Customer Disservice

Saturday, November 20, 2021

44 Down - Secretive things?

. . . 

 

We joyfully welcomed the Left Coast Contingent (LCC) today, America's Loveliest Nephrologist, the Oakland Heartthrob and daughter, for a holiday visit. 

 

Sunday, November 21, 2021

We went to see "Wicked" with the LCC and, while the presence of three out-of-towners including one person not old enough to vote gave me cover, I admit that I liked the show.  Additionally, a working knowledge of "The Wizard of Oz" is needed to appreciate "Wicked" fully and I don't think that younger generations are as well prepared as we are.   

 

Before the show we ate at La Grande Boucherie, 145 West 53rd Street, that beautiful space that I was visiting for the third time in two months.  Unfortunately, the food and service at this expensive establishment has declined each time.  For example, the Saumon Provençale, pan-seared salmon, roasted potatoes, black olives, confit cherry tomatoes and capers, seemed attractive, even at $34.  When asked for it to be cooked no more than medium rare, the waiter said that was unlikely and delivered a dry, well-done piece of fish. Now, to enjoy the lovely surroundings, I suggest that you merely order an overpriced drink and eat your own pretzels.  

 

Tuesday, November 23, 2021

London is my favorite tourist destination.  I have been there numerous times over 35 years.  Two challenges have persisted all that time -- the language and cheap eats.  There simply isn't the equivalent of the hot dogs at Gray's Papaya, dollar-a-slice pizza or bacon, egg and cheese sandwich with a cup of coffee for a few bucks.  The only relatively reliable cheap eats in London that I have found are the branches of Pret A Manger and Wagamama.  Pret has been in New York for years, although it seems to have been unable to bring the hoisin duck wrap across the Atlantic.    https://www.pret.co.uk/en-GB/products/UK007579/hoisin-duck-salad-wrap 

 

The pan-Asian, noodle-centric Wagamama appeared locally much more recently and now has three Manhattan locations.  Today, I visited one for the first time in an enormous space at 605 Third Avenue.  There were booths, counters, ledges, accommodating well over 100 people.  Additionally, a big tent stood outside, unused in this chilly weather. 

 

The menu isn't that extensive.  The focus is on noodles in various guises and dumplings.  I had the Tantanmen (meaning “noodles being carried” because they hung from a pole carried by the vendor) Beef Brisket Ramen -  Korean beef brisket, half tea-stained egg, menma (fermented bamboo shoots), kimchi, scallions, cilantro, and bok choy in chicken broth ($18).  It was an excellent choice.  The big bowl of soup was hot, the strips of beef had a crispy edge, and the menma and kimchi gave it a spicy kick.  On the other hand, it would hardly qualify as cheap eats anymore. 

 

Wednesday, November 24, 2021

The trial of the organizers and perpetrators of the fatal 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia ended yesterday with significant victories for the plaintiffs.  The jury hung, however, on federal charges of propounding "racially motivated violence."  I want to step back from the particulars and explore language for a moment.  Anti-Semitism was central to the demonstrators.  "Jews will not replace us," they chanted.  Taking that as the racial component of the demonstration and the resulting violence, are Jews a race?  Are we a nation, a religion, a creed, an ethnic group?  Who decides and would we be satisfied with any label?   

. . . 

 

I received four e-mails this morning from Ticketmaster, the mammoth, worldwide on-line ticket agency, confirming payments that appeared in our bank account yesterday.  While the amounts produced some ecstasy, I was more moved by ending the agony of waiting for the long delayed transactions.  I will spare you the details, but merely comment that it is impossible to communicate with Ticketmaster, except to buy and sell tickets.  Certainly, buying and selling are the overwhelming interactions that you are likely to have with Ticketmaster, but, occasionally, an ancillary matter might arise, such as "Where is my long-delayed payment?"  Using the telephone, a very last century approach, is fruitless.  

