A few weeks back, I urged readers to send me photos of "signs admonishing customers in independent coffee shops across America." No such avalanche followed (perhaps in the future, I should make such requests somewhere other than in the comments), but here's Paul Gowder with some quite remarkable (and photographed!) findings in this area.
So, consider this post Call #2.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Bonus points for a sign on or near a tip jar asking customers to bus their own damn tables
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9 comments:
Speaking of stuff buried further down, thanks for adverting to your Hollywould shoe purchase -- I'd never heard of the brand, but I got a pair of the Kate Runner Ballet Flats and they've doing well so far. Yay non-narrow shoes!
I don't have anything right now (or maybe ever) to compare to that blistering assault in Mountain View...
But my neighborhood sushi joint, Mashiko (found on your internet at sushiwhore.com), does have a list of "rules" on the menu that frankly looks a bit tepid compared to a few years ago.
If you like the rules, there's a convenient bowl full of buttons with the rules on them at the entrance and you can grab a few.
I'm tempted to go back there and see if the owner goes after me with an axe.
PG: Glad the shoes were a success! Mine have passed the breaking-them-in stage and now slip off at inconvenient times (ahem, the subway) if I don't wear the ribbons, but that's ballet flats for you.
Jeff: What a strange sushi place. What is it to them if the wine or sake you BYO of is of good quality, so long as you pay them the $10?
Paul Gowder: This is why it's best not to mention the name of such a place in the post. I will tell you from experience that these places' owners do Google their establishments, and that even fully accurate commentary will get owners riled up. Not necessarily axe-level, but you might not want to go back.
Unfortunately, both because my phone only barely takes pictures, and because the places I'm thinking of in NYC that have ridiculous signs are places I otherwise like, I doubt if I'll be able to contribute to the enterprise.
(Also, I regretted my own use of "#2" right after posting, given the possible double meaning.)
I suppose the further iteration would be places like Shopsin's that don't have written rules posted in the restaurant -- at least, not anywhere clearly visible to an entering customer -- but instead seems to rely on people's having read old New Yorker articles. I was liking Shopsin's until the Tuesday I took an extra-long lunch to be able to go there, and they were closed.
these places' owners do Google their establishments, and that even fully accurate commentary will get owners riled upBe strategic about this - I once got an apology and an offer of a free dinner from a NYC establishment that shall remain nameless (cough, cough, Niko's Grill) after blasting them online.
PG:
Shopsins... never been, but I take it it's something of a "Soup Nazi" experience.
In terms of actual signs, though, the best stretch in Manhattan is probably Sullivan, between Houston and Broome, where offhand I can think of three different sign-having establishments (in North-South order: bus your own table/don't dare ask for diet Coke; stay for only 30 minutes; and read the menu before ordering, respectively).
Jeff:
"I once got an apology and an offer of a free dinner from a NYC establishment that shall remain nameless (cough, cough, Niko's Grill) after blasting them online."
I'm not sure if I'd feel confident eating free food served to me by a restaurant I'd blogged about negatively. What if they're, uh, in it for revenge?
The Shopsin's sliders are really damn good, better than places like PopBurger.
These damn signs... it's the kind of thing that you see constantly, until you start consciously looking for it. Then you can't find 'em.
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