The Waiters' Restaurant

MELBOURNE - -It's a place where a request for wine is answered with a question, "what color?"

Fancy it's not.

The menu is on the wall - - sans prices. There are 30 entrees available (mostly pasta) plus five appetizers and about half a dozen dessert choices. The ambiance is closer to my mother's basement with its fake-wood paneling, so I'm not worried about it being expensive. This is not your typical Melbourne eatery.

The waiter (yes, only ONE) is a 60-ish man who moved very quickly and adeptly around and between the 16 tables (15 of which were filled by the time I left), taking orders over the top of his glasses slid halfway down his nose. Until the 15th table sat, I never saw him write anything down.

Of all the meals I've eaten in Melbourne, it's the first restaurant to give me bread and water without charge.

And my wine - - red, thank you very much - - in a juice glass.