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We really enjoyed dining out during our recent trip to Bonaire.
As our friends would surely attest to, We're a bit atypical diners. We try to
eat "healthy" foods, which means (to us), that we like to eat a lot
of veggies, whole grains, and fruits, and try to stay away from fried food,
red meat, and refined grains. When we go on vacation, though, we realize that
compromises have to be made.
We skipped most of the more expensive dining experiences, due to budget
constraints. The reviews that follow are obviously highly subjective, and are
simply our experiences and opinions based (usually) on a single meal (2
entrees).
For fun, I made up a rating scale:
Food
**** Great - Unique or one of the best we've had.
*** Delicious, would definitely eat again.
** Good, but nothing special.
* Poor.
Service
**** Couldn't ask for better.
*** Very good; top notch.
** Adequate.
* Poor.
Ambiance
**** Very special.
*** Very nice.
** Clean, adequate.
* None!
Value
**** How do they stay in business?
*** Very good value.
** Average.
* How do they stay in business?!
Here are our reviews, for what they're worth, in alphabetic order:
City Cafe:
==========
(Lunch) We shared a Fish & Shrimp Wrap (Pan-fried fresh fish, shrimp, and
veggies wrapped in a flour tortilla) (15.50 Naf), and a Chicken Shoarma
(pita-bread stuffed with chicken, onions, and green peppers). Both entrees
were good, but just slightly disappointing. For some reason, they seemed to
lack distinct flavor or seasoning. But they were both nicely sized (i.e.,
large portions), and we were pleased with the service. Prices included sales
tax; no service charge. Credit cards accepted.
Food: **1/2 Service: *** Ambiance: **1/2 Value: **1/2
Cozzoli's Pizzeria:
===================
(Lunch) We shared a pizza here. We always order our pizzas without cheese, so
we were surprised (to say the least) when we were told they could not make
one without cheese. The chef said she needed the cheese to hold the
ingredients to the pizza. So, we asked for as little cheese as possible (and
to make it Gouda). We don't think it was Gouda, but at least it was a fairly
minimal amount.
We had 1/2 Oceano (Tuna, Anchovies, Onions, & Black Olives), and 1/2
Veggie (green pepper, onions, tomato slices, mushrooms, & black olives).
Mushrooms were canned (but that was common to all mushrooms we ate on
Bonaire). There was very little tomato sauce (which perhaps is why cheese is
needed?). The crust was "semi-thick"; not thin, but not that thick,
either. The crust was the best part of the pizza. The rest of it was not
notable in any way.
The pizza was 29 Naf (not including sales tax or service charge). Cash only.
Service was friendly.
Food: ** Service: *** Ambiance: * Value: **
Dock of the Bay:
================
We had a BBQ dinner buffet here, which (considering the price and our
anticipation) was fairly disappointing. As can be the problem with buffets
(that are not adequately setup), much of the warm food was cold. (I'd say
room temperature, but it seemed that somehow the food was actually colder
than the air! Probably just an illusion.) This was so even though we arrived
before the buffet began, so the food must have been sitting for quite some
time.
The main entrees, BBQ fish (Wahoo), pork ribs, and chicken (pieces &
skewers) were definitely BBQ'd (before our eyes), but didn't have much of a
discernible BBQ flavor. Along with the main entrees, there was a noodle dish,
a meat dish, and a mixed seafood dish (the latter was the only one we tried;
it was ok). There were 3 sauces to choose from, to compliment the entrees -
satay, creole, and BBQ. Additionally, there were 3 or 4 salads, rolls, a
fruit mixture, tomato onion soup (which was the best thing there), and some
desserts (chocolate mousse, and a couple of cakes).
Service was not very good. Several times, we had to eat with stacks of plates
sitting on our table, waiting to be picked up. Our water glasses went
unfilled until we asked for more. The setting was beautiful, overlooking the
water. Price was US$19.50 per person, including tax (no service charge).
Credit cards accepted.
Food: *1/2 Service: * Ambiance: **** Value: *
Eddy's Gormandises:
===================
This is a catering service, not a restaurant. The place we stayed (Bonaire
Beach Villas) receives a weekly menu (faxed). We ordered meals twice (one
lunch, one dinner - same price for all entrees). Each meal is Naf 10 (plus
tax = Naf 10.50), plus Naf 1.50 for delivery. (Or you can pick it up from his
house, which is what we did. It was only a 5-minute drive from BBV ... IF you
know where to go!)
