joearay@gmail.com / +1 206 446 2425


Friday, December 05, 2008

BCN: 1, Paris: 0

Barcelona—Same story, better end.

Caffé Moro, take note; this is how to create repeat customers…

With my favorite Barcelona café closed for the day and looking for a new place to work, I found the new Sifó Xico in my old neighborhood of Poble Sec.

Instead of giving me lip and a lecture when I asked for a glass of water with my coffee, the bartender poured a glass, looked at it for a second, pitched it in the sink (Barcelona’s tap water can be nasty) and gave me a bottle of water. Free of charge.

I’ll be back.

Sifó Xico MAP
C/Roser 82
Barcelona
www.sifo.es
+34.663.762.035



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Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Sometimes, it’s the little things

PARIS - Today, after a hot chocolate and a decent espresso (a sad rarity in this town) at Caffè Moro, I was refused a glass of water larger than the thimble-sized one I received.

“You can come back three, four, five times if you like,” said the waitress, noting the café’s absence of table service.

“It’s a style,” chimed in a loud and grouchy woman who had been bossing the staff around for the previous half-hour while floating in and out of the back room, yet claimed not to be the boss.

I stared at them in disbelief, at a loss to think of a more annoying or petty ‘style’ to lose customers.

“If you want, you can buy an Evian,” added the waitress.

Please. If somebody’s going to plunk the better part of ten euros down in a half-empty café and ask for a glass of water that’s larger than their thumb, have the good sense to give them a carafe or fill up a bigger glass and not give them any lip.

Caffè Moro - Map
31, rue de Charonne
75011 Paris
+33.1.43.14.06.39



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