Sorry for the gap between posts; I've been under the weather and to be honest, I ached so badly that simply typing on a keyboard hurt. So I took these past few days off to rest and recover from whatever the hell it is that's knocked me for a loop. I'm almost back to 100% (maybe 75%), so you'll hear more from me now.
As we speak, the temps are dropping faster than AMERICAN PSYCHO's trousers in the ladies room. We're expected to get down to the teens tonight and below freezing for the high tomorrow. Maybe winter will finally begin to rear its ugly head. With the way things have gone thus far, it will probably be 65 degrees by Sunday.
I was alerted by FREEJACK about a situation that took place very recently where a friend of a friend was mugged at gunpoint on East 21st and 3rd Avenue at around 3am. Folks, it's important to keep your wits about you when you are leaving the bars late night; this isn't the first time that this has happened in the neighborhood. I told you about a similar situation a couple of months back where one of our regulars and his girlfriend got mugged at gunpoint on 33rd and 2nd Avenue, under very similar circumstances. While MURRAY HILL is considered relatively safe compared to most neighborhoods in the city, it's still important to keep your wits about you and use common sense. You're not invincible. This could just as easily happen to you or me. Thanks FREEJACK for the heads up.
On a lighter note, here's a link to a funny prank video from Japan. Thanks again to AMERICAN PSYCHO for the link. Catch the video HERE
One last thing: You know how every once in a while I go on a tirade about the tipping practices of Europeans? As much as I may vent about it, I've never gone as far as what this waiter did at a posh restaurant here in town.....
I WAS SERVED A FRENCH DI$$ IN N.Y. CAFE
TIP SLIPPED ONTO TAB AS 'FOREIGNER FEE'
By JENNIFER FERMINO
January 16, 2007 -- Excusez-moi!?
A French-born Manhattan resident claims a trendy SoHo restaurant tacked a gratuity on his bill without telling him - then said it was to "protect" the waiters because foreigners don't tip.
Ludovic Audesson, who was dining with three European visitors, almost choked on his Sancerre when he got the check at posh Aquagrill.
"It's the first time this has ever happened to me," said Audesson, 32. "I think it's very disrespectful. It is insulting to me."
It's more than insulting - it's also illegal.
The city Department of Consumer Affairs prohibits restaurants from adding tips onto whatever tables they feel like.
Its rules state that a restaurant can impose a 15 percent gratuity on parties of eight or more as long as it conspicuously prints the policy on the menu.
Audesson's party of four had dinner at the Spring Street eatery last month.
Everyone ordered their meals in accented English, then sat back and gabbed in their native tongue.
They enjoyed a leisurely, two-hour meal, complete with a bottle of white wine, some raw-bar shellfish, four fish entrees and three side orders.
The bill was $247.32 - including an 18 percent tip.
Audesson, a hair colorist at Pierre Michel, said when they asked the manager why the gratuitous gratuity was tacked on, he was told, "We do that because you're foreign, and foreigners don't tip."
Mon dieu!
"That's the worst excuse you can come up with," said Emma Sirot, 34, who was in the party and also heard the manager's gaffe. "It's discrimination."
Sirot, who is French but lives in Virginia, said, "We had a great dinner and a lot of fun until this."
Audesson told the manager that he was not only a New Yorker but also a frequent diner at Aquagrill. The manager apologized and explained, "I want to protect my staff," Audesson recalled.
He offered to take the charge off, but Audesson declined, sniffing, "Keep the tip, but you will never see me again."
Restaurant owner Jennifer Marshall confirmed the incident but said it was bad judgment on one manager's part - not company policy.
"We feel very sorry that this occurred," she said. "I would love to have them back and give them a gift certificate. It will never happen again."
She also reimbursed the two credit cards used to pay the bill that night.
Wow. Talk about balls.....
DOLLAR DRAFT MADNESS tonight with $1.00 BUD/BUD LIGHT MUGS! And don't forget LADIES NIGHT tomorrow night ($2.00 Mixed Well Drinks for the ladies, and $4.00 Blue Moon Ale, Amstel Light and Coors Light for everyone).
More to follow!
NUFF SAID
4 comments:
no sunday shenanigans?
what do you think about building a wall and keeping THEM all out?
Don't apologize for not posting. Everyone knows how old people get sick all the time and have to take their afternoon naps and such. It's all gravy, baby.
no one likes a hater....
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