Marcel's DUI Situation

Erin and I were having a little post-lunch chat yesterday - talking about clothes and furniture design and art history, like we do - when we got an email from Libby, telling us that Top Chef villian extraordinaire, Marcel, had been arrested for drinking and driving.

We were all anxiously awaiting the sure-to-be hilarious Best Week Ever post on the subject, fully assuming that Alex Blagg would write it and he would absolutely reference Wolverine in the title.

Instead, this is what we got, as a part of the Sara Schaefer "...Of the Day" post:

HE WAS JUST TRYING TO GET AWAY FROM THAT BULLY CLIFF: Top Chef pipsqueak and foam connoisseur, Marcel Vigneron, was arrested for speeding and “erratic” driving in Laguna Beach. Can’t a little guy drive with reckless abandon, letting the wind blow through his Wolverine-like hair, in defiance of any who might dare wrestle him to the ground and shave said hair???

Frankly, I'm disappointed. If you're not able to make pithier jokes than this when a reality TV celebrity gets arrested IN LAGUNA BEACH, BWE, then what can you do???

(And for the record, I totally like Sara Schaefer's posts. I just think she's unnecessarily wordy here, and that the Cliff reference feels forced.)

(Also, lunch was at Sweet Lela's. It was good and WOW is that place cute. So Euro, right in the heart of Towson!)

Another One (Temporarily) Bites the Dust

Vin's closing in anticipation of the Towson Circle construction. And when it reopens, Chef Paternotte, of went-to-college-with-Cooper fame, will no longer be a part of the team.

Here's the email I just got:

VIN To Close Temporarily For Remodeling

VIN, the critically acclaimed and popular restaurant and outdoor lounge, will temporarily close on August 3rd and remodel in anticipation of the construction of the exciting Towson Circle III development directly adjacent to VIN. The planning of Towson Circle III has been carefully coordinated to integrate seamlessly with the original Towson Circle project and VIN itself. It is the hope of VIN management that the construction staging will allow the restaurant to re-open before the completion of Towson Circle III construction.

Due to the extended downtime of the facility during this period, Executive Chef Chris Paternotte will be leaving to explore other opportunities. His stewardship of VIN resulted in not only a successful business, but a truly special culinary experience, and we highly look forward to his next endeavor.

We are also proud to announce a spectacular finish to VIN "Part One" from Friday July 18th through Saturday August 2nd. The VIN team will be preparing truly unique and exciting nightly specials, classic VIN favorites, and offering an incredible opportunity for our guests to enjoy a wide selection of bottles of wine at half price. Portions will be oversized to tide everyone over until our next phase can launch!

Disturbing, Indeed

In the Epicurious blog, Michael Y. Park notes a trend that is nothing if not distressing: the disappearance of the "buy-back" - that on-the-house round that good bar customers (used to) get after buying a couple of drinks.

I spent many hours during my early bar-going years planted on one barstool or another, single-handedly lowering the average customer age at McGarvey's. It's not the oldest bar ever, but it is something of an Annapolis institution and, in my experience, both the clientele and staff adhere to old schoolish pub guidelines in the best kind of way: big tips, patience (on both sides) and, yes, regular buy-backs.

The tradition isn't limited to places that cater to an older crowd, either. I live in a college town now and before we had Dixon, Cooper and I went out fairly often. We were good customers and, as a result, were bought drinks by bartenders everyplace from Souris' to Bateman's.

Except for one place, and that's the reason for this post. There used to be a tiny dive on York Road in Towson called Angel's Grotto. It was dirty and cramped and half the songs on the jukebox wouldn't play. For whatever reason, we saw a lot of charm in it - especially since it wasn't as overrun with college kids as some of the other local places. And the bartenders were nice, too - super friendly and good to talk to.

But the owner was a gigantic jerk. And despite the hundreds of drinks we bought there, he never bought us one single round back.

And that is, actually, why we just stopped going. The bar has changed hands now, but we have such negative associations with the place that I'm not sure we'll ever return (forgetting, for a minute, that we're old now and have a baby, so our bar-hopping days are slightly behind us anyway).

The moral of this story, though, is one that I beg bar owners to heed: a little love goes a long way. The distinct absence of love goes a long way, too - just not in the right direction. Let the buy-back live. Please.