And now for my next installments of our adventures in Aruba
A tip about Potatoes and a lesson in tips.
When we last heard from the Thursday people, (aka me and my crew) they were just finding out
That they were, in fact, Thursday people. Fresh off the plane and not yet in the midst
of any island adventures.
So—we set off to remedy that and have our first adventure----to find something to eat for supper. J, who had been to Aruba once before, led us to a restaurant, La Petit cafe that had been calling Her name ever since she last visited the Island. Unfortunately, it was closed, so we
Headed down the road that ran parallel to the beach, letting the thought that we were actually in Aruba sink in, as we looked for an eye-catching restaurant with some local personality.
We found a place called Tulips, with outdoor seating, which promised a mixture of Dutch, Caribbean and International cuisine. Sounded perfect! Dutch cuisine & outdoor seating right across from Eagle beach. AHH! We might have still been in our jeans, while everyone else was in shorts or beachy vacation attire, but we were settling into our vacation.
With our entrees, we were offered a choice of French fries, fried potatoes or sautéed potatoes.
I ordered French fries, D ordered sautéed potatoes, and J decided she’d try the fried potatoes.
She asked if they were fried with onions to see if they were made like we make at home in the south, with chopped up onions. “Oh, yes” said the waiter with a confident nod, and off he went to turn our orders in to the chef.
Ok—--quick lesson in potatoes, as we expected to see them:
French fries------well—everyone pretty much knows what French fries look like, and they are usually made with the potatoes being cut lengthwise into strips and deep-fried in oil.
Fried potatoes -- usually cut in a circular shape, then, while still completely raw, put in a fry pan with onions and cooked in oil. They are soft on the inside and will have touches of brown on the outside from the fry pan.
Sautéed potatoes- potatoes are cut into cubes, boiled, and then put into a pan with a little oil or butter and sautéed.
Well—when we got our food, and received our potatoes, they all looked the same. Like French fries! Only, J’s was served with what looked like a pile of shredded raw onion shoestrings. She made a comment about the raw onions heaped on her fried potatoes (disguised as FRENCH FRIES), thinking that the waiter, who was from the Netherlands, might not have understood what she wanted. He was very eager to help her out and took the plate, only to return a few minutes later with the same fried potatoes (again looking very much like my French fries, which also looked like D’s sautéed potatoes). Only, this time, the pile of shredded raw onions where no longer on top of the french fries (I mean fried potatoes), they had their own special plate.
We laughed about this, which made the waiter realize it still wasn’t what we were expecting.
He asked us about this, but we told him everything was fine. Well- except that we’d like some water. All of our glasses were empty and had been that way for a while. He said he’d go get us water, but still, later, we were waiting for our water.
In fact, that waiter never returned to our table to wait on us. Another waiter Feddy (pronounced Freddy, without the "r") came to check on us and bring us our tickets.
When we looked at our tickets we found out that the restaurant had added a 10 to 15% “service charge” to each ticket. This was not the gratuity---it was a service charge.
When Feddy came back to collect our payments, he asked about our service and we mentioned that we never got our water and our waiter disappeared. We asked if we had offended him, by sending the potatoes back. We also asked him to explain the service charge on the tickets. Feddy said that the service charge is added to the tickets and helps pay the wages of all the restaurant employees. The server does not personally get this money. The server will only get what is left separately as a gratuity, if you feel he or she deserves one. And—about the water—He said that in Aruba, drink glasses are not automatically refilled. If you want more to drink, you must ask for it. HUH? Really? Well when he walked off, I said, “Well, in America we tip appx 15% above the ticket amount. If you want more, you have to ask for it.
But, of course I DID leave a tip—in addition to the service charge. But, what is up with that? We have to pay for the food, pay their salaries and leave a tip? Is that done in other countries too?
A tip about Potatoes and a lesson in tips.
When we last heard from the Thursday people, (aka me and my crew) they were just finding out
That they were, in fact, Thursday people. Fresh off the plane and not yet in the midst
of any island adventures.
