Explore local eateries during Restaurant Week

To the editor:

Don’t forget to patronize your neighborhood restaurants during this summer’s New York City Restaurant Week. It runs to Aug. 18, with a wide variety of both two-course lunch and three-course dinner specials for $30, $45 and $60 dollars.

My wife and I don’t mind occasionally paying a little more to help our favorite restaurants survive. Don’t forget your cook and server. We try to tip 20 to 25 percent against the total bill including taxes. If it is an odd amount, we round up to the next dollar. If we can afford to eat out, we can afford an extra dollar tip.

When ordering takeout, we always leave a dollar or two for the waiter or cook. It is appreciated.

The restaurant industry employs several hundred thousand people. This includes bartenders, waiters, busboys, cooks and cashiers, wholesale food sellers, distributors and linen suppliers.

There are also construction contractors, who renovate or build new restaurants.

Our local entrepreneurs work long hours, pay taxes and provide local employment, especially to students during the summer. If we don’t patronize our local restaurants, they don’t eat either.

Larry Penner