Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting, But Over a Gelato Sample?

We love a good cone of hazelnut gelato to top off a long week, so last night, we headed to Cones on Bleecker for a treat. And, not unusual for a nice summer night, there was a small crowd outside and we were about sixth in line. A customer a few people ahead of us asked the owner (we assumed he was the owner - he was older and seemed in charge) for a sample of the zabaglione gelato and the owner brusquely said, "No." The customer, a 20-30 something white guy whose girlfriend/wife already had a cone, said, "What? Why can't I get a sample?" The owner said, "No samples. I've got people waiting." Boom! This started an insane screaming chorus from the couple, with the woman saying, "What? No sample? Fine, I won't pay for the gelato," and the man saying things like "You don't know who you're dealing with...you're gonna regret this." The owner kept saying, "I don't care! Fine!" as he tried to serve other horrified customers. Now, while everyone likes a sample, we had to side with the owner in the dispute - he had a number of customers to serve. Sure, he could have been nicer about telling the customer he wasn't getting a sample, but the owner seemed very harried and anxious to keep the line moving.

The woman ended up paying for the cone, while the man told other workers (including one who tried to calm them down) that the owner was an asshole and continued to parry various insults. When the couple finally left the store, the man said, "Wait till you read the Times on Monday!" Ooh. But the couple didn't actually quite leave - they kept the door open and yelled from the sidewalk, "It's over! It's over!" Which made us wonder, if it's over, why stand on the sidewalk and rehash it. We suppose the man had a major hankering for the taste of zabaglione gelato.

Photograph from Williams-Sonoma, for their Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato recipe, for when you don't want to leave the house

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in Food on August 13, 2006 3:18 PM

Comments [rss]

insider

This is a marketing stunt by the Times to energize a declining readership. They are paying actors to create disturbances like this and say 'wait til you read it in the Times!' as a parting shot.

Pretty fucking gay.

Rocknrope

So much for "reading the Times on Monday"...he's probably a delivery boy. Unless he's talking about High Times...

robin.g

Baskin Robbins gives samples; that's their thing. The owner might have been rude but he doesn't have to give anything he doesn't want to.

virgil

Gosh, Whit;

That's a heck of an asumption to make about one of the hands-down most amiable people around. I've known Sam for years, and he rarely yells at Italians, especialy not purveyors of fine desserts.

It was probably just Steve Dunleavy and Andrea Peyser on another secret date.

(Of course once Sam finds out who you are, its over, do you understand? Over! Just you wait til you read my blog tomorrow...)

Rachel

F that.

You know how annoying it is to stand behind someone in line who asks for like 4 samples only to decide they want a small vanilla ice cream.

Ugh.

asg749d

I must admitt, I've been going to Cones since 1998 and have asked the owners for a little sample here and there; although neither of them (they are brothers) has denied it, sometimes I see them giving other customers samples with a little bit of an attitude.

You know what it is? They are Argentines after all, and they are known for short tempers and HUGE egos...i think the reason is that they invneted.........DULCE DE LECHE!

zincink

"Were they "Rambo" fans? Cause if they were, it's never over." LOL!!!!!!

hilarious..the guy must be giving samples all day long..chocolate is chocolate..vanilla is vanilla...simple as that..

Rack

No joke. I was there on Saturday night and there was definitely something up that guy's ass. Sure there was a long line, but he was really being a prick. Woman next to me said she felt like she was about to hear the phrase "No Gelato for you!"

Sozekirai

Normally would't go anywhere near the Times. Wonder if it will be on the website.

Kevin Walsh

A Times guy eh? He'll probably reveal their secret ingredients.

www.forgotten-ny.com

Joe

Normally I don't buy the Times on Monday, but tomorrow I'll make an exception.

Charlie Sheen

I'm surprised the customer didn't grab his girlfriend's gelato cone and hold it navy seal style.

ugh

"You don't know who you're dealing with...you're gonna regret this."

hee hee, I'm going to just start saying that ALL the time! you gotta love old curmudgeons. I'd still side with him. I mean, Bleecker St. + gelato + precious young couples = ICK.

I'll buy my gelato in Italy, lip balm restrictions notwithstanding.

capn

ummm.. wow. guess the cones guy was a little flipped yesterday. just last weekend i asked him for a sample on a busy night, very politely, and he complied (he wasn't pleased about it tho.) i wound up having the zabaglione (without sample) and it wasn't good at all. angry big talker guy didn't miss a thing (except an opportunity to act more civilized.)

whitbrid ale

Sorry, I've now read she eventually paid for the cone. What were the various insults and why did the staff side with the couple?

Were they "Rambo" fans? Cause if they were, it's never over.

whit people

Samples? I've never heard of such a thing.

Thank you Jen for pointing out this city is FULL of a-holes like that.

So, basically by bitching why there's no sample, the bitch got a free cone out of it.

Was it Sam Sifton of the Times?