Once the restaurant has sold you desserts, coffees, digestifs, and every other damn thing they can think of, it’s common for the service to abruptly fall off. Need a glass of water? Forget about it! Another napkin because yours dropped on the floor? Beyond the realm of possibility. You may find yourself setting out across the room like a jungle explorer in search of your waiter, just to get the check. Somehow, the endgame is the area of service most often neglected, and a meal that was otherwise excellent in every way can be vastly diminished as you sit disconsolately for 15 minutes among the dirty plates and smeary glasses of the final course.