Milk and Honey, West Bloomfield, Michigan
Once again, we welcome roving reviewer Ari — now relocated from Boston to the midwest — who offers us a comparative glimpse of kosher dining near his new home.
Milk and Honey, a restaurant located off the main entryway of the JCC of Metro Detroit, is under the supervision of the Vaad Harabonim of Greater Detroit. Equally important, the food was a cut above most other restaurants at which I’ve eaten.
This dairy restaurant provides a relatively narrow assortment of fish, pasta, and vegetarian dishes. The menu (Adobe PDF) is certainly a different approach than Rubin’s twelve-insert menu. The basic, simple treatment of the menu is reflected in the restaurant’s decor as well. Tables are angled so that you face your party, rather than your neighbors. (Emily and I discussed that Ta’am China would have managed to squeeze in about 40% more tables.) The feeling of privacy is compounded by an orzo-shaped bar that divides one side of the restaurant from another. It was nice to have some space, both on the table, and around us. Of course, space is cheaper in the midwest.
We started with Minestrone soup for Emily, and Mushroom Barley for me. Her soup had a deep tomato flavor, while mine was relatively bland. Mine was only mildly better than Tabatchnick’s, though it had a lot more solids. Emily’s would be worth ordering again.
Given that Emily and I try to eat high-fat/high-starch foods, we followed with twice-baked potato skins. These were amazing, with solid amounts of cheddar and sour cream, and fresh chives. (As a note, ketchup is delivered in a bowl, rather than in the bottle!)
It was too early for us to eat the full-size fish or pasta dishes, and they were out of the portabella mushrooms (for the portabella sandwich), so we each had main course salads. Emily’s caesar had real anchovies, fresh croutons, and a generous portion. My Greek had great feta chunks, beets, and a great-tasting mild dressing. I appreciated that neither of the salads were drenched, and both were truly fresh. Given that we visited on a Sunday, I sometimes get nervous ordering vegetables at restaurants…
Dessert was Tiramisu and Apple Pie! The pie slice was bigger than my face with caramel sauce and ice cream. Tiramisu is a dessert that I love, but is so hard to find. Milk and Honey’s version was in a martini glass, and was a cut above.
In summary, lunch was great. I didn’t like that they included the tip on the bill, but the service was polite, the food was excellent (other than my soup), and I got out for a four-course meal for $45 when all was said and done.
That said: Jabbett and I have debated why no restaurant has tried to capitalize on the foot traffic of the Newton JCC. It seems like a great captive business and family audience, in a decent Jewish neighborhood.
(Jabbett’s note: To suggest that the Newton JCC is in a “neighborhood” is overly generous, perched up on that hill in what could be Newton’s only “middle of nowhere.” I’d have no problem driving to the suburbs for a good kosher meal, but there are far livelier spots — with far greater concentrations of kosher Jews — to choose from.)
If DeliTizer couldn’t make a go of it right on Beacon in Waban, I don’t see much more than a basic cafe in the Newton JCC. As Jabbett noted, it’s just too isolated.
I was in business in Detroit recently, and had dinner at this restaurant.
Classy place, excellent food, very generous portions, and decent service. Plus, the JCC was huge.
2 thumbs up.
Milk and Honey has also started having all you can eat buffets. It seems like they’re offered once a month or so. Very good deals! The chef is also very friendly and knowledgeable.
Milk and Honey is indeed a fine restaurant. This only seems to add to the irony of including the tip on the check automatically. It’s a very odd practice — I don’t know of any other restaurant in the US that does this except, perhaps on parties of 6 or more, for example.
I usually tip 20% for good service, but if M & H is going to dunn me 15%, I’ll leave it at that.
What really grinds me, though, is that they do it so subtly. The waitstaff does not go out of their way to inform you that the check includes the tip, and it’s so unexpected, I’m sure a lot of people tip on top of that!
I complained to the on-duty manager, who mentioned that the menu does indeed state that the tip is automatically added. I read the menu. It does state that. But it’s so subtle, it borders on unethical. It’s certainly offensive. Well, perhaps I can’t generalize, but I find it offensive, as do most other people I’ve told about this.
Anyone know what rationale they could possibly have for this practise? Have they found that their clientele just doesn’t tip properly?
I was a manager at Milk & Honey restaurant and helped establish the policy regarding the 15% inclusion tip. Steven Graff was very close and the reason is as follows. For about a year, the turnover for the wait staff was very high, due to very low tips. After speaking with many customers who did not tip, the most common reason was, we simply did not know. In a community such as detroit, with no fine dining, the orthodox jews simply did not know to tip. Hence the 15% automatic tip. Also, if you do tip more, the waiter should be letting you know of the 15%.
Unless your community is entirely Haredi, I have a hard time believing that ignorance.
BTW, that’s not a shot at Haredim, but rather an acknowledgment that the “restaurant culture” is not prominent among Haredi communities.
Who needs fine dining to know how to tip?
Wherever you eat–
a) You sit down.
b) Someone puts down some food.
c) You tip him.
These cultural norms are tough sometimes… I mean, I know to shower every month whether I need it or not. But in some communities, that’s just not a standard thing.
Deis Cane, it’s got nothing to do with haredi or not; nobody has the “restaurant culture” in Detroit because Milk and Honey is the only kosher place in town where “a) You sit down, b) Someone puts down some food”. There are no other such places; so from where should anyone know about this custom?
