Etiquette Tuesday: The Mothership Hasn’t Landed
©JohnnaKnowsGoodFood
Thanks to everyone who reads the weekly rants and tails that JKGF goes through creating the content for Etiquette Tuesday. This week, a good friend shared their experience at a local restaurant and we had to keep you in the loop:
Recently, my friends and I went to this restaurant on the border between Columbia Heights and Petworth. All I can say: it was well in terrible territory.
The first indication it was awful was seeing *** ****** and his stupid bow tie sitting at a table in the restaurant. (Strike one.) Any place that attracts pseudo-politicians with ridiculous fashion choices is already suspect in my book. (*Name is omitted so JKGF readers can play the guessing game.)
We sat down to a halfway empty restaurant – granted, it was the middle of the week – and got our menus. And that was the last we saw of Grandpa (our waiter) for the next 20 minutes. He seemed infatuated with the table of attractive ladies next to us. The table of four dudes might as well have been invisible. Even doing the requisite eye contact to get his attention, he would look the other way and pretend we weren’t there. So we got the owner of the restaurant, and he took our order. But that should have been a sign we should have left.
Drink orders were in. Water glasses were filled. Food orders were placed. The drinks came quickly, and that was probably because we were sitting within arm’s reach of the bar. But when there’s nothing to eat, drinks go down fast, especially with some thirsty guys. But good luck getting those refilled.
Drinks were gone. Water glasses were empty. Food orders were…somewhere. Another 20 minutes pass, and we’re finally able to get our water refilled because it should always be a hassle to get more H2O in a (now) mostly empty restaurant. The food does arrive and it is what we ordered. You can tell some of the dishes had been sitting under a heat lamp. But only partially because part of the dish was room temperature.
At this point, we just wanted to eat and get the hell out. We ate all that we could muster and didn’t finish what was on our plates. We didn’t care. We wanted the check and fortunately, that wasn’t too much of a wait. We paid, we got up, and we didn’t look back.
There’s only one reason this place has stayed open for so long: There’s no other competition in the area. Mothership is on Georgia Ave between two rapidly developing neighborhoods. It has a monopoly in its area, but that’ll change as more places open up. And then the Mothership will have to travel elsewhere.
Category: Etiquette Tuesday
About the Author (Author Profile)
Johnna French is a Harlem NY native with deep roots in Panama, Washington, DC and North Carolina. All four places have heavily influenced her life and the foods she loves today. After graduating Howard University School of Law and beginning her life as a young professional in the city she was led to start Johnna Knows Good Food in November 2007 to keep family, friends and colleagues updated on where to go and what to eat while dining in the nation’s capitol. French, who still practices law, leads a team of three writers to cover the ever expanding Washington, DC food scene. French has been featured in print and television, appearing in Washingtonian Magazine and is a regular contributor to various local TV affiliates including WUSA 9, FOX 5 DC and WJLA (ABC Affiliate) News Channel 8. During the 2016-2017 football season, Johnna aired on Comcast Sports Mid-Atlantic (CSN) show, Redskins Life, as the weekly tailgate host. Johnna is currently a regular contributor to the FOX Baltimore Weekend morning show.Subscribe
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