Your word against Theirs.

Recently a friend and I went to a very well known restaurant here in beautiful San Francisco. Our food was good and the waiter was cool but he got a little too relaxed with us. The guest I was with is also a bartender so when he found out that we both were in the service industry, he loosened up...but got a little too loose. He started telling us about how he hated this table two down from us and how he doesn't like anyone and blah blah blah. I get it. I get into moods where I hate everyone too but I certainly don't tell my customers about it. Save that for your fellow waitstaff and let them know about how table 23 can fuck off. Moving on. When it came time to pay the bill, I had a card and my guest had cash. She pulled out two $20's, a $5 and four $1's totally $49.00. She handed the cash to the server and I handed him back my card. The bill was about $100 so when the server came back and handed me my bill, I was shocked to see that he had only taken off $9. WTF?! We quickly flagged him down and he stated that No, she had only given him $9. He is saying this while he is holding two $20's in his hand. When she politely asked him why he had two $20's, he shook it off and said this is from something else.

This is the thing, the guy had told us that we were his first table of the day prior to this. When we glanced over at his money pouch, there were more $20's in it. Strange right? My friend was now also missing her money. A big scene breaks out in the restaurant between my friend and the server. He then tells her "You're making a scene." WOW. So I ended up paying $89.00 for our meal after he clearly had misplaced or pocketed our money. He asked to get the manager but there was nothing we could do. It was our word versus his. In my professional career of being in this industry I have never seen anything so unprofessional in my life. Its pretty sad actually because up until this point I had never had a problem with this place. It was actually one of my favorites but I will definitely never be going back. Wanna know where to go get ripped off? Sorry. #notsorry

Water Conservation. Terrifyingly real...

California is in a terrible drought.

That being said, the shortage of water has turned into an eye opening and terrifying reality. I am honestly scared of the future and were talking about a very NEAR future. It is being predicted that California only has one year left of their reservoir water supply. It is now against the law for servers to bring water to the table unless upon request.
Here is my issue with this. DO NOT ASK FOR WATER IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO DRINK IT! I have no problem bringing water to you and your guests if you are dehydrated and have been out walking all day. The weather is getting warmer so more water is going to be consumed. Unfortunately we have those who think they are above water conservation or they just plain don't care. So many times this past week I have had tables come in and before I can even greet them at their table they request water for everyone. Then they order other drinks and don't even touch it. Its such a  selfish thing to do.  I don't understand how people cannot take this issue seriously! We are going to run out of water in a very short period of time. My guess is that you are now going to have to pay for water when you order it at a restaurant or bar. I would definitely help and although it's going to suck, it would help put money into a study to figure out a way to bring the water down from the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Just a personal theory.

But let me sum up my rant. If you are going order water at least have the decency to drink it.

Apryl Foster

New Evidence in Apryl Foster case.

Recently some unfortunate news has come about in the case of the missing waitress Apryl Foster. A quick backstory is that Apryl was a young waitress working in the Tampa-Bay area in Florida when she went missing. It has been said that she only had one drink before she got into her car and was never seen again. Until recently some two boaters hit a car that was submerged in the lake and saw it on their underwater camera. After the car was pulled from the lake, the body of Apryl Foster was found inside. There is suspect of foul play from witnesses stating that she left with a mystery man.

Immediately after reading this story I put myself in Apryl's situation. How many times have I been hit on at work by some skeezy dude that has asked me to go with him? The answer is always simple. NO. Just no. Service industry folk work in an environment where anyone can be a client. I have served bums off the street a beer if they're a paying customer. That being said, not every bum is a serial killer. But we work in an environment where alcohol is encouraged. Going home with someone that you have just met is never something that is encouraged though.

New evidence in the Foster case shows that maybe she was not abducted. Witnesses are now saying that Apryl had more than one drink and was seen drinking heavily. There is now footage of her car being drove in to the lake. The tables have now turned. This case has went from an abduction to a drunk driving accident. After commenting on the Tip Me Over and Over Facebook page, fans had some comments of their own.

Melissa Dolbert stated, "It definitely sounds like the cops know something that they don't want the public to know about."

Stacy Morris stated, "Sounds fishy to me."

Kimber Brase Lockstone added, " I don't feel like there is the whole truth being told in this story! I feel like there is more to the story police are either willing to say or willing to look further into! I find it odd that one video shows her car parked for over 50 minutes, then a claim that the gate was tampered with, but they want to say it's a DUI! It's not adding up!"

