Dinner at a Portuguese restaurant
By Lena Kovadlo
@lovebuglena (52143)
Staten Island, New York
November 22, 2021 1:30pm CST
Since NYC has the stupid vaccine mandate for indoor dining I decided to go eat somewhere in New Jersey on Saturday. Went to Yelp to find nice places to go and found a Portuguese restaurant in Elizabeth, NJ called Valença Restaurant. I think it was about a half-hour drive from our house, which is not bad at all. We made a reservation before going there so didn't really have to wait for a table.
When we sat down a server brought us some fresh rolls with butter and a bowl of salad on the house. We ordered two glasses of Portuguese table wine to start. Unfortunately, the waiter screwed up and brought us a pitcher of sangria. We told him about it and he apologized. He took away the sangria and brought us our wine. He managed to leave a big sangria stain on the table cloth but it's not a big deal.
For the appetizer, we got anchovies. It was a plate of anchovies cut in half length-wise, topped with small pieces of garlic, and drizzled with oil. It seemed like they were marinated. They weren't like those very salty anchovies that come in a glass jar. They were delicious and went well with the salad and bread.
For the main course, we got short ribs and veal chops. Both dishes came with rice, potatoes, and veggies. Some veggies were cooked, while some were pickled, with a kick to them. Everything was great but the portions were very big, so we ended up with lots of leftovers. We took them home but didn't get to eat them yet as we had to attend a funeral yesterday. Planning on having them for dinner tonight. I hope the meat will still be good.
For dessert, we had tres leches cake. Hubby also wanted to get roasted pineapple with port wine but they were out of pineapples. The waiter apologized and said the tres leches cake is on the house. He asked us if we want anything else but we decided to stick with just tres leches cake. I really wanted a cappuccino but had no room for it, so decided not to get it.
Our initial bill was over $100. We looked it over and noticed that the waiter forgot to update our bill and we were charged for a pitcher of sangria rather than two glasses of the Portuguese table wine. We told the guy that brought us the check and he adjusted it. After the adjustment, the total came to around $80. We gave him our credit card and when he brought it back with the receipt to sign we noticed that the total was about $68. I think he gave us a discount because of the mix-up with the wine. Hubby decided to leave a $25 tip, which was more than 20% even if you take the % from the prior $80 bill total. That is just too much. Just because you get something on the house or you get a discount (for whatever reason) doesn't mean you have to leave a much bigger tip.
9 people like this
9 responses
@kaylachan (84703)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
22 Nov 21
No, you don't, but I think it's nice of him to do. Servers get paid very little and every dollar counts. And, despite the many mistakes, they tried to fix it.
1 person likes this

@kaylachan (84703)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
24 Nov 21
@lovebuglena Sounds like it.
1 person likes this

@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
22 Nov 21
It sounds like a really nice dinner... well, except for the anchovies.

The tip your husband left sounds about right to me. *shrug* I mean, the service was good except for a little mistake with the sangria, right?

The tip your husband left sounds about right to me. *shrug* I mean, the service was good except for a little mistake with the sangria, right?@lovebuglena (52143)
• Staten Island, New York
22 Nov 21
Yes, but unless my math is wrong the tip is more than 20% even for an $80 total. I think a 20% tip is generous. Leaving $25 for a $67 total is way more than 20%.
@lovebuglena (52143)
• Staten Island, New York
22 Nov 21
So I am assuming you are not a fan of anchovies? 

1 person likes this

@snowy22315 (208746)
• United States
22 Nov 21
Umm, wouldn't it be easier just to get the vaccine? Glad you enjoyed your meal though.
@lovebuglena (52143)
• Staten Island, New York
24 Nov 21
I am not gonna get vaxxed just so I can go out to eat, go to concerts, etc.
@lovebuglena (52143)
• Staten Island, New York
24 Nov 21
This one wasn't as soft as it usually is but it was still really good taste-wise.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52143)
• Staten Island, New York
22 Nov 21
It's nice but 20% tip is more than enough I think. And he ended up giving much more.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222222)
• United States
23 Nov 21
Glad you enjoyed yourself. I wouldn't tip more than 20% unless I won the lottery! :-)
@lovebuglena (52143)
• Staten Island, New York
24 Nov 21
I wouldn't do that either. Hubby is different. And he usually tries to leave a tip in cash, if he has enough money on him. It's better for the waiter he says than leaving it on a credit card.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222222)
• United States
25 Nov 21
@lovebuglena We only tip in cash too.
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@lovebuglena (52143)
• Staten Island, New York
26 Nov 21
@LindaOHio I never really did that. But then I don't usually carry much money in my wallet, if at all.
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@popciclecold (40215)
• United States
22 Nov 21
Sounds like you all had good food, and good service, I'm sure you will go back again.
@lovebuglena (52143)
• Staten Island, New York
22 Nov 21
Yes. It's a very large menu. Lot of good things to try.
@RebeccasFarm (91299)
• United States
22 Nov 21
How nice of your husband Lena..glad you enjoyed your time there too.
@lovebuglena (52143)
• Staten Island, New York
22 Nov 21
He had only $20 and asked me for $5. If I had realized the tip was gonna me more than 20% before I gave him the $5 I wouldn't have given it to him.
@Scrapper88 (5980)
• United States
22 Nov 21
Sounds like you had a good time. By the restaurants having the mandate; they are loosing money.
@lovebuglena (52143)
• Staten Island, New York
22 Nov 21
Yes. And many comply because they don't want to pay fines if they are caught letting unvaccinated dine inside.
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