It Pays to Tip!

Friday night, I went to dinner with Erin and Jan. We went to this place near Jan's (and not far from where Erin lives and where I am staying, either) that was actually quite good. It was a really sort of interesting set up - you ordered appetizers by the piece (I ordered two scallops, but I could have had one or ten or however many I was willing to pay for, at €5 each.) Then, for the main dish, you ordered by the gram. We all three had steak - Erin and I ordered 100 grams each, and Jan ordered 200 grams, plus another 100 grams of rabbit. Then you ordered your side items separately. (of course, for the two Americans, ordering in grams didn't make a ton of sense, but the 100 gram size was actually perfect)

Jan decided he wanted to become a regular, so he left a €20 tip. (Our total bill was €179, so this is slightly more than 10%)

Keep in mind you don't normally tip in Belgium, or if you do, you just leave a couple €2 coins on the table, even if the bill is as high as the one we had on Friday. So leaving a 10% tip? Really good.

The waiter came over, saw the €20 note on the table, and said, "Is this for me?" and we said yes. He thanked us and walked away. A few seconds later, he came back and asked if we wanted shots! Jan quickly agreed to a shot of vodka, but Erin and I were not that into the idea and both said no thanks. Then Erin said, "Wait, have you got Baileys?" A minute later, she and I were sipping iced Baileys while Jan enjoyed his vodka.

Too bad tipping at home doesn't bring you special treats.