Zagat reported that the average restaurant tip hit 19.2% last year, up from 18% in 2000, a trend that may stem at least in part from the recession, experts say. U.S. consumers are spending less on restaurant meals but often are leaving the same tip they would have dropped in better days. "People are going out less often, so the few times they do go out, they feel more comfortable being generous," business professor Sherry Jarrell said.