ottawa foodies

Ok, i just want to ask people's opinion on this. I went to Vittoria Trattoria last night, and just like many other restaurants, the waiter asked if i wanted freshly ground pepper and parmesan as soon as he brought us our plates.

When that happens, we haven't had time to taste the food yet.. i don't know if i want fresh pepper or parmesan yet! :)

Anyone worked in the business or know the rules on this? are the "proper" rules to ask right away or wait?

Personnally, i would prefer they wait about 2 minutes (enough time for me to have at least 1 bite) and then come back and ask.

Thoughts? :)

I certainly can't provide a definitive answer about the "proper" way to do things, but I know that some people won't start eating until they've gotten their pepper and/or parmesan. There are some meals that I know I will always want parmesan with, so waiting 2 minutes just means that I have 2 minutes of staring at food that I really want to eat, but can't because I want every bite to be just perfect.

There have been a couple of times that I've taken a quick bite after being asked just to find out if more pepper is needed or not. I've never had a server who minded waiting the extra moment to get an answer.

Don't worry about being "proper" with something so ridiculous. If they were being proper, they'd wait until you'd tasted it.

If I think I want them, I usually ask if they can leave them on the table "for a moment."

Yes, what kmennie said. The "proper" thing to do would be to leave them at your table and let you decide at any point during your meal. My take on this whole phenomenon is that they don't do that because they are afraid of them getting stolen.

Just say "can you come back and ask in a few minutes after I've had a chance to taste the meal and decide whether it needs any". It doesn't get much clearer than that, and I don't think it's in any way rude. It certainly isn't bad etiquette because they are displaying the bad etiquette in the first place by not putting you in control.

This is definitely a sore point for many people. I read a hilarious rant about it, and every time a server asks me if I want pepper I chuckle to myself and recall the rant. For some reason I thought it was on this site (kmennie?) but I wasn't able to find it and now I'm second guessing myself on that. A web search indicates others with the same concern. e.g. girlfriday.typepad.com

I think next time I'll be tempted to just ask, "Did the chef not season the food?"

The classiest establishment is one that has a pepper grinder and salt shaker at each table, just in case a patron's taste disagrees with that of the chef.

My boyfriend ALWAYS wants pepper. He will not even taste the food until he puts salt and pepper on it. Pet peeve of mine, but he just won't stop doing it :P Anyway. I'm sure the server wouldn't mind if you just took a quick bite to see if you did need pepper or parm.

haha thanks for the responses! this thread was obviously meant to be light.. as the responses have been.. :)

I like Fresh foodies': "did the chef not season the food?" :D haha (thanks for that blog address btw, that's a funny entry, but it expresses exactly how i feel :))

i know most people want the food seasoned differently, for me, after i taste it, i know if i want more pepper or parmesan or whatever else is offered.

Next time i'll just ask them to wait 2 minutes, i'm not vocal enough about those things :)

On a tangentially related note, I recall once seeing a patron at Pizza Hut vigorously shaking salt over his pizza. Nothing shocks me anymore. ;-)

People over-seasoning food with salt and pepper without even tasting it first always makes me laugh. I always figure that if someone does that with nearly everything they eat, they must have had too many experiences with bland food in the past. Maybe their parents or spouse was/are not a great cook, and so they feel the need to put pepper and/or salt on everything without even tasting it first! There are several people in my own family who do this, heh.

Reminds me of the scene from Big Night. If you've seen the movie you know the one I'm talking about. If you haven't, for shame! ;)

Candice: My brother and his girlfriend have this habit of using ketchup (lots of it) on everything..

When they get their meal, they immediatly reach for the ketchup bottle, cover their foods in it and then start eating. I don't get it.

I had an experience with a waiter, Inspector Gadget, that had a pepper mill as a third hand. Every plate that was placed had a "Fresh ground pepper with that?" accompaniment. There was a group of us. Everyone was asked. Every time. Being someone who laughs easily, well, I was set off. The waiter didn't get it...and, sure, we could have said something but it just became too damn funny.
When my zabaglione dessert arrived I asked "What? No fresh ground pepper?"

Don't knock it till you try it: pepper on dessert is great! I would highly recommend topping a few scoops of rich vanilla ice cream with several grinds of pepper and a shot of Scotch.

But I must admit, I am an over-pepperer, at least with the food I eat (not with the food I prepare). If there isn't any fresh pepper at the table (which truly is ideal), I absoultely must get the server to season my food with a few grinds.