I Got Kicked Out of the Joshua Tree in Somerville MA for Spending $127 and All I Got Was This Lousy $25 Gift Certificate

I know...it sounds crazy, right? And for those that were there with me, it WAS crazy. So, I totally understand that restaurants are in business to make money. I get it. And if you're sitting at a six person table, you should be ordering a good bill's worth of food and/or drink. So you'd think that having 9 people sitting at that table and ordering food and drink would be better...even if you're not ordering a meal.

I'm getting ahead of myself. So a group of us went out after work for a few drinks, to the Joshua Tree in Davis Square, Somerville MA. When we got there, we told them that we had a group of 7 or 8 people coming in and we'd like a big table. They offered the bar. No no...we want a table. They tell us that tables are only for dinner and that we should sit at the bar. No no...we want a table. So when I offer for all of us to leave, the waitress reluctantly gives us a table. We order drinks and appetizers and more drinks and more appetizers. Nine of ten people show up instead of seven or eight. We had racked up a $127 bill at the table and we were still ordering more. The waitress, who I will refer to as "idiot" from here on out, brings us a new beer and a gin and tonic and proceeds to tell us that we can no longer take up that table. We have to leave because we weren't ordering dinner. WHAT? Are you f*cking kidding me. She wasn't. There were three empty tables the size of ours and a party of six was waiting. We asked if we could move to another section and she said we would have to ask the server in that section. Apparently, they said no as well when she asked for us. WHAT? Seriously...what's wrong with these people? Now we're getting pissed. We pay the bill and walk out...pissed. Two of us go back in and talk to the manager who appears mortified that we were asked to leave. She offers us a gift certificate...we're never going back there so why the need for a gift certificate. We took it because they owed us and it turns out to be for $25. Whoop-de-doo. For nine people being thrown out of a restaurant, for doing nothing more than being good customers, we got $25. I wouldn't go back to the Joshua Tree in Davis Square, Somerville MA, if someone gave me a years worth of free lunches for going there. Would you?

HA! My review on Boston Citysearch's website took them down from 5 stars to 4 1/2. And the person posting before me had hair in their food. Ick!

http://boston.citysearch.com/profile/4751818/somerville_ma/joshua_tree_bar_grill.html

I Want to Believe

Who wants to see the new X-Files movie?



Oh oh...pick me!

Not Up to Code

Oh boy...oh boy. Just when you think you're about to get a bit of money from the IRS...you find out that you have to spend most of it on something not fun. So we knew that we had a bit of a leaky in the bathroom shower faucet, and it most likely required a new washer in the handle...except this is what it looks like right at this moment.

I thought it would be a few hundred bucks...I was stupid to think that it wouldn't be a bigger deal. It always is. Apparently my shower is old-ish and the faucets are not up to code. Codes which I think are created to keep the economy going...contstantly forcing you to update your plumbing, electronics, and construction whenever something you own breaks. Ah well...it could be worse...we might not be getting free money from the government that the state will tax us on (again) next year.

UPDATE (3 hours later): Anyone know a good tile guy that works cheap?

Pork Chopped Sandwiches OR My First Grilling of the Year

Spring is here and that means grillin' time. I uncovered my grill for the first time in 2008...I was going to make some BBQ pork sandwiches. I thought I cleaned this thing before I closed it up for the winter. I guess I was lazy. Oh wait...I had my gallbladder removed and didn't get to winterize ANYTHING before it snowed. Anyway...it took a few minutes to light the fire and for all the winter crap to burn off. The pork sirloin chops cooked up nice and evenly as usual.

And that's when I realized...right around the end of cooking time, that the fire had gone out. I've been wondering when I would run out of gas in that tank. It's the original tank I bought two summers ago when I bought the grill. So I transferred the pork that was cooked JUST ENOUGH to be completely cook, into a frying pan. Out of the fire and into the frying pan. Bad joke.

So there it was...in the frying pan with some BBQ sauce...simmering away until it was time to eat. I cut open a poofy roll...filled it with the yummy pork covered in BBQ...and enjoyed! You know you want some!