After we left the clinic we walked down Broadway and decided to go to Ben Ash, a tourist trap diner, for something comforting and dinerly. Sure, an omelet is $16, but these big, stupid places are efficient and everything is hot and buttered. What followed was a host of terrors. Corned Beef Hash that tasted of cumin; potatoes that were compost; and a number of things that never arrived and other things sent back.
"Just give me the bagel I ordered," I said, and when finally the bagel was delivered, toasted but cold, as I put it to my mouth [Wife] pointed out that it was stained--some sort of dark drippings on the side. Coffee? Feces? Rat blood? The waiter took it away, apologizing. Old New York, the kind that kicks you in the crotch then asks you to pay for the wear on the shoe, lives. And for $42 (with tip), even after we sent back 2/3 of the meal, we got to see the stained bagel. Then we went next door and got bagels, unsullied and soft.
| Food | Qty | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| Bagel, with cream cheese | 354 | |
| Omelet, bodega steamtray, 2 oz. | 2.5 | 428 |
| Potato salad, 1 c. | 0.3 | 119 |
| Total | 901 |