A year and a half ago, a reader posed a newsletter question to the food editor at Bloomberg Pursuits (me): Do restaurant servers hate diners?

To answer that thought-provoking query, I turned to Adam Reiner, a Bloomberg Pursuits contributor and James Beard-winning writer. He spent more than 20 years waiting tables in New York City, everywhere from theme restaurants in Times Square to Carbone, the Grill and Babbo.

Now Reiner is publishing his first book, "The New Rules of Dining Out: An Insider’s Guide to Enjoying Restaurants" (LSU Press; Sept. 19; $30). It’s a de facto handbook for everyone who wants to have a better experience when they sit down at a restaurant, let alone someone who craves VIP treatment. Chapters have titles like, “How to Become a Regular” and “Tricks of the Trade, Powe

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