Return to Grouchos

[AgentPete]

So I went along yesterday, nervously, just to test the water, and everything else.

It was very, very strange to be eating out again after five full months of abstinence. The staff are trying quite hard to keep the environment safe. The waiters are not wearing masks, though. However, there is a one-way system in place (you won’t cross anyone on the stairs or anywhere else). They’ve taken quite a few tables out of the dining room. There are plastic partitions between tables, too. The bar downstairs is utterly deserted, Mary Celeste vibe.

The menu & wine list were a bit spartan. Actually, it felt a bit like the blitz: a sombre but determined mood. No bread (why?). No sugar with your coffee unless you asked for it, and then only one sachet. No dressing with your salad, unless you asked for it. Yes, a bit wartime.

They’ve cut down on staff. Grimly positive, but a bit overworked. It put me in mind of the flight I eventually caught out of JFK after 9/11. Business class without any frills at all (and plastic knives). But back then, and yesterday, I was pretty grateful just to be there.

p.

 

[Emily]

Lovely to be out and about, but whyever would there be things in place like... No sugar or dressing?!

 

[Barbara]

A brief moment of normality. Refreshing.

No sugar or dressing?!

If buiz is precarious, they may be saving money on little things.

Then again, answering as someone who has just completed a COVID risk assessment and realised that EVERYTHING is now here to kill you: It's a cross-contamination thing. Fingers in sugar bowls, even if they only take out one sachet. BUGS! BUGS! BUGS! EEEEK. Others pull out loads of sachets then only use one, leaving the rest lying about which would now go to waste after having been touched. BUUUGS! EEEEK. And they prob don't want customers to handle dressing bottles. MORE BUGS! ARGH! But you'd think they'd bring out or pour the required amount. - Just last week I learnt that getting an establishment ready to trade in these weird times, is a bit like bomb proofing a wooden shed.


I wonder if there's a drive through cake shop.

 

[Emily]

realised that EVERYTHING is now here to kill you: It's a cross-contamination thing... BUGS! BUGS! BUGS! EEEEK........ BUUUGS! EEEEK..... MORE BUGS! ARGH!

LOL! Our poor gut-microbiomes!!!!

 

[Barbara]

LOL! Our poor gut-microbiomes!!!!

They probably had someone go round with a clipboard, writing down DANGER DANGER DANGER DANGER.

 

[Hannah F]

What if you asked for a second sachet? Would you get it? I can't drink shop coffee/ cappuccino without 2 sachets. Must I bring my own? (Can't drink tea at all. Even 4 sachets would not render it drinkable).
Ah, the little things in life that worry us.

 

[Emily]

@Hannah F , you must have left the inherent Irish tea-drinking gene behind when you moved to Scotland

 

[Paul Whybrow]

A brief moment of normality. Refreshing.


If buiz is precarious, they may be saving money on little things.

Then again, answering as someone who has just completed a COVID risk assessment and realised that EVERYTHING is now here to kill you: It's a cross-contamination thing. Fingers in sugar bowls, even if they only take out one sachet. BUGS! BUGS! BUGS! EEEEK. Others pull out loads of sachets then only use one, leaving the rest lying about which would now go to waste after having been touched. BUUUGS! EEEEK. And they prob don't want customers to handle dressing bottles. MORE BUGS! ARGH! But you'd think they'd bring out or pour the required amount. - Just last week I learnt that getting an establishment ready to trade in these weird times, is a bit like bomb proofing a wooden shed.


I wonder if there's a drive through cake shop.

 

[Barbara]

GASP! Must go there.

 

[Paul Whybrow]

GASP! Must go there.

The Donut Hole - La Puente, CA

 

[Emily]

"Barbara suddenly saw her life-path bloom in all the most glorious and sugar filled ways possible. And she knew, without the merest sprinkle of doubt, that a Drive-thru Donut franchise was, indeed, her true purpose after all".

