Update: Oreo, Dog Thrown Off Building, Was Euthanized
People Wait For Tomorrow's UWS Apple Store Opening
Emily and Sarah Kunstler, Filmmakers
Cheap Chicken Wing Deal Ruined by Gunslinging Teens
FIT Students Busted For Drug Dealing Get Probation
The Post also reports on Grocery, the Smith Street restaurant that could. Ever since being named Zagat's seventh best restaurant in the city, the Brooklyn restaurant has experienced the windfalls and pitfalls associated with the "Zagat Curse," like lots of people wanting to come to the restaurant, but regulars being squeezed out.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
i assume i am the only person who has ever had a negative experience at the grocery - but in the interest of fair journalism, i thought i'd
share. (sorry for the long post.)
in january of 2002 i was walking by the grocery on my way to the gym and i had the brilliant idea to pop in and make valentine's day reservations for me and my boyfriend. they only had 2 times left, 5:30 and 10pm. i took the 10pm reservations, already hatching a scheme to have appetizers and drinks at home and then a nice little meal at the grocery. i asked the man if he would call me if there were cancellations, as i would prefer an earlier time and he said he would, but also asked that i call the day before valentines day to confirm.
the week before valentine's day i called to see if they could move our reservations earlier and they said they could not, but to please call
back to confirm the next week. the day before valentines day i called to confirm our 10pm reservations.
on valentine's day we arrived at 10pm after drinks and appetizers at our place. we were seated quickly in the crowded dining room and
handed our 4-course prixe fixe menu. we were shocked. in the THREE times i had made contact with the restaurant to make our reservations,
once in person, no one had mentioned a prix-fixe menu. we ordered a bottle of sparkling water while we tried to figure out what to do.
at the time my boyfriend kept kosher and most of the food on the menu was shellfish or meat based. also, it was 10pm on a week night and we had already eaten a bit at home. it was a disaster.
we explained to the waiter that this was not what we had had in mind and he brought the owner out. she said she was too busy to deal with it but would make a vegetable plate to replace the main course, though she had no options for 2 of the other courses my boyfriend couldn't eat. we had to leave. they made us pay for the bottle of water.
the next day i sent them a letter expressing my disappointment, saying that everyone in the neighborhood loved them and no one i spoke to
could believe what had happened.
they never responded.
now before you blame me for not knowing that on valentines day there would be a prixe fixe menu, i will admit, it was naive of me, but come on, i spoke to them THREE times, you don't think they could have mentioned it!
Your mistake was not failing to anticipate a prixe-fixe menu. They probably assumed that you had read about it on one of those fliers that nearly every restaurant prints up to explain their holiday offerings, nevertheless they should have mentioned it to you.
Your mistake was not asking to make special arrangements for your kosher boyfriend when dining out at a non-kosher restaurant on one of the busiest nights of the year.
Moutarde is really so-so, opt for Belleville or Cocotte's instead.
i copped to my mistake, however i was familiar with Grocery's "regular" menu and had heard from many vegeterian friends that grocery was particularly good about dealing with vegeterian's needs. ALSO, my way of dealing with my boyfriend's kashrut is by NEVER going somewhere that is prixe-fixe. . .i thought i was doing right by him. . .oh well. . .i hiss at the grocery every time i walk by.
And what about their mistakes: not mentioning the menu, making us pay for our bottled water, NOT WRITING BACK?! That's just BAD BUSINESS. i hope they crumble under their success.
I echo the comments above -- Moutarde is eh. I went to Belleville again last night, and it is such a treat to have down the street from my apt. Really good, well-prepared comfort food. I had shepherd's pie with duck. Delish.
Sea is a complete shithole, the worst, watered-down, sweetened-up Thai food in williamsburg.
Is it the same SEA that is in the EV?
ok, how did Quench make it to a restaurant story? I live a half a block from the place and can assure they have NEVER served food there. shouldn't they be on some trendy bars in Brooklyn list instead?
Another good Thai restaurant is Joya on Court St....always packed...
but my favorite has to be Alma in Red Hook....the best - once its warm again (like today) you can sit on the roof and enjoy the skyline.
jenny, you are so right, i thought the same thing! i'm a big fan of "the bar" and last week was meeting friends there. because the bar doesn't really have a name my friends walked in Quench, took one look around and said "this bar is too trendy for jamie!" luckily, they looked across the street and found me. sheesh, that was a close one.
My experience at Belleville was less than stellar. Overpriced food eaten to a pounding disco beat with rude waiters. After dinner, I happened to be standing on line at a bodega where one of the Belleville waiters was shrieking obscenities at the bodega clerk (and holding up the damn line for several minutes). The waiter apparently was under the impression that a discount was owed since they came in "all the time" (funny those of us who actually live in the neighborhood never thought to demand discounts from local merchants that we patronize frequently - doubtful anyone would be in business with that logic). Much to my amazement, the clerk gave the rude waiter a discount, prompting not a "thank you" from the waiter, but rather "is that the best you can do?" before finally storming out. If this is the spirit Belleville is bringing to the 'hood, they had better bridge it back to Manhattan where tourists will mistake such unpleasantness as the "hip NY experience."
I was so excited about going to Bubby's in DUMBO. I had the the Fried Chicken and it was OK and the service was fine....but the child friendly atmosphere was impossible to bear. They just came rollin' in and the screaming and crying punctuated the music all through the meal. As distracting as that was the faint aroma of vomit pervaded the air throughout the meal.I will not return and I'm off to get my vasectomy a.s.a.p.
I was so excited about going to Bubby's in DUMBO. I had the the Fried Chicken and it was OK and the service was fine....but the child friendly atmosphere was impossible to bear. They just came rollin' in and the screaming and crying punctuated the music all through the meal. As distracting as that was the faint aroma of vomit pervaded the air throughout the meal.I will not return and I'm off to get my vasectomy a.s.a.p.
Bubby's Dumbo-*DISGUSTING*
I found gristle and bone in my chicken salad sandwich. The manager said "That's because it's Homemade" ??!! Blech. Overpriced trendy garbage. Head to grimaldi's for a good pizza.