Wednesday, July 7, 2010

¡Viva España! and ICR fail

Another soccer match, another afternoon at St. Stephen's Green! I am thrilled that my Spanish boys pulled through in the end. Did you see that header that Puyol put in the back of the net? Incredible! He just may be my favorite hairy Spanish soccer player of all time. :) 

I will be so sad if he decides to retire!
[image source]

After my disappointing lunch at the pub yesterday, I decided to take matters into my own hands today. I ran 5 miles this morning (no SI pain, hooray!), then came home and whipped up my very first Green Monster!

Leafy green goodness in my new Copco To-Go Cup!

I put 1 cup spinach, 1/2 banana, and 3/4 cup soy milk in the blender and let it spin around for a minute. Then I tossed in some ice and let it go to town a little longer. Finally, I stirred in about 1T of chia seeds. I was dubious at first but, as usual, was proved totally wrong. Who knew spinach could be so sweet? I'm a convert!

I then packed a peach and a huge green salad into my bag. Is it weird that I snuck food into a pub? Whatever. While everyone else was clogging their arteries with fried fish and chips (although it did smell delicious...), I was perfectly happy with my fruits and veggies.

After celebrating Spain's victory, the hubs and I headed home and then decided to walk downtown for some iced coffee. That's where the "ICR fail" part of my title comes in. There are two coffee shops downtown, a Starbucks and an independent coffee roaster (see, ICR?). We try to frequent the ICR as often as possible, but I have to admit their coffee is just not all that good. I usually bite my tongue and order something as simple as possible, but today just put me over the edge.

I ordered an iced soy latte. When I got it off the bar, I noticed that there were some grounds floating at the top, but I didn't pay much notice to them. I stuck a straw in the lid and headed out into the beautiful sunlight with the husband. It wasn't until we were 2 blocks away that I finally took my first sip of coffee.

Blech! Horrible! The soy tasted like it had gone bad (is that even possible?) and the espresso tasted burned. I took a look at my cup and there were grounds covering the bottom! It was basically undrinkable. That's it, ICR! I have tried to be a good patron of independent establishments, but you have forced me to Starbucks! I didn't want to go back and be a pain, so I just threw it away and shared Brian's frosted chai (which was delicious).

Brian says this is a problem that I have - I hate inconveniencing people. I would rather just throw my coffee away and vow never to go to that coffee shop again than go back and cause a scene. Maybe this is true, I don't know. I just didn't really want to deal with it today.

What about you guys? Do you send food back if it's not what you expected?
I mean, I have no problem sending something back in a restaurant, but for a $3 cup of coffee... I don't know. It almost feels like more trouble than it's worth. Thoughts?



4 comments:

  1. Mmm green monsters. And you were brave and went for the virgin one right off the bat!

    I will typically send food back in a restaurant if its something I just can't eat (like if it has mayo on it and I requested without), but I agree for the coffee. Its $3 and you learned not to go back there. That being said, I don't think it would be wrong to go back, after all, you didn't get what you paid for. I've found too that if you are really nice about it (most people aren't), they will go out of their way to make things right.

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  2. It takes a lot for me to send something back. And when I do, I sugarcoat the hell out of my request. I'm one of those people terrified of what's going to be done to my meal/drink behind closed doors. I worked in customer service too long to think any differently... lol

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  3. Just stopped by for the first time - love the blog, so glad I found it! :)

    I hate inconvieniencing (pretty sure I spelled that wront) people, but I will definitely send it back. No worries.

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  4. Good calls all around ladies. Nice work :)

    Amy - I too have worked in food/customer service and I have the same fears!

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