 

The telephone number published for Ticketmaster customer service reaches a prerecorded message lamenting how busy they are (ignoring how profitable that must be) and directs you to their website without allowing the opportunity to record a message.  The website attempts to be very informative, suggesting a number of issues and their resolution.  If, however, there is no information about long-delayed payments, you follow the path to "How do I contact Customer Service?"  That page offers several platitudinous remedies, but very fine print at the bottom states "Still haven't found what you were looking for? [Contact Us]"  Pressing that button brings you to "How do I contact Customer Service?", the page you just left, a Möbius strip of frustration and insult.  I spent nearly two weeks frustrated and insulted by Ticketmaster's deaf and dumb stance until yesterday's bank statement.  That might also explain my grumpier than usual demeanor in that period for which you only have Ticketmaster to blame. 

 

Thursday, November 25, 2021

The evening news naturally featured coverage of the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Although it passes only two crosstown blocks from Palazzo di Gotthelf, I haven't seen the parade in person since I was a wee tot.  The huge balloons were always my favorite.  However, what was then differs substantially from what is now.

Today's parade included balloon versions of the Pillsbury doughboy and Ronald McDonald, examples of the inexorable commercialization of American life.  Also, floating over midtown Manhattan were inflated versions of Grogu, Pikachu and Ada Twist, household names, but not in this household.

 

I cannot identify with any precision the balloons that delighted me in my youth, but here is a photo gallery of balloons over the years.  https://create.passitdown.com/present/5ee8da5aef377859e35404d6/squares

 

To pursue this subject more pedantically, here is a list of balloons by year of introduction.  

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macy%27s_Thanksgiving_Day_Parade

 

What I have not been able to locate is a list of balloons appearing by year to actually relive my experience.  Is there a good researcher out there?

. . .

 

If you don't want to stand outside in Manhattan next year at Thanksgiving, here is a comparison of holiday life in the 100 largest U.S. cities based on 20 key metrics, including weather, costs, charitable giving and store decorations.  https://wallethub.com/edu/best-places-to-go-for-thanksgiving/67603 

 

If you are looking to find the right spot to spend the other 364 days, you can outsource your choice to this quiz.  https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/11/23/opinion/sunday/best-places-live-usa-quiz.html 

 

Friday, November 26, 2021

Mother Ruth Gotthelf born 112 years ago today, which added to our Thanksgiving celebrations over many years.

. . . 

 

The New York Times Book Review is 125 years old, even older than my mother.  To commemorate this, it is asking its readers to choose the best book of the last 125 years.  https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/11/24/books/best-book-vote.html 

 

It has narrowed the field to 25 entries.  I read 7-1/2 of them; I could not stick with "A Gentleman in Moscow."  Additionally, I skimmed "Ulysses," saw "Gone With the Wind" in the movies, saw "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" on stage, saw "To Kill a Mockingbird" in the movies and on stage, and saw a Harry Potter pastiche on stage.  By a generous count, I "know" 13 of the 25 works.  Does that reflect poorly on me or on the list?  In any case, I am not ready to announce my choice of the best book of the last 125 years.  No rush. 

. . .

 

R.I.P. Stephen Sondheim (1930-2021)

 

If the tea the Shogun drank will
Serve to keep the Shogun tranquil

Faced with these Loreleis

What man can moralize?

. . .

Answer = GLANDS

Sorry, Wrong Number

Monday, November 15, 2021

At 9:48 this morning and 2:38 this afternoon, I received telephone calls on our land line from Credit Suisse, according to the Caller ID.  However, when I answered each time, I heard the chirpy recorded voice of "Amy" announcing that I have been recommended for a medical alert system.  This is unfortunately commonplace and, no doubt, many of you have experienced and continue to experience such annoying interruptions.  We have a robo-call blocker on that line, which hangs up after one ring.  However, today's calls, and many like them, went undetected.  I am not sufficiently technical to understand why some calls are trapped and others not and I know that the scammers are often one step ahead of the forces of peace and quiet.   

 

There is one small step for mankind that our telephone companies should be obliged to institute in the absence of an effective blocking mechanism.  Display the name of the calling party, that is the entity owning the calling instrument, as is ordinarily the case when Aunt Myrtle calls.  I should be informed that the telephone call is from the Grace L Ferguson Airline and Storm Door Company and not Credit Suisse.   By the way, in neither case did I expect that Credit Suisse was, in fact, calling me.  I answered because I just wanted to know which scammer was on the line and take the opportunity to express.my displeasure. 

. . . 

