At Maritime Parc in Jersey City

Black Cod (also called sable fish) with Lobster Hash, foreground; Winter Carrot Ragout, center, and Black Bass with Sauteed Apples. The chef at Maritime Parc likes to cut up food into small pieces. 

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• Travelzoo voucher isn't such a great deal

Why tipping gives me indigestion

Maritime Parc Restaurant overlooks a Jersey City marina.

How did restaurant owners manage to create a tipping system that pits servers against customers, and takes the focus off the price and quality of the food?

The history of tipping really doesn't matter. We appear to be stuck with a system that puts the burden on the customer -- not the employer -- to provide servers with a living wage.

Most restaurant servers earn minimum wage or less. In New Jersey, the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.

Several years ago, I read in The New York Times that in the United States, the highest wage paid to servers was about $10 an hour in Las Vegas, where unions are strong. 

$7.25 an hour or less

At $7.25 an hour in North Jersey, how many hours would a server have to work to make a decent salary and how much would he or she have to collect in tips? Tips are often pooled and shared by busboys and other waiters and waitresses.

Last month, I spent a week in San Francisco and ate in seven restaurants, ranging from a Vietnamese place that packs them in for a $5.95 seafood noodle soup to an expensive American grill at the airport, where I blew more than $50 on a two-course lunch and a glass of wine.

Service was as good or better than I've experienced in North Jersey, but there was some glitches, though nothing I would want to penalize a server for. I actually saw one young waitress break out into a trot on the way to the kitchen.

Maritime Parc

The tipping tradition came to mind after we had a bad experience at Maritime Parc, an expensive seafood restaurant in Jersey City's Liberty State Park. 

The food and service were good, but the restaurant has so much trouble luring customers to its isolated location that it is open only four days a week in winter.

One way it attracts customers is by issuing a $65 voucher for dinner for two through Travelzoo, but the restaurant recommended we tip the staff 20% on the full value of the meal, $130. That's $26. A 15% tip on $130 would be $19.50.

I left a $26 gratiuty, but encountered three problems: The Travelzoo menu has no prices, portions are small and I wasn't convinced the meal was worth $130.

$12 glass of wine

For example, our $12 glasses of wine were only one-third full. And my wife's entree held a small piece of fish that looked like it weighed no more than 3 ounces.

What recourse does a customer have? I could have left a smaller tip or I could resolve to never return. Both leave the restaurant off the hook.

A friend recounts his experience at a Theater District restaurant in Manhattan, where his wife remembered she had a discount coupon only after their party was presented with the credit-card slip.

The manager came over and said he couldn't adjust the check. He suggested my friend and the others not tip the waiter. Eventually, the manager pulled out cash from his own pocket and gave it to them.

Restaurant owners often leave us no choice but to vote with our feet, if we don't like the food or how it is prepared.

Misspent millions

They often spend millions on a renovation, but turn around and serve low-quality, mystery food to customers to boost their profits. Just think of how few North Jersey restaurants serve naturally raised meat and poultry.

They know that if we don't like it, we might, out of frustration, stiff the server. It's a lousy system that needs changing.

Of course, good luck trying to get restaurants owners and some celebrity chefs to take less profit, pay their servers more and increase the quality of the food.

Bad food? It pays to complain

Costco Wholesale has one of the best return policies around.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss complaints about spoiled store-bought food, and three new menu items at a Korean tofu restaurant.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Earthbound Farm's Organic Spring Mix is one of the most delicious ready-to-use salads you can find, but occasionally, some of the delicate leaves rot before the expiration date.

When I've sent e-mails to the company, the response has always been quick and I've also received coupons or a Costco Wholesale gift card for more than the cost of the spring mix. 

Of course, Costco's return policy is one of the best around and you don't even need a receipt.

 

Refunds

On Saturday, I received three full refunds: 

$13.99 for unopened cans of Kirkland Signature Solid Albacore Tuna, $4.29 for Galil-brand Roasted Chestnuts and $9.99 for two jars of Kirkland Signature Natural Peanut Butter.

Solid albacore tuna has much more mercury than the light tuna I asked my wife to buy. The organic chestnuts turned slimy and moldy in the refrigerator, and I dumped them in the garbage. My wife and son didn't like the peanut butter, because the oil separates out of it.

I e-mailed Cargill Meat Solutions about oxtails I purchased at Costco, complaining there was so much fat and bone, a package of more than 4 pounds barely served three people.

The meat processor said it would send me a full refund of $18.68.

I also e-mailed Trident Seafoods of Seattle, Wash., about finding mold in a can of Bear & Wolf-brand wild Alaskan pink salmon. I will be getting a coupon good for one of Trident's frozen seafood items at Costco. 

Vouchers

I have had mixed success with complaints to Groupon and Travelzoo, online publishers of restaurant and other deals.

When we used an $18 Groupon to buy a $36 meal at Gammeeok, a Korean restaurant in Palisades Park, we were charged $3.74 extra for two small bowls of rice, a staple that is usually served free with every Korean meal.

Groupon responded to my e-mail by giving me a full $18 credit toward the purchase of my next voucher.

Travelzoo

Our $65 voucher from Travelzoo was supposed to buy a three-course dinner for two valued at up to $130 at Maritime Parc in Jersey City, plus wine, coffee or tea.

But when we were seated in the expensive seafood restaurant, we were given a menu without prices that listed many extra-cost supplements, and poured glasses of wine that were only a third full. Each glass was supposedly valued at up to $12

My wife urged me not to take it out on the waitress by leaving a smaller tip than the recommended 20% or $26 on the full cost of $130.

