[XXXNoahXXX]

Before I even consider the food, one of my primary expectations is the service will be impeccable and the server will be able to comment on pretty much all aspects of every meal. I never want to be at a high end restaurant and have a waiter that doesn't know exactly what an ingredient is, how something tastes, what goes well together, etc.

Our society has chosen that servers will be tipped not based upon length of meal, times they refilled our drinks, but solely on a percentage of the price of the food. I could spend near the same length of time eating at a family restaurant and pay $10 tip as at a high-end restaurant, paying $35 tip. Just as the food is more expensive because it is of a higher quality, the service is more expensive, and thus should be of a superior quality.

I have rarely been disappointed with the service, and I've even been wowed a few times with how much the server seemed to know about everything. Basically, if I'm paying a couple hundred for my girlfriend and I to eat, I want a waiter that is a professional, not some summer job teenager. I'm still a student myself, so my budget only allows a few of these dinners a year, so in addition to be very special occasions, they are also learning experiences. I don't want someone to bring food from the kitchen to my table, I want a guide on that journey of food exploration.

(Feel free to respond to this post, but please do not let this turn into a tipping thread, that's not what my post wss about.)