Eddy used to be a chef at a Harbor Village restaurant, before they shut down
(after 9/11, some say temporarily). The meals are delicious, and a great
bargain. Some of the entrees he offers include Vegetable Quiche Loraine, beef
or veggie Lasagna, Argentine, Venezuelan, Mexican, and fish, fish, fish. We
had fish both times. Once it came with a creole sauce, once "plain"
(butter sauce?). Both times with plantain, rice or french fries (the latter
of which we got once by mistake) and/or Funchi (local corn meal dish), and a
small salad. It wasn't the best fish we had on Bonaire, but it was the best
fish value. (Which isn't to say, it wasn't delicious, because it definitely
was.)
Food: *** Service: n/a (takeout) Ambiance: n/a (takeout) Value: ****
Garden Cafe:
============
(Lunch) One of us had the Mixed Vegetarian Plate (23 Naf), the other Fried
Fish (29 Naf). Prices were a little higher than we were expecting to pay for
a lunch. The veg plate had little tastes of several different Lebanese (&
middle Eastern) dishes, including Falafel, Pumpkin Kibbe, Mejarda (lentils
w/rice), stuffed cabbage, red bell pepper "cream", Baba Ganuch
(eggplant "cream"), Humus, and Taboule. It was served with Pita
bread, and although the servings were small, there were enough of them, with
the bread, to make it a filling meal. Several of the items (Baba Ganuch,
Humus, etc.) had at least a tablespoon of oil poured over them. We were told
it was olive oil (which would be fine to us), but it didn't have the distinct
taste of it. Still, we believe them, as service was extremely good. The fish
comes with a small salad & fries, but we asked to substitute the fries
for more salad, which they definitely did. Both meals were quite delicious.
Prices did not include tax or service charge.
Food: *** Service: **** Ambiance: **1/2 Value: *1/2
Gibi's Terrace:
===============
(Dinner) This was our favorite local place. No, wait, that was Luigi's. No,
Rose Inn's. Ok, it's hard to decide which is "best". One of us got
Massabongo (spelling?), a local whole small fish, pan fried. (Yes, we worried
about Ciguetera poisoning, but since BT seems to report few if any incidents,
we took a chance.) The other got Kari Kari, a slightly salted fish, chopped
up into little bits and mixed with chopped onion and other condiments. We
ordered both with Tu Tu (or is it Tutu?), which we discovered at Gibi's
during Taste of Bonaire. It's made with corn meal, beans, & sugar. It was
the *perfect* side dish for the Kari Kari, but it also goes fine with most
anything else. So much better than tasteless Funchi! :-) At first we were
told they didn't have any Tu Tu today, but after they saw our faces, they
said they'd make it for us. We felt they might have promised it to someone
else, since it took only about 15 minutes to get our food, it didn't seem
long enough to make it. Either way, they definitely made us feel special.
Both of our dinners were delicious. Service was very friendly (we met Gibi,
his daughter, and his sister, and they're all so nice). Prices were very
reasonable. They offer a smaller dinner for Naf 11, or a larger one for Naf
15 (both sizes have the same size entree, but the side dish is larger). We
had one of each. Prices include tax, there's no service charge. Cash only (at
least, so we assumed).
Food: **** Service: **** Ambiance: ** Value: ****
Luigi's:
========
(Lunch twice) One of our favorite local places. My wife liked it better than
I did, because Luis (the owner) gave her some hot Sambal sauce. Also, he
offered to cook our fish "sauteed" rather than pan fried (I'm not
sure of the difference, but it was supposed to be softer/more moist, not
cripy). For our first meal, one of us had Mulatu (Wahoo) for Naf 11, along
with the usual (rice, plantain, & a small salad). The other had spicy
shrimp, and the same side dishes. The shrimp was more money (Naf 14), and
there were only 5 of them, so it wasn't as good a deal (or as filling a
meal). The rice served was quite cool, which disappointed me a bit.
Our next meal, we both had the fish. (We stopped by one day for lunch, Luis
remembered us, and said to come by tomorrow, he'll have our fish.) The rice
was served hot, and we both enjoyed the meal. Prices include tax, there's no
service charge. Cash only.
A few, non-food items. One shows how small an island Bonaire really is. We
bought some art work from Janice (JanArt Gallery) one afternoon ... and the
next day's lunch at Luigi's, there was Janice! Also, we asked Luis why the
place is named Luigi's. He told us it was named after his son. He also said
that, just this past January, his son (at age 26) tragically drowned in the
ocean. (It was named Luigi's well before his death.)
