Over the weekend, I finally made it to check out Floor 2, the restaurant in the Fairmont Hotel. The restaurant closed and then re-opened last year, with a new look and new menu. It looks stunning – the bar area is gorgeous – and the new menu was great, too. But the best part of the night, by far, was the service.

Going out to a restaurant is a bit of a gamble for me. I love going out to eat, but I always make sure to check out the menu ahead of time. Not only can I be a little bit of a picky eater, but I have to make sure there’s something on the menu that will be easy for me to eat. Something that requires a lot of cutting isn’t going to be ideal, because I’m going to need more help. And it’s not that the people I’m eating with aren’t willing to help – they are, of course – but it’s just another thing I’d need help with.

But I now know that I don’t have to worry about any of that if I am out to eat at Floor 2 – especially if my new favorite waitress, Katie, is there to serve me. From the very beginning to the end of the meal, Katie went out of her way to make sure she accommodated my needs. She asked me if I would like a straw in my drink WITHOUT me having to ask for one, and she asked me which side was my stronger side so she could be sure to put my drink on that side. When I ordered a seafood dish that came with some mussels, she let me know that she’d asked the kitchen to remove them from the shells for me, and asked if I’d like them to cut up my sea bass, as well.

These might sound like minor, simple things to you, but I cannot tell you how impressed I was. Katie went out of her way to make my meal as enjoyable as possible, without making me feel like I had to impose on her, and without being prompted. Most impressive of all, she never assumed what I wanted, but just presented me with options that might make things easier for me.

It’s little things like this that I appreciate the most – things that make me feel included, but not singled out. I hope that one day, we get to a point where this is the norm, rather than the exception. But until then, I want to make sure to highlight situations where accommodations are done well, and not only ones where I think improvement is needed! So thank you, Katie, for allowing me to have such a fantastic dining experience – I will definitely be back.