Absinthe Magic and Cookbook Witches
Sep 1st, 2010 by Nola
There was so much to do today. Drop off library books, laundry; donate blood; make arrangements for spending the weekend at my friend’s fishing camp; buy wine glasses and cookbooks. It was a loose script of a day; the kind Sun and I like.
As we drive into the French Quarter, the rain started to come down in buckets. The streets began to flood as I was looking for a parking spot. Rain in the French Quarter is something I LOVE. It quiets and cleanses the streets. It slows folks down even more. After finding a spot close enough, we hop out of the car and immediately step in puddles over our ankles. And the pelting rain is soaking our clothes. We dash the block and into La Maison d’Absinthe. Sun and I look at each other, each looking like we were fished out of the River, and laugh. We look ridiculous. And for what? Wine glasses.
Last time I was here, I’d spied these fleur de lis wine glasses that match the glassware we registered for when my husband and I married. I bought the only two they then had and this was my return trip to get six more. When the clerk gave me the total, it was too low. I repeated the amount to her as a question. She explained everything in the shop was TWENTY FIVE PERCENT OFF. I swooned.
But for already having so many items from here, I’d have been in SERIOUS trouble.
Tara and Brian, this one’s for you two.
They had cool rock glasses similar to the wine glasses I was buying but with dragonflies on them. Had they had them with the fleur de lis, they’d have been mine.
I kept scouring the store for anything that I may have overlooked in the past or that I now cannot live without. Many items tempted me. Mostly this one:
I don’t burn the sugar that goes into my absinthe. I don’t always even include sugar. But this cool match holder/striker, oh, how I coveted. And now I am scratching my head as to WHY I passed it up. Dammit. Soon, it shall be mine. Maybe tomorrow? Ugh.
Once we had our glasses wrapped securely, the rain had stopped. Of course. We walked back to our car with the water glistening all over the Quarter.
I wish I could say our next stop, Kitchen Witch, was as equally decadent. But, sadly, it was not. I really, really want to love this store. But their local collection is just so-so, and their customer service needs serious tweaking. For example, if your website says you have a book in stock, and I cannot find it, and your clerk cannot find it, the proper clerk protocol is NOT to hand me a business card and tell me to call next week because you expect to order some soon. And in the past, when I’ve called to check their inventory and they’ve had to call me back, THEY NEVER HAVE. Ever. Yes, this has happened more than once. In a world where we can find rare, out-of-print books online so readily, a brick-and-mortar store has one advantage: physical contact and thus the opportunity for top notch service. Kitchen Witch is SO not that place. They could be. And I hope they want to be. But will I be calling next week to see if the book I can order online came in? Sadly, no. Not unless it coincides with my return visit to La Maison d’Absinthe; in that case, I MIGHT give them yet another chance.







