No, really. That salad - a little grilled chicken, a pile of mixed greens, and an admittedly tasty vinaigrette. OK, ok, there were also a Diet Coke ($4.00) and a cup of coffee ($3.50). Total bill, including an ill-deserved tip (I'm terrified of ending up in bad-tippers' hell.): thirty-seven buckaroos.The place: E.A.T., Eli Zabar's delicatessen at 80th and Madison. The time: 2:30 PM. The date: Labor Day, 2008. The victim: my credit card. I suppose I should have known better, having been subject to Eli's penchant for overpricing everything he sells at his eponymous Eli's Manhattan. But I didn't realize just how bad it could get.
I suppose this is how he pays for the Madison Avenue storefront. I'm not one for penny-pinching, but given how much I paid for the damn salad, the way they whisked my coffee away before I was done with it was a bit unwise. Never take away a poor woman's caffeine.
