Dining board: A-hole chef or A-hole customers?

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Here’s the email I received with the subject line ... humiliating experience:

“I had the most humiliating experience the other night. My friend and I were told to "vacate our table!" We went to Jonathan's the Rub, having been there before and enjoyed the food. We were celebrating our mutual birthdays. We arrived at 6:30 p.m. and were seated at the only table for 2 available which was next to the front door. Oblivious to the crowd around us, we brought a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine to enjoy as we ate our food and talked. We shared a dessert and were suddenly told to leave by Jonathan. He stood about 15 feet away and announced this to not only us, but the rest of the diners around us. All this before receiving our bill! Apparently the wait staff felt that we were not moving out fast enough and Jonathon decided to make a point. We were out the door by 7:50 p.m.” Signed Cathie Petak and Maryellen McGlothlin

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Let me start by saying Levine sounded like a pretty good guy on the phone. And, as he tells the story, it sounds like he was between the proverbial rock and a hard place. The tiny restaurant was “slammed” with customers and many people were waiting, including a large party that would require that one particular table. The ladies had finished their meals, paid their check and were -- in their words and Levine’s -- “oblivious” to the rest of the dining room. The ladies’ stay, Levine counters, was two hours and forty minutes and that’s when, at the request of the staff, he stepped in.

I dunno about this one. I’m all for leisurely celebrations of family and friends over a meal, but I’m also keenly aware that when restaurants are super busy that it’s not the time to linger. Besides, who wants to have a bunch of hungry people staring longingly at your table?

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