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Principle versus Taste

Today for lunch we went to Legal Sea Foods in Kendall to wish a co-worker farewell as it was her last day. I ordered a gimlet and after asking what gins they had, asked for it with Bombay Sapphire. When my drink came it was very limey which was what I wanted. After a couple of sips, the waiter asked me about the drink to which I replied it was okay. He then informed me that he substituted Tanqueray for the gin (that being the cocktail menu stated drink) since it blended with their lime cordial better.

My anger flared and I hurled back at him some snarky comment concerning that being the reason why I didn't taste as much juniper as I was expecting. He offered to replace it, to which I continued my rant and replied that since that was what I had ordered I'd like that. Here enters the principle of the matter. I would rather have had him recommend that I try the drink with Tanqueray when I ordered it, instead of specifically ignoring my request.

Now I've demonstrated that I'm not a super taster when it comes to gin. In fact I swapped Bombay Sapphire with Tanqueray when I did that blind tasting. This of course means that when my drink was replaced he could have just switched what he originally served me to another glass and I would have been none the wiser. I suspect he's either laughing his ass having done just that and remarking how rude and ignorant I was. Hence on the matter of taste, what gin the drink was served with really didn't matter.

With all of that said, I'm still fuming and my mind is still obsessing over the issue. I'm pissed off at myself for letting my anger flair so easily. I'm pissed off at the waiter for switching my order around. I'm pissed off at the fact that I'm still thinking about it even when I know I couldn't tell the difference. Turns out nor can most people. So there you have have it, a possibly nice lunch and the rest of my day distracted over something that really shouldn't have mattered. Grrrrr.

Tags: gin rant

Posted by Daniel Rinehart on March 6, 2009 9:01 PM |

Comments

I generally keep Tanqueray and Bombay Sapphire at home and can tell the difference between them easily. I would have been a little peeved too.

Posted by: Tim | March 6, 2009 10:02 PM

I think it is the principle of the thing. When you order something, you expect the waiter to bring it to you or tell you that s/he can't because they're out or can't make it. For them to give you something different than you ordered is simply not acceptable. Imagine it had been a bottle of wine or an entree instead of just a mixed drink. What if the substituted item contained something you or somebody at the table was allergic to? That said, I probably wouldn't have sent the item back. I would simply have indicated that it was not what I had ordered - and tipped accordingly.

Posted by: Dave | March 8, 2009 10:21 PM