 

A concise movie review by Anthony Lane in The New Yorker: "'Spencer' is, in many ways, baloney, abundantly spiced with slander." 

 

Tuesday, November 16, 2021 

A headline in today's science section reads: "Covid Vaccine for Pets Isn't Seen as a Priority."  I agree heartily, not until we cure cancer. 

. . . 

 

Maybe MAGA?  The New York city colleges were tuition-free; mail was delivered twice a day; rich people paid taxes. 

 . . . 

 

Speaking of New York's city colleges, a current report informs us that 43% of Harvard’s white students are either recruited athletes, legacy students, on the dean’s interest list (meaning their parents have donated to the school) or children of faculty and staff.   https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/713744?journalCode=jole 

 

Now, that's affirmative action. 

 

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

I had lunch with Mossad Moshe today.  Abiding by the confidentiality agreement he made me sign, I am unable to tell you where we ate and what we had.  

. . . 

 

Several people called my attention to an obituary in today's paper of Bob Gill, a very talented graphic designer."His father, Jack Gill, left when Bob was 2, and his mother, Frieda (Gotthelf) Gill, struggled to make a living as a piano teacher."  A relative?  

 

Last week, I extolled the work of Jerry Latter, my second cousin, in creating a family tree identifying almost 200 individuals connected to his father's father and my father's mother, who were brother and sister.  However, I don't have a scrap of information about Joseph Gotthelf, my father's father.  I don't know anything about him, other than he was a tailor, and his birth family.  He died months after I was born and my father and his three brothers and one sister were not particularly effusive.  This group of siblings formed their own social circle after their mother died in 1955, but it never broadened to include any Gotthelf cousins, although I heard vague references to various ones over the years.  Now, my brother and I sit atop the family pyramid, but I am sad to say that we have little to share with those coming after us. 

 

https://www.locatefamily.com lists 396 Gotthelfs, with a high degree of duplication and some obvious gaps.  About 10% are German or Canadian, therefore ranging from the impossible to the unlikely to be related.  Who are the others?

 

Thursday, November 18, 2021

It seems to be a bad week for royalty, or maybe ex-royalty.  The New York Times review of "Diana, the Musical" says that "it may well win the prize as the tawdriest and least excusable wholesaling of a supposedly true story ever to belt its way to Broadway."

. . . 

 

R.I.P. Dave Frishberg.    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/17/arts/music/dave-frishberg-dead.html?smid=em-share

. . . 

 

Art Spar writes poetry and I write prose, but we shared several good dishes at lunch today peacefully at Sala Thai, 307 Amsterdam Avenue.  We sat at one of the four tables in the hut at the curb, choosing that over the six unsheltered tables on the sidewalk.  We had Kha Nom Jeeb, a pleated dumpling made of shrimp and pork ($10 for 5 pieces); Yum Ped, crispy duck tossed with chili, red onion, pineapple, cashew nuts and scallion in spicy lime dressing ($16); Pad See Ew, wide rice noodles stir-fried in a dark soy sauce with shrimp, Chinese broccoli and egg. 

. . . 

 

The Social Season has begun.  For the first time in over 20 months, we went out.  Out, out.  We saw "Twyla Now," a new program by Twyla Tharp's dance company.  Typical of her work, the dances leaned towards the formal with a heavy injection of funky and folksy moves.  Her choice of music was decidedly eclectic, ranging from Bluegrass to Brahms.  It was a wonderful evening in spite of the challenge of wearing a mask indoors for two hours. 

 

Here is a taste of Twyla Tharp's work, a portion of a program based on Frank Sinatra.   https://youtu.be/hA-hJNZo85o  

 

Friday, November 19, 2021

Us fressers (Yiddish for gourmands) have had an increasing hard time over the decades.  As I have noted before, the number of Kosher delicatessens has dwindled down to a precious few.  Similarly, the possibly unique Holy Land phenomenon of the Cuban Chinese restaurant has almost entirely disappeared.  They were supposedly the byproduct of the Cuban Revolution when fine dining was abandoned along with other bourgeois trappings, sending unemployed chefs to less ideological pastures. 

