1. a la lucie

On my first trip to Lexington I happened to dine at a la lucie on a friends recommendation. What a surprise! Besides the food being great, the decor knocked me out. If you want to feel that you are dining in New Orleans, Greenwich Village or the Left Bank, give a la lucie a whirl.

We headed downtown for "A La Lucies". We headed in, it was smaller than I thought, Loud, I actually sat beside my girlfriend instead of across so we could hear each other. We started witha salad, and sat for a bit, waiting for the server to pick up the dishes. I had some chicken, and my girlfriend had some steak. Then we were both stuffed to the rim, but wanted to try a desert. We ordered the tall cheesecake to split. When our waitress came around the bill I grabbed for the 80 out of my pocket. I opened the bill to discover a 78. something dollar bill. I was freaked estimating around 50 something in my head, and I had enough to pay the meal but not leave the 10 dollar tip as I had previously wished. The guilt covered me as we walked out, but you must admit with a salad and a main plate each, splitting a desert, 80 dollars is a bit high. Anyway so I was thinking about bringing back the waitress a tip from home later that night. If I had my credit card with me I would have charged it. So the waitress stops us in the door asking if her service wasn't good enough for us. I was astonished and said "No, it was wonderful food" She began to exclaim that with out leaving her a tip of about 20 percent at the least we were basically stealing from her (mind you around a 16 dollar tip). I apologized and told her it didn't tally up the way I thought it would. She then went on to say well you shouldn't have ordered a desert, or maybe no salad next time. I'm sorry but at this point realizing that not tipping was bad, but also as a customer, I can do whatever ... I want to, as long as I pay the bill. I forgot to also mention she told me to eat at a place that was cheaper somewhere I could actually pay for. My girlfriend and I were astonished she would be brave enough to say such a thing loudly to a high paying customer in the doorway of a restaurant. I walked away after staying respectful, and so I wouldn't say or do something I regretted. I went ahead and received her name, and got the number for her manager later.