I enjoyed your recent article on the 100th anniversary of Jack's Oyster House ("100 years — and a world of oysters," Jan. 24). It brought back pleasant memories; I courted my wife there in 1959, and the result is a 53-year marriage.
I need, however, to draw attention to a neglected negative aspect of restaurant ambience: Piped-in music. I regard it as the bane of our existence.
It often drowns out conversation. It is unwanted. It is never my choice. It is never on the menu. No one listens to it. It is an environmental hazard. It can resemble a roaring tinnitus. If I want music, I play my own or go to concerts of my selection. I don't mind the hum or even the din of conversation at a crowded restaurant. I do mind the simultaneous cacophony of popular music.
Here's a suggestion: Restaurant reviews typically include a number of aspects of the venue aside from the quality of the food — service, access for the disabled, parking, cost, etc. Why not include an evaluation of the quality of the background music? Or the difficulty of carrying on a conversation. Or, perhaps, the difficulty of a whispering exchange of sweet nothings, the ultimate conversation, with your beloved.
That brings me back to Jack's. I don't remember whether background music was playing in 1959. But if it was, it was unobtrusive, because sweet nothings flowed unhindered.
MALCOLM BELL
North Greenbush