Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Rip-off bagels . . . and other petty irritations

Eleven euros! Eleven euros for two lousy bagels and a small juice! I've had it with Bagels n Beans. I was delighted when they first mentioned that they were opening a new branch with work - another lunch option to add to the supermarket, Indonesian takeout, and Turkish pizza. I suffered through their inexplicably lengthy refit process but thought that it would be worth it. However, lousy shop design has resulted in painfully slow service -- by the way, there aren't so many options on your menu that you shouldn't be able to remember them all -- and the prices are outrageous. €5.30 for an onion bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese! €2.90 for a plain bagel with cream cheese - and that's all you get. No cucumber, no tomato, no attempt at decent presentation. By comparison, the €6 for a BIG vegetarian lunch menu from the local Toko Mas is an absolute bargain - two types of tofu, two vegetable dishes, rice, the most incredible spicy tempeh, a pickled egg, and a banana fritter. I will darken Bagel n Beans' door no more!

A big cup of STFU to car drivers who don't realize that a) bikes have right of way, b) this is particularly true when cars are turning right across a bike lane, and c) insisting on going through a set of traffic lights to join a stationery line of traffic on a cross-junction is just going to bung up the entire junction, rendering it impossible for other cars, trams, and most importantly my bike, to get across. Why the Dutch haven't introduced the yellow boxes you see in Britain is beyond me, especially given that their drivers show no common sense whatsoever.

I'm listening to: The Cloud Room (thanks Erin!)
I'm cooking: nothing - we're off for dinner at NOA tonight. Let's see if the service has improved at all in the past five years.

5 comments:

Beth said...

Having never biked anywhere in Britain, I must ask, what are these yellow boxes you speak of?

Norfolk Dumpling said...

Yay! My first comment!

Yellow checked boxes are painted on the ground across junctions - after a set of traffic lights at a T-junction, for example. Cars are not allowed to wait on those yellow boxes - they can be fined if they're caught - which means that the junction is always clear when the lights change. Simple, yet effective!

Beth said...

Indeed, and it wouldn't cost much to implement. Should we start painting them ourselves? We could put a few in convenient locations on our regular routes around town.

But what cn we do about the rain, the interminable rain? Do you think a flurry of internet petitions sent to The Powers That Be might help?

Norfolk Dumpling said...

Highway graffiti - I like it! Can we start with the junction at the top of the Overtoom and move on to the Marnixstraat/Rozengracht intersection?

Anonymous said...

Hi Dumps, came accross your site by accident when looking for a local bagel n beans in de buurt, think I'll look for somewhere else after reading your comment on prices.. but, just wanted to tell you I am 34, living in Amsterdam 6 years, currently in publishing, hailing from Norfolk haha! Well met :)