The Norm Classics by Michael Jantze for September 10, 2023

I’ll be on the bar stool.

I’d be ok with eating at the counter, but they seem to have disappeared.

Actually prefer eating in the bar, or if at a diner, at the counter (getting rarer nowadays).

Add whatever you want for gratuity – it’s up to me whether or not it is included – if the service is good, it’s included – it the service is bad – no gratuity is paid. For me, having a table with 6+ people is actually easier to wait on than 12 people at 6 different tables…

If it’s mandatory, then (by definition) it is not a gratuity.