Then, to add insult to injury, no buy-back!

by Grumpy


So I decide to have a drink and dinner at the bar at a local pan-asian joint in New Brunswick. I've boozed-it-up there on occasion so some of the staff knows me.

Draft beer. Stella or Kirin. Standard 12oz pours. 8+tax=8.56. Yes. They charge 8.56 for a beer. Honestly I think $9 for a draft beer would be less insulting. Seriously. What the hell is that 44 cents? Give me a break. What? Are they afraid that I'm only going to tip a dollar and this way the staff gets $1.44 tip on a draft beer?

I like single malt Scotch. So I order a Glenlivet 18. I'm asked if I want a single or double shot. Now, I'm not sure what they mean by that, because I didn't order a shot, I ordered a Scotch. Maybe some of you who do shots can explain it to me. Anyway, the Glenlivet 18 is about $68 at a discount retail liquor store. (I've seen it online for as little as $49.) Their price? $25 for a "single shot." At $25 per "Shot" that's a NINEFOLD markup on a "Premium" product. The fractional markup on a premium product is supposed to be less than the standard markup because the dollar amount of the markup will still be greater. No. Not here. I can't figure out if the problem is that they have no clue what booze is worth or that they think that their customers are all a bunch of rubes. Fortunately I ordered during "Happy hour" where the price is 50% off bringing the price to a reasonable, if still expensive level. I think the problem here is that the people running this place aren't Loungerati. They look at the price lists at other places to determine their prices. They see $18 for a Glenlivet 18 and decide to up the price a bit because they're a more "hip" place. Fine. Except that the reason that it's $18 for a Glenlivet at another place is that the bartender knows to make a heavy pour for someone who's a single malt drinker. I've never had a skimpier pour on a Scotch except for the time at Fredo's Bachelor party in Montreal, and I don't have to tell you why the joint we were at was light on the pouring.

Then, to add insult to injury, no buy-back.

On the up side the sashimi was the best I've had in New Jersey. That's not saying much. Most of the raw fish I've had in Central New Jersey is barely fit to feed my cat, but there you have it.