Friday, October 31, 2014

Bistrot De Luxe - More Information And Amusement

We spent the first ten minutes of our lunch commenting on the restaurant name.  Galvin, to me sounds like a cross between Calvin (as in Calvin Klein American youth clothing company) and the boy's name Gavin. It's actually a family name or surname, of two brothers Chris and Jeff Galvin.


    How do I know that? Because I took a photo of a card in the restaurant and read it when I got home later.

   Bistrot de luxe is an oxymoron, Greek for two contradictory words. Bistrot, French for cheap and cheerful, de luxe, French for of luxury.


    On the way in I'd noticed the heritage plaque on the wall next door recalling that this area was HQ for the SOE, Special Operations Executive, a polite word for spying for our side, initials not to be confused with SEO, which is Search Engine Optimization, which means marketing websites, or making yours most likely to be found by search software used by the consumer searching online on their computer at the desk, laptop or phone.
   If you are speaking about something secret, such as spying for a country or company, winning the lottery by gambling, your divorce, ex or current affair, don't sit at the too close for comfort tables opposite the door but tell the staff that like Greta Garbo you want to be alone. (I can tell you word for word the business conversation of the people who sat on my left and at one point my companions complained that I wasn't giving them my full attention.) If you have better hearing on one side than the other, try to sit so you hear your table and not the next one.
   

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