[quote=“Richardm”]TpeBob,
Do you have highballs?[/quote]
They dropped years ago. Thanks for asking.
Bob
As I recall from my student days in Cairo, isn’t that the Stella Artois that we noticed had the “bottom of the barrel taste all the way to the top?”
An Inquiring Patron
[quote=“jdsmith”][quote]It was pretty colourful though. Was that your first time?
If you come today for brunch, it will be a completely different atmosphere; a tad more relaxing and laid back.[/quote]
It was colorful for sure! Seeing a bunch a drinking loud singing foreigners only makes me look better in the wife’s eyes. LOL
And it was our first time. Brunch for sure when I can. Is there such a thing as an omlette and guiness??[/quote]
S’funny I do it the other way around. Bring the wife & daughter for brunch at the weekend, then if I am in the mood it is easy to tell (ask) the wife ‘honey I am going out for a drink’… she remembers Carnegies and feels sure I can’t get into any trouble in such a quite, relaxed place 
As I recall from my student days in Cairo, isn’t that the Stella Artois that we noticed had the “bottom of the barrel taste all the way to the top?”
An Inquiring Patron[/quote]
More like a patronising inquiry Freddie. FYI, the Egyptian one is just called Stella and is no relation but you know that oh funny one.
Bob
[quote]
S’funny I do it the other way around. Bring the wife & daughter for brunch at the weekend, then if I am in the mood it is easy to tell (ask) the wife ‘honey I am going out for a drink’… she remembers Carnegies and feels sure I can’t get into any trouble in such a quite, relaxed place [/quote]
I’d like to get there for a brunch myself one of these days. The first night we tried like hell to get there before 6 but justed couldn’t swing it…all was not lost though…as the uniformed men that night made my wife say, “Nah, you go alone” when I wanted to go again a few weeks later. 
It’s on page 117 of the “Guy’s Book for Guys: How to get her to NOT go with you.”
Actually Bob:
I was thinking of making a return visit tonight. Can I have my usual table on the terrace under your “tarp?” It will not be necessary to wait on me hand and hoof this time. I am sure that your capable staff can hover effortlessly around my table much more adeptly than you could/can did/were/have done/been. er, yes.
After our sterling performance on Saturday, does this mean that I am now back in the running for worst customer? I hear that you downgraded me to No. 3! Outrageous! Unwarranted! I demand a hearing with the committee which perpetrated this, er, outrage.
[quote=“fred smith”]Actually Bob:
After our sterling performance on Saturday, does this mean that I am now back in the running for worst customer? I hear that you downgraded me to No. 3! Outrageous! Unwarranted! I demand a hearing with the committee which perpetrated this, er, outrage.[/quote]
Well, Fred; as luck would have it, due to the top two worst customers not being around (and one out of town harassing his countrymen with the same type of attitude that earned him the joint number one spot), you are now the defacto worst customer we have. Enjoy it while it lasts. You have at least another 10 days. If you wish to retain the top spot, you will have to better (or worsen) last Saturday’s performance which I guess won’t be that difficult as it only requires a display of the real Fred Smith to render your performance truly atrocious and worthy of the title.
No Regards,
Bob
Are you suggesting that I could only win by default?!
And I was the other one who jointly held worst customer? You had not demoted me to No. 3 as was rumored?
But what about de jure worst customer. Can I have this enshrined in international law?
I shall but I want to know that you really think I am No. 1 worst customer. I cannot settle for tepid, because everyone else is gone types of remarks. You understand, I have my professional reputation to think of.
Hmmm I too will be embarking on a journey fairly soon, but not for 10 days, why it is almost miraculous how you knew exactly how much time I have left to effect my stunning grab (coup de maitre) for first place! Can I rely on you for a coup de main? in effecting the coup de grace to the other contenders as I give them a coup de corps or a coup de marteau?
I was very demanding. I requested things above and beyond the call of normalcy like a glass of water preferably in a clean glass (with clean water) 
. I was shockingly impatient with the wait staff and bellowed demands incessantly while sneering with the utmost contempt. One such effort involved wondering why I should have to wait 2.5 hours for a bottle of ketchup to make your ribeye steak more palatable
I would like to have some basic ground rules though in print on this forum to better determine my standing and the sanctity of the coveted worst customer position. When I leave for vacation, I do not want you pulling the same kind of stunt by making deals with my competitors behind my back and in my absence. Surely you understand that with the great effort required, a sure return on my investment is most desirable?