Travelzoo responded to my e-mail by telling me to take the matter up with the restaurant, which issued the voucher, and offering me a $10 credit toward the purchase of another voucher.

I'm not sure I want to buy another Travelzoo voucher, especially one that seems to exaggerate the value of the deal.

I bought a $159 Travelzoo voucher for a room and another "$130 dinner" for two at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, then asked for a refund when the hotel said I would have to pay $5 for parking.

In addition, the menu for the dinner at one of the Borgata's restaurants was valued at less than $35 per person, and no alcohol was included.

Expanded menu

A popular Korean tofu house in Palisades Park has expanded its menu to include a few other classic dishes.

The place-mat menu at So Gong Dong has added stone-bowl bibimbap, but serves the rice-based dish in three varieties (usually topped by a fried or raw egg): beef, vegetable or squid.

Two other new menu items are pan-friend pork slices in a spicy sauce or jaeyook bokeum, and squid barbecue with spicy sauce.

All are $12.99 each, including tax.

We had a great soft-tofu dinner there on Saturday night. My son explained he likes So Gong Dong, because when he asks for the spiciest tofu, he gets it. 

A complete meal of soft-tofu stew, rice and side dishes is $9.99, including tax.

So Gong Dong, 118 Broad Ave., Second Floor, Palisades Park; 201-313-5550. Open seven days. Valet parking available.

Travelzoo voucher isn't such a great deal

Image via CrunchBase

We battled rain, cautious drivers, faded lane markings and missing road signs on Friday as we tried to make a 6:30 dinner reservation at Maritime Parc, the expensive seafood restaurant in Jersey City.

I was afraid the restaurant would give away our table if we were late, so I asked my wife to call from the car at 6:15 and tell them we would be delayed. But when we got there, the restaurant was nearly empty.

I had a $65 promotional voucher from Travelzoo, which said it would purchase dinner for two with a total value of "up to $130."

Based on this experience and another voucher I bought from Travelzoo -- then cancelled -- the Internet publisher of travel, entertainment and local deals exaggerates the total value of its vouchers and omits important details.

Our dinner from a special fixed-price menu included two starters ($32 value), two entrees ($48 value), two desserts (up to $9 each), two glasses of wine (up to $12 each) and two coffees or teas ($8 value).

No menu prices

The menu we got listed wines, appetizers and entrees without prices, but included raw-bar items and side dishes for additional charges ranging from $3 to $98. There is no mention of this on the voucher.

The voucher says no additional payment beyond tax and gratuity is required, but in capital letters urges the purchaser to "PLEASE TIP ON THE FULL VALUE OF THE CHECK."

But Maritime Parc's Travelzoo menu specifies that a 20% gratuity is recommended on the full price of $130. That's $26. 

Good food

Although portions were small, we loved the food and would have been happy with an appetizer and entree, plus wine and coffee or tea. 

My wife asked for her dessert -- Coconut Bread Pudding -- to go and I asked the waitress to serve me only sorbet, instead of the ice cream and sorbet listed on a separate menu.

We also were served complimentary pickled cauliflower with cheese cubes, along with a small bread basket, and we were offered and took seconds on the pickled dish.

Two fingers of wine

Our biggest disappointment was the amount of wine we received. My wife asked for the white wine listed on the menu (Teddy Hall Sauvignon Blanc 2009) and I chose the red (Castillo De Monseran Garnache 2010).

The wine glasses were only one-third full -- about two fingers. When I asked, the waitress insisted that was the amount of wine poured when any customer asks for a single glass.

One-third of a glass of wine for each of us isn't what I expected from the voucher's description of "2 glasses of wine (up to $12 each)."

All-seafood meal

My wife started with a Baby Spinach Salad, Spiced Pine Nuts, Marinated Figs and Crispy Salmon Skin and I had Grilled Octopus a la Plancha, Crispy Potatoes and Leek Puree (hold the Pork Belly).

Our entrees were Black Bass, Sauteed Apples, Brussels Sprouts, Bacon and Brown Butter Vinaigrette (for her) and Black Cod with Lobster Hash (for me).

The waitress suggested we order a side dish to complement the main dishes, so we selected Five Spice, Ginger Glazed Winter Carrot Ragout ($7).

This hearty dish was a perfect foil for the blustery conditions outside, but we couldn't finish it.

I asked for lemon wedges for my fish, which was under-seasoned. The bits of lobster in the lobster hash were tough, in contrast to my appetizer's octopus, which was unusually tender. 

My wife's skin-on fillet was smaller than mine -- I'd guess it weighed only about 3 ounces -- both both fish entrees were moist and beautifully cooked.

Customer's burden

I wanted to leave a smaller tip than the restaurant's recommended 20%, but my wife said I shouldn't penalize the wait staff for how little wine we received.

Somehow, greedy restaurant owners have put the burden on the customer for providing a decent salary to their servers, most of whom are paid the minimum wage.

I resent being placed in a position of having to tip well to supplement what  amounts to slave wages.

When I asked for the check, there was lots of confusion, and I was given a charge slip for $89 from another table.

Finally, I got the right one. I paid $38.04, including that $26 tip, $7 for the side dish and $5.04 in tax. Add that to the $65 I paid for the voucher and my total was $98.04 for two.

We won't return

This was more food that we usually eat out and it cost more than we usually spend.

We won't be returning to Maritime Parc. It is in Liberty State Park, overlooking a marina and facing Liberty House Restaurant across a parking lot -- basically in the middle of nowhere.

I especially didn't like the rough cobblestone road we had to drive over to get there.