The Reason Your Server Might Be Pushing You To Try The 'Special'

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It may not immediately seem like it, but dining out at a restaurant is more than a culinary experience. Just like any other business, there are sneaky tricks at play to make patrons spend money. These are typically marketing tactics found in the menu, but there are times when the waitstaff is incorporated to promote certain items like the restaurant's special. While it can be difficult to determine its true motive, the menu or chef's special is usually either an expression of the chef's skill or a way to move ingredients. 

The event in which the special is acting as the chef's shining moment usually happens at a higher-end or non-chain restaurant, where the head chef has a bit more creative freedom. Say they found a particularly inspiring ingredient and wanted to offer a fresh, exciting item to the menu. The special would double as a showcase of the kitchen's skills, possibly even testing the success of the new item, without interrupting the traditional lineup. On the other hand, at chain restaurants, where the chefs don't have as much of a voice, the specials line up more with Gordon Ramsay's advice that menus are meant to disappear throughout the evening, effectively meaning they're meant to clear out inventory that's about to expire.  

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Admittedly, there is a certain amount of risk involved in ordering a restaurant's special, no matter why it's actually being offered. That said, the wait staff can be brand ambassadors for the restaurant and play a key role in the benefit of a patron's dining experience. Among their responsibilities, like selling the menu and playing host to your meal, servers are meant to know the ins and outs of the menu, including the specials. Here, they double as a guide, providing not only insight about how everything is made, but also how it tastes. The server's insights ultimately answer whether the special would be worth trying, and, if not, what the server feels is truly the best dish in the house. 

On that note, it's important to recognize that there's a difference between the special and the house specialty. While the former can be tricky, what the house specialties are essentially signature dishes that define a restaurant, no matter the size of its menu. Further, as opposed to a limited-time offering, these are typically permanent plates meant to establish what separates them from the competition. In fact, inquiring about the house specialty is a tried-and-true trick approved by Anthony Bourdain. Though it may seem like an annoying question to ask a server, Bourdain advised taking a hands-off approach, asking the waitstaff their opinion. Their answer could be telling, especially when it comes to whether it lines up with that chef's special.