Bad Service and Good Hors D’Oeuvres

Ack, I hate it when I eat some yogurt and the little bits of berries get stuck inside some crevices in my teeth. Always carry a plastic toothpick in your wallet. Nuff said.

Friday night was fantabulouso as I hit home, relaxed for a bit, then head out to the Barley Mow Pub for a bite to eat with Mike, Eric, Annie and Philip. We had to wait awhile for a table which is not a big deal since the beer was flowing. Keith’s Red was our poison and it is a fine brew. Give it a try! I enjoy the red beers these days. In fact, the amber ales just don’t have enough kick anymore.

When we sat down, we waited forever for our waitress to serve us. When she finally showed up, she apologized as there was some confusion as to whether or not someone had served us or not.

We all ordered the fish and chips other than Eric who ordered a burger. We had been waiting for a top up of liquids for quite some time and so when the server came over with our food we asked if we could order some beer. He said he would send the waitress over. I could see her across the way playing around with some machine (perhaps a cash register?) and I swear I made eye contact a few times and she checked our table to see if things were alright but she never came over! At that point she went away and I went to the bar to order a pitcher but I had no cash on me so I just asked for it to be sent to our table and he asked what our waitress looked like. I think he missed the part of the conversation about sending a pitcher over as one never came! The server (who Mike thought might be the owner/service manager) came back after realizing we still didn’t have our beer and promptly got our waitress to bring one over.

At this point the damage was done and we were not impressed. She then came over to pour us a few drinks and ended up overfilling Eric’s glass and it dripped all over the place!

In the end, we had some good food and I like the atmosphere (although, why do they have big screen televisions if all they do is set it to a satellite radio channel and there’s only the text of the artist on the screen? Let’s also note that it was so loud that we couldn’t even hear the music!) but our service was horrible. In the end I pulled out the dreaded no tip card out of my hat. I reserve this for horrible service and it only comes out rarely. Do I feel bad? No.

Mike and I then headed out to Vero and Melanie’s new place as there was a shindig occuring. The party was in full force when we arrived (and only got better once we arrived!). I chatted it up with a few of her friends before settling in and talking with Rob for awhile. The night was killer and the munchies were stupendous! When you throw a tomato, a piece of cheese and (I forget the last item) on a toothpick, you are answering the prayers of all in attendance.

The guitars came out after awhile and we noodled around with them. Jean-Francois is an excellent guitar player and I must admit I had a hard time following some jazz chords he was playing. This, in no way was a result of the number of beer I had in my system. I played a few crowd favourites like Mr. Jones and Back in the USSR and then we called it a night after a singalong to some improv song. Oops! I just remembered that I broke two wooden spoons that night by drumming too hard! This reminds me of the time that Joe broke one of my wooden spoons and I was upset. Now, for the life of me, I don’t know why I was really upset that night but I was and he was a good mate and replaced them. I shall have to do the same for Vero and Mel.

We met a new lady in Matt’s life last night who was pretty cool. Actually she got the Palmer stamp of approval as soon as she said she snuck out of her house to see Pearl Jam when she was 17. You had me at Pearl Jam. Mike and I may have to hit her up as a concert going buddy as she seems to be into that sort of thing. As I am sure Matt will be showing her this entry, please note that there are plans to hit up Montreal to see Silverchair on July 30.

When I arose from my slumber I had a slight sore noggin but other than that, the day started out great.