We highlight so many examples of ridicules regulation over in Europe that it is worth highlighting how they survive. This from a New York Times article called Their House Is Your Trattoria…

Full and happy, we got up to leave and I started to leave a tip. “This isn’t done,” said Emanuele. “These places don’t pay taxes; all the money goes in their pockets.” Do they ever get in trouble with the law? “See those two men in the corner?” he pointed. “They’re police, and they like the food as much as the rest of us.”

The article was all about how the best food in Italy can be found in small places that operate outside the law. Thus ridicules European regulations don’t apply to them.