Is Brasserie Perrier Comfortable with Its Roaches?

Last week this Phillyist stopped off at Brasserie Perrier for a quick lunch after running some midtown errands. Sitting alone at the bar as to not take up the prime table real estate, I was treated to excellent and helpful service. What I also got was a nice long look at a fat roach, lazing its way up the side of the wine refrigerator. Without making a scene, I tried quietly yet unsuccessfully to get the bartender's attention for the three or four minutes that the roach was gracing us with its presence, but unfortunately (and not really through any fault of her own) she was tied up with assisting two pompous businessmen with their drink orders. By the time she was done with the men, the roach had crawled into a crack at the side of the refrigerator and was no longer visible. Still, I felt as though I should tell her. I motioned for her to come close and repeated what I saw. Her response was a terse "Great." And she walked away. That's it. Now I didn't expect her to call an exterminator on the spot, but I thought she would have reacted with a bit more surprise or disgust. I gave her the benefit of the doubt, thinking maybe she too didn't want to cause a scene over this. Probably about seven or eight more minutes passed, and then I watched as she hurriedly summoned a passing man in a suit who appeared to be a manager. She whispered something to him and he rushed off. I felt momentarily relieved, since it appeared that yes, a roach at the bar at Brasserie Perrier was indeed a concern to the staff. But my presumption proved to be foolish as I watched the manager rush back with a few small kegs of beer to replace the kicked kegs under the taps. Apparently the emergency was not the disgusting vermin that had been spied by a customer, but rather the need for the pompous businessmen to get their beer. Working in the restaurant industry for many years, I've certainly come across a bug or two. But in every such instance, both the waitstaff and the management treated any such occurrence as a big problem, both for the show of customers and truthfully behind the scenes. I guess what I was most disheartened by in this whole experience was not that the roach appeared, because admittedly that can happen wherever food is served. Rather it was upsetting to see the disdain with which the problem was treated, making me think that infestations are a common thing at BP. The Crispy Duck Leg Confit Salad with French lentils du puy that I ate was a bit salty but otherwise delicious, I just wish it hadn't been served with a side of roach.

Image Credit: Flickr user Sappymoosetree