Today’s New York Times has a feature on the new lengths that restaurateurs are going to in order to retain their client base in these tough economic times. This includes everything from slashing tasting menu prices, being more accommodating with reservations and even giving stuff away for free. One diner’s account:

Joan Rappoport, a Manhattan event planner who lives in the West Village and eats out regularly, said that she sensed a climatic shift as early as six months ago. “The attitude that a number of places used to have, they don’t have that anymore,” Ms. Rappoport said, her tone of voice communicating equal measures bewilderment and relief. “That attitude of ‘we’re doing you a favor,’ that frosty condescending attitude — I don’t find that anymore. And I’ve experienced that change over and over again.”

Of course, the frosty, condescending attitude is really a New York specialty – that sort of cooler-than-thou business doesn’t fly in the Philadelphia hospitality industry. Is it because we’re so darn hospitable or because we’re just not cool enough to carry it off? Topic for future discussion!

However, we have been seeing hints of some of the same customer-enticing behavior locally: Restaurant Week extended for a second week and nearly all restaurants choosing to participate, free beer with your mac-n-cheese at Swallow, no-corkage BYOB Sunday nights at licensed spots like Supper.

What sort of discounts/accommodations would encourage you to go out to dine more? Nicer employees, cheaper food, freer drinks?

Restaurants Stop Playing Hard to Get [NYT]

Gourmet magazine has an entertaining feature in February’s issue about marriage proposals in restaurants: what can go right (an engagement ring cleverly presented in dessert) and what can go so very wrong (the guest accidentally swallowing said ring).

If you’ve ever worked in a restaurant, especially an ‘occasion’ or romantic restaurant, you undoubtedly have witnessed one of these events. I once waited on a couple who got engaged at the end of a seven course tasting menu and the guy was so nervous he couldn’t enjoy any of the six very expensive courses before dessert. I presented the dessert that had the ring tucked into it and then had to run away from the table while he got down on one knee, since I felt like a third wheel. The lady, who was slightly drunk and had a spectacular pair of fake breasts on display, cried and jumped up and down and everyone in the restaurant clapped. I found it to be cute and gross at the same time and then spent the rest of the night hoping they’d remember who really made the magic happen that night and leave her a big fat tip.

Most of the working industry folk I know are kind of horrified by these public proposals, although owners seem to think they’re good for business. For me, it’s a very intimate moment being made very public in front of a bunch of people you don’t know and will never see again, which is not really my cup of tea. Everyone’s idea of romance is different (see: “The Bachelor”).

Thoughts? Opinions? Has anyone proposed in a restaurant or is thinking of doing it? Would you even do it on Valentine’s Day? Which restaurant would be the best for a proposal?

Lovin’ Spoonfuls [Gourmet]

A few days back, we came across this post from Joe Sixpack on a racist t-shirt he saw while on his way to a Phillies game. The t-shirt, from a bar in the Northeast called Casper’s, had a picture of the namesake friendly ghost saying “No Spooks Allowed.” We’ll let Sixy take it from here:

Please don’t tell me it’s an innocent joke; I’m not stupid. Only a dipshit wears a shirt like that. It’s easy to chalk it up to just one of those things, but I still wonder: How, in the 21st century, does anyone who conducts business with the public even think of printing a t-shirt like that? Honestly, the city Human Relations Commission nearly shut down Geno’s Steaks for less. Until I hear otherwise, I’ll just assume the answer is, “Because I’m a racist asshole.”

Bravo, Joe. We like you mad. We’d also like to point out that there’s a little cheesesteak place in the Northeast (and almost in South Philly) called Chink’s that is equally as offensive and yet food writers still swoon over it and write about its cheesesteaks and milkshakes–for example, Craig “I love the ones they make at Chink’s, the unfortunately named steak place in the Northeast, where they keep the milk in the freezer” LaBan–as if it was just some pesky nuisance to be brushed aside in the all-important pursuit of a great sandwich. If the beers were spectacular at Casper’s, would Sixy wiggle past the nastiness of the t-shirt under the guise of reportorial objectivity? We like to think he wouldn’t.

You know what we think it deserves? Pretty much what it’s getting now: its lease for a second location in South Philly was denied thanks to Asian American activists and some embarrassing press, like this recent article in the Washington Post.

It also deserves to not have its cheesesteaks praised on “best of” lists or its milkshakes drooled over by food writers and other media people who know better (LaBan is not the only one who has touted Chink’s. Philly Mag also awarded them best cheesesteak in 2002 and then there’s this thing). As a customer, you can also let your wallet do the talking. The owner knows the name is offensive:

[Owner Joseph] Groh likes the name, and does not see the need for a change. But he acknowledges, “I don’t think you could open a place today with that name.”

He’s had the opportunity to change it for years and he hasn’t. He’ll change if and when it starts to hit his bottom line (maybe he should check out the history of this establishment). Sad, but likely true.

Of course, Northeast Philadelphia seems to support it wholeheartedly, since it’s still in business and still named Chink’s even after this hubbub started back in 2004. This is why we hate the Northeast, except for the Grey Lodge Pub and Holmesburg Bakery. And since we grew up there, we can say it with real feeling.

As people who love to eat pretty much anything, the Foobooz team read David “Philafoodie” Snyder’s article “Foam Over Function: why don’t we ‘get’ molecular gastronomy?” in the City Paper with great interest. We heart Philafoodie, but we were both a little perplexed–irked, even–by the comments made by the people interviewed in the article. Our takes after the jump, both with Whiz:

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