I would like to point out that even in my poor backward country we have the Inter Net, and therefore Forumosa.
If anyone thinks Carnegies’ food is expensive, they should come to Europe. I have just been in France and will shortly be going to the UK and Ireland. Well acyually I’m in England now and have just paid NT$300 for a Marks and Sparks steak and kidney pie which I have to cook myself and which comes with no naffink. I am now beginning to feel sorry for Bob as he is clearly making no money whatsoever. Maybe you should export your pies to England?
Steak is NT$544 a kilo here. I had to use a credit card to buy my dinner yesterday as I didn’t have enough cash. I had
[quote=“fred smith”]
…they are trying to get away for a few minutes and not have to talk to (or rather listen to) me![/quote]
That’ll be about right.
Many thanks for the kind words Fred (who, dare I say it, is neither a ‘kid’ nor an ‘idiot’).
Cheers,
Bob
Except when you come in for lunch… 
Sorry about the lack of Grateful Dead on Sunday; I usually put them on during Saturday day times.
Deepest most humble apologies. 
Bob Marshotel
It wasn’t the dress or hairstyle, it was the conversation I listened to between the doorman and a customer that led me to believe that (a) violence was not uncommon, and (b) violence was not unwelcome.
Anyone who dances on a bar to Ricky Martin songs is a kid. For that matter, anyone who dances on a bar to anything is a kid. I didn’t know that it is part of the planned entertainment. Forewarned is forearmed.
“Idiot”, technically meaning someone with a measured IQ under 40, is perhaps an over (or under) statement. One supposes true idiots would be unable to manage the climb. Nevertheless…
$170 NT for a small bottle of water is ridiculous, your disinclination to explain pricing structures notwithstanding. Any and all decent bars I’ve ever been in (whether as an employee or a patron) would gladly provide a FREE glass of ice water to someone who had just paid $500 to walk in the door.
Nanosecond? I don’t expect super-human service, but neither do I expect to stand at a bar for 10 minutes dodging kicking Mambo #5 feet waiting for a drink that has (by volume) more ICE than beverage…But since water is apparently more expensive than booze, perhaps I got a great deal.
There weren’t thousands of drinks to serve…there weren’t “thousands” of people in the joint. And those that WERE there weren’t all simultaneously ordering drinks…just me and a small handful of folks standing about watching the bartender leap back and forth over the bar to chat with the DJ.
Maybe I caught you on a bad night. New staff; graduation week at the local high school or something. Perhaps the plethora of water addicts were driving your booze sales through the basement…who knows?
I DO know that the next time I want to spend a few thousand NT on a night out, I’m going somewhere where I need not risk a concussion to approach the bar, and a capful of water isn’t treated like liquid gold.
Just goes to show how uttely wrong you can be when you eavesdrop on someone elses conversation. Say what you like about the place but the fact is its one of the busiest places in town and has very, very little in the way of violence – it has a reputation as a particularly SAFE place to go, for heaven’s sakes.
Careful there laddie. You’re close to stepping on some toes there. There’s only room for one curmudgeon here and it’s me.
Way I see it, anyone who DOESN’T dance on a bar to anything is a boring old fart with a giant stick up his arse. Except for me. I don’t do it simply because I have impeccable taste.
Tigerman:
I agree. I like that Greek salad very much myself.
As to prices, I find Carnegie’s very very reasonable for NT$180 plus 10 percent for a full glass of wine. That compares with NT$160 plus 10 percent at any bar I go to in the East End of town for “happy hour” and pretty much the same price everywhere else. NT$200 for a half glass might be expensive but it is very full. I often regret that I have to drink it down so fast lest someone spill some of it on my impeccable clothing.
As to the violence, I have only experienced violence twice in Carnegie’s: both times at the hands of that lunatic Bob Marshall. The first was when Bob showed me how to strangle someone, and appeared to be enjoying it a bit too much. Finally a chance to get me to shut up? and the second time when I had a whole glass of white wine dumped on my Santa Claus hat as promised and forewarned.
