Thursday, July 24, 2008

expensive restaurants suck

okay so i've been blogging a lot this week but i needed to vent. tonight some of our friends came out from LA and we went to houston's for dinner. i've never been there before but i smell it every time i get off the train across the street, so i've been intrigued for a while.

this place is a little more expensive than i like (let me also preface this by saying that i'm a major cheapskate and am not ashamed of this fact) -- i prefer restaurants less than $20/person, and if you think that's ridiculous then i think you're stupid. anyway, houstons is a bit more than that on average, but it was fun to go with our friends and like i said i had been interested in trying the place out.

dinner was good (i had a homemade veggie burger which was very tasty, but nothing amazing) but they didn't give us bread or anything. i never get that -- the expensive restaurants don't give you free bread? if anything you'd think my extra money could get some carbs on the table.

here's the best part though. we went to celebrate the birthdays of ryan (today) and brandon (monday), so kinohi leaned over to our waitress when she was clearing the plates to tell them we had two birthdays. the waitress said "ooh, okay, i'll be right back." when she returned she said "for the birthday boys, let me tell you about our desserts." inference: birthday boys get free desserts. (this would be incorrect.) only brandon and ryan ordered dessert and then we all shared the two dishes, thinking they were on the house.

ten minutes later when the check came we saw that she had charged us for both the desserts! um, thanks, so birthday desserts aren't free? even though you basically led us to believe otherwise, didn't clarify, AND put candles on both of them? maybe i am a cheapskate, or maybe i like to budget too much, but i can't afford meals like this regularly until a. i make more money, b. the economy improves or c. i come into a windfall inheritance.

thanks a lot, you overpriced jerks. your food wasn't even that good.

10 comments:

dana said...

Yea, we went to Ruth's Chris for our anniversary (super yummy) and they gave a us a nice "anniversary dessert"....which then showed up on our bill too.
I think it's fun to splurge sometimes though on restaurants. I don't mind dropping 60 bucks on sushi for me and Casey.

Angela and Mike said...

Lame! I love that they totally acted like it was part of the birthday thing. Totally lame. That's happened to me before and I get totally mad when they CHARGE for the dessert. Very stupid.

Sarah said...

i'm not a cheapskate, but i'm still with you. on our honeymoon, we ate at Olives, a "moderately priced" restaurant at the Bellagio. the food was ok, the service was horrible, our view of the fountains was totally blocked and we were out almost $100 (hey, it was our honeymoon). we enjoyed cheaper places like CPK, Planet Hollywood and even the Bellagio snack bar so much more!

Karly said...

Haha, I agree that they should give you bread, funny how the expensive ones do that? And she totally led you to believe that they were on the house. I though am a fan of Houston's and have almost posted a couple of times about how much I love Houston's. Their ribs are amazing and just melt in your mouth. But that's only when my dad or brother take me there when they have clients, who has that kind of money to eat there all the time? Oh yeah, rich people.

scrubgrub said...

I LOVE that you got the post up so quickly. Saves me front ranting, as I can just read yours and say amen! That Houston's was lame. I've been to two others, and the food and service were a lot better... I think that's what really ticks me off.. it was sub par food, and I feel even more ripped off now!

♥Mommy Of 2♥ said...

I have to admit that I have this addiction that I much rather eat out than a home cooked meal,it just seems to taste better for the most part, but it really does bite when the bill is huge and the food wan't even that great. Better luck next time. And Lyndsey, did I mention I love your posts, they are so hilarious, can't believe you had this in you all those years back.

Megan said...

Lynds!! I was in your hood and we drove by Houstons!!! I said-"Oh my gosh!! Its Houstons!! They are way overpriced and don't know a thing about how to do birthdays..." Scott looked at me like I was crazy. I felt like I was in a movie... because I check your blog always and feel like I'm living vacriously through your exciting life... kind of like you feel when you watch a good movie. SO... I felt like I got to visit the Lyndsey Payzant Wells set... is that wierd, now it sounds wierd, but it wasn't meant that way...

dietcokegrrl said...

I TOTALLY agree--I hate it when places charge for dessert, but act like it's for your birthday. LAME!

I also hate when places charge you for soda refills. Who still does that? LAME!!

And yeah, bring on the bread...

I've never been to Houston's just because I'm not a meat eater (although I did hear about the veggie burger)--just not my scene.

It DOES smell good though.

LAURA and ELIZA said...

You're hilarious!! I'm coming into town...lets play!!

The Mid Life Guru said...

Whatever happened to good old fashioned birthday wishes? They used to be the symbol of kindness and joy. If a restaurant can't give you a free dessert, than they are definately not worth it. Move on----