I obviously go out to eat a fair amount. If you have been following my blogs, you will know that I am not a big fan of cooking at home in my downtime and usually prefer to have someone else do it for me. This week I amuse you, the reader, with a list of my pet peeves about diningout. I'm not going to name names, because that would be rude, but here are some things that I consider to be simply unacceptable.

1. True story—the following happened at a very well known restaurant in the Mission when they first opened. I was having dinner at a two top with a friend. We just sat down and were nibbling on some bread type things when a busser came over to pour water at our table. He had two water pitchers, one in each hand and a latex glove on his left hand. A LATEX GLOVE! Obviously, he was trying to hide some sort of wound or laceration...but who the hell would let their water boy approach a table with a glove on? I actually swore off that restaurant until recently, and thankfully when I went back there was not a latex glove in sight ...

2. Dirty silverware. I mean, really, this is up there with lipstick prints on wine glasses. Yuck. Who wants to eat with silverware that has old crusty food stuck to it? For this one, I blame the servers, as they are usually the ones setting the tables and they should pay closer attention. It affects their tip ... I'm not quite sure they grasp that concept sometimes.

3. Speaking of servers, while I'm on the subject, I hate it when I go out to a restaurant and ask my server questions about the menu or a specific preparation and get met with what is clearly nonsense. I can tell when a server is BS'ing me—it's not hard to recognize. If you don't know, ASK! I say this to the servers at Absinthe all the time. There is nothing worse then looking like an idiot in front of your customers.

4. Being ignored the minute you enter a restaurant. OK, this one is self explanatory: if there isn't anyone there to greet me when I walk in, what incentive do I have to actually stay and dine there?

5. Lastly—and this maybe one of the most offensive ones—there is nothing I find more disgusting then a dirty bathroom. It's just gnarly. Someone needs to get in there, restock some toilet paper, clean the trash can that is overflowing with paper towels and make sure the toilets are clean. I think thisis something that should be checked periodically throughout the course of a night. It's beyond gross to walk into a public bathroom (which in my opinion is gross enough anyway). But to walk into a bathroom in a nice restaurant that is dirty and disgusting...UGH! Its enough to make me lose my appetite.

Now, I'm sure I have more pet peeves, but I would actually love to hear your comments. Anyone have anything else to add?