La Caridad 78 thrived for a half century on the Upper West Side even as its peers were replaced by nail salons, drug stores and bank branches until it caught Covid-19.  Now, the premises have been redecorated and reopened as New Cottage Restaurant, 2199 Broadway.  I had the pleasure of having lunch there today with Henry Saltzman, author of "Oy! Oy! Oy!  The Teacher is a Goy," his amusing memoir of starting his teaching career at an ultra-Orthodox yeshiva.

 

He is at work now on a novel based on the general strike of 300,000 workers in Amsterdam, led by Communists in February 1941, against Nazi treatment of the Jews.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_strike  

 

Except for a statue in the formerly Jewish quarter of Amsterdam, it is forgotten by everyone except Henry.

 

New Cottage succeeds The Cottage, which was one block away on Amsterdam Avenue for many years until it too caught the virus.  When I arrived at 12:30, only one other table was occupied; by 1:00, all dozen were full.  However, no one, including us, sat at one of the six tables in the windy, chilly temperature outside.  Neither of us ordered a lunch special, $11 with a choice of soup.  After we shared an ordinary scallion pancake ($8), I made a bland choice, although most of the menu carried little red peppers denoting spicy dishes.  I had a very large bowl of shrimp won ton soup with chow fun noodles ($11).  A spoonful of hot mustard goosed up the soup, which was crowded with two dozen won tons.  

 

Conclusive judgment on New Cottage must await a deeper dive into the menu.  I want it to succeed, because the Jewish population of the Upper West Side needs sustenance. 

. . .

 

Have you heard the new version of "The Tears of a Clown" by Brett Kavanaugh and Kyle Rittenhouse?

 

 

 

It's Not A Bargain, It's A Steal

Monday, November 8, 2021

Normally, I spend my few idle hours working on an alternate proof of  Fermat's Last Theorem.  However, I occasionally seek even lighter diversion, playing a few hands of Freecell on my smartyphone, usually ignoring the advertisements that randomly pop up.  Yesterday, though, I couldn't help but pay attention to this promotion.

 

 

I like to shop and I admit to waiting for sales and using coupons when available.  I stop short, however, of packing heat on a trip to COSTCO, although it's something to consider.

. . . 

 

Let us now praise Jerry Latter, my second cousin.  He is the grandson of Samuel (Zamwel Lato) Latter, brother to Yetta (Ita Lato) Latter Gotthelf, my grandmother.  I know this because of Jerry's prodigious genealogical research, which has resulted in the publication of "Our Family Roots from the 1800's: The Descendants of Marx Lato and Marian Ryzowy."  It is a 186 page work, beginning in the late 1700's, identifying 165 people from almost 150 families on our family tree, from Aman to Zerlin.  While I am not surprised to see connections to Cohens, Kaplans and Levys, you don't typically see names like Defourneaux, Mullaly and Standish on the UJA donor list.  It's a fascinating work.  I can't help but wonder who will play me in the movie.

. . . 

 

Americans don't sit still.  The average American supposedly moves every five years.   https://www.mymovingreviews.com/move/how-often-and-why-americans-move/ 

 

On the other hand, I'm only at my second address since 1980, another way that I digress from the mean.  Significant  movement for others isn't entirely random.  It is predominantly city to city, warm to warm, as illustrated by this list in the weekend's real estate section.   https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/04/realestate/which-cities-are-growing-most-at-the-expense-of-others.html 

 

The Holy Land appears only once on the From side, paired oddly with Charlotte, North Carolina.  Maybe folks liked living in Queens so much that they were lured by the Queen City, named for the wife of King George III.  He, of course, was kind enough to allow the American colonies to rebel, so that, today, we can drive on the right and use our hands playing football. 

. . . 

 

I had lunch at Al Horno Lean Mexican Kitchen, 156 East 33rd.  It is part of a local chain, previously unknown to me.  The lean particularly applies to the premises, which has room only for four stools at a ledge against the front window.  The kitchen in back, however, seems capable of producing a very fat list of dishes according to the menu, although many of them are professedly lean.  For instance, I had a "Lean Beef Barbacoa" burrito ($12.45), containing "Barbacoa [cubes of brisket], black beans, low-fat cheddar, jalapenos, brown rice & low-fat sour cream."  It was the size and weight of a brick, but couldn't have tasted better if it had been soaked in chicken fat.  