Food: *** Service: **** Ambiance: ** Value: ***1/2
Maiky Snack:
============
(Lunch) Our last lunch on Bonaire; we finally made it to the infamous Maiky
Snack. It's only about 10 minutes from town, but it seemed much further.
However, with the excellent directions provided by someone here on BT, and
with the signs now posted along the way, it was no problem at all to find. We
got there right after they opened at Noon, and so we were one of the first to
order. Our meals came within about 15-20 minutes, which is much better than
we'd been warned to expect was possible. We both had Wahoo, pan-fried, in a
mild curry sauce, and asked for Tu Tu (tutu?) instead of Funchi. No problem!
Their Tu Tu was quite different than Gibi's, but also very delicious. It
seemed a bit less sweet, it used a different kind of bean, and also just
pieces of bean, rather than whole beans. Nevertheless, way better than
Funchi.  Our
meals were Naf 13 each.
Service was fine; plenty of patience in explaining the menu options to us --
even allowed my wife to try the Okra soup before ordering it, which was a
very good thing, since it turned out that neither of us would have liked it.
She did forget to give us our water until we asked for it again, but so what?
Prices include tax, there's no service charge. Cash only.
Food: ***1/2 Service: *** Ambiance: **1/2 Value: ****
Pasa Bon Pizza:
===============
They claim to have the best (NY style) pizza on Bonaire. We can't verify that
claim, since we didn't try every place on Bonaire that serves pizza. We can
say it was the best pizza we ate on Bonaire (but we tried only 2 other
places). We can even go further, and say it was one of the best pizzas we've
ever eaten, but it could be as much due to the uniqueness of the pizza
ingredients (a lobster garlic pizza with lots of garlic and onion), as to the
pizza itself. Their other pizzas were ordinary sounding, so although we ate
here twice (takeout), we don't know what their other pizzas are like. Crust
was thin (but not Italian-style thin). We ordered it without cheese (and they
had no problem making it that way).
If you like pizza, and you like lobster, and you like garlic, you MUST eat a
Pasa Bon Lobster Garlic Pizza. Unfortunately, this isn't something they
always have (due to the availability of the lobster). In that case, try a
regular pizza, it may also be very delicious. We also tried one vegetarian
Calzone (without cheese). It was fine, but nothing particularly noteworthy.
Ordering both times was friendly (NY-style) and efficient. The lobster garlic
pizza (medium size) was Naf 35, the Calzone was 8. Prices included sales tax;
no service charge included. Cash only; no credit cards accepted.
Food: ***1/2 Service: n/a (takeout) Ambiance: n/a (takeout) Value: ***
Rose Inn:
=========
(Lunch) In Rincon. If you go to Karpata, you can't help but pass by Rose Inn
on the way back (at least, we couldn't). (Though we didn't know it at the
time, so we had to ask someone - a policeman - TWICE, for directions!) The
owner is Melfina, and she was very friendly, helpful, and patient. At the
time we went, they offered Fish Soup for Naf 2.50, and 5 entrees for Naf
12.50 each. My wife had Goat Stew, and I had the pan fried fish fillet with
creole sauce. What we didn't know was, "Goat Stew" actually means
"stewed goat meat". We found this to be true at all the local
places. My wife planned to have the stew (soup & veggies), and leave the
meat. Oops. Nothing but meat! (Well, there were the usual side dishes - rice,
plantain, and a small salad.) She liked it somewhat, but it wouldn't have
been her choice if we'd known ahead of time what it was she was actually
getting. I, on the other hand, absolutely loved the fish in creole sauce. In
my opinion, it was the best of the fish dishes we had on the island. The fish
was big, thick, and juicy, and the creole sauce was very plentiful, with lots
of chunks of tomato and onion.
Prices included sales tax; no service charge included. Cash only.
Food: ***1/2 Service: ***1/2 Ambiance: ** Value: ****
Rum Runner's Pizza Temple:
==========================
(Dinner) We ate at Pizza Temple twice (takeout both times). The first time,
we ordered a Seafood Calzone (without cheese) (US$13), and a Spicy Shrimp
pizza (no cheese) (US$12.50). We were in heaven eating the Calzone, which we
both felt was the best tasting we'd ever had. The pizza was good if you like
the Italian super-thin crust (which I do), but to us did not have enough
ingredients on it. For our second meal, we each ordered a Seafood Calzone,
and liked it even more than the first time (if that's possible). My mouth is
watering just typing these words.
