The Jago and I like to try new places for brunch on occasion. We used to go all the time, but since I moved downstairs and started cooking more often, we've cut down on the going out considerably. But today, I decided that it was a good day for brunch--it was sunny, I had the day off, and the Jago's car started.
We decided on the Pint, a downtown bar whose posters I had seen on my way back from the Edmonton Rush game. It looked pretty good. They were advertising a $10 brunch menu and a wing special. Okay, the wing special didn't look too special at all, since they were advertising 49-cent wings. Even when The Next Act had their wing special, it was 40 cents a wing, and that was considered expensive.
once we got there, however, I saw the reason for the hella expensive special wings. It turns out the Pint is a wing specialist. They have over 40 different sauces and rubs for their wings, ranging from mild to hot, from sweet to sour, and many combinations thereof. It looked very appetizing indeed, but we weren't there for wings. We were there to brunch!
The brunch menu was nothing to write home about, typical brunch fare with no pizzazz. Steak and eggs, a California benedict, a corned beef hash and eggs, a pancake of the day type thing--not terrible, just typical. As much as I wanted the eggs benedict, I decided on the corned beef hash and eggs. Jago, of course, got the bennies. (What can I tell you? The man loves his hollandaise.) Their regular menu showed a lot of pizzazz, with starters like mini stuffed Yorshire puddings and deep fried, breaded pickles!
As expected, the food was pretty fair to middling. It was certainly no Culina, or The Manor Cafe, or even The Next Act, which has a better, more creative and pizzazzy brunch for just a couple dollars more. The hash was too salty, the over-easy eggs were over too hard, and the corned beef was few and far between. Worth $10? Maybe, but an eatery shouldn't really advertise cheap food deals if the food is going to be worth every penny of that discounted price and no more. the fried pickles, on the other hand, were pretty amazing.
So we have to pay, and the Pint doesn't even have Interac. Instead, they want you to use the ATMs which, of course, cost the customer an extra few dollars per transaction and nets the bar a small percentage or monthly fee or however it works. Now, I don't have a problem with a bar wanting to make a few extra bucks with an ATM on-site. There are times when I want some cash and it's super convenient get it at the place I'm currently standing in, whether that's a bar or the supermarket or a street corner. No, what I have a problem with is making it extremely obvious to the customer that you aren't interested in his convenience by removing an extremely common form of payment. And not advertising it or telling the customer up front.
I've been to places that are cash only, or don't take credit cards, or don't take $50 or $100 bills. These places tell you up front what they don't take so the customer can make a decision before incurring any kind of charge. No, The Pint is not, in fact obligated to take all forms of payment, but as a courtesy, it would have been nice to have been given the choice. Especially since their ATMs were out of service at the time. How would I have paid today had I not carried a credit card? As it was, The Jago had cash and paid for me. I got him back when buying snacks for the Royal Rumble viewing.
On the plus side, they were showing the AHL All-Star skills competition on their televisions and the servers were very attractive. But guess where I'm unlikely to go again?.
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