Monday, August 23, 2010

The Usual, Please.

What does it mean to be regular? In my own opinion, it’s not always a great thing. Who wants to be average or predictable? Not I.

But a regular is something completely different. If you are a regular customer at Bloomingdales, you get discounts and all sorts of special attention.When I was working at Marriott, if you were a regular you earned money off your room and could even receive free dining.

In college I was a regular at the dinning hall, but often times this just meant I needed to be a regular at the gym – which, by the way, I was not.

I want to be a regular somewhere. I want to walk into a place, smile at the waiter, and say oh-so-casually, “The usual please.”

It’s always been a life-long dream.

Every sitcom and movie has “that place” or “their favorite spot.” And remember? I often imagine life as a movie. "Saved by the Bell" had The Max. “Friends” had Central Perk. The Gilmore girls had Luke’s Diner. And I have….

Well I’m working on it. And the last two days, I’ve made great progress! Maybe you think I’m getting excited about nothing, but this is a LIFE-LONG dream here.

Rules for being “a regular”:

1. You know the name of the waiter/waitress/bartender, etc.

2. They know your name, or at least recognize you when you enter the building.

3. If you’re a true regular, the server will know your order… or at least how you like your coffee.

I know – these rules are tough on both parities. But for example, I love Panera, and have visited the one by CNU often. Yet they don’t know me and they certainly don’t converse with individual customers much. And that’s okay. They are very corporate establish that give me good food and free wi-fi. Love it.

So I’ve discovered if I going to be a regular, I need to frequent places that are known for being neighborhood spots.

Skip forward to last night when I was headed to the Spring Lounge after work with a friend. She and I have been here at least 3 times in the last month and wanted to keep up the tradition. The Soho spot is a little off the main road, with wooden paneling and sharks hanging on the walls.

She put her card on the bar to start a tab.

“You know the drill…” the bartender said.

“Twenty dollar minimum,” she replied, as calmly as possible. “Two Guinness please.”

He smiled and began preparing the drinks.

Once out of the bartender’s sight we jumped for joy and started saying we would come to the bar every couple nights! And then we realized that was excessive and changed our quota to something more like once every week or two.

No. We aren’t regulars. Not according to my rules.

But we’re on the right track ;)

UPDATE:

Another “regular “story to come soon… You know my boyfriend? Those bagels? They are giving me a little bit of a regular status too.

Top 3 Places to Eat on TV:

The Max

Luke's Diner

Central Perk


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5 comments:

Bob said...

Haven't visited the bar with sharks on the wall so I vote for the bagel place... nice folks, great location, excellent bagels and free internet... :) One day you will walk in and they will say "Hey Brit, everything bagel with cream cheese will be ready in a minute - here is your coffee". They would be lucky to call you a "regular"!!! :) Hey, say "hi" to Bill Bagel for me!!!

Anonymous said...

Actually, Dad and I have been to both places and fine them both nice. Yet, seems like it would be easier to be a regualr at the Bagel place in Astoria. I think when we all ordered the same exact thing we made a good impression. Ha Ha!!! Love you, mom

britney fitzgerald said...

dad yes u did visit that place... after dinner with mom and asa and kortlyn? yeah... and it's not one or the other parents! i want to be a regular everywhere in nyc. im just starting with these two places!

and yes everything bagel with cream cheese is perfection. yuuuum

Becca said...

I would like to add The Honkerburger from Doug to the list.

Julia said...

LOVED this! being a regular is one of my life goals as well!