4.21.2008

Potpourri

No big complaints, just four little ones.

1. Metro still sucks. On a Sunday afternoon trip from Columbia Heights to Gallery Place, our driver had the peculiar habit of closing the train doors after five seconds, tops. Although it was amusing to see person after person getting stuck between the doors, I'm sure that this practice is neither safe nor particularly customer friendly. I'm sure having a leg stuck in a train door is a frightening experience.

I just felt bad for the people who had to wait an extra ten minutes for the next Green Line train. That's how bad it was. The trip from platform to Metro car was impossible for people to make at busy stops. Shameful.

2. Tonic still sucks. I like the idea of having a neighborhood bar and brunch spot that's only a block from my girlfriend's apartment. I like their tots. I like their omelettes. I really like their Bloody Maries. But it's getting to the point where their atrocious service is really becoming a deal breaker. They're always understaffed, leading to unacceptable wait times just to get a table. The male host is consistently rude and unfriendly. The wait staff borders on incompetent. How our two coffees and one orange juice became four coffees and two orange juices, I will never know. (And yes we were charged for the extra coffee.) As noted in the previous link, their cups have a habit of being unsanitary. The water is clearly from the tap.

Fuck them. Go to Don Jaime's. The service is friendly and fast and the prices are easy on the wallet. Are tots really worth the extra effort and expense?

3. Burglaries are on the rise. Normally this would elicit a "whatever" from me. Unfortunately, the city's response is a little, uh, interesting:

[Commander Joel Maupin] also has increased foot patrols in alleys and instructed his officers to stop anyone walking down a street with electronics to confirm that the goods aren't stolen.

What!? This is what it's coming to? Anyone with electronics in the 7th District is facing a presumption of guilt? What are they trying to accomplish here? Will police officers be demanding receipts? If so, that's a horrible intrusion on civil liberties. If not, this is fucking useless since THIEVES WILL LIE! It's not like they have some kind of honor code where they refuse to lie to the police.

The police seem really keen on bothering people for no reason. Whether it's bothering people with electronics or trying to go door-to-door without warrants looking for guns, Chief Lanier's tenure has been marked by a stunning disregard for civil liberties. Shameful.

4. Cabbies will probably get a meter extension. Unfortunate, but fair. Cab drivers hadn't been installing meters since they're expensive and it wasn't clear if the courts would intervene and prevent the city from their nefarious plans to have people charged a fair amount for a cab ride. Thankfully, the courts made the right decision and we'll have our meters soon enough.

Remember that once the meter deadline comes and goes (it's currently set at May 1), it's a $1,000 fine to any driver without a meter. So if you get into a cab with a zone map, please enjoy the visceral thrill of refusing to pay and knowing that the driver can't do a damn thing about it.

20 comments:

  1. Sux you had another bad experience at Tonic. I just don’t get it; I never, ever experience the stuff you describe. And I’m in there quite a bit. Weird. Try Heller’s Bakery up the block. While they don’t do a full brunch, the bfast sandwiches on homemade breads rock. Donuts are good too. But watch out, Heller’s staff can be surly too. I think Marx, also up the block, does a decent brunch too (if I’m not mistaken). Perhaps your experiences will be better at these places.

    I have never tried Don Jamie’s, the exterior looks too shabby. Probably not wise to judge a book by its cover but something has always kept me from eating there.

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  2. Don Jaime's is super-delicious. Mexican is the most superior of breakfasts anyway. Huevos con migas, please.

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  3. I'm with dc dude. Your experience at Tonic is completely foreign to me. I've never had to ever wait for a table, and while I fully agree the service is pretty abysmal, in my experience it's just the ridiculously long time it takes them to do anything rather than them making mistakes. I've never had them screw up an order.

    Don Jaime's is pretty darn good though.

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  4. Tonic's service is exactly as crappy as Rusty describes it! Sadly, I work around the corner from there and with nothing else really in the area, we always end up walking over there for lunch or after work - even after we promise ourselves we would never return.

    Every time we've gone, they manage to screw something up.

    Let's see...

    There was the time when they forgot
    to put in 1 of the 5 orders we placed, but hey, they were nice enough to bring out the missing meal just as the other 4 were finishing. And for dessert? They charged us for it.

