As a San Francisco resident, there is definitely a streak of egalitarianism here. Your comment about waiters makes me think of the local institution Zeitgeist:
From the reviews you can see the split in reaction: Some people think the staff are incredibly rude. Others, like me, love the place. As somebody who thinks of the staff as hardworking people trying to get a difficult job done, I've never had a problem with them. But they definitely aren't servile, and they won't take an ounce of crap from anybody.
If I had to sum up the culture, I'd say that nobody minds that you have money, and nobody minds if you enjoy yourself. But showy consumption is frowned upon, and acting like you're better than others because you have money is a definite faux pas.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/zeitgeist-san-francisco
From the reviews you can see the split in reaction: Some people think the staff are incredibly rude. Others, like me, love the place. As somebody who thinks of the staff as hardworking people trying to get a difficult job done, I've never had a problem with them. But they definitely aren't servile, and they won't take an ounce of crap from anybody.
If I had to sum up the culture, I'd say that nobody minds that you have money, and nobody minds if you enjoy yourself. But showy consumption is frowned upon, and acting like you're better than others because you have money is a definite faux pas.