This is an open letter to the owner of L'Auberge des Deux Ponts, whose name, I hear, is Claude--
You don't even hide your racism. You wear it like a badge of honor on your sleeve. I was looking forward to our final dinner tonight at your restaurant, to cap our week-long visit of Paris, with my daughter and a family friend. They had walked by your restaurant a mere 5-7 minutes ago, when they asked you, "do you accept reservations?". To which you replied, "no". For the readers who check with Yelp on reviews of restaurants that are "good" or better, please know that at the time that the girls approached him at his restaurant, the place was a ghost town.
When we did arrive, I immediately noticed quite a few empty tables--at least three, in fact. You, Monsieur, stated in French, which I will try to translate in English--that you had no open tables. I looked around, looking incredulously at the empty seats, and couldn't help but notice the staring eyes of the people dining already. Not one soul stood up to your rudeness to foreign customers. Their silence, at least in American standards, would usually suggest implicit agreement and perhaps even unity with you. These clients collaborate with you, by their not saying a word.
Did they keep their silence out of respect and a general sense of decorum? This treatment of foreigners by you, and by the diners who were at their tables when all this was happening, is appalling and unacceptable.
Incidentally, I have read a few negative as well as positive reviews of your restaurant, Monsieur Claude. There is a very obvious trend in the negative reviews--they have come from Asians, or from non-French tourists. That you maltreated them, even screaming at them. Whatever it is that turned you against Asians in general, I feel sorry for you. But if in fact, you have hard bad experiences with a foreigner or two, you cannot generalize your experiences across other groups of people.
It is unfortunate, indeed, that you don't think our euros are not good enough because they are not coming from people of your own kind. I also can't believe that the customers (the French, the Caucasians) continue to patronize your restaurant. Unless, as I have said, you all are in cahoots and share the same racist views, especially against Asian visitors to your city.
By the way, truth be told, and I would like you, sir, to get it right--we three were all Americans, of mixed heritage. That is what makes the US of America a great nation. You may think your French-ness gives you inalienable rights to be arrogant and rude to others who are not "your kind". But you do have the right to refuse service to anyone, right?
Maybe next time, you may try a little tact and professionalism. You have to remember that you are in service of feeding people--hungry people who come to your establishment to be fed and to be made welcome. Please stop handling food with that much hate in your heart, Monsieur. read more