Etienne S.
Yelp
So...this is a gentrified dive bar...if you're into that sort of thing. As someone who is apart of the LBTQ community, I've never felt more confused as to why another person sitting at the bar (who was clearly a gay man) felt the need to ask me, "if I've been in New York long" all over a situation he understood nothing about, and had nothing to do with him. This conversation was happening between me and the bartender. So just understand where I'm coming from, depending on your gender and complexion, you can end up being patronized in a very condescending and embarrassing manner.
So originally I made a mistake ( admittedly), and asked for a gin & tonic. Now, I'm human and am allowed to make errors. When the bartender came back I mentioned that I wanted to switch the tonic for soda. I had mentioned that I had been at another bar in the city that was out of tonic water, and instead game me selzer. All I was simply trying to convey was that from an experience I had somewhere else in the city didn't have tonic water on this given night, that realized I preferred soda.
Now, the only thing that separates tonic water from soda water, is quinine. It's known for giving tonic water it's bitter taste. For me, I prefer the milder bitter taste of gin and soda than gin and tonic. Also if you didn't know, club soba has minerals, and is infused with co2 under lighter pressures than selzer. Which is why most selzer waters have more carbonation than club soda. I know this because I've worked in the hospitality industry in NYC for 3 years, with my Food Handlers, and my TIPs, regarding serving liquor. I have also bartended. What is the big deal if I wanted to make sure your tonic is actually tonic and not soda water, before you pour it in a cup which you expect me to pay for at the end of the experience? Is it that serious that I made a snap decision that I just didn't want an extra bitter drink?
Ultimately this isn't totally on this establishment ( ALTHOUGH, again, the bartender seemed content on not caring to understand, but rather chastise me through a raised eyebrow and saying "sounds like they made you the wrong drink" then followed by " I'm sorry, I don't get it, what do you want?"). I'm mostly irritated that the patron who seemed to be a regular felt that the interactions that this one bar in the L.E.S., some how reflects the experiences that can be had in every square inch of this entire city. That is laughable, especially in one of NYC's most gentrified neighborhoods where a black man can be dismissed and patronized by others, while in the same establishment, a black women can be praised because she is seen as a non-threatening and as a sex symbol that represents the entire black culture. Only in a place like this, can she order her drink from the same bartender while said bartender lends an attentive ear, and pays her complements.
Discrimination still happens against males of color. Wake up, because I might be a man, but I am also a man of more than 3 different minority groups. So many black men(myself included) still aren't even treated courteously when going out to eat, and this place made every inch of me felt unwelcome there, regardless of the fact that their bouncer is a black man.