Ordering was not very friendly either time, and we weren't terribly pleased
by that. Actually, there were 4 people we dealt with (2 each time), and 2 of
them were very nice, and 2 of them were not. Odd, but true. Also odd (to us),
was that they charge a 10% service charge even for takeouts. That reinforces
what we were told by our Sand Dollar waitress (see below).
Prices do not include 5% sales tax or the mandatory 10% service charge.
Credit cards accepted.
Food: ** (pizza) **** (Calzone) Service: n/a (takeout) Ambiance: n/a
(takeout) Value: *1/2
Sand Dollar Terrace:
====================
(Dinner) We tried the Sand$'s Wednesday night all-you-can-eat Pasta Night. We
were a bit wary after our Dock of the Bay BBQ night buffet, but this turned
out not to be a buffet. Instead, you just keep ordering (one dish at a time),
and they cook it to order for you. It takes longer than a buffet, but
assuming the purpose is to enjoy the food, not just to eat it and be done,
this is a MUCH better way of doing things. We ended up with 4 different
entrees: Lasagne with meat sauce (tried to skip as much of the meat sauce as
possible), a small tube pasta (sorry!) with a spicy sauce, rigotoni with
tomato sauce, and linguini with mixed seafood in a tomato sauce. (The latter
was REALLY mixed seafood, including shrimp, fish, mussels, clams, and bits -
legs, mostly - of Calamari.) Most of the sauces were heavy with garlic, which
we liked. It wasn't the best pasta we've had, but it was WELL worth the price
of US$11.50.
Price didn't include 5% sales tax or the mandatory 10% service charge (NONE
of which, according to our waitress, goes to her). Credit cards accepted.
Food: *** Service: ***1/2 Ambiance: ** Value: ***
Subway:
=======
Yeah, ok, we ate here once. Why review a chain? Why not. It's a good place
for a cheap meal. We each had a 6" sub, and it came to US$8 for the two
of us. Can't beat that. Took a while, as the place was pretty busy when we
were there. Also, they were out of several of our first choices, which was a
bit disappointing. Still, the food was exactly as expected from a Subway. If
you want a cheap meal, but just don't feel like local food, or another trip
to Wattaburger, then consider Subway.
Ordering was friendly, but slow (due to crowd). Credit cards accepted.
Food: **1/2 Service: n/a (takeout) Ambiance: n/a (takeout) Value: ****
Warung Ketjil:
==============
(Dinner) This was a very special meal for us, as it was our 20th anniversary
dinner. We made reservations a few days before, and the owner put down a
white tablecloth for us, and some nice (artificial - so what?) flowers.
Needless to say, we had the Rijsttafel. I'll say right off the bat that since
we have nothing to compare it to, we don't know if it's the best or not, but
it certainly was unique (for us), and delicious. We loved it! I won't bother
describing each of the 18 dishes (PLUS soup!). Though I'll add that a few of
those 18 dishes are sauces, so it isn't quite as much food as it sounds (it's
still way more than 2 people should ever, ever eat at once). There were 3
chicken dishes, 2 beef, the rest were noodles, veggies, fruit, or sauces. And
the chicken soup, of course.
Sadly, we were the only ones in the restaurant during our entire meal. We
were pretty early, so that may have accounted for it, not to mention that
this was the slow season, and a week night. Service was as good as possible,
even better than that. The owner served us himself, and my wife complimented
the Sambal sauces so much, he insisted we stop by the night before we left to
pick up some to take home with us. (Happily, customs did not confiscate it
from us, and we're enjoying here even now.)
A word about the ambiance. Warung Ketjil is located right off of the main
street (Kaya Grandi). The place is fixed up nicely, with lots of plants, and
would warrant **1/2 to *** ambiance if not for the street noise, which on
occassion was horrendous (mufflerless vehicles can cause an enormous racket).
Still, it was only an occassional irritant, and wouldn't stop us from going
there again.
Price was Naf 37.50 each, including tax (no service charge). Cash only at
present.
Food: **** Service: **** Ambiance: *1/2 Value: ***
Wattaburger:
============
(Lunch thrice) People who tend to avoid meat, eating at Wattaburger? They
have much more than hamburgers. We tried their veggie burger (which isn't
even on the menu), chicken burger, chicken shaslick (which is chicken,
veggies, and bacon on a skewer), kipcorn, and Nasibal. The latter two were
deep-fried, so we only got those once, but the Nasibal was very delicious -
can't remember what the kipcorn was like. There are lots of these Dutch
"snack" items on the menu, but most of them, it turns out, are
fried, so we didn't try any more.
