BASICALLY

The dinner was so-so, and frankly, so were the drinks, but being a good citizen, I asked for the check. The crowd was the young after-work one, where they are happy go and be away from the office, and so the noise level was high. This must be the typical Thursday night crowd at Boston Blackie, the restaurant that caters to all types, at all times in the great city of Chicago.

The waitress was an amiable young lady with a smile, and every time she smiled, her tip went up, and when she interrupted my meal by asking if everything was all right, causing me to lose my place in the conversation with TLW (The Little Woman) her tip went down!

It was bad enough I couldn’t read the menu because the place was so dark, but the menu was the least of my problems. I asked for the check, and Happy Face brought it over.

I read over the list of things on the check and come across two items that catch my eye.

“Oh Miss! Miss, would you come here, please?”

“Yes?”

“What is this: two items listed ROCKS $1?”

“Oh, well basically, you ordered two drinks on the rocks, and that charge is for the rocks.”

“You mean basically you are charging me for ice water!”

I thank smiley and take out my credit card and give her both the card and check. She returns with both and I deduct two dollars from the tip and a note on the bottom of the tab:

“You charge for ice cubes, SHAME ON YOU!”

As we leave, I tell TLW I deducted the $2 from her tip, and she says, “Well, you know she was only doing her job! The restaurant is at fault!”

“Give me a break, she didn’t have to put it down, ‘ice cubes $2, unbelievable’!

“Well they got away with it”

“Oh yeah, open your bag.”

I whip out of my pocket the black linen dinner napkin, and drop it in.

“I think we are even.”

If you do the math, the less than one ounce of rocks cost more than the steak per ounce!

Call me cheap if you want, but I think the suckers at Boston Blackie got it slipped by them like they thought they’d slip it by me.