Travels in a Tin Can

closer we realized there was a tiny sign, and of course it was the right place. It
was also only about five minutes from our hotel.
As we walked in we felt very disgruntled and also very out of place, as
the hotel was blatantly very expensive and far more posh than we were. We
were directed up to the restaurant and a very nice maître d’ had someone
check our coats and then found us a table. When she sat us she explained
that the menu for brunch was a 'taster' style. We thought nothing of this at first
and were simply relieved to have found somewhere to eat. Studying the
menu we saw that it was a set price for two courses, each of three tasters of
different dishes. Not quite what we had in mind, but ok. But then we noticed
two more things. First, there were very few dishes that we liked the sound of -
they were mainly posh (sorry haut) cuisine. For example, sliver of raw fish on
cornflake with a runny egg coulis. Second, a tiny number was printed next to
and slightly below the list of dishes, looking more like a page number. The
number was 45, the price in dollars for six mouthfuls of food! Beneath the food
list was an additional option, three tastes of different champagnes - 23 dollars.
So brunch would be 116 dollars between us, and our daily budget for food
was 80 dollars. Hmmmm.
We had to make a decision quick: leave and be embarrassed, or stay
and be hungry for two days. I sidled up to the lady who had served us and
explained our hotel staff had misinformed us, and could we leave please. She
was very diplomatic and almost apologetic, probably why she had mentioned
the style of menu in the first place. Now all we had to do was get our coats
from the cloakroom.
I think that the person who had taken them had only just put them on