None of the food was great, but it was all good, and a very good value. The
chicken burger was not a chicken fillet, but instead "processed"
chicken. But what do you expect for Naf 3.50? I don't think there's anything
over Naf 5 on the menu; it's easy to eat a full meal for well less than Naf
10.
Cash only.
Food: **1/2 Service: **** Ambiance: ** Value: ****
Taste of Bonaire:
=================
This was probably our most fun dining experience on Bonaire. Sadly, it
happens only once a year (talk about good luck!). We had no particular reason
to come during the Dive Festival (being snorklers, not divers), but we sure
were glad we did. A bunch of Bonaire's restaurants get together in a park,
and for Naf 5.00, serve small "tastes" of the food they offer. Most
restaurants had several choices. It is a GREAT way to get to try the food of
many different restaurants. Just for fun, here are the restaurants &
dishes we tried:
Bongo's -- Seafood Quesadilla (super delicious).
De Tuin -- Dutch-style herring with french bread & pickled onions.
Dock of the Bay -- Chicken fajita (very delicious).
Donna & Giorgio's -- Chicken cacciatore and a lasagne dish.
Garden Cafe -- We tried all 3 of their deserts (Naf 2 each). An apple
tartlet; a Venezuelan dessert with milk & caramel; and Quesillo
(flan-like).
Gibi's Terrace -- Salt fish with Tu Tu (*great*!).
Kon Tiki -- Salmon Capriccio (frozen raw salmon, thinly sliced) with cabbage,
sauce, & bread.
Rendez Vous -- 2 tastes: Concho chowder (creamy, with some alcohol of some
kind). Broiled Dorado with seafood sauce (um, um, good).
Ken
Where is Luigi's?
Annie
It's right next to Wilhemina Park and Hotel Rochaline. They're
closed Sat & Sun, I believe.
Ken
wow -what detail! You must have been making notes every evening!
Thanks for sharing, I'm already starting to save info for our next return
trip to Bonaire in Feb 2003. We don't eat out very often but definitely like
to try different places each time we go.
The prices on the menu at Garden Cafe do include a 10% service
charge. It's stated on the menu. Whether or not an establishment charges a
service charge/tip percentage is optional. Sales tax (5%)is not optional and
must be charged on everything, including on top of a service charge, if a
restaurant includes one.
The girl at Sand Dollar was right however, the 10% there does not go to the
servers--the owner will tell you this if asked. They have their own
reasoning. However, anything left beyond the 10% on the bill is given to the
servers/staff. I cannot vouch for the other places. Service charges are
usually divided among all staff, including kitchen personnel, dish washers,
etc., if it's done correctly/fairly, not just the servers.
You might think Cappriccio's an "expensive" place, but their
pizza's are my favorite, only fls. 15,00 for a plain one (about the size of a
large dinner plate). No service charge is included there, so with tax it's
only fls. 15,75/US$9 (take away or eat-in).
Charging a 10% service charge which then doesn't get distributed
to the staff as would a tip seems ridiculous to me, and seems to be merely a
way to inflate the bill at the expense of patrons and to the detriment of the
staff (who getting tipped less as a result of the 10% already being on the
bill).
That would be a big reason not to patronize such an establishment, no matter
where it was...
Jake
I think it's all very confusing--which employee gets what, how
much & where, & wish there was one standard practice island-wide that
was explained & adhered to, for all "service charge/gratuity"
type line items. But it's a personal choice of the establishment and the different
cultures/customs of the clientele have to be considered. I always ask the
owner (not the waiter) what's done with the "service charge" if
it's not clear. Customers should ask the owner/manager if they're not
sure--why not? A more public inquisition may encourage a better system
eventually. Like why do some hotels add a "service charge" to the
entire hotel bill? It's also their way of advertising lower prices which in
effect really aren't true.
Could the Bonaire Restaurant Association perhaps establish some
recommended guidelines based on some sort of standard used like in the U.S.
or elsewhere service charges/tipping are more common.
I was under the impression that service charges at hotels (and elsewhere)
were legally required to be distributed to staff (a form of profit sharing as
well as compensation for those who don't ordinarily get tipped). I gather
that's not the case - see, live here 5 years and still learn something new
:-)
Jake
Ruth,
The prices at the Garden Cafe no longer include a 10% service charge. We
specifically asked the owner, he said no service charge was included. Later,
we asked for a copy of the menu to take home as a souvenir, and we noticed it
had something to the effect that "prices include a 10% service
charge". When we asked him about that, he said "no, no, that's the
old menu", took the page away from us, and came back with a new copy
that didn't have that on it. So, I can't say whether all the menus have been
changed or not, but it appears that their new policy is "no service
charge included".
