I was feeling pent up today; paid my taxes, on a diet, planning a recital and prepping material for later dates- and I decide I have to get out of the house. What I REALLY wanted to eat was the grilled chicken sandwich and sweet potato fries at Henry's Ale House (62 Henry Street) but I thought to myself, "Be good Jen, go to Siggy's Good Food (an all-organic menu, just down the block from the Ale House) and get yourself something healthy." Here is the aftermath.
Siggy's does indeed have good food- I've been there several times, and like the smoothies, sandwiches, and Moroccan Chicken- BUT, today at lunch I experienced something I've never encountered.
My bill was $12.36 (chicken sandwich and Chinese Cola). I handed my visa/debit card to the 20 something waitress and she informs me, with a hipster casualness, "Oh, we have a $20 minimum on credit card purchases". I'm like, "Well, I don't have any cash on me" and it was actually true! So she says "Well, there's an ATM at the store over there, and another one down the block over there...." Etc...
So I'm dumbfounded and ask to speak to the manager, seeing if he or she will give me a break, after all, with tip, my total bill would be around $15, so surely they'll let it slide. Waitress says "I really can't" (with a fake ingratiating smile) "it's a $20 minimum and we can't take the card". Wow. I reply, "Are you really going to have me go to the ATM, get charged 3 bucks, so I can pay this 12 dollar check?!" and little girl waitress says "Oh, well, we really get the charges, so we can't take your card."
I'm fuming at this point, but I go to the ATM (after asking for the manager one last time) and thought about just walking away. I didn't, being an honest person, but when I got back to Siggy's- I confront the guy behind the smoothie counter and ask, plainly:
"Is there anywhere on the menu, or anywhere in this restaurant that says WE DONT TAKE CREDIT CARDS UNDER $20 ?" The answer was no. At this point I'm so sick of the staff at this restaurant that I say "You know, you're not supposed to refuse credit card payments." and he actually says to me "Well everyone around here does that, and it's only if they start cracking down on us will we get into trouble"
Needless to say, after some more bitching on my part, I left Siggy's without leaving a tip, and the stupid hipster waitress looking confused.
I'm from this neighborhood. I know the restaurants that only take cash, and those that accept credit- but guess what Siggy's? All of those cash-only places have it POSTED IN THE WINDOW, or ON THE WEBSITE, or ON THE MENU. Only a completely daft owner plays this wide-eyed innocence game with their customers. I guarantee you Siggy's, if I'd seen a sign, I would have a) walked on by knowing I didn't have cash, or b) stopped and gotten cash.
Unbelievable.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
can heavenly breasts such stormy passions feel?
The answer is YES. If you're a man, ordering the fried chicken plate at a nouveau-southern restaurant, and they only serve you a leg and a thigh. As my male companion said so succinctly, "All the trappings are there, but the substance is lacking"
Wow- truer words were never spoken, and I'm not just thinking fried chicken. Funnily enough, he also said that his leg was 'divine', but he still couldn't get over the fact that it was an affront, not being served a breast. Ok, everyone stop and laugh here. I did.
In the opera world, how many times have I heard- "She's so musical, but needs to work on...x, y, or z" or, conversely, I hear young singers and think "wow, she looks great, and has an outstanding voice, but no clue about technique to support it all". Moreover, I'd love to pinpoint the moment in opera, when it became equally important that you LOOK as good as you sound? In this brave new world of HD broadcasting, reality shows and the like, if you don't look the part, you've got to work that much harder to convince those powers that be. Being a great actress and/or singer only wins you half the battle. We need to be all the trappings AND have the substance, all the time.
Another hard fact to consider: maintaining 'substance' is a challenging task, as you age. Yes, I have way more insight into the rep I sing, now that I'm older. And yes, it's much easier for me now, dealing with the stress of auditions, sickness, and nerves. But the thing they don't tell you, is that when your body goes through changes, it's up to you to diagnose any problems, and address them. Some voices change: young baritones turn tenor mid-career, some spinto sopranos voices shift, and they become mezzos (think Regina Resnik!) and some singers become straight theater actresses, and directors (again, think Regina Resnik). For me, I herniated a disc at L5 two years ago, and continued to sing the same way, ignoring my pains and subconsciously protecting the now-numb, lower back. It's only now, it the last month, that I've begun to work with a body specialist on working out the bad physical habits, habits that crept in so subtly that they took me unawares.
So, dear readers, notice when you're 'phoning it in' and when you trust that you've done your emotional homework to produce a performance complete with trappings substance. Everyone likes a nice breast, right? :)
Wow- truer words were never spoken, and I'm not just thinking fried chicken. Funnily enough, he also said that his leg was 'divine', but he still couldn't get over the fact that it was an affront, not being served a breast. Ok, everyone stop and laugh here. I did.
In the opera world, how many times have I heard- "She's so musical, but needs to work on...x, y, or z" or, conversely, I hear young singers and think "wow, she looks great, and has an outstanding voice, but no clue about technique to support it all". Moreover, I'd love to pinpoint the moment in opera, when it became equally important that you LOOK as good as you sound? In this brave new world of HD broadcasting, reality shows and the like, if you don't look the part, you've got to work that much harder to convince those powers that be. Being a great actress and/or singer only wins you half the battle. We need to be all the trappings AND have the substance, all the time.
Another hard fact to consider: maintaining 'substance' is a challenging task, as you age. Yes, I have way more insight into the rep I sing, now that I'm older. And yes, it's much easier for me now, dealing with the stress of auditions, sickness, and nerves. But the thing they don't tell you, is that when your body goes through changes, it's up to you to diagnose any problems, and address them. Some voices change: young baritones turn tenor mid-career, some spinto sopranos voices shift, and they become mezzos (think Regina Resnik!) and some singers become straight theater actresses, and directors (again, think Regina Resnik). For me, I herniated a disc at L5 two years ago, and continued to sing the same way, ignoring my pains and subconsciously protecting the now-numb, lower back. It's only now, it the last month, that I've begun to work with a body specialist on working out the bad physical habits, habits that crept in so subtly that they took me unawares.
So, dear readers, notice when you're 'phoning it in' and when you trust that you've done your emotional homework to produce a performance complete with trappings substance. Everyone likes a nice breast, right? :)
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