Seriously: Don't Open a Restaurant

For the most part, they're stuck in 1999: Farhad Manjoo

(NEWSER) - When you type in the URL of a restaurant website, you're probably looking for information like address, hours, menu, prices, maybe an easy reservation system. Instead, you typically get full-screen photos of the executive chef, links to all their other restaurants, Flash buttons and menus that won't work on your iPhone, and of course, some "auto-playing, royalty-free, ambient techno smooth jazz," writes Farhad Manjoo on Slate . The rest of the web realized quite a while ago that's not the type of thing consumers are looking for, "but restaurant sites seem stuck in 1999." Trying to determine the worst one is "a bit like trying to decide on the most awful serial killer in history." More»

Unable to gain traction online, founders ask Goldman to find a buyer

(NEWSER) - The founders and publishers of the Zagat guides have hired Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for their stake in the company, reports the New York Times. The value of the international icon may top $200 million—not bad for a company that grew out of a two-page typed list, but chump change for a media behemoth such as Citysearch parent IAC or a credit card company. More»

Joe Bastianich book 'Restaurant Man' comes out this week

(NEWSER) - Welcome to the world of New York restaurants, where Wise Guys drop "hundies," Bill Clinton always gets a table, and the maitre d' is usually on the take. Long-time restaurateur Joe Bastianich—co-owner of dining hotspots like Babbo, Lupa, and Eataly—dishes on the biz in a potty-mouthed tell-all coming out this week, the New York Post reports. Among the hard-to-digest details from Restaurant Man: More»

Restaurants increasingly training waiters to 'read' tables

(NEWSER) - Gone are the days of, "Hi, my name is Tom and I'll be your server tonight." Restaurants are increasingly moving toward a less scripted approach, teaching waiters how to "read" tables and subtly mold their service to fit each individual group. The Wall Street Journal offers a rundown of the new trend, and offers some hints as to what message you could be sending your waiter:

• If you're chatting with your friends: The waiter may worry about interrupting you, and could try refilling your water glasses or placing his hand on the table to get your attention without seeming pushy. He may also assume you're there for a good time, and thus push more offers of drinks or dessert.
• If you're dressed nicely and eating early: The waiter may assume you're headed to a show, and speed up his service or bring the check with the meal as a result.

Former waiter irked by Bruce Buschel's New York Times list

(NEWSER) - Along with the rest of the world—or at least, frequenters of the New York Times website—Lauren Bans read restaurateur Bruce Buschel’s recent “100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do.” And the former waiter is pretty annoyed. “No minimum wage job should ever require a list of 100 Don’ts,” she writes on DoubleX —and 80% of the rules are “either flat-out insulting or so absurdly obvious they’re insulting.” More»