Peachy Deegan's Top Ten Pet Peeves About Inferior New York Restaurants

You know Peachy's Picks highlights the greatest restaurants of Manhattan.  If you are wondering why a restaurant is not there yet, it is either a) it is on our list and we plan to go...Peachy can only eat so much at a time and still fit into cocktail dresses; or b) because it boasts one or more of the following criteria:


1. People working there that do not care, especially those that work directly with clients.  Not caring means a lot of things and this would be a term paper, not a list, if we go into every detail.    If you are a client you should also behave like you care-pretend you are going to the house of a family member-do not have an attitude, do not be a diva, do not be a PIA.  Be reasonable and grateful-these restaurants have a difficult job!  Once we saw a male restaurant employee leaving a ladies room, which is beyond Peachy, and leads us to point 2.  He did not look like he was cleaning it or replacing bathroom items...


2. Dirty, poorly lit bathrooms.  It is obviously important to be pristine, clean and spotless!  If we cannot see ourselves in the mirror when we look because of bad lighting, it defeats the purpose.


3. Too much clutter on the table.  Clear empty anything promptly...


4. Captains or Waiters that have no strong opinions on their menu, or even worse, do not know their menu well.  It is one bad sign when Peachy knows more about your restaurant than you do and she goes there for the first time...we love the Owners they always know what is going on.  We hate when Owners hire the wrong people.


5. Bad acoustics.  No one wants to have dinner where every other sentence is "What?"  Also, you should not have your restaurant phone in a noisy area or you will not be able to properly communicate with the outside world.  See point 8.


6. Obnoxious diners around you.  You know this is New York and a lot of obnoxious can find its way here...This really is not the restaurant's fault in most cases, and smart restaurants have a "better" area where they seat their regulars.  Obnoxious diners include: loud people, nosy people (and the worst ones wear wires!), people talking on their cell phone, children that do not behave, and any behavior in general that does not exude class and exclaims to the world that you are a PIA.  


7.  Your kitchen better be clean, and sometimes we ask to see it.  Kings Carriage House has a very clean kitchen and it was shown to us without us asking before we ate.  Swifty's also has a very clean kitchen and Peachy should know as she nearly lives there.


8.  Anyone working there that does not speak perfect English, especially to Peachy.  They should be aware we exist to pay homage to the English language and the pursuit of excellence in life.  The worst is when we call a restaurant for the first time and the person answering the phone cannot speak.  This is a short call, and there is no calling by us a second time.  If your job is to answer the phone, you should speak or refrain from answering the phone until you can.  What is really funny is when a restaurant hires a PR firm to rep them, and then have poor communicators answering their phone.  It would be a much better monetary investment to fire the PR firm, and hire quality people that face the public.


9. Obviously, bad food.  Bad food is cold food when it is supposed to be hot.  Bad food is unfresh food.  Bad food is when you think your style and trendiness can make up for inferior ingredients and a lousy chef.  We could go on....


10.  Not having The Peachy Deegan on your menu.