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Joe
Citizen
Username: Gonets
Post Number: 1205
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2006 - 3:40 pm: | 
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Horrified at the notion of having Mario appear at my door in nothing but his unmentionables holding a bag full of tasty victuals, I decided to dine at Caribbean Cuisine this past Saturday evening rather than have them deliver. I know a lot of people must wonder why I continue to patronize a business that I’ve chastised for moral laxness, but my approach to reprobates is to hate the sin, not the sinner, especially if there’s a good meal in it for me, and there always is at Caribbean Cuisine.
My wife and I were joined by two other couples. One of these couples are CC regulars, but the other couple were there for the first time, so before Vidya greeted us I warned them that her humor might be a little off-color but in my heart-of-hearts I believe she’s a basically decent person, just a little rough around the edges that’s all. Vidya by this point is well acquainted with my exacting standards and clearly was on her best behavior when explaining the menu. She bristled a little when my wife innocently asked why there were no specials and why she called Callaloo a soup (which it’s not), but all-in-all Vidya did nothing to embarrass us in front of our friends. In fact without being asked Vidya took the bottle of wine we had placed on the table to the back of the restaurant to open it for us.
Quite some time elapsed, then Vidya took our order for appetizers and then returned with an entirely different bottle of wine, explaining that in opening the wine she had allowed a large portion of the cork to drop into the bottle. My initial thought was that it was probably a bad bottle of wine where the cork had been allowed to dry out. I can’t imagine her not knowing the proper way to open a bottle of wine. She strikes me as someone who’s opened quite a few bottles in her day (if you know what I mean-glug, glug). Anyway, we all had a wonderful time, the food was delicious and Vidya and Mario have really come a long way in catering to upscale clientele. Before we left Vidya gave us the bottle that had the broken cork in it so that we could take it home. Well, the other night my wife and I sat down to dinner and I poured glasses of wine from this bottle. We sipped and wooey that wine was mustier than the bottle of Old Spice I found in a crawl space this past winter.
I’m sure Vidya and Mario knew that the cork dropping was not their fault, but they took the route of gracious restaurateurs this time. Watching their transformation has been a joy. I take a little pride in this because I feel that I’ve had not an insignificant role in helping them elevate their standards. I guess I’m sort of their Henry Higgins. Now it appears the student has become a teacher. I’m humbled and delighted.
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MHCLyons
Citizen
Username: Hamandeggs
Post Number: 247
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2006 - 4:02 pm: |
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Did you go over there with the wine yet? What did they say? |
Alleygater
Citizen
Username: Alleygater
Post Number: 1725
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2006 - 4:24 pm: |
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Wow that is high praise from someone as high as Joe. Dude what are you smoking? 
Regardless, I agree that Mario and Vidya are the bees knees. |
Virtual It Girl
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 4276
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2006 - 6:06 pm: |
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They are great. Last Friday night we placed a small order, just a couple of spicy doubles and 2 veggie roti's. The spinach and potatoes weren't ready, so it was a little bit of a wait. When my husband arrived, they forgot to prepare our order, so within minutes he had our order, plus 2 complimentary pastries.
My roti lasted me three delicious meals. |
Joe
Citizen
Username: Gonets
Post Number: 1206
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Friday, April 14, 2006 - 8:55 am: |
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MHC,
Haven't presented them with the bottle of wine yet. I want to get them something good. I was think of a red zinfandel or a white cabernet.
Alley,
I disagree with you. Mario and Vidya are not the bees knees. I think of them more as the cat's meow. I wouldn't go so far as to compare them to the cat's pajamas, then we'd be going down that slippery slope that leads to lurid images like the one Mario conjured with his "eat dinner in your underwear" enticement. I still haven't gotten over that. And they still have the flyers. I thought by this time they would have thrown them in the trash where they belong. But I must say, they've come a long way. |
Kibbegirl
Citizen
Username: Kibbegirl
Post Number: 503
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, April 16, 2006 - 8:02 am: |
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Joe, what do you mean by "upscale clientele"? I mean, if Mr. Kibbegirl and I decide to dine in S.O./Maplewood, we know that we're not going to receive the total white glove package. To automatically expect that these good folks know how the cater to "upscale clientele" is putting a burden on them. They are a small establishment, nothing fancy, but serve great food. I think we should take CC at face value and enjoy it. |
Ink
Citizen
Username: Pageturner
Post Number: 94
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, April 16, 2006 - 5:22 pm: |
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I'm hearing something really unctious in some of these posts. The Henry Higgins image is as pretentious as it is absurd, and reversing it doesn't make it any better. Referring to 'putting a burden' on 'these good folks,' is condescending, to say the least. We have a few authentic cuisines available in our area, and CC is one of them. If you continually try to mold them in your image, you ruin it for the rest of us. |
Kibbegirl
Citizen
Username: Kibbegirl
Post Number: 504
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, April 16, 2006 - 7:08 pm: |
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Ink, "putting a burden" on them meaning that if we expect some of our local eateries to marvel us with linen, lighting and music, then we are setting ourselves up for disappointment. Unless otherwise stated, the eateries in SO/Maplewood are laid back and quaint. I dig that. I enjoy it. I love being able to stumble in after grocery shopping, with kids in tow and sit down and enjoy a meal. I said "good folks" because I've been to CC many times, and you know what? They are good folks! They are nice people and they are always nice to my children. Maybe you're reading a bit much in between the lines here. I said nothing pretentious at all. |
stubelou
Citizen
Username: Stubelou
Post Number: 32
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Friday, April 21, 2006 - 10:21 am: |
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joe sounds like an ••• |
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