Can't Take Credit For That

For the last six months, we've heard some pretty horrible stories about credit card rate hikes, abrupt cancellations, and conversations bordering on abuse from credit card phone operators.  Just recently a friend of ours had their rate hiked to 29.99% after spending and fully paying off $1500 in two months on travel.  When they called the bank (rhymes with "shittybank") they said, and I quote, "we no longer want you as a customer".  Be a lot more helpful if they would tell us that up front rather than sending tiny little pamphlets with even tinier print saying "dear customer, we'd like to kill your pet dog or kick your grandmother down the stairs but since that's trespassing, we're just going to double your interest rate and if you don't opt out via carrier pidgeon TOMORROW there's nothing you can do about it."

So we had this idea...we have many thousands of you here on our email list and we want to know what's going on with your credit cards during this very difficult year.  Go to our blog HERE and comment, and we'll compile all the stories and send them on to our Congressman.  You can use your name or post anonymously...entirely up to you.

     In a year where most if not all of us are pinching pennies and being very careful where we spend each dollar, we found it worthwhile to mention an experience we had last night.  For a birthday dinner, we decided to go to Church & State downtown in the Biscuit Company Lofts building.  First, the bad - we called twice in the days leading up to our dinner and never got a response on our reservation request.  But that's where the 'bad' ended. 

     From the second we entered the front door to the moment we put on our jackets to leave, every employee in there was fantastic.  The host apologized for the wait, the waiter took tons of time to discuss the menu, the food was fantastic, but it was their sommelier, Josh Goldman, who really stole the show.  After ordering a Cru Beajolais to go with my pork belly (not my gut, the dish) he brought over a Belgian Blonde ale, plopped it down and said, "that wine will work great, but nothing goes with pork like a beer".  The crisp bubbles cut right through the intense fat of the pork belly and raised the whole dish to a new level.  On the way out, the waiter and the sommelier thanked us and asked us to come back soon. 

     And that's all you really want from a nice restaurant when you spend a little more than usual....a pleasant experience, a kind and knowledgeable staff, and tastes that you remember the next morning.  It's amazing how hard it is to find that combination.  So, hats off Church & State.  Thanks for a great night out.