WIND IT UP!


I’m not sure why I wrote that as the headline to this blog, but I think it’s because Gwen Stefani was inspiring me at the gym this morning.

It’s fitting, though, because things are really winding up for us! First of all, we’re REALLY excited about a couple of potential deals we have in the works, and we promise to disclose all the details as soon as possible. Suffice it to say, there are lots of exciting opportunities on the horizon.

More concretely, It’s A Wonderful Lie, the anthology about life in your twenties to which we contributed an essay called “Girls Can Do Anything!” is launching as we speak! It’s so exciting. We’re having a big NYC launch/cocktail party sometime around Feb. 27 or 28th and of course we can invite all of our friends. It’s going to be at 230 Fifth (http://national.citysearch.com/review/41918180), which has awesome views of the city, so as soon as the time and definite date is nailed down, we will let everyone know.

Also, we just found out that American Way magazine, the in-flight magazine of American Airlines, will highlight It’s A Wonderful Lie on their entertainment page in their March issue, available on flights beginning March 15, so if you’re flying that airline, definitely check it out. One thing we learned while promoting The Perfect Manhattan is that airline magazines are a big deal, obviously given the number of people flying on a daily basis. So that’s good news!

Anyway, we’re psyched. We will be in touch with more info soon!

I don't want to sound cheap, but...

You go out to a bar. You order a glass of Pinot Noir. You drink it. Your glass is ¾ empty, but there are still a few good sips left at the bottom of the glass. Without ordering another round, your bartender comes over and fills you up. You didn’t order more wine, so you assume it is his little "gift" to you. But then the bill comes and he’s charged you for it. Do you complain?

A couple of nights ago, I met a friend for dinner and drinks at the Waverly Inn. The New York Times warns, "How can they call it a restaurant when the official phone number yields a recording that doesn’t take messages or even acknowledge that the place has opened? Of course, we’ve all been eating there since early November. It just isn’t open to anyone and everyone."

It sounds obnoxious, I know, but still, I had to check it out. I used to go there all the time with my dad when it was "Ye Waverly Inn" and they served chicken potpies for brunch. Needless to say, chicken potpies are no longer on the menu, but the food prepared by Graydon Carter’s staff is quite delicious nonetheless – we shared the tuna tartar, a dozen Kumomoto oysters, and the grilled vegetable salad. Very yummy indeed. But I digress. Back to the wine. When my friend and I sat down we each ordered a glass, and the bartender refilled us twice without us ordering more. Then, when the bill came, he charged us for six glasses of wine. Full disclosure: we probably would have ordered two more rounds anyway, but the fact is, we didn’t. He gave them to us, without us asking, and in my experience when a bartender pours you another drink and then yet another without you requesting it, he or she doesn’t charge you for it.

Leanne and I spent nearly five years together behind the bar, and in all that time, if I refilled a customer’s glass without said customer ordering another round, I "bought" it for them. Apparently that’s not how it works at The Waverly Inn. I guess they just assume that you of course want more Pinot Noir, and if you don’t have enough money to afford having several glasses, then what the hell are you doing at such an elite establishment!

One more thing: when the bar started to really fill up, our bartender asked us if we wanted anything else. We decided to split a glass of Viognier (this glass we actually ordered!). He sneered that a half a glass of wine each hardly warrants us taking up prime real estate at the bar – even though our bill at this point was over two hundred dollars (for appetizers and wine by the glass!).

Oh, but who am I kidding? I’ll probably be back there next week.