 

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

The United States Supreme Court is considering the case of an inmate on Texas's death row who wants his pastor to touch him during his execution by lethal injection.   https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/09/us/supreme-court-pastor-texas-execution.html 

 

This is a very specific fact pattern, but I found broad implications in the newspaper report of the oral arguments.  Admittedly, a few inches of print may not do justice to the Justices, but the inmate's claim to exercise his religious freedom was challenged by several members of the Court's conservative wing.  These same Justices have not hesitated to extend the protection of the free exercise of religion far and wide, particularly when asserted by conservative (white) Christians.  They have ruled that religious scruples may govern who gets a wedding cake, Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018), and what medical procedures may be excluded from an employee medical plan, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (2014).  Do I hear an Amen?  

. . . 

 

Stony Brook Steve and I met Michael Ratner for lunch at China Jade, 1643 Second Avenue.  We picked it because Michael thought that it had the same name as the restaurant that his family went to when he was a boy on Long Island.  In fact, we can see that China Jade, 1322 Broadway, Hewlett, New York, advertised its support for the 1959 graduating class of Hewlett High School.  http://www.e-yearbook.com/yearbooks/Hewlett_High_School_Patches_Yearbook/1959/Page_140.html

 

Long Island China Jade is now defunct, according to the records of the New York Department of State.   https://www.corporationwiki.com/p/2nzz2p/china-jade-of-hewlett-inc 

 

But, back to lunch.  We ate at one of the four tables in the hut in front of the restaurant, not well insulated from the incessant traffic noise.  Since almost all commercial vehicles are banned from the West Side Highway and the FDR Drive, Second Avenue carries the bulk of southbound commercial traffic in Manhattan and it was all running a few feet from where we sat.  The 10 tables indoors were all occupied, probably by local people familiar with the relative decibel levels. 

 

On the other hand, much of the food was so ordinary that there is no reason to return even if a hush descended on Second Avenue.  There are 42 lunch specials hovering around $10 each, including soup, spring rolls or a can of soda and white, brown or fried rice.  The hot and sour soup was very good, as was the (not) Spicy Sesame Noodles ($8) that we shared.  However, the gooey sauces covering the main dishes failed to overcome their blandness.  Of course, the company was excellent. 

 

Friday, November 12, 2021

The Upper West Side's Power Couple hit the road today to visit the second and third generations living in eastern Massachusetts.  Our long-established travel routine was disrupted on our last trip through Connecticut on I-84, when we found that our favorite lunch joint was pitching anti-mask propaganda. 

We stopped to eat, therefore, at the Blue Colony Diner, 66 Church Hill Road, Newtown, Connecticut (exit 10 on I-84), which conceptually is to roadside diners as Wo Hop is to Chinese restaurants.  The booths, the stools at the counter, the 5 lb. laminated menu, the seeming endless choice of food that can be deep-fried, grilled or reheated in a microwave oven all approach the Platonic ideal of dinerdom.  Unfortunately, the ideal extends only to quantity, not quality.

Trick or Treat

Monday, November 1, 2021

At around 7:45 A.M. Sunday, our landline and my mobile phone started ringing at the same time.  Madam answered the landline while I freed myself from the arms of Morpheus to reach for my mobile phone.  In both cases, it was Barclays Bank calling about suspicious credit card activity on our individual accounts.  We each hold a Barclaycard completely independent from the other, yet, in a lovely example of kismet, both cards were hacked at about the same time.  After we respectively recited dates of birth, last four digits of Social Security numbers, zip codes and names of our favorite stuffed animal, our individual cards were cancelled and the fraudulent transactions expunged.  In a day or two, we expect to be able to rejoin the American economy at full blast. 

. . . 

 

The real estate section offers a list of the movement of home prices in local neighborhoods over the past year, including the most expensive neighborhoods currently in the Holy Land.   https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/28/realestate/new-york-citys-most-expensive-neighborhoods.html  

 

I found some big surprises there.  Not only are three of the ten most expensive neighborhoods located in Brooklyn, only one in Manhattan is above 14th Street and that is next to the Lincoln Tunnel.  Fifth Avenue, Central Park West, Central Park South, Park Avenue, Sutton Place?  Siberia.  Want to be recognized as having arrived in the Big Apple?  Move to a neighborhood that not too long ago was occupied by tenements, gas stations, warehouses, parking lots and machine shops.  Oh, poor people, too.  

