At the risk of sounding like one is fingering one's Eaton tie whilst the 21st Century whistles past one's gray-furred ears, what on earth has happened to service lately? It used to be that service was up and down, here and there, a missed water glass, a lengthy disappearance...what could you do? But suddenly that seems like the golden age, and this the age of the new barbarism. Why, just the other day a server ran back to our table to inquire breathlessly whether we wanted our appetizers before the meal. Or what? Next visit? And by all ethical standards, can any reasonably witty person really be expected to hold back at an opening like that? It all came rushing at one quite strikingly at Schumacher's, as the service was so unbelievably good. Unbelievably good. Servers came and went, they poured wine, they didn't interrupt conversations, they met every need, from a respectful distance, and even displayed that greatest quality of service: knowing what was needed before one realized it oneself, and filling that need silently. Were sharp-eyed Kathleen Schumacher hovering at the doorway of every restaurant, many among us would be noticeably less vexed.