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 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Serious question for Dakkanauts that do, or have previously, waited tables in the USA. And it’s to do with tipping.

I’m happy to tip, and understand the NYC average is around 15%-25% - though naturally that will be upped on Independence Day.

But, are tips typically preferred in cash, or an addition to a card payment?

And given the tip is for my server, and not their boss, are there any companies known to skim the tips from their staff, because I’d like to avoid such where possible.

Cash is better, at least down here, although both will be taken.

More or less what I was thinking. I guess that way they get the tips quicker, if not instantly.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
More or less what I was thinking. I guess that way they get the tips quicker, if not instantly.

Card or cash they get the money at the end of the night...but some servers might forget (hint,hint) to pay taxes on their cash tips at the end of the night

But is that not the whole point of cash in hand?



And given those working in such jobs likely aren’t especially well off? Fair enough, I say.

 Chute82 wrote:

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
More or less what I was thinking. I guess that way they get the tips quicker, if not instantly.

Card or cash they get the money at the end of the night...but some servers might forget (hint,hint) to pay taxes on their cash tips at the end of the night

Exactly.

Odd question....

Can anyone else access Dave & Busters website? I keep getting a Proxy IP warning and bounced?

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Odd question....

Can anyone else access Dave & Busters website? I keep getting a Proxy IP warning and bounced?

It works ok for me, but it does seem to want to use GEOIP and determine your location, so a non US IP might throw it for a loop, although I don't see why...

Ah fair enough

Was mostly just looking to suss out their menu, but I can do that via Google Images to some degree.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Ah fair enough

Was mostly just looking to suss out their menu, but I can do that via Google Images to some degree.

Maybe a direct link might work better? Not really sure how their janky website works...

Same issue :(

Must be a region block of some kind!

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Same issue :(

Must be a region block of some kind!

Stupid java-based sites.

I downloaded it and put it up on free hosting site, hopefully that works for you.

You’re a star!

Huh blocked for me too, I guess no one from a foreign country ever wanted to visit.

Ever.

www.daveandbusters.com -

Access Denied
Error code 16

This request was blocked by the security rules
2019-10-10 19:12:19 UTC

Your IP41.233.249.237
|Proxy IP149.126.73.187(ID 10197)

Incident ID: 197003040465186568-686398287162708742

They’re likely unaware. But being a US company, and kinda niche in their way, it’s understandable.

Nine days is a long time, long enough to basically do some of everything. Depending on your pace and how interested you are in relaxing, you'll have time to do two substantial tourist things a day. make sure to hit some history, some fine art, some broadway, some off broadway/avante garde, some fine dining, and then go nuts with ethnic foods.

You have enough meals that you'll have time to sample our amazing fast food. As for what fast food is worth trying... I'd actually stay away from the Fast Casual chains (chipotle, Five Guys, etc) because while they are objectively superior to fast food, local restaurants do what they do better, especially in NYC. I mean, why eat Panda Express when you can get real bulletproof Chinese, or why eat Five Guys when Brooklyn is the home of the hipster burger.

You want to eat nasty US fast food that is nasty US fast food. I humbly suggest the following:
White Castle: not really a burger place, they make tiny, steamed beef sliders. I wouldn't say they're great, but it's a really interesting experience, and they're one of the oldest fast food chains in the world.
Taco Bell: It's just so very, very much. The food is better than it's reputation (which isn't hard), but in the realm of "how many ways can we combine cheese, starch, and meat?" it does it without too much grease.
Checkers: Do you want bacon ranch cheese fries, and a burger they call only "Baconzilla?" Hell yes you do. do you want a lifetime's worth of saturated fat and sodium in a single meal? Damn straight. Checkers is the Fast Food place that that revels in being over the top and disgustingly good.
McDonald's: I guess, do this if you want to compare it to the British version?

All of the above have NYC locations, and I think really hit the spot of being not just Fast Food, but distinctly American Fast Food.

Silly me.

Too caught up in the overall dollop of Americana I’m in for, I clean forgot to enquire what foods might be quintessentially New York.

To my uncultured, fed on too much TV mind, I’ve basically got Pretzels, Bagel, Salt Beef and.....that’s about it!

Any particular dishes etc peeps can share? I mean, not literally. I’d no more take the food off your plate than, I dunno, stuff a badger up my bum. It’s simply unthinkable.

Pizza. New York pizza, mind you, not some deep-dish or something.

not sure if it was mentioned before but if you're going to NYC, I highly recommend visiting Katz's Deli. Bring a lot of cash and an empty belly.

Also if you like Italian food besides pizza & spagetti, there's lots of great restaurants in Little Italy (and also China Town is like 1 block over). On weekends they shut the street down in little italy so you can walk around and all the restaurants set up tables outside and stuff.

 H wrote:
Pizza. New York pizza, mind you, not some deep-dish or something.

This. New York style pizza.

Also, hot dogs. What to put on them might be hotly debated, but you need a dog.

 Nevelon wrote:
This. New York style pizza.

