100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do

I'm in a trendy DC restaurant in the Woodley Park neighborhood, sitting at the bar, watching an overweight bartender munching down on a large pizza about three feet from me (it's so close I could reach over and help myself to a slice, and this is at least the second time this has happened here). Am I crazy, or isn't this totally inappropriate? Hey, I'm not 100% sure of restaurant etiquette, so using my laptop to check the "perfect recall of silicon memory," aka the Internet (wireless is available here), I found this in about 15 seconds from the NY Times:

100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do:

#35. Do not eat or drink in plain view of guests.

Here's another one I think is good:

#32. Never touch a customer. No excuses. Do not do it. Do not brush them, move them, wipe them or dust them.

And I like this one:

#43. Never mention what your favorite dessert is. It’s irrelevant.

I've written before about how I think it's insane to ask a perfect stranger (waiter or waitress) for advice on what they think you would like best. If I'm not sure I know what I want to eat, how would a total stranger be of any help?

Now in the pre-Internet days, I would have had to make a visit to a local library in the next few days, and find a reference book or article on restaurant etiquette. Now I can be upset immediately, without having to wait for confirmation.