Ed, it is great to see you on the boards again.
Mrs. Mush and I dined with Dan and Barb at Old Homestead on Jan. 2. The food and service were good, though we had a glitch at the end of the night. I paid in comps, but it turns out I was $1.08 short of covering the tab. She presented me with a new tab that included tax on the full amount plus the tiny remainder. I asked why we were charged tax on the comp amount and she said the full amount is taxed if not 100 percent covered by comps. I told her we must have been right at the threshold. She blurted you were $1.08 short, meaning she knew the full magnitude of presenting me with a check for $25 or $27. We kindly asked if we could pay for an item, like my cappuccino on the side and she said it was too late now that she has run the comps. We negotiated and Dan asked if he could pay the $1.08 with his rewards card. She sought a manager and he agreed. The whole thing was silly. The server was in a position to earn bonus points and a bigger tip if she would have explained that she made a cappuccino go away or presented me with a separate check for one item.
The food was good, including the Dover sole prepared tableside.
