Last of the 2008 Retrospective Pics…
Submitted by Aguanomics Blog
We went out to dinner last night in Santa Cruz. Luckily, one restaurant was open, and we sat down in anticipation of a lovely Italian dinner — fresh bread and olive oil, nice wine, pizza and perhaps a little tiramisu.
Our first disappointment was quick to arrive: There was no pizza; they ran out of dough. (Luckily, we weren’t in the mood for pesto, since they were also out of that.)
Oh well. So we ordered pasta and a salad, and “no, don’t bother to charge us $2 to split the order, we can switch plates.”
Our next disappointment was that there was no bread — we were given stale focaccia instead.
When the wine came, the pour seemed to be less-than-generous minimal, i.e., less than 0.1875 liters (or 1/4 of a bottle) that is the norm.
Things were not looking good.
We ate the meal, and I asked the waiter “what do we do when your service is good, but the restaurant is below par? We don’t want to give you a smaller tip.”
“Nothing,” he says. “Sorry that we ran out of bread.”
So we paid (12% tip) and left — asking the bartender on the way out: “How many glasses do you pour from a bottle of wine.” “I don’t know,” she said. “Four, maybe?”
I don’t know about you, but a restaurant that runs our of pizza, pesto and bread and has a bartender who doesn’t know — or doesn’t say — the most-basic pour measure (four glasses is normal; five glasses is a rip-off) is a restaurant that is mismanaged. (Reminds me of the time I went to the airport during the holiday, and the TSA [Transients Standing Around] was overwhelmed by the crowds. What were they thinking? that people would take the holiday off to NOT travel?)
So why was a mismanaged restaurant open (and doing good business) on Christmas? Perhaps because the extra business was worth the cost (paying double wages to workers), or perhaps because they are not able to get customers on a normal business day. For one thing, it wasn’t through the charity of their hearts.
Do you have any interesting restaurant stories?
Bottom Line: It’s hard to run a restaurant, but I am glad that the government doesn’t run them. [non-sequitur warning!] Too bad the government seems to think it can run schools and other things that can be provided by the private sector.
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