So—we set off to remedy that and have our first adventure----to find something to eat for supper. J, who had been to Aruba once before, led us to a restaurant, La Petit cafe that had been calling Her name ever since she last visited the Island. Unfortunately, it was closed, so we
Headed down the road that ran parallel to the beach, letting the thought that we were actually in Aruba sink in, as we looked for an eye-catching restaurant with some local personality.
We found a place called Tulips, with outdoor seating, which promised a mixture of Dutch, Caribbean and International cuisine. Sounded perfect! Dutch cuisine & outdoor seating right across from Eagle beach. AHH! We might have still been in our jeans, while everyone else was in shorts or beachy vacation attire, but we were settling into our vacation.
With our entrees, we were offered a choice of French fries, fried potatoes or sautéed potatoes.
I ordered French fries, D ordered sautéed potatoes, and J decided she’d try the fried potatoes.
She asked if they were fried with onions to see if they were made like we make at home in the south, with chopped up onions. “Oh, yes” said the waiter with a confident nod, and off he went to turn our orders in to the chef.
Ok—--quick lesson in potatoes, as we expected to see them:
French fries------well—everyone pretty much knows what French fries look like, and they are usually made with the potatoes being cut lengthwise into strips and deep-fried in oil.
Fried potatoes -- usually cut in a circular shape, then, while still completely raw, put in a fry pan with onions and cooked in oil. They are soft on the inside and will have touches of brown on the outside from the fry pan.
Sautéed potatoes- potatoes are cut into cubes, boiled, and then put into a pan with a little oil or butter and sautéed.
Well—when we got our food, and received our potatoes, they all looked the same. Like French fries! Only, J’s was served with what looked like a pile of shredded raw onion shoestrings. She made a comment about the raw onions heaped on her fried potatoes (disguised as FRENCH FRIES), thinking that the waiter, who was from the Netherlands, might not have understood what she wanted. He was very eager to help her out and took the plate, only to return a few minutes later with the same fried potatoes (again looking very much like my French fries, which also looked like D’s sautéed potatoes). Only, this time, the pile of shredded raw onions where no longer on top of the french fries (I mean fried potatoes), they had their own special plate.
We laughed about this, which made the waiter realize it still wasn’t what we were expecting.
He asked us about this, but we told him everything was fine. Well- except that we’d like some water. All of our glasses were empty and had been that way for a while. He said he’d go get us water, but still, later, we were waiting for our water.
In fact, that waiter never returned to our table to wait on us. Another waiter Feddy (pronounced Freddy, without the "r") came to check on us and bring us our tickets.
When we looked at our tickets we found out that the restaurant had added a 10 to 15% “service charge” to each ticket. This was not the gratuity---it was a service charge.
When Feddy came back to collect our payments, he asked about our service and we mentioned that we never got our water and our waiter disappeared. We asked if we had offended him, by sending the potatoes back. We also asked him to explain the service charge on the tickets. Feddy said that the service charge is added to the tickets and helps pay the wages of all the restaurant employees. The server does not personally get this money. The server will only get what is left separately as a gratuity, if you feel he or she deserves one. And—about the water—He said that in Aruba, drink glasses are not automatically refilled. If you want more to drink, you must ask for it. HUH? Really? Well when he walked off, I said, “Well, in America we tip appx 15% above the ticket amount. If you want more, you have to ask for it.
But, of course I DID leave a tip—in addition to the service charge. But, what is up with that? We have to pay for the food, pay their salaries and leave a tip? Is that done in other countries too?
What makes this story even more fun, was that I looked up Tulips restaurant today to see if they had the potatoes listed on their menu. I found a website where people gave recommendations and comments on this restaurant. The comments were as varied, I guess as people are. Some loved the food, some hated it. Some said it was a good value, money wise, some people thought it was expensive. Some had excellent service, some had horrible service. But my favorite comment was this:
The food is tasty and nicely presented. (If you like potatoes ask for the many ways they prepare them).
Yes--please do this---ask away----just be prepared. No matter what way you choose your potatoes to be prepared, they are going to come out looking like french fries!
Stay tuned for our next island adventure, where we learn a lesson about gas………..
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