Over in Questionland, Andrew Beck asks, “Does any one know if Anchovies & Olives has A/C?”
The answer is yes, and apparently Anchovies & Olives also takes requests. Slog tipper Matt writes:
i wanted chilled cucumber soup. i called olives and anchovies, and whoever answered said they didn’t have it, and i must have whined a little, because she put the phone to her chest for a moment (yes, i can hear that sort of thing) and came back on saying that “chef stowell would be happy to make you a cucumber soup.”
we showed up half an hour later and he was already working on it (it ended up with a lovely tower of smoked bass in the middle). it was perfect. and they’re air conditioned.
ethan’s our hero.
Maybe it’s the heat but I find the idea of someone calling a restaurant and cajoling them into making cucumber soup to be incredibly annoying. Oh, and another thing…smoked bass in cucumber soup? Seems pretty heavy handed.
yesterday i would have thought this person a pretentious dick. since its “only” 95 today, they’re just pretentious.
whined a little? sounds like someone needs to grow a pair…
Do you think Ethan Stowell actually sits in a kitchen taking requests from the phone about what to make?
And I agree with comment #1, what an annoying and childish behavior to exhibit over the telephone. I hate it when customers try and tell you what you should have/ shouldn’t have. It’s insulting; eating in a restaurant is not the same thing as having a personal chef. You are there to experience what they have to offer.
Yeah, I bet the chef WAS happy to throw 27 cents’ worth of cucumber into a blender and charge you 10 bucks for it.
And for my money, nothing says refreshment on a hot summer’s day like a wad of smoked fish.
I will believe this recession has bottomed out when I stop seeing people pay eight bucks for two glasses of weak iced tea at Remedy.
I work in a somewhat upscale supermarket deli. You would not believe how whiny people are. For Jesus’ sake, people, take your ridiculous preferences, allergies, “food intolerances,” and other entitled behaviors/desires somewhere else. Perhaps, for example, into your own goddamned kitchen where you can pander to your ego in delicious solitude.
I have to wonder, do people bitch so much about salt, onions, garlic, and tomatoes in restaurants? Or do they just consider delis an extension of their own home? Argh. Whew.
@6 yes, they do whine in restaurants as well. About 50% of my customers whined this evening about stupid shit like onions and how we charge for certain substitutions. One guy was appalled that I had to charge him .89 to get bacon instead of french fries. Meat costs more dumbasses!
Fuck Dick’s and their 10 cent surcharge for onions.
Yeah, fuck customers and their money.
Sounds like the chef weighed the request against the number of empty tables. A hell of a lot better to be flexible than to stand on (frankly, dumbshit) principles and take your clientele for granted.
Just loving this idea that the customers who make you work are acting “entitled” and “childish.” Pot, meet kettle.
Enjoy that cucumber spit soup!
i thought that the chef making a special dish was nice. And i thought that the customer trying to tell people about his good experience was even nicer. but it sounds like i was wrong.