[Tall_Texan]

The % concept discriminates against people who cannot get jobs in upscale restaurants or who live in poorer areas with no trans to work, and bust their ass for 1/10th of what the elite waiters get.

I agree but there's a reverse factor too. The upscale restaurants get far less of my business because they typically charge twice as much for the same food as a place that's not as trendy. I prefer two types of places - the moderately priced ones for entertaining others or to "treat" myself, and the hole-in-the-wall types that serve good food at a below-market price and the service is usually just passable but occasionally spotty. These are good spots for a lunch or early dinner.

The upscale places usually price themselves out of my market pretty quickly so their employees aren't really seeing any of my money.

If I lived in a place like San Francisco or New York (I shudder just to think of it), I'd probably find a few old reliables, frequent them regularly and never bump into Venus Williams or Sean Penn.

[At _War_With_Liberals]

"I prefer two types of places - the moderately priced ones for entertaining others or to "treat" myself, and the hole-in-the-wall types that serve good food at a below-market price."

Thats pretty much my plan.