    Oh, and then there was that other time when we patiently waited for the hostess to get off the phone with her friends to be seated during a recent lunch outing. We must have upset her by making her get off the phone because she tried to sit the crowd of people who had just walked through the door versus the ones who had been standing in front of her for the past 10 minutes.

    Oh, oh, oh, there also was the one when they didn't have change at the upstairs bar for a $10 dollar bill when I tried to pay for my beer during a happy hour. The bartendar actually asked me if I had a smaller bill.

    Tonic sucks!

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  5. What time was the trip? Mentioning it to metro can sometimes help eliminate the problem in the future.

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  6. In regards to item #4: News is reporting no meter extension for cabbies!!! Nice. Maybe they should've diplomatically aired their grievances instead of doing everything they could to f**k s**t up. No one has sympathy for them and justice (hopefully) should prevail on schedule.

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  7. Wait. You have a girlfriend? Darn.

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  8. redraiderdc....I take it you are from my hometown in the W. TX panhandle?

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  9. Lubbock? Or she's a town over from where I call home.

    D-Y Dolphins > Barnstable Red Raiders!

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  10. ... Or there are thousands of regional teams called the red raiders.

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  11. Re: #4, I'm going to have to disagree with Rusty. Taxi drivers have known for months that this deadline was approaching, and their lack of action should not be rewarded with yet another delay. It sends the wrong message: that the City's rules and regulations can be ignored without consequence.

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  12. How our two coffees and one orange juice became four coffees and two orange juices, I will never know.

    Seriously? Because that's like the very first multiplication table you learn . . .

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  13. Regarding the Cabbies, I am all about hopping in a cab after May 1st and accepting a free ride from the unsuspecting cabbie who refused to install a meter because they wanted to continue ripping people off. But, we may want to think twice about doing stiffing cabbies durring the "shortage". Not paying them is only going to create an even further shortage. Maybe we should give them just enough to make it worth their time to stay out...say half the real fare? Either way, everyone needs to know that if a cabbie trys to complain or negotiate a fare without a meter, let them know that according to the "customers rights" the police are supposed to negotiate all disagreement. This should end the dispute pretty quickly.

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  14. i was at Tonic once a few years ago for "burger night"...i think they were half off or something like that...so we get our burgers, and my buddy takes a few bites and then puts his down to enjoy some tots...what crawls outside his bun but one of DC finest cockroaches. needless to say we were all a bit put off and grossed out. when we brought it to the attention of the waitstaff they were completely unapologetic, and went so far as to insinuate that this was not a random occurrence.

    so that was that. i dont live in DC anymore, so i was visiting on that occasion. have not had the opportunity to return (not that i am too keen on that either).

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  15. Go back and read this article (actually you only need to read the first paragraph ya lazy bums)-
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/22/AR2008042201132.html

    Fines don't automatically kick in on May 1st, there's a one month grace period. Probably has something to do with the fact that there are only 10 licensed meter installers in D.C. and it's not going to get done by next week.

    So settle down there before anyone goes and makes a citizen's arrest.

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  16. After two consecutive terrible experiences at Tonic, both relating to service, I'll never go there again.

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  17. Can't really say about Tonic cause I never go there, but Marx has a decent brunch. The food is pretty good and service is fine. My only issue with them is the bloody mary's are way too small.

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  18. The cabbies would still be driving illegally without the meter therefore forfeiting their fare as far as I'm concerned

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  19. AnonymousMay 02, 2008

    Rusty is a douche ....

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  20. AnonymousJune 14, 2008

    I have to agree on Tonic. Used to be a pretty cool place but the service has gone way downhill. A few weeks ago I went there with my girlfriend, and she asked to have some mayo on the side instead of right on the sandwich. Not a big deal, right? Apparently it was - the waitress let out a loud 5 second sigh, then walked off. She also dropped off the food with nary a word and didn't come back until 10 minutes after we finished eating. At which point, she asked me if I wanted another beer. "No thanks, it would have been nice when I was eating, but I finished a while ago." She's lucky I left 5%. I wanted to leave 0% but I guess I have some sympathy from my years as a waiter.

    It might be the lack of sunlight - Radius people always seem happier.

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