228342 Sat Nov 19 20:51:49 -0800 2005 16 18 Manhattan 0 1213207 Headed to Veselka for brunch today after hearing many good things. Was told to wait 20 minutes - outside - for a table to be ready. We checked after 20 minutes and were told to wait another 15. We waited another 15, then checked. Were told to wait 5 more, still outside. Waited 5, then checked. Were told that they had given our table to another group and that we would have to wait another half hour. We left and had excellent (and cheaper) food at the Ukrainian restaurant next door. It wasn't trendy and it looked like a church basement, but we were treated right and we ate really well. The fried apple pancake was awesome. Sat Nov 19 20:51:49 -0800 2005 0 piccola 1 1213215 I go to get soup and cookies to go. The service is always rude. The food makes me going back. especially the cold borscht with egg and cucumber. choc chip m and m cookies, etc The guy at the cash register with not take your order. He'll just stand there and say he can only do cashiering. it is a strange set up. sometimes i have to leave when i am getting ignored after 5-10 minutes. they must loose a lot of business but i donn't think they really care. Sat Nov 19 21:48:10 -0800 2005 1213207 0 sallypartdeux 2 1213259 I know it sounds weird, and I am not a masochist, but the kind of prickly service is part of its charm. There are some old cranky waitresses that, once you show you have a sense of humour and know the drill, are really quite nice. It's kind of like some of the famous Jewish delis back before they became tourist traps (Carnegie, Stage),if you were a regular, they were even brisker and it was a form of affection. The host situation at Vaselka is challenging, you gotta stay on top of the order, because no one really knows what they're doing. You pay peanuts, you get monkeys, and the door wh**e is obviously getting paid very little.Once you get to the beer on tap and a burger or beef Stroganoof, it's all ok. Sun Nov 20 11:04:08 -0800 2005 1213215 0 sing me a bar 3 1213261 I understand the "rudeness as a gimmick" thing - it's the same thing at Tom's Restaurant, and other diners. But this was different. She essential treated us like we weren't worthy of eating there, and that pretty much garantees they'll never get our money. Sun Nov 20 11:38:02 -0800 2005 1213259 0 piccola 4 1213289 the general reaction to restaurant "rudeness" has always struck me as hilarious. people are, as a rule, willing to be roundly abused by joints that are about to charge them somewhere upwards of 100 bucks a person for a meal, but when a place asking a tenth that price dares to exhibit similar tendencies, the "rudeness" radar goes into overdrive. anyone care to posit an opinion about what that says about human nature? Sun Nov 20 15:21:55 -0800 2005 1213261 0 david sprague 5 1213316 Having never paid more than $15 for food, I can't help you there... ;-) But as a former waitress, I make it a point to be nice to the staff, so any rudeness in reply is a total deal-breaker. And that's regardless of the price, the food, the neighborhood or the general "coolness" of the place. Sun Nov 20 19:53:37 -0800 2005 1213289 0 piccola 6 1213380 Will you marry me? I thought I was the only one in the world who, even after living in Tuscany,The Perigord, Umbria and learning what great food tastes like,feel that most of the signature chef syndrome at $500-800/ person is just hype. I have been to Babbo and other like venues and it seemed like leagl thievery. I much prefer a funky little boite (granted, I don't find meals for under $15), where I am known and the food is a bargain.I would much rather a "mom ^ pop" style place to a famous chef place where they basically abuse you, like in The Magic Christian! Mon Nov 21 10:28:03 -0800 2005 1213316 0 sing me a bar 7 1213391 When a friend of mine was abruptly told by a chic restaurant's host that he had "two options: either wait outside or sit at the bar" when there were a lot of empty tables in sight, he reminded the host about the "third option"? What's that, said the host. "Leave" said my friend. And so he and his party did for more friendly venues! :) Mon Nov 21 10:54:39 -0800 2005 1213380 0 Jon36 8 1213406 I like that! If I get ANY attitude from servers or door wh**es, I bail. I really only go to "my" places anymore. I get so sick of people talking down to me about food, when I know more than they. The vibe at Babbo was kind of ridiculous. I suffered gladly the waiter pedandically lecturing on the signifiance of Reggiano or some other silliness. He obviously couldn't speak Italian. Still, he was a great server so I tipped through the roof anyway.I saw that many (all) of the clientele were tourists, and informing the rubes about Italian cuisine seems to be part of Mario's credo. Mon Nov 21 11:54:46 -0800 2005 1213391 0 sing me a bar 9 1213497 When it first opened, I took a friend of mine to Suba to look at the interior, at around 4 in the afternoon. The maitr'd (model/actor/wannabe) looked us up and down (jeans, Saturday garb) and handed us the business card from their "sister" restaurant which was, he offered, cheaper. My friend owns a successful ad agency, and he laughed it off. Mon Nov 21 16:30:29 -0800 2005 1213406 0 fishfork 10 1213544 But Veselka is just a coffee shop really, and hardly rude on the same scale (or $$) as Babbo. It's just 1) run like the cheap Eastern European establishment that it is, and therefore 2) not necessarily a friendly place, and 3) often quite disorganized. If you go there at times when it isn't backed up, like weekday mornings, I think it's fine for what it is (love the buckwheat pancakes). But Sunday morning is crowded, chaotic and really not the time to go there. Still, when I've been dragged there on Sunday I've found that keeping an eagle eye on the usually hopelessly lost hostess does the trick. It's really like anything else in NYC, you have to keep on top of things to keep from being aced out. Mon Nov 21 19:01:06 -0800 2005 1213497 0 NYC Al 11 1213558 I understand what you're saying, but I don't think it's my job as a customer to make sure the hostesses do theirs. Also, the cheap place next door has wonderful Ukrainian food for a third of the price, so if I owned Veselka, I'd try not to chase away too many customers... Mon Nov 21 20:18:52 -0800 2005 1213544 0 piccola 12 1213669 I want to try the Ukranian place next door. What's good there? Tue Nov 22 12:40:54 -0800 2005 1213558 0 sing me a bar 13 1213673 The apple pancake is out of this world. Totally unhealthy, of course - big ugly wad of fried batter stuffed with apple and served with sour cream. YUM. The blintzes were worthy too, but not the cherry - unless you dig cherry pie filling. The pierogies were also good, though I only tried the saurkraut so I can't say for the others. But they were really nice - even my non kraut-loving friends liked them. Again, this place looks like a community centre from the fifties - I think it's even called "Ukrainian Community Center" or something. And it's literally two or three doors down on 2nd Ave, under a big awning. Tue Nov 22 13:00:32 -0800 2005 1213669 0 piccola 5 1213377 Actually I will never put up with any rude behavior whether it be at an expensive or cheap restaurant. There are a number of restaurants reported as "great" on this board that I would never go back to after I received less than polite treatment. Mon Nov 21 10:17:20 -0800 2005 1213289 0 Ellen 5 1213410 Reminds me of a friend who went to Hue. When my friend had the "nerve" to look over the bill, the waitress told her, "I didn't give that to you to LOOK at." Nice. Mon Nov 21 11:59:27 -0800 2005 1213289 0 CL 1 1213427 When you have the time I would drop the owner a note, or call directly to relay your story. When these situations arise, if you do nothing bad service just perpetuates, while if complaints are made, something hopefully will be done to correct the situation. You may say why bother, but often the owner is not aware this is even going on. Mon Nov 21 12:45:49 -0800 2005 1213207 0 Michele Cindy