Yeah, now, if you ask 10 people, you'll probably get at least 11 answers on what the "best pizza" is in the city.

I actually have no idea what the answer is, I didn't eat at nearly enough places to even guess.

I did really like the pies at John's Pizza on West 44th, brick oven, relatively thin crust, was really nice and tasted very fresh. We got it topped with fresh basil. That's not really "quintessential" NY pizza, but was damn good to me the couple times I went.

I'm sure someone else can give you another spot that is a bit more "fundamentally" NY pizza, if we went into the city back then, it wasn't to pop into a little pizza place though, so I'd never have known.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Silly me.

Too caught up in the overall dollop of Americana I’m in for, I clean forgot to enquire what foods might be quintessentially New York.

To my uncultured, fed on too much TV mind, I’ve basically got Pretzels, Bagel, Salt Beef and.....that’s about it!

Any particular dishes etc peeps can share? I mean, not literally. I’d no more take the food off your plate than, I dunno, stuff a badger up my bum. It’s simply unthinkable.

Pizza, bagels and shmear, egg creams, delis in general, kabobs, street venders, hot dogs, Italian, Chinese, cronuts and cheesecake. Don't ask them to toast your bagel, and never ever let them see you putting butter on a bagel. People who put butter on bagels get what they deserve.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Ask for the original Original Ray's pizza.

 Elbows wrote:
Chick Fil-A: The best chicken in the fastfood game, with the best service. If you boycott them because the owner practices a religion you don't like...you've got other issues that need addressing.

That isn't really what he said though, was it? Nevelon didn't complain about their religious practices, he complained about their odious religious/political policies - not an uncommon position.

The latter is what is problematic, not the fact they are Christians, and I think it's pretty damn intellectually dishonest to pretend anyone said otherwise.

Definitely some pizza.

And stop by McSorley's on 8th Street, the oldest bar in NY, they don't serve beer, or wine, or sprits. They serve McSorley's Ale. Your choice is light or dark.

That's it.

Pizza is legitimately the number one thing I miss about NYC. I haven't had a decent slice since I moved to the midwest.

 Ouze wrote:
Pizza is legitimately the number one thing I miss about NYC. I haven't had a decent slice since I moved to the midwest.

pizzatangent
I had to go out of my way to find anything but a decent slice of New York Style.

Back in Feb. I was flying back from vacation with The Boy via Chicago and promised him a slice of deep-dish Chicago during our layover. Despite being 13, he’s never had anything BUT a NY-style pie. Unfortunately, I was not feeling the best, so was unable to fulfill that promise. Fast forward a few months and I find a chain (Pizzeria Uno’s) that still has an open store in the area. I’m sure it’s not 100% authentic, but at least it’s serviceable. And none of the local pizza slingers are going to sully their ovens with a deep dish, so I had to make do.

His verdict? It was good, but not what he’d even categorize as a pizza. But I’m sure if you asked a born-and-raised Illinois boy what he thought about a NY pizza from a chain restaurant found in Chicago, you’d probably get a similar, but inverted, answer.

So there is good eats in the midwest, just not exactly pizza.
/pizzatangent.

(And yes, I know those are fighting words)

Can I ask - is it frowned upon as a tourist to take pics around the Twin Towers site? (never been to NYC but have heard this several times. Or is it one of those overblown myths?)

Chicago style deep dish isn’t what people in Chicago usually eat, really, not compared to how New Yorkers favor New York style pizza. It’s more like a lot of the other regional variations (st Louis, new haven) in that it has a strong minority and curious tourists keeping it alive.

One of my goals in life is to visit Chicago just so I can have real chicago style pizza. Love the concept, but all I ever had was knockoffs.

I also really love Sicilian pizza. Has to be really crunchy (but not hard) on the bottom, and soft & pillowy on top. I told myself a long time ago if I ever ran my own pizza shop, it would be all Sicilian style and no thin crust at all.

 Necros wrote:
I also really love Sicilian pizza. Has to be really crunchy (but not hard) on the bottom, and soft & pillowy on top. I told myself a long time ago if I ever ran my own pizza shop, it would be all Sicilian style and no thin crust at all.

Yeah, I think it is sort of a "lost art" in many places. I remember a local place to where I used to live that had a really fantastic "cross" between a regular and Sicilian (basically one that wasn't quite so thick).

Another fantastic thing that I didn't like initially but it grew on me, was a really good "grandma" slice. Of course, now my digestive system is a total wreck and I can't have garlic or cheese really, so it's probably best that I don't live anywhere near where I could get some.

 Necros wrote:
One of my goals in life is to visit Chicago just so I can have real chicago style pizza. Love the concept, but all I ever had was knockoffs.

I also really love Sicilian pizza. Has to be really crunchy (but not hard) on the bottom, and soft & pillowy on top. I told myself a long time ago if I ever ran my own pizza shop, it would be all Sicilian style and no thin crust at all.

I have an international marriage (my wife is from Illinois). We know a bunch of Chicago people and interestingly, none of them liked deep dish.