Ask Tom

Now and then, I hear from readers who complain to me about restaurants that don't reveal the prices of their specials upfront, and only after the check is presented do diners learn that the specials cost far more than the entree average. To head off the problem, I typically suggest that restaurants provide the prices of specials orally or in print, on an insert.

When the subject came up again during a recent online food discussion, a few readers supported the idea of putting everything in writing. One of them, a self-described "31-year-old woman who is hard of hearing," wrote that "the assumption is just made that I would be able to hear them." Another poster described an Italian dinner that ended with a recitation by the waiter of "12 or 15" desserts. "I couldn't remember all of them and had to ask him to repeat part of the list -- as in, what was that third chocolate thing you said? What kind of cheesecake was that you mentioned?" Having a written list of the specials would have saved both patron and server time and, possibly, their voices.

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