Quick question folks: How can a restaurant and bar have ONLY ONE pint glass?
That is the conundrum we faced last night when we went to dinner at a "Bistro" in Beaumont's West End.
After ordering a Guinness, our waitress - a lovely girl whose name shan't be revealed to protect her job - served it to us in a bottle. When we asked for a pint glass, she said, "I'm sorry, but we only have one and another customer is using it."
"How can you only have one pint glass?" our friend asked. "Don't you have a full bar?"
Indeed they did have a full bar, replied the waitress but it turns out the restaurant only ever had "four or five" pint glasses and all but one were wiped out when someone dropped a tray of them.
All of a sudden we thought of Barney Fife in "The Andy Griffith Show," the sheriff's deputy who carried a gun, but kept his only bullet in his breast pocket.
"Barney...get your bullet," Sheriff Andy Taylor would say if ever faced with the threat of imminent danger - a rare happening in idyllic Mayberry.
However a bullet can be dangerous, and Barney was a bad shot, so keeping it out of his gun in that scenario makes sense. Nothing about a restaurant/bar owning only ONE pint glass makes ANY sense at all.
So here's our advice to the owners of this "Bistro": FOR THE LOVE OF BEER ON TAP, GO SHOPPING FOR GLASSES ALREADY! You can get a lovely set of five for $24.99 at Target and you'll be right back where you started - which was a lame place to begin with, but at least your customers don't have to play "Pass the Glass."
And don't charge another $4 for Guinness in a bottle until you do.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
A bar with no glasses?
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13 comments:
OH MY! One pint glass!? How dare they call themselves a bar! What if you'd ordered a snakebite? would you have had to wait for the other customer to finish? ewwww!
RE: jmck
If you ordered any drink served in a pint glass you'd have to wait your turn. It's RIDICULOUS.
So, is this establishment in such dire straights that they cannot afford to stock a sufficient supply of serving pieces? Gee, guess you should BYOGlass.
RE: Anonymous
Isn't the idea of going to a restaurant to be served? If I wanted to supply my own table setting, I'd just stay home.
this is journalism? bitching about bad service and the lack of bar supplies at a local business?
sometimes I can't believe they pay this guy to write.
yet another reason why I cancelled my subscription to this rag years ago. and we wonder why most newspapers are about to go out of business.
RE: Anonymous 12:19
Just to be clear...the service was great and so was the food. I never said either was unpleasant.
And to answer your question...yes. Sometimes this is what journalism is. Sometimes journalism is pointing out the avoidable mistakes that would make an otherwise nice evening out, somewhat frustrating.
In bringing this up, my hope is that the establishment would rise to the occasion and realize that being unprepared to receive guests is bad customer service.
It's too bad you don't think journalism can be used for such a purpose. However, thanks anyway for your page views.
ok...first..your lame attempt at disguising the venue was horrible...
really..a "Bistro" on the west end of bmt. we all know where you were referring to.
second...I have read your reviews of restaurants and honestly I have to say that you have a very uneducated approach to dining out. Some of the places you recommend are crap and the ones you trash are generally locally owned folks that are struggling in this economy. I agree there is no excuse for them having one glass but why do you have to constantly brow beat local businesses? If you are the BE food critic and reviewer I would be surprised to see any local place want to spend their money with that paper.
and instead of asking a server why they only had one glass and getting a story that is prob not true (I know the owner and he has and still runs some of the nicest places in town) why didn't you ask the manager? there is a good possibility that they had more in storage or were waiting on an order?
did you attempt to get the full story or merely extrapolate your own conclusion so you would have something negative to write about?
and if this is the only thing you have to comment on you really need to get out more...
RE: Anonymous 3:47
It's interesting that you say you read my reviews and that I "constantly brow beat" local businesses. If you really read my reviews, you'd see how I only discuss a venue's positive qualities. If you think I'm wrong, feel free to share specific examples.
RE: Anonymous 3:50
My waitress told me she checked with the manager and I assumed she was telling the truth.
I am familiar with the owner and he does, like you say, own some of the nicest places in town. I'm interested in them staying nice and doubt he is the type of person who cannot take some lively constructive criticism.
I seriously doubt people will stop patronizing this place because of my blog post. Possibly, the only affect my words will have is the arrival of some sparkling clean pint glasses there.
ok so I ook the time to research your articles and came across some positive things you have said:
you told people that a good place to eat greasy food and get in a bar fight was at the west.
you told people that madisons on dowlen had overpriced food of poor quality...yet they beat us again this year at the taste of the triangle food show.
you praised fast food places that literally drop frozen food into a fryer...
and you made a whole article on beans. beans. an entire article.
and yes mr danelo your harsh words would definitely make someone not want to go to the bistro...meanwhile servers like myself have to struggle in this economy bc people are tipping less...your 'constructive criticism' does nothing positive.
do us all a favor and quit writing such crap. this is the last time I am going to spend anytime reading any of your garbage. your content is lackluster and you obviously don't appreciate what local people do around here. I understand that an opinion is an opinion, but you have the luxury and duty to be able to spread information on a grand scale. you should really think about the impact you have on peoples pocketbooks.
RE: Anonymous 5:35
About the West...I said it was a great place to have a burger and beer.
About Madison's...I did say the food was not great and overpriced, but also named it one of the best local bars and places to watch college football.
I wrote a column about fast food, yes, but have also written many things about how to eat healthy.
And I never wrote an entire article about beans. I wrote an article about a cooking show I attended, at which beans happen to be served.
To me, your opinion is hyperbolic and wrong, but you are of course entitled to it.
Believe it or not, though I disagree, I do respect that you care enough to express your thoughts.
Feel free to keep reading and visiting the blog if you wish. If not, best of luck in your future endeavors.
no Matthew you said "if you want to get into a bar fight" the west was the place to be...
and as far as Madisons...I eat there alot and the food is GREAT and AFFORDABLE...by what gauge are you saying it is overpriced? It is no different than Applebees, Logans or Chilis prices and the food is way better.
I think you have selective memory.
regardless...it is you column and your opinion. I just know that almost no one I know ever agrees with your writing. ever.
RE: Anonymous 8:38
Actually...THIS is what I wrote about The West.
"If you're going to get into a fight with people over a game, then immediately become their friend and buy them a round, this is the place that's most likely to happen. The greasy hamburgers, inexpensive suds and rowdy atmosphere will remind you of every college bar you frequented back in the good old days."
I think that's only a negative comment if you want it to be.
You and I will just have to agree to disagree. Best of luck with your restaurant endeavors.
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