I agree with the others, we found this "service charge" policy to
be very confusing. When we visited Switzerland, we understood (correctly or
not!) that most establishments charge a service charge, and that fee is in
lieu of a tip. In the US, service charges are pretty much unheard of, and
tips (of 15% - 20%) are expected. In Bonaire, we really had no idea what we
were doing, but generally tried to leave about a 10% tip if a service charge
was included, and 15% if not.
Ken
Hi Jake--one thing I've learned here is that standards such as
you've mentioned, just won't be followed--I never got good at herding cats.
Most owners, I find, have moved here to get away from rules &
regulations, and who can blame them? Keeping up with the ever increasingly
strict codes from the health dept, tax office, S.V.B. ('national health care
system'), labor office, diminishing pool of qualified workers, & lack of
a consistently good supply chain, are time consuming enough.
Service charges (etc) are not mandatory and due to our varied customer base,
(and owner nationalities too) are necessary in some places (where the servers
might not receive any tip at all if the customer is not used to tipping). You
are legeally required to distribute these charges, unless you claim them as
income/profit to the tax office.
I have noticed a few establishments in the Miami & Orlando areas either
including a service charge, or clearly stating on the bill, in several
languages, that "no gratuity has been included in this total." I
can only assume that this has come about because of their varied customer base
and plenty of incidences of servers not getting tipped. I think whatever a
place chooses to do is fine--but it should be clearly stated in writing on
the menu & the bill. Then, as Ken mentions, you can figure it out from
there. Personally, I'd like to see no included/added service charges simply
because the sales tax is on top of that. But that's just my opinion as a
customer--I'm not dealing with the situations like other owners have.
I haven't been to Garden Cafe in a few weeks and did notice his higher prices
(but love his service & food & how sparkeling clean everything is
there so we will always continue to go there)--but also saw the line (on the
old menu I guess) about how the prices included a 10% svc chrg, so figured
they were okay. In his place though, he has only the one girl (employee)
serving, so we always tip her. The other people there are the owners, and we
never tip the owners anywhere.
Thanks for a great report. I've been to Bonaire twice, and I'm
going again in September. Thanks to your report, there are a few different
places I will try.
In regards to the Terrace at SandDollar, when we were there last
week, I actually asked the owner about the 10% service charge. Earlier in the
week, we had been told by the wait staff that they did not recieve any of the
10%. However, the owner insists that the staff actually does get the 10%.
According to him, it goes not only to the wait staff, but to the cooks,
bartenders, etc.
He advised us, if we were going to tip at all, that 5% would be more than
adequate. That would give the waitress the extra 5%, in addition to her cut
of the 10%.
We are relatively decent tippers, so we always made sure there was at least
18-20% going for a tip - from some source, be it what we left on the table or
the service charge.
That's what we did, too (though we usually kept the tip in the
15% - 20% range). It's interesting that the wait staff & the management
of Sand $ Terrace seem to have a difference of opinion as to the disposition
of the 10% service charge!
I HATE the practice of tipping. Just yesterday, we went to a restaurant in
which you place your order at the counter, but then a wait person brings the
drinks and food to your table. Do you tip them? What's an appropriate amount?
And also, we were talking about a restaurant where the prices were so high,
the bill for 5 people came to $300. Does the wait person really deserve a $45
- $60 tip, just because it was an expensive meal? And don't get me started on
non-restaurant tipping. I wish they'd just all raise the prices, pay the help
what they deserve, and do away with all tipping.
Ken
My wife and I are going to Bonaire for two weeks at the
beginning of September.
Since she is in charge of the "food logistics" for the trip, she asked
me tonight, "Is food expensive in Bonaire?" So, I gave her a
printed copy of your detailed trip report (Bonaire Talk: Dining) which also
spans two weeks and, therefore, provides sufficient information to get us
through two weeks of food needs in B.
And even though we are warned at the beginning that the evaluations of your
food experiences are "subjective," you seem to take an approach to
dining and food that is similar to ours, so we don't mind the bias, even to
the point about the ridiculous tipping practices we have.
Your comments are sensible and thoughtful. And for that we thank you. I am
sure the reviews will be a great help to us in September.
Karl and Terez.
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