By Joe Ray
Today, after a hot chocolate and a decent espresso (a sad rarity in this town) at Caffè Moro, I was refused a glass of water larger than the thimble-sized one I received.
“You can come back three, four, five times if you like,” said the waitress, noting the café’s absence of table service.
“It’s a style,” chimed in a loud and grouchy woman who had been bossing the staff around for the previous half-hour while floating in and out of the back room, yet claimed not to be the boss.
I stared at them in disbelief, at a loss to think of a more annoying or petty ‘style’ to lose customers.
“If you want, you can buy an Evian,” added the waitress.
Please. If somebody’s going to plunk the better part of ten euros down in a half-empty café and ask for a glass of water that’s larger than their thumb, have the good sense to give them a carafe or fill up a bigger glass and not give them any lip.
Caffè Moro 31, rue de Charonne 75011 Paris +33.1.43.14.06.39
Food and travel writer and photographer Joe Ray is the author of the blog Eating The Motherland and contributes to The Boston Globe's travel blog, Globe-trotting
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