And Jabbet, there’s nothing obvious about tipping; it’s a peculiar American custom and there’s no logical reason for it. Why should I tip the person who puts food down in front of me, when I don’t tip the person who hands me food over the counter, the cashier at the supermarket, the receptionist at the doctor’s, or the bus driver? It’s not the custom in lots of places, it’s just something one learns about going to restaurants in America; and one learns it by going to restaurants in America, which Jews in Detroit don’t have a lot of opportunity to do.
BS”D
Just my 2 cents, but observant Jews know that everybody tips, they just don’t- they’re cheapskates. This goes on everywhere in the US, you’d probably find that the average tip by observant Jews is signigicantly lower than the average tip by the rest of the population. This is probably because kosher restaurants usually are priced higher than nonkosher of the same type, so usually they are captive to mostly Jewish consumers, and the consumers know that as long as they pay the tab, they’ll likely be welcomed back with open arms, since it’s them who keep the restaurant open, and without them, the restaurant will close. If I had a restaurant, and I fully plan to soon, I would have a “no tipping” policy, and would automatically raise prices 25% to cover what would be the gratuity and the overhead costs associated with covering it as payroll, and then do it that way. Either that, or make the customer pay at time of ordering and pick up food by himself by number, bus his own table, and just have staff to clean the tables, floors and other common areas (and of course, production staff). Because without adequate tip, one will never maintain a decent waitstaff.
At most kosher restaurants in NYC, I’d be happy to do that. The service doesn’t amount to more than that anyway, and I don’t see why its value is related to the cost of the meal, or why it’s worth more than a flat $2. It’s ironic that we’re having this discussion on this thread, since Milk and Honey is the first restaurant where I ever experienced service that I thought was actually worth a tip; in fact, my thought at the time was “so that’s what tipping is for”, and I tipped more than the standard 15%.
Bottom line is Milk and Honey has gone downhill. There used to be Le Difference (sp?) — and people certainly tipped there. Any thoughts as to why the Kosher community in Detroit won’t support more than one “nice” (I use that term loosely) sit-down joint?
It must be more a sectarian issue as opposed to a local, “they dont get out much” issue. Here in Central NJ there are a number of kosher establishments,(admittedly none are “nice” but at least a few have table service) and at least one has has a sign (right by the flat screen specials display) to reminding folks its customary to tip 15%.
BS”D
You’re absolutely right that it’s customary, and where it’s customary, halacha would say that it’s required. It’s as if the waitstaff is partly hired by the restaurant, through the minimal salary paid, and partially hired by the customer requesting service. 15% is about the absolute minimum expected for anything close to decent service. I regularly tip 20% for good service, and for exceptional service dealing with complicated orders, 25% would not be unreasonable. I think downright bad service doesn’t justify any tip, but it’s good to remember that waitstaff is generally paid just minimum wage or thereabouts, so they have an expectation that their low hourly wage will be made up for in tips, but they know that the amount of the tip depends on their service. Perhaps it helps when giving a low tip to tell the waiter why you’re doing it, so that he/she can keep in mind that it’s not an entitlement, that it’s earned. But it’s important for consumers to realize that it’s a proper additional expense to the food tag, assuming the waitstaff does its job.
In fact, labor laws allow restaurants to pay wait staff below minimum wage because tipping is expected. As such, I do not consider tipping an option; it is a must. If I’m really unhappy with service, I’ll send my message by tipping under 15%, but I always remind myself that the service industry can be brutal, and my waiter deserves the benefit of the doubt.
BS”D
While we’re on the subject of tipping, what should the policy be where the ownership of the restaurant is also doing the service? Typically, I don’t tip in that case, figuring that it’s all built into the price. There are many restaurants where the there are 1 or 2 family members in the back of the house, the wife or daughter acts as the maitre d’hotel, and a daughter, who typically lives at home, waits the tables. I feel funny not tipping, but I know that the wife and daughter are not employees, they’re owners- as such, cash tips are just a way of getting additional tax-free money. So Amy Vanderbilt, what’s the proper thing to do in that case?
I still tip in those cases, Craig, especially when it’s clearly the child of the owner. In many cases, because of what you described, he or she is working for no salary, just tips. If it’s the spouse, I’m less likely to tip a lot, but I still like to leave what I call an “acknowledgementary” tip.
When in doubt, tip.
BS”D
Very interesting, DeisCane, in that I would, too, if the child were pocketing the tips him/herself. But what often happens is that the money just ends up being considered part of the profit generated by the business, and the child sees it just as household income of the parents. In the course of purchasing a restuarant location, I have run into many situations where the tips were considered part of the income of the business (in the form of owner’s discretionary cash flow/income) thereby artificially inflating the value of the business. In actuality, if an “independent” employee were performing the service, none of the tip would go to the owner, but because the server is family and lives in the owners’ home, all or a goodly part is considered cash flow by the owner. On the one hand, I can understand the argument that the adult or near-adult ofspring of the owner must get at least some discretionary cash from the parents, so to some extent, at least a portion of the tips really do represent a salary to him/her. However, the other, I see no reason to provide a greater income to the owners than what would already be provided through the purchase price of the items.
Sadly, Milk & Honey is now closed.
wow Milhouse has some great points.
I was just looking for kosher restaurants in my area…