It finally happened people. I don’t think I am imagining it. I was the victim of racial profiling. Or at least accent profiling. Either way, I’m scarred. Here’s what happened.
After three nights of uber-expensive hotel restaurant food and beer and one night of the worst Domino’s pizza ever, I decided it was time to go out for dinner. There’s a mall about 500 yards or so away from the hotel. I was going to walk, but I was just starting to get better from my debilitating illness and it was cold as a motherfucker outside, so I asked the shuttle guy if he’d drop me off at the mall.
He said yes.
So I head over and see a bunch of restaurants, but the one that has been catching my eye is FireGrill.
I walk in, head to the bar since I’m doing the Steve Martin impression from the movie “The Lonely Guy,” and after getting one of the womenfolks’ attention after a ten minute wait, I order a Molsen Select draft.
And there I sit. There are five tables around me plus various bar customers, and it gets to be my turn to order. I wait about 15 minutes.
Trouble is, I don’t have a menu yet.
After several gestures and asking, I walk back out to the hostess station and get a menu. I proceed to go thru my usual business traveler’s dilemma:
On one hand, the company’s paying.
On the other hand, this shit’s expensive, and I feel guilty ordering the NY strip for 26 bucks Canadian plus a salad and two beers. $50 plus for one person to eat dinner is silly.
So, I resign myself to the FireGrill burger and a side Caesar salad.
I wait fifteen more minutes. Nothing. Folks that arrived after me have not only ordered, but they’ve eaten.
I’ve now waited about 45 minutes. My beer has been empty for ten minutes, and I’m just about seething. I stand up, walk over to the bar, get about a foot from the bitch before she says “Would you like another beer?”
I replied “Yes I would. But I’m not having it here. I’ve waited 45 minutes, had a 22 oz. draft beer and got my own menu, and you all don’t seem very interested in taking my $50, so I’m going next door to the Italian place. I’ll just pay for my beer,” and with that I handed her a Canadian twenty.
She looked at me as though I’d just called her pretentious, but she hands me my change: A ten, two dollar coins and some other slugs I didn’t recognize.
Wow. $7.50 for a 22 oz draft of their version of Budweiser? Is our dollar really that weak? I think it’s time to come up here with some troops and remind our neighbors to the North that they are allowed to exist and thrive only because we let them do so.
Either way, it’s back out amidst the drifting snow to try Divino Italian Restaurant.
They were just as French speaking wise, but very nice. I got a nice table, had my book (I know…I was that guy), and I ordered the mussels and a salmon caesar salad and a something red beer.
One thing I notice is that the French take their funky glasses very very seriously. And the more serious they look like their trying to be, the more I’m laughing at the frames.
Anyway, the service was impeccable, the help polite, the food was great, and when I needed a pen to write some information down for the cab I was going to call, I went to the lady at the bar.
She said “blah blah no parly voo inglase,” and smiled.
Something from my youth flashed in brain and I said (with pride and confidence) “Uh…uh…crayon por favor?”
She seemed delighted. She got me a pen, smiled, I said “Merci,” and that was that.
Was that so hard? Fuck those OTHER French. I will now refer to them as french with a little f. And I will tell everyone working here this week and beyond to avoid Le Fire Grill.
p.s. None of the bar wenches were hot enough to act like they did. I just wanted you to know.