter. Each person must use his or her own judgment. If you are in a
foreign country you might do as we did on our first trip to Paris. We
wanted to do what was right but not what most Americans think is right
We were at a hotel where only French were usually guests, and in order
to do the right thing we took the proprietor into our confidence and
explained to him our dilemma. We asked him whom to tip and how much to
give, and he got us out of our difficulty and we found that the tips
amounted to about as much for one whole week as we had been held up for
in one day at the Waldorf-Astoria.
The Mythical Land
Notwithstanding the fact that Webster gives no recognition in his
dictionary to the Land of Bohemia or the occupants thereof, the land
exists, perhaps not in a material way, but certainly mentally. Some have
not the perception to see it; some know not the language that admits
entrance; some pass it by every day without understanding it. Yet it as
truly exists as any of the lands told of in our childhood fables and
fairy stories.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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