"High Class" Diners Steal The Chopsticks at Bushi-Tei

Here lies the latest edition of Shit People Steal, in which we ask restaurateurs what items in their restaurant have been (or are frequently) stolen.

Bushi Tei owner Tak Matsuba jokes that his menus never get dirty because new chef Michael Hung tweaks them so often to reflect what's at the market. But that's not all that changes daily at the Japantown California-French-Japanese restaurant. So does the overall chopstick count. As Matsuba puts it:

"one of the most amusing and equally frustrating things I see, almost on a daily basis, is our imported, hand-carved, Japanese mulberry twig chopsticks being 'accidentally' swiped off our tabletops and into the handbags of our most 'courteous,' and 'high-class' customers.

These hard to find chopsticks, which were imported from Japan's Gifu Prefecture, are hand-washed everyday by our staff, so as not to damage the delicate wood. All in all, during these rough economic times, where few people go out for fine dining, if it means a customer leaves our restaurant satisfied from a delicious meal, and pleased with their new set of eating utensils, then it's worth the deceit."

Have a restaurant theft story? Tell us about it.

· All Previous Shit People Steal Coverage [~ ESF ~]