. . . 

 

Costumed as middle-class Senior Citizens, we joined Jon and Leo for Halloween brunch at La Grande Boucherie, 145 West 53rd Street, that beautiful space running from 53rd to 54th Street, at what is whimsically labelled 6½ Avenue.  The Big Butchershop offers a classic French bistro menu plus some top end beef items.  Everything is expensive.  I had Soupe À L'oignon at $18 and the LGB Burger (not to be confused with a LGBTQ burger) at $28, but don't tell Bernie Sanders that I said that the cost was almost irrelevant.  It's just a lovely place to eat and drink in good company.

. . .  

 

Today, I had lunch at Ben's Kosher Delicatessen, 209 West 38th Street, with Toby McMullen.  Toby was born and raised in North Carolina, spent the last decade in Chicago and now is doing his comedy performances and production work here.  The happy coincidence is that his studio is just down the block from Ben's, one of the few remaining Kosher delicatessens in the Holy Land.  Ben's has no outdoor seating.  On this weekday at lunch, about 2/3 of the seats were occupied by people who showed proof of vaccination to be seated.  We ate heartily, each having a corned beef/pastrami combo, piled high on rye bread ($21.99), and sharing French fries ($5.29.).  Plus the very good coleslaw and pickles supplied gratis, left us pleased and full.   

 

While Toby is the professional comedian, I was most amused by a notice on the table.  Ben's Kosher Delicatessen now offers a plant-based menu.  Just when you find a reliable source of salt and fat, you are presented with a "Plant-based 'Corned beef' Reuben."   

. . . 

 

The front page of today's New York Times gives me reason to swallow hard and contemplate moving to New Zealand.  Two stories illustrate a (maybe the) major dilemma in progressive politics or, more properly, the politics of progress.  Some on the left are attempting to purify the English language in order not to exclude or offend anyone, anywhere, at any time.  In some instances, it reads to me as answers to unasked questions.   https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/01/us/terminology-language-politics.html

 

Meanwhile, real battles for power and the consequential control of people's lives are underway in venues such as New Jersey and Virginia.  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/30/us/politics/virginia-governors-election.html 

 

Language is important, but time and energy are finite resources and the forces of darkness are intent on grabbing the levers of power.  It is divide and conquer, but we seem to be doing the dividing. 

 

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

I understand why virtual reality appeals to some people.  It is probably more manageable than reality itself.

. . . 

 

It's midnight and election results are still inconclusive, but it doesn't bode well that the Atlanta Braves won the World Series.  Mets fans dislike the Braves so much that we root for the Yankees to beat them. 

 

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

All the results are not in, but it looks like our woke progressives are close to capturing the dictionary while the Republicans are winning elections. 

 

Thursday, November 4, 2021

Another visit to Dr. Donnelly dedicated dermatologist downtown gave me the opportunity to have lunch in Chinatown and not just Chinatown, but Wo Hop, 17 Mott Street, the quintessential Chinatown Chinese restaurant.   While there is outdoor seating, I went indoors, downstairs where almost every seat was filled, akin to the before times.  I pretended to minimize the risk of infection by a tiny percentage by sitting alone at a large table.  I further deluded myself by drinking lots of hot tea and generously coating my food with Wo Hop's famously incendiary mustard.

   

The food was a Grandpa Alan Special, not found on the menu.  Shrimp in lobster sauce over shrimp fried rice ($15.95), usually enough for three people.  I applied soy sauce along with the mustard, but strictly for the taste, not ascribing any medicinal value to it. 

 

Note that Wo Hop is unnecessarily competing with WK Restaurant, 69 Bayard Street, f/k/a 69 Bayard Restaurant, in interior decoration.  WK has covered almost every inch of flat surface with pictures of George Washington and other once esteemed personages on legal tender.  On June 28, 2011, on a visit to 69 Bayard Restaurant, I observed "in one small corner, currency from Bermuda, Brazil, Iceland, Cuba, Fiji, Korea, Trinidad & Tobago, and Colombia pasted on the wall."  For better or worse, there was no Bitcoin.