Friday, April 18, 2008

The slow-food breakfast

The menu from Marché's slow-food breakfast:

1st course
Kenny's farmhouse cheeses (with curiously tasty pickled onions)
artisan biscuit with strawberry-rhubarb jam

2nd course
two heirloom eggs any style (over-easy, thank you very much)
house-made breakfast sausage
stone ground white corn grits

Dessert
whole-wheat graham cracker with honey crème

Thick French-brewed coffee

This was four hours ago and I am about to pop.

The meal was delicious and the company a delight. My only crabby comment is how eagerly the waitstaff refilled my coffee cup. Now, if it was empty, I wouldn't have an issue. But after I add the perfect amount of cream and sugar and drink maybe 1/4 of the cup, I am irked to be topped off. I have to start the process all over again and become ever vigilant whenever they are in my vicinity, pot in hand. It reminds me of a scene in the otherwise forgettable Coffee and Cigarettes. (Jim Jarmusch, I've tried to love you. I really have.)

What's even more offensive is that they often don't ask. They just go for your mug. I love a solicitous waitron but this just seems downright wrong unless you're clearly taking your coffee black.

Does this ever happen to you, or am I just being a sourpuss? (I also have to admit I don't like it when I'm at an establishment like TGIFridays and my pop or iced tea is automatically replaced with a fresh, full glass. Sometimes I like to monitor the copious amounts of caffeine and sugar I'm downing. Call me crazy. Seriously, go ahead. I know I'm a bit nutters about this but sometimes I don't want a fourth glass of Fresca.)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You know, I used to get mad when they filled my cup prematurely, but I quickly learned to take it when you can get it, because there have been just as many times when my cup ranneth empty, and there was no server in sight. But otherwise breakfast sounded yummy! We have a great Cajun restaurant here that serves chicory coffee, and I let them fill and refill. Just can't get enough of it!

1minutefilmreview said...

Well said. Thinking of getting a coffee though at 2:30 in the morning.... and rewatch Coffee and Cigarettes.

alisten@mac.com said...

This drives me nuts, too. Mostly because I only ever want to drink half a cup of coffee, and if I want a warm up, I'll ask for one. Also, when I say warm up, I mean a splash. Not another third of a cup. They should give you coasters like at sushi restaurants with red and green sides so you could advertise what our current state of coffee contentment was.

A sampling of my books