The Liquor Talking

It’s already Monday, March 08, 2010 and Time now for A Block of Wood our regular Monday feature:

Maybe it’s just bad luck, but it seems that whenever we go to someplace that’s new to us and have a really good experience, our second visit is a good deal less so. For instance, our first visit to Brunos (since they moved) was perfect. Our second visit was far from it. It was like this with our second trip to the Rib & Chop house.

For starts, we had reservations for 6:00 PM and were 10 minutes late. A lot of this was from trying to find a place to park. So it was that we were not seated until 6:45. I had thought that having reservations meant that a table is reserved and you go straight to it upon arrival. I guess being 10 minutes late here means you lose that table and wait with the rest of the unwashed rabble.

Our server (who for reasons that will become clear, shall remain nameless) managed to further irritate me by asking “So, what’s the occasion?” Apparently, we look like people who need some sort of occasion to dine in such an establishment. I politely informed him that it was merely Friday evening and we usually dine out on such “occasions.” He then asked if we’d been there before, which is probably a reasonable question in an establishment that has some peculiarities, (such as Casa Bonita, where you raise that little flag when you want a refill on something) but not in a fairly standard, sit-down eatery.

I’d initially wanted to sample their jambalaya, but upon reading that it was served over pasta, I rejected the notion. If jambalaya is to be served over anything, it should be steamed, white rice. I’ll have to check, but putting jambalaya atop pasta of any kind may be a criminal act. I’m fairly certain that it is in Louisiana.

For some reason, our server felt it necessary to emphasize the prices of the night’s specials in a way that suggested he really didn’t expect us to order anything more expensive than the chicken fried steak, which they probably serve over cantaloupe slices. His description of the seafood special sounded intriguing, so I ordered that. The wife ordered a New York strip with Cajun shrimp scampi.

I was again irritated when my beer was set before me. They obviously freeze their mugs and at some point during the filling process, someone poured beer down the side of mine. The result was a mug that had frozen beer all over the outside, which would have made a mess had I not sacrificed a napkin to clean off.

For some reason, our server seemed quite incapable of standing still. Whenever he came by (I don’t know if it was an excessive number of times or if I simply could not abide his presence) he would bob and weave while doing some rather bizarre footwork. He reminded me a lot of the UPS Guy on Mad TV. Maybe he was worried that someone would throw something at him and he wanted to spoil their aim by jumping around like a drop of water on a hot skillet.

He returned soon to inform me that they’d run out of a key component of tonight’s special and asked if I wanted something else. I should have taken that opportunity to ask for our check and go elsewhere. Since it all rested on the food now and they were out of the night’s special at 7 o’clock, I no longer had a lot of hope. I changed my order to the crab legs which for tonight, came with any steak on the menu. I didn’t really want a steak at all, so I asked the smallest one they had. To which this idiot replies “Oh, they’re all the same price!”

Through clenched teeth, I explained that I didn’t want a big steak taking up room when I had crab legs coming, no matter what the cost was. I really, really now should have asked for the check because now I’m pissed off and it’s unlikely I’ll enjoy the food no matter how well prepared.

Our orders arrived in due time. I don’t understand what’s so flipping hard about crab legs, but once again, I’m disappointed. These should have come with scissors instead of nutcrackers. You shouldn’t be able to fold them in half without them breaking. The steaks were good, although I would have preferred that mine not be served on a screaming hot plate. The Cajun shrimp dish that accompanied my wife’s steak was not at all what either of us expected. These tasted like they’d been grilled and basted with some kind of barbeque sauce that did not at all compliment the flavor of the shrimp. I ate one, she ate one and the rest came home in the go-box to be happily snapped up by the hounds, who chomp dehydrated pigs ears with the same relish as these oddly flavored shrimp.

But still, we had the desert to look forward to and I was counting on the Crème brûlée to at least give me one good thing to write about. Alas, it was not to be. Upon bringing them, our sever announced that he had personally added more sugar to the deserts to give them a little extra shell. The last time we were here, these were perfect with a precisely correct balance of textures. While not completely ruined by our helpful server, the sugar shell was indeed excessive.

An on-going annoyance was provided by the gal who seated us. At about 2 minute intervals, she would pop into our dining area, glance about and then dash off. The first few times, I thought it curious, but as the dinner wore on, it became a rather annoying distraction. She was obviously looking to see if any tables were nearing availability, but the overall impression I got was one of “Hurry up, we’ve got other people waiting.”

I’m not at all bothered by paying premium prices for exceptional food with exceptional service. Great food, combined with great service is a great value. This experience however was nowhere near worth the $99 we plopped down for mediocre chow inflicted by an irritating wait staff. I doubt that we’ll be back anytime soon.

This just in from our “Super Excellent Good News Desk” – Billings attorney Marvin McCann has announced his intentions to run against Yellowstone County Attorney, Dennis Paxinos. I’ve never heard of this guy, but he’s got my vote. It’s kind of interesting to note though that the Billings Gazoo buried this article in the sidebar of page 2 of the Local & State section, with a headline of “Attorney plans campaign kickoff.”

In other news, it’s time again for our annual evaluations. I hate these damned things. If there was any potential of any kind for getting a raise, I’d probably give this the old “college try” but since there is none, this thing is a complete exercise in futility. It’s frustrating in that no matter how well I did last year, the best I can expect to get is a rating of “Meets Expectations.” It’s amazing how two years ago, I exceeded expectations and got a raise. Even thought last year’s eval was more impressive than the one before, I somehow only got “Meets Expectations.”

Too bad my company didn’t meet expectations. Instead, the past year has been pretty much near constant stream of disappointment and bad news. The only high point that I can think of was getting shed of that Gary buttmunch. We got two positions chopped off from here, got our pay cut 2.5%, lost our employer match for our 401K and are told there will be no raises again this year.

So, I think I will respond to each question with favorite quotes from movies, only I’ll have them being delivered by my doodles.

In other news, a former student and trusted friend is (without going into a lot of detail) going through some difficult times. As such, he is selling a bunch of stuff:

1. Samsung 55″ LED 120Hz Black HDTV – $1800 — http://www.facebook.com/l/2b53e;billings.craigslist.org/ele/1611635777.html
   
2. Sony STR-DG820 A/V Receiver (Optimized for Blu-Ray) – $200 — http://www.facebook.com/l/2b53e;billings.craigslist.org/ele/1611659339.html
   
3. Rocketfish Wireless Rear Speaker Kit – $60 — http://www.facebook.com/l/2b53e;billings.craigslist.org/ele/1611670035.html
   
4. Dynex 6ft. Optical Digital Audio Cable – $15 — http://www.facebook.com/l/2b53e;billings.craigslist.org/ele/1611677170.html
   
5. APC Back-UPS RS 800 540W UPS – $70 — http://www.facebook.com/l/2b53e;billings.craigslist.org/ele/1611710010.html
   
6. iBuyPower Custom Gaming Desktop PC – $2500 — http://www.facebook.com/l/2b53e;billings.craigslist.org/sys/1611730071.html
   
7. A bunch of newer Blu-rays that need to go – $12 — http://www.facebook.com/l/2b53e;billings.craigslist.org/emd/1621866973.html
   
8. Beautiful Riddle’s Jewelry Diamond White Gold Ring – $4500 — http://www.facebook.com/l/2b53e;billings.craigslist.org/jwl/1622572892.html
   
9. Large Cross Island Ashley Furniture Oak Entertainment Center – $1000 — http://www.facebook.com/l/2b53e;billings.craigslist.org/fuo/1611684114.html
   

That’s it for today. Tune in tomorrow for Story Time!