 

[Barbara]

"Barbara suddenly saw her life-path bloom in all the most glorious and sugar filled ways possible. And she knew, without the merest sprinkle of doubt, that a Drive-thru Donut franchise was, indeed, her true purpose after all".

Ah, yes, but as a customer or as a business owner? Maybe both.

 

[Paul Whybrow]

 

[Emily]

but as a customer or as a business owner?

One must keep one's eye on the quality control and all that

 

[Barbara]

One must keep one's eye on the quality control and all that

You and @Paul Whybrow could be my mystery shoppers, making sure the experience is top notch.

 

[Emily]

Your business success would be most forefront of my priorities

 

[Catherine Le Bars]

So I went along yesterday, nervously, just to test the water, and everything else.

It was very, very strange to be eating out again after five full months of abstinence. The staff are trying quite hard to keep the environment safe. The waiters are not wearing masks, though. However, there is a one-way system in place (you won’t cross anyone on the stairs or anywhere else). They’ve taken quite a few tables out of the dining room. There are plastic partitions between tables, too. The bar downstairs is utterly deserted, Mary Celeste vibe.

The menu & wine list were a bit spartan. Actually, it felt a bit like the blitz: a sombre but determined mood. No bread (why?). No sugar with your coffee unless you asked for it, and then only one sachet. No dressing with your salad, unless you asked for it. Yes, a bit wartime.

They’ve cut down on staff. Grimly positive, but a bit overworked. It put me in mind of the flight I eventually caught out of JFK after 9/11. Business class without any frills at all (and plastic knives). But back then, and yesterday, I was pretty grateful just to be there.

p.

Know exactly how you feel re venturing back into 'dining society'. Ours was a very different experience. Last night we had our first restaurant meal since February. Courgette in Canberra - one of our favourites. It is a lovely intimate environment, but this time that intimacy felt a little perilous. The city is lucky to have gone for 40 odd days without a COVID case. They were taking minor precautions but not quite enough to suit us New South Welshmen who have been wearing masks since March. We even had bread! After the nerves wore off, we realised there was still a world we recognised out there. That was a good feeling.

 

[Victoria Bastedo]

So I went along yesterday, nervously, just to test the water, and everything else.

It was very, very strange to be eating out again after five full months of abstinence. The staff are trying quite hard to keep the environment safe. The waiters are not wearing masks, though. However, there is a one-way system in place (you won’t cross anyone on the stairs or anywhere else). They’ve taken quite a few tables out of the dining room. There are plastic partitions between tables, too. The bar downstairs is utterly deserted, Mary Celeste vibe.

The menu & wine list were a bit spartan. Actually, it felt a bit like the blitz: a sombre but determined mood. No bread (why?). No sugar with your coffee unless you asked for it, and then only one sachet. No dressing with your salad, unless you asked for it. Yes, a bit wartime.

They’ve cut down on staff. Grimly positive, but a bit overworked. It put me in mind of the flight I eventually caught out of JFK after 9/11. Business class without any frills at all (and plastic knives). But back then, and yesterday, I was pretty grateful just to be there.

p.

Strange they skimped on the salad dressing and the sugar packets, I'm guessing? The first time I returned to a restaurant after closure, I had extra iced tea and they didn't charge me for it.

 

[Lex Black]

Glad you had a good experience, Pete. I know you've sorely needed something like that.

As illustrated here, everyone make sure to wear masks because of those who don't. I hate to have to say it, but this will get worse before it gets better.

Also, please don't mention the Mary Celeste again. I got carried away and I'm tired of apologizing for it.

 

[Emily]

I had a meal out with friends today and thought of this thread: our cutlery, napkin, salt and pepper were presented in a (very wasteful!!!) little bag. Thankfully, there was dressing on my salad...

 

[Jonny]

We had our only inter-club golf match this year last Friday and was all very weird too.

Tables of 4 in a nearly deserted club restaurant and individual salts peppers and sauces etc.

Really crazy times we're living in folks. Just hope someone comes up with a jab or jabs that do the trick or it's the norm for some quite considerable time.