How to Make Positive Changes in Your Life

How to Change Your Food Order

It's been 15 minutes since you ordered the chicken, but, boy, does that salmon look good. Too late? "It's always worth asking," says Brian Johnson, general manager of Joe's Stone Crab in Miami. "But it is too late if the chef has started cooking something that can't be put back on the grill and won't be ordered by someone else soon―like a broiled Maine lobster." If you're still determined to switch, tell your waiter it's OK if you're served last. "The hardest part is when the change has to be expedited to keep up," says Tracey Spillane, partner and general manager at Spago Beverly Hills. If you want something else once your food has been served, "we'd prefer to hear that it wasn't what you expected and wasn't to your taste, as opposed to hearing it was the worst thing ever," Spillane says. "But we'll get you what you want, because we want you to be happy." Maurice Rouas, owner of Fleur de Lys, in San Francisco, adds, "Be mindful of how you say things. We always appreciate politeness."