A vegan couple flipped out when they received a restaurant bill recently.
Jack and Toby Litsky became vegans after they turned 50 last year for health reasons. Both cut out meat and other animal products and managed to lose weight and lower their cholesterol. However they found that dining out isn't always so easy.
After finding out that not all pasta is 100 percent whole wheat, they started bringing their own box of pasta to restaurants. They never had an issue with this, always ensuring to call a restaurant in advance to see if they can honor their special request.
"We've gone to at least 50 or 60 restaurants in the past year-and-a-half and we've never had an issue," Jack Litsky told the Star Ledger. "They drop it in water and we can use red marinara tomato sauce and we ask for mushrooms and onions and red pepper if they have it."
The Litsky's found that restaurants will often charge them a lower price for a dish since they bring their own pasta.
"What they do typically is give us a discount," he said. "If a pasta dish is $15, they will charge us $11 or $12 because we brought our own. We don't ask for a discount but they usually give one."
The Litsky's started going to the Monticello restaurant in Red Bank and they never had any issues,
"Everything was great that first time," he said. "They charged us $12 each."
Several months later, the Litskys returned on another Saturday night with four friends and another box of pasta. "We were charged that same amount. "Everything was great. We said we'll come back."
The couple returned on February 23 with four friends and a $50 coupon. They thought there would be no difference in the price since they never had any issues before, but they were wrong.
Some of Litsky's friends ordered meat dishes and the Litsky's did their usual pasta routine but the pasta wasn't as satisfactory as it usually was.
However the biggest disappointment was the bill.
"I saw the chicken dishes were like $23 or $24, the fish was like $23 and the parmigiana was about the same," he said. "The pasta was $24 each."
Seeing a price that was twice as high as usual, Litsky asked the waitress to check. She said it was correct. He then asked to speak to a manager, who also said the price was correct. He then asked to speak to the owner, who also happened to be the chef. He waited about ten minutes to see chef Caterin Giambalzo.
"She said, 'You come here on a Saturday night and order a custom meal. I have to charge you extra," Litsky said. "I said, 'But you've already set the precedent where you charged me a lot less than that on several occasions,' and she said that was the old manager's decision and this was the new price."
The owner said he would have to pay the bill or he would be arrested. Litsky tried to compromise, saying he'd pay $18 each for the pasta dishes, which would be the difference between the price and what he was usually charged.
The owner refused and the police were called. The police made Litsky pay, so he charged the bill to his American Express card.
When later called American Express and disputed the $12 charge. Giambalzo received the complaint and thought he was trying to dispute the entire bill. She also said that the restaurant doesn't usually do customized orders, especially on busy weekends. She said the police were called because Litsky refused to pay the entire bill.
Litsky said he only disputed the extra $12 charges and American Express got it wrong.
"I told American Express twice I'm only contesting $12, which is the difference between what I paid last time and what she wanted us to pay," he said. "I was unequivocal and emphatic. It would be ridiculous to dispute the entire bill because four other people enjoyed their meals."
It turned out American Express disputed a $48 charge, which would have been the cost of both pasta dishes.
"I don't even know how they got that amount. I told them to correct it to only $12 and they said they're amending it," he said. "Tell the owner I apologize because I'm sure this has been a big headache for her, thinking we wanted all the meals. That wasn't the case and I want to pay my fair share."
Litsky and Giambalzo decided to come to a compromise and she refunded him the $12 charge. Both were satisfied with this deal.
"The best deal of the year," Giambalzo said. "I see he's reasonable and I don't want a customer to be upset."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
