(Over 1900 posts under my name so this is not a drive- by.)
I put in a long, demanding day with a strong willed 3 year old and a teething 1 year old. Tonight I did not want to cook and I did want a cocktail. Rather than stop by my usual haunt I thought I'd try Bistro 42 which had been brought to my attention by another poster under a previous "where to eat in the east end and outside of the 265 circle" thread.
I got there just around 5:45pm. Not full or too crowded. Hostess was very sweet and pleasant. Server got to me right away and seemed very congenial if not too aware of the bar offerings. That's ok, not really his bailey wick anyway. He found out the bar gin for me. (Blech!) so I ordered a Beefeaters and soda. Soda because I don't like what tonic does to the flavor of a good gin. It tasted ...well...nasty and not like Beefeaters. I ordered the eggplant parmesan. It was great! A wonderful homemade sauce (I was told) on a plate of properly cooked spaghetti. A couple of small slices of garlic bread on the side. A simple Caesar salad with good crisp lettuce. Very tasty. My good server was attentive without being annoying. This was starting to look like a new place to frequent for quick casual, locally owned dining.
After dinner I ordered a Kahlua, cream and soda (King Alphonse) what I got was half and half on the rocks with soda. Not even enough to color the half and half. When you figure it's a MAYBE 6 oz. Glass filled with ice it wouldn't take 1 ounce of Kahlua to color the half and half. Wow! Just wow! I have never ever been so short shot in my life. Now I am wondering if my gin was Beefeaters (which it certainly did not taste like) or the bar stuff. 10 years of bartending experience and 40 years of tasting gins tells me Bistro 42 has a bad bartender problem.
I doubt I will return.
