Old Town Bar and Restaurant - an unexpected demerit

Diva2 had occasion to be in the Union Square neighborhood recently so she went for lunch at the Old Town Bar and Restaurant. This place is a New York institution, north of Union Square on East 18th Street, and around since 1892, if I recall correctly. There's lots of dark wood paneling and plenty of seating, at tables and at the bar - a nice comfy vibe to the place. The menu comes with an insert showing the specials of the day and including a factoid of the day, You gotta love a place that tells you one of the soup specials is corn chowder and by the way it's the birthday of James Monroe, fifth president of the US.

I got a cup of the corn chowder, which was lovely - lots of corn and potato pieces and a nice broth. However, it could have used some salt; it was definitely under seasoned in that respect. I got the clam roll, a bad choice; it was just nasty small pieces of clam previously fried somewhere else and reheated in the microwave methinks. You get a choice of one side with the clam roll so I got the cole slaw which was also under seasoned; it too needed salt. However, it was fresh and crunchy and not overly mayoed; in fact, I think the dressing may have had a buttermilk base and not mayo at all. Plus points for that.

For dessert I got the apple crumble; plus points to the waitress for asking if I wanted it heated up. Yes, please. Quite enjoyable it was too. I also ordered a cup of tea since I am not a coffee drinker. Diva2's first monthly Big Demerit Award goes to Old Town. The waitress promptly returned to tell me there was no tea; they had decided not to carry it any longer. What is the big deal about a cup of tea? It's a tea bag and some water. How hard is it to stock a few tea bags? Sheesh. Old Town, you are off my list until cups of tea return.