Five Rules for Tipping from Grand Forks' Restaurant Critic Marilyn Hagerty

The Grand Forks Herald's esteemed restaurant critic Marilyn Hagerty — who became a food world phenom with her revolutionary review of an Olive Garden  — recently weighed in on the hot button topic of tipping. She hits the pavement hard, doing research on people's tipping habits: "Moving around Grand Forks with notebook in hand, I have been visiting with people who say they tip anywhere from 10 to 15 or 20 percent at restaurants." After speaking to many sources — friends, local residents of Grand Forks, North Dakota, and more —she susses out what people tip on average in various settings. Below, her findings and recommendations:

1) For pizza delivery, it's good to tip between $3 and $5.

2) At buffet-style restaurants a $1 to $2 tip "is a nice gesture."

3) Tip jars on counters at restaurants "should not intimidate people." It's okay to want to "join in — but it's not always necessary."

4) Leaving a pennies on a a table for a tip to indicate that "service was poor" is "not a good thing to do."

5) Leave your tip in cash on the table. According to her friend, "if you put it on your credit card payment, you are not sure how the money is distributed."