And as to waiting, I have never waited nor has anyone near me waited nor has anyone near anyone near anyone ever been kept waiting as far as I can see. I seriously think that perhaps in a fit of impatience, 1.5 minutes might be 10? Seriously, look at your watch and count down 10 minutes. I cannot believe that it really was that long.
Fred, there never has been and never will be a 10% service charge in Carnegie’s for anything.
With regard to Avrom’s post, I shall defer to the objectivity of Messrs. Smith & Sandman.
Bob
Fred, there never has been and never will be a 10% service charge in Carnegie’s for anything.
With regard to Avrom’s post, I shall defer to the objectivity of Messrs. Smith & Sandman.
Bob[/quote]
oops. I think I just found out why our waitress threw the bill on our table a few months ago.
jdsmith,
I am sure that one as exact and as discerning as your goodself would have mentioned something like that in your post of Sunday May 1st when you extolled the virtues of our food.
If they had thrown anything at you, it would have diminished their chances of receiving a gratuity and they are fully aware that there is no service charge so gratuities only come from providing good service. It is something that I feel strongly about and always endeavour to stay on top of.
However, if anyone has any grievances, the contact details are in the signature.
Best Regards,
Bob
P.S. Fred, I have just driven a nail through my new baseball bat. Will you grace us with your presence this balmy eve?
[quote=“Avrom”]It wasn’t the dress or hairstyle, it was the conversation I listened to between the doorman and a customer that led me to believe that (a) violence was not uncommon, and (b) violence was not unwelcome.
Anyone who dances on a bar to Ricky Martin songs is a kid. For that matter, anyone who dances on a bar to anything is a kid. I didn’t know that it is part of the planned entertainment. Forewarned is forearmed.[/quote]
I take it that you didn’t like the place very much then? I must say that personally I find the busy nights a bit much myself, usually. So I can agree with you that party night at Carnegie’s is not much fun if you’re not feeling like that sort of person.
However, there are times when I do feel like it. Occasionally I even let my hair down enough to get up on the bar, which presumably makes me a ‘kid’? I have to say that I find that attitude a bit, nay, a lot offensive. I prefer Carnegie’s over many other nightspots because it isn’t trying to cater to young yobs full of piss and testosterone. A grown-up can go out and have fun without having to compete with kids who think they own the place and can impose their juvenile standards on the rest of us.
I have never seen or been threatened with violence at Carnegie’s. I have also spoken to the guy at the door a few times and found him to be very well-mannered.
Your perceptions of, and reaction to, a typical evening at Carnegie’s says more about your own attitude than it does about the place itself. Why have you never been there? Why did you have to be ‘dragged in there’? It appears that you had already made up your mind that it wasn’t your kind of place, and went in ready to condemn everybody and everything.
And as a result you’re branding ME as a kid, when others laugh at the middle-aged guys trying to pretend we are still young. Derision from kids who are too young to see the world in any terms but their own is one thing. Being insulted by some disapproving old git, who is probably not much older than many of the customers, is not acceptable.
I suggest you go and spend an evening in a real club full of kids, and see how they react to your disapproval. Perhaps then you will appreciate the fact that no-one at Carnegie’s was inclined to punch you just for being a grumpy old stick-in-the-mud who couldn’t accept that other people like to have fun sometimes.
Now that you have confirmed that it’s not your kind of place I hope you will feel free to stay away and leave more space for us kids. At least now you have a reason to avoid the place, instead of needing to be dragged in before you knew the truth. It’s a pity you adopted the attitude you did, because if you were to allow yourself to be dragged in during daylight hours you might have been pleasantly surprised. I know I was.
[quote=“TpeBob”]jdsmith,
I am sure that one as exact and as discerning as your goodself would have mentioned something like that in your post of Sunday May 1st when you extolled the virtues of our food.
quote]
Bob, I didn’t see it. My wife reported this to me. I was blissfully enjoying the satisfaction of a full belly at the time. The place was quite busy by this time and I waved it off as unimportant. And maybe I should change the word bill to receipt. 
Either way, I will not make this social faux pas again. Our mistake, not yours Bob.
jd,
No probs mate. Sent you a PM anyway.
Cheers,
Bob