All of our fans are right! Things aren't adding up. It is very unfortunate no matter what the circumstances are. We at TMOO cannot stress the fact that you should never drink and drive. And if you're going to hook up with a stranger at a bar, be smart about it. One night stands happen. We have all had one. But in cases like this, maybe it's best just to call a cab and go home. Condolences to her family and loved ones. 

RIP Apryl Foster. 

-TMOO

Happy Hour Adventures Part 2

My favorite blog to post! Happy Hour Adventures! This is where a guest and myself head out to a recommended Happy Hour in the city of San Francisco and give our review. This week we headed out a place called Chino in the Mission District. The food theme is asian fusion so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Let me start off by saying that as soon as you walk in, you are surrounded with pops of neon pink and lime green decor. Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough" was jamming from the speakers and I couldn't be happier. 

It was busy but nothing crazy. We walked right in and sat at the bar.  I, of course ordered a hibiscus margarita which was delicious per usual and my friend ordered a beer. (They have plenty to choose from on tap.) We ended up ordering the dumplings and shrimp fried rice. The rice was a little dry for my taste but the dumplings were on point. The best part of the meal came when the bartender placed 4 little jiggly cubes in front of me.

 I looked at him with confusion and said, "What is this?" He told me that those were their famous grapefruit jello shots covered in sugar.  I hate jello. HATE IT. I can't stand the taste and I can't stand the texture. But out of respect for our bartender I ate one. They were delicious. Almost too good. Before I knew it, I was eating another one.  I think I mentioned to my friend that this is the jello shots they do at Harvard. 

The atmosphere is what it's really all about here. The food was great and the staff was very friendly. The one thing I took away from this place was the grapefruit jello shots though. This is what a restaurant in  San Francisco is all about. They take simple things and make them better. And of course, organic...

Here is a link to their web site. I highly recommend it. 

CHINO SF

Ask for Tara. Tell her TMOO sent ya!

Fear of Saint Patricks Day

Saint Patty's day is coming up and do you what this means?! Drunk amateurs flooding the bars.

Back in the day, I loved St Pats. I didn't miss it for anything. My friends and I would run out and by cute little shamrock shirts and put green in our hair. By the end of the night, we were complete shit shows. It's a good time for sure but not when you are on the receiving end of St Pats Day. If you work at a bar, this is a real life nightmare. I should also throw in that I work at an Irish Pub. KILL. ME.

Picture this: 150 people jam packed in to a tiny little pub. Most of them inebriated from countless Irish Car Bombs, Jameson whiskey and Guinness. Mix in the fact that its a holiday that is based around drinking and you've got to work in the middle of all of it. Serving food and slinging drinks all in the hopes that you HOPE customers will remember to tip. Most holidays in the service industry can go one or two ways.

1.  You're going to get your ass kicked. That goes without saying. Hopefully you will have some awesome people who realize how busy you are and feel sorry for you. If not, you are going to have so many customers that no matter what they're tipping, you're making money. This is the best case scenario.
2. You're going to get your ass kicked. People are going to be so drunk and oblivious that they forget they are in an establishment and treat it like shit. Drunk people trash the place or better yet a fight breaks out. (My personal all time favorite.) 

I am hoping that with this post that I may be able to enlighten a few of you lucky readers out there to remember that people are working when you come in to a bar on Saint Patrick's day. Remember to be courteous. If you order drinks, its going to take longer to receive. Don't get made because your Long Island Ice Tea is taking a long time. It's coming. Another thing. Take off your backpack. If you're in a crowded bar and you walk in with a back pack, you're taking up way too much space. Leave it at home people.

Also, remember to have fun but be smart at the same time. When people know that they're going to be drunk people pouring out of the bars and on to the streets, they notice. A lot of muggings and pick pocketing happen around St Patrick's Day so remember to keep your belongings on you. Also, WATCH YOUR DRINKS ladies and gents. Do not set your drinks down and don't take something that has a fizzing pill in the bottom of it.  

To sum up, I love Saint Patrick's Day. I really do. If you go out, remember that the people working are getting their butts kicked so you can have a good time. Tip 20% if you have good service! Your server or bartender will love you and you'll probably get some free shots out of it.

Cheers!

-TMOO