Mountain Views News          Saturday, July 5, 2014

11

FOOD AND DRINK

Mountain Views-News Saturday, July 5, 2014 


TIPPING ABROAD

Last year I wrote an article abut tipping abroad and the interest poured in about the article. So, with 
the summer travel season upon us, I thought I would run that article again.

Here in the states it is customary to tip your server, 
carwash person, hairstylist, and just about anyone 
that provides a service. Tipping the bartender that 
owns the bar or the stylist that owns the saloon, or 
even the delivery person that owns the florist. My 
research tells me that they want to be tipped as we. After all, we are tipping for those who provide a 
service, however if they own the establishment I never feel that bad about lowering the tip or rounding 
it down. I know that won’t get me front row seats, but I have found that tipping a $1 at Starbucks 
at the end of the week is sufficient.

Now the question is do you tip in Europe? In my first trip to Athens as an adult I lavished 20% tips on 
waiters and service people and was rewarded on the end of my trip for that indulgence. I will explain 
later. In ten days of vacation we never really got outstanding service. We never got bad service but the 
server’s job was to get the food to the table and that amounted to it. I found it curious coming from 
California where we expect plenty of up sell and a full glasses of water that Europe did not shower me 
in attention as I am accustom to in the states. Another restaurant, but the same medium of the road 
service greeted me. So I stared tipping 10%. I asked our tour guide as to the policy of tipping. She 
said that everyone in Greece works at what is called a living wage and that any gratuity is welcome. 
So, what about other parts of Europe, or was this just in Greece? The rule of thumb is to check your 
bill, and look for a service charge. Believe it or not many restaurants don’t allow the workers to keep 
their tips. 

I have three 
suggestions:

1/ Round up the 
amount; say it’s 35 
Euro, round it up 
to 40. 

Leave the tip portion 
as cash. 2/ Give 
tip directly to your 
server 3/ Check 
the bill and if there 
is a Tax or Service 
charge and you 
feel that you got 
great service, by all 
means leave a few more Euros. 

Now back to my story on the 20% tip, we went back to the original restaurant in Athens that we started 
out trip at, the one I gave a full 20% tip to. After such a journey, now I know why he was so happy 
to see me. The beer, and the desserts were all on the house, so maybe the 20% did pay off!

SPICY MARINATED 
STEAK

TABLE FOR TWO by Peter Dills

thechefknows@yahoo.com

INGREDIENTS:

•1 1/2 to 2 pounds sirloin or flank steak

•1/3 cup vegetable oil

•1/2 cup water

•3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

•1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning

•3 cloves garlic, crushed

•1/2 teaspoon salt

•1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

•1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Put the steak in a food storage bag or plastic container. Combine the oil, water, lime juice, 
Cajun seasoning, garlic, salt, and peppers. Pour the mixture over the steak and refrigerate 
for 2 hours.

 Grill over direct heat until done as desired, about 5 minutes on each side for 
medium-rare.

 

Serves 4.


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