Our CEO let us go early yesterday because it was snowing. Not that I had to worry about driving a car home or anything, but still, that didn’t stop me from taking off at 3:00.
I was going to chill out and relax at the apartment for a while, but I got a text saying the entire gang was at the Saucer already. So I headed up there. The gang was seated at the bar, and would you believe it, for once I didn’t get chased down by an overzealous waitress and actually got to keep my tab at the bar. My first three beers were my plate beers, so let’s go ahead and get the beer report out of the way.
Previous total: $528.75
Beers 97, 98, and 99 (but 92, 93, and 94 according to the Saucer):
Grolsch $4.00
Negra Modelo $4.25
Young’s Double Chocolate can $8.00
Tip: $16.25 x ~ 30% = $5.00
Total: $21.25
Grand total: $550.00
The Young’s Double Chocolate came in a really cool purple and orange can. It has one of those widgets that makes the beer foam up when poured. Normally I hate stouts but Double Chocolate is actually pretty good.
So we drank and talked and hung out for a couple of hours, then moved to the dart boards where I suffered one of my most embarrassing moments ever at the Saucer. I lost at darts to Skippy. That’s right, SKIPPY. I don’t mind losing to him in a trivia match about operas of the 19th century, but darts??? That should never happen. Since I’ve had readers request more Skippy pics, here ya go.
This picture must have been taken during Happy Hour, because you can see my super-sized Dos Equis Lager in the foreground.
After darts we decided we were hungry, and a group of six of us went to Sauces for dinner. It took longer than usual to get there because a few of the gang stopped and threw snowballs at each other. I was looking for a bum to lob a few snowballs at, but didn’t see any. I guess the bums get snow days off from “work” too.
Here’s a pic of the Nuh-Uh Girl eating at Sauces:
Everyone had praise for the food at Sauces. I had the lobster ravioli, which was delicious. A couple of people got the BBQ Bacon Burger, which Otto described as “like the Baconator, but with really good meat and bread!” The Nuh-Uh Girl got a seared tuna salad which was HUGE. The Nuh-Uh Sister got the lettuce wraps, which she cut up and turned into a salad. We got a pretzel and later some bread, which came with several dipping sauces, including a really tasty remoulade and a lobster sauce which everyone loved.
However, the service was not so worthy of praise. After we sat there for six or seven minutes, no one had brought us menus so the Nuh-Uh Girl just went over and got them herself. They had run out of bread and had to bake some more, and it didn’t come out until we were nearly finished with our dinner. It seemed to take an eternity for them to get dessert out to the one person who ordered it, despite the fact that only a handful of people were in the restaurant. By the time I got my check I was so annoyed that I decided to leave a $2 tip on my $18.79 tab – and remember, I’m a big proponent of tipping servers well downtown, and ordinarily I would’ve left $6. Then it took them another 20 minutes to split our checks. Then the server came over with a pen and said, “We can’t get the computer to split it right, do you guys mind doing it?” Then the owner came out with the correctly split checks. Well, almost correctly split – she got the Nuh-Uh Girl and Nuh-Uh Sister’s tabs mixed up because they have the same last name. By that point we were all boiling mad, and I reduced my tip to $1 on $18.79, and even then I felt like I was being a dollar too generous.
So, would I recommend Sauces after that experience? Yes. I think so. The food was outstanding. I have a feeling maybe the owner gave her employees the night off due to the snow, and had a few friends helping her out. I’ll come back and try the place again on a more normal day. I just hope the service I got last night is not typical there, as it was the worst I’ve had since The Romanian Sensation left town a year and a half ago.
THREE text messages from the Red Rooster last night. Guys, this is really getting a little bit ridiculous. One a day I don’t mind, but three is excessive, and if I had to pay per text message I’d be calling them up and complaining.
Had a good discussion about restroom attendants over dinner, and Chad and the Nuh-Uh Girl helped me clarify my position on restroom attendants. If they have stuff like gum and cologne and combs laid out, and I take some of that stuff I have no problem tipping them. But I am NOT going to tip them for handing me soap or a paper towel, as I can get those things myself. Nor do I believe I should have to tip them for keeping the bathroom clean and stocked with soap and paper towels, as clean, stocked bathrooms should be part of what I get in exchange for the cover charge.
So I ended up back at the Saucer with my friends Frank and Laura and Amie (hey, I actually know two Amies now – the other Amie cuts my hair). We sat on the benches and listened to the West TN Wife Swappers for a while. I was surprised by how busy the place was. It was pretty close to a normal Friday night in terms of the crowd. After a while we decided to go someplace quieter and ended up at the bar at McGuinness. Our favorite bartender Amy was working and we hung out there until after 2. Then we walked home (all of us live on the Main Street Mall). As we walked I failed to notice an icy metal plate in the sidewalk, and BAM – down I went, with a landing that would’ve made professional wrestler Mick Foley proud. I wasn’t hurt though.
Tigers play UAB in just a little while. Time to get dressed and get out somewhere and watch the game.