I've frequented Good Co. for quite some time now, dating back to before these postcolonial times (i.e., it was still called the Colony). I'm usually a low-maintenance customer, just getting a couple of drinks with some friends at the weekly trivia night. Insofar as that goes, service is pretty mediocre--some waitresses are good; sometimes it takes upwards of 20 minutes to so much as get a glass of wine poured or to pay the bill. But, as someone who, in this eschatologically charged 21st century, is effectively numb regarding the vicissitudes of life, it's basically fine.
(The trivia itself is quite good, to be clear, and may well be the only real thing the place has going for it.)
Recently, however, I'm trying to opt back into the path of "caring about my health" like the entitled millennial I am, so I've been looking at some of their offerings that are ostensibly healthier than alcohol--to me, in an ideal world, that's low carbs, a variety of nutrient-dense vegetables, and a fair amount of animal-based protein. Even looking through their menu now, I see only three items that, on paper, come remotely close to approximating those basic principles.
Please note the superlatively pointed use of the phrase "on paper". I opted for the avocado bowl salad with chicken; it would be charitable to describe what I received as much more than a plate of lettuce in drag. (Nothing against those who partake in drag, of course.) There was a whopping half-avocado for a dish that is in fact named for its use of avocado as an ingredient; that half-avocado was itself partly brown--although I'll grant them that it's hard to ripen and maintain avocados, and I'd rather they not waste basically-fine food anyhow. There were also maybe 4-5 tomatoes, some black beans, and an overabundance of corn. But for the most part it was just a plate of lettuce. No spinach, no kale, not even any arugula--just Romaine fucking lettuce.
(As an aside, why one would choose to sully one's salad with nutrient-poor grains like corn is entirely beyond me.)
Now, as mentioned, I did have chicken added to the salad. On the menu, this was indicated to be a $5.00 charge--steep, I thought, but I did want some protein. What I received was maybe fifty cents' worth of chicken--I ate it in literally one bite. (Not commenting here on the true value of that chicken's inconceivably hellish life, what with capitalism-fueled husbandry practices, but rather on the market price.) Further, after I'd paid, I noticed they'd charged me not $5.00 for roughly fifty cents' worth of chicken, but $5.75. It's tiny, and it's absolutely not worth making a fuss over, but nonetheless that's the point my morale just snapped. The menu is completely online, all it would take is for them to edit a few characters, and they still can't be bothered do the bare minimum keep it maintained. If I'm being charitable, I would say it reeks of poor management; if I'm not, I would say it is emblematic of an thorough, deep disrespect, both to their clientele and to their staff.
All in all, the experience made me just despondent. It broke me to such an extent that I'm bothering to write this to express the full extent of my displeasure. I'm actively imploring my friends to move our trivia night, that's how thoroughly dismal the evening was. I wish never to give them money again. read more