That's what you get for eating at a place that serves twenty one dollar bowls of soup. Must be nice to have that kind of money.

Gourmet Gal,
I sure hope it was not @ Cobblestones that you got stewed, so to speak. We
were, in fact, featuring Fish Stew over the past few days (Bouillabase if
you're doing it French style) But, if at my place, you had better had more
than your beers comped. Your dinners, your dry cleaning, and a Gift
Certificate for a future, drier night out! Please, please let me know.

Although not on the same level as your misfortune, I can tell you about an
unpleasant experience we had locally just this week. Although the
bartender didn't spill anything other than his guts, a hot soup in the lap
may have been a reprieve! Everytime we began a conversation, here came the
bartender with another story. Where he's from, where he's been, what he
likes to do when not talking about himself....Really, servers...here's a
hint. If the guest wants to chat, chat. If the guest is chatting with the
party they arrived with...be like that fancy bottled water...Available, and
still.

On another note GG, I do believe that Liquor Shop you liked in Tyngsboro is
owned by George Miamus, who also owns the Liquor Shop across the bridge in
Lowell, on Bridge street/Rte (38) If you haven't been, the place is huge;
with a vast selection of wine and beer. Alot closer than Tyngsboro for
downtown Lowell folk, and right next door to a Market Basket, where some
decent cheese can be had. Just an FYI!
Scott Plath

Scott,
I'm affraid it was your fine establishment. Don't worry I have a dry cleaner bill w/ your name on it. But the soup was fantastic, my coat liked it too.

GG

GG, my sincere apologiies about the soup mishap, and even more so regarding the weak response. I like to think we are better than that. Follow up will occur, today.

FYI, Billy Costa will be visiting Cobblestones too. And although Blue Taleh is doing a great job, we are not ready to give up the "Lowell's Hottest Spot" distinction so quickly. (no soup jokes please!)

SP

You shouldn't have mentioned anything Scott. We'd have never known it was at your place. Seems the favored spots for GG get anonymity in their critiques while the "no longer in" spots like Paradiso get their name plastered all over the blog when ripped. Same thing happened with the anonymous rip of Boniche a few months back. We outsiders only found out about the identity through the comments. At least progress is being made. The Taleh disclaimer was included in the post above. Thanks for that GG.

BTW tried the Taleh. Good sushi. A little pricey and very slow. Missed the first ten minutes of the show despite giving myself an hour and a half to wine and dine. Lets pick up the pace people.

Hmmm, it seems to me that servers should approach diners from the bar side, not from their blind side. I am constantly moving around when I sit, so someone coming up behind me is definitely courting disaster. Maybe I need to bring a little mirror to put on the bar in front of me? ;-)

Jumpin Jack Flash?! Funny how you critcize GG's maintaining anonymity...for being quite the anonymous critic yourself! (ask me about serving guests in a timely manner on a show night, after 14 years of trying to meet that huge challenge) Furthermore, there is a difference in my mind between critiquing service and/or food quality, and reporting a unfortunate mishap. (the $21. "soup" by the way, was filled with sea bass, shrimp and scallops...Randy is sooo right...service from behind should be only by necessity, and done so VERY cautiously. We are addressing this entire incident throughout the week! SP

Accidents happen folks - you could be sitting at an individual table, and a server could trip and fall causing whatever they are carrying to spill all over you.
The owner of Cobblestones will most definitely make sure the serving issue is addressed, and that Gourmet Gal's dry cleaning bill is taken care of. I'm sure that had the owner been at "the scene," and was made aware of what had happened, he would have made sure that the bowl of soup was replenished (free of additional charge). And that has absolutely nothing to do with who Gourmet Gal is, or what she writes about in her great and informative blog (which I enjoy on a daily basis, btw).
And although I do agree with Gourmet Gal about not having to ask to be compensated, there's something to be said about letting a manager know about your situation - bartenders don't always have the authority to comp. meals.

Keep up the good work GG and Cobblestones!

No issue at all with your restaurant, Scott. I like it. You handled the issue quite well, as it should be handled by any restaurant owner once made aware of an issue. You are to be commended for that.

However, spiling something on a customer and not doing anything about it IS a service issue. I'm sure you've addressed it and I doubt it will happen again at your place. My only point was, if we're going to do rip jobs on places here, let's at least name names instead of witholding that information on our favorites and ripping places like Paradiso.

Let the record show I'm not a huge Paradiso fan. The service and attitude has been lousy for years. It is interesting though to see the way this once touted destination is now being abandoned because all these other upscale eateries have opened up.

Jack,
Thank you for the compliment, and for your appreciation of our restaurant. Just for the record though, GG's coat was "whisked" away to be cleaned, dry cleaning was offered, beers were comped AND perhaps more would have been done had she not insisted that all was fine. On a busy night, the staff took that to mean they could continue on serving other guests. (a mistake, but far from "not doing anything") My place or not, I thought she was appropriately tactful. As far as ripping Cafe Paradiso...hell-o! You did it yourself, and I believe justifiably. Perhaps people are moving on to new places because they are disenchanted that Paradiso did not deliver on the promise of a "Boston" like property. Don't believe the hype. Guests know good food, good service and consistency. They exhibit that knowledge through their patronage, regardless of what the writers say, before and present company included!

Let me again repeat, Scott, what a nice job you've done on your place. I have great admiration for someone who takes a location that failed miserably in the past and makes it a great success story. I have no doubt your staff handled things properly in the end, even with the minor slip up. In my rush to make the greater point, I didn't exactly word things properly.

Hi Scott
I know this is getting off the subject but some of the allure of going to paradiso was sitting outside.."al fresco" dining in the warmer months is a huge feature for me and my sig other.
Is there a chance that you can set something up near the canal?

Ken,
We would LOVE to offer an outside alternative. Here's the problem. On a hot summer day, the server delivers the food and asks if "you" guys want anything else. "You" request some additional crostini for the Fried Brie. The server crosses the train tracks, crosses the parking lot , up the stairs, through two doors, through the lobby and bar, into the kitchen, and makes the return trip with the bread. At which point Sig realizes he would like spring water, and not from the canal! The server, sweating and tired, quits!

Ideally, we would welcome a City Manager who could muster the "ability", with the willingness, to overcome the resistance of a determined few who keep us from leasing the City's Liberty Park "garden" adjoining our dining room--the same to whom we have donated our water to every summer, for years!! Alas, maybe one day...

The server could have avoided the mishap if the entree was given to the bartender who could place the order safely in front of the person.
The waitstaff could have stepped behind the bar also, in order to properly serve the patron. Sadly, service staff do not always receive the best training. This works against them with reduced tips. Management is doing a disservice to its employees.