snip

As a pretty young parent at the time of 4 very well-behaved children, my
wife and I liked to take them out at times to eat. We thought it was a
good learning experience as well as a treat. We were though on a pretty
strict budget and had to watch our money. More than once we went into a
restaurant, sat down, looked at the menu and had to get up and walk out
because we couldn't afford it. This was especially true when we were
traveling and in a strange town we'd not been before. When we could we
would read a menu if it was posted outside, or sometimes you could just
tell by the appearance. More than once though we had to embarrassingly
get up and leave because of the budget. Very embarrassing and A
situation I'm sure many have felt. Sure glad those times are gone but I
feel for those who still have the problem.

On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 17:29:08 GMT, "Ophelia" > wrote:
>Last summer we were away for the weekend and went looking for a
>restaurant for lunch. We pulled up outside a nice looking hotel and
>went inside.
>
>There was a large dining room with a small mezzanine space to one side.
>The place was empty except for a long table on the left full of jolly
>bikers.
>
>We went to sit down at a table for four as we couldn't see a table for
>two. The waitress told us she only had a table in the smoking section.
>Since we were the only people in the room apart from the diners I
>questioned this. The mezzanine section was for smokers and only in that
>area did she have tables for two.
>
>I said I preferred to stay where we were since we don't smoke anway.
>She told us that was impossible and when asked why, we were told that a
>party of four might come in. She did however ask the bikers if they
>would mind us joining the end of their table! Please don't
>misunderstand me. We have nothing against bikers and they were a
>friendly bunch but to refuse a table for 4 for 2 people, when the rest
>of the place was empty seemsed to be stupid and unwelcoming. I told
>her to keep her tables, thanked the biker's nicely and left. We found
>somewhere else that appreciated our custom!

In Vienna about 15 years ago I was strolling around, alone. It was 1
pm (late for lunch in Austria), I was hungry. Found a nice-looking
place, with 4 empty tables for 4 on the terrace (it was a beautiful
sunny summer day). A waitress was there, I said I wanted lunch, she
motioned for me to come inside. I said no, I preferred outside. She
said I couldn't sit there (implying I coulnd't take a table for 4
alone). I hardly need to add that I left. Sigh.

Nathalie in Switzerland

"Nathalie Chiva" > wrote in
message ...
> On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 17:29:08 GMT, "Ophelia" > wrote:
>>Last summer we were away for the weekend and went looking for a
>>restaurant for lunch. We pulled up outside a nice looking hotel and
>>went inside.
>>
>>There was a large dining room with a small mezzanine space to one
>>side.
>>The place was empty except for a long table on the left full of jolly
>>bikers.
>>
>>We went to sit down at a table for four as we couldn't see a table for
>>two. The waitress told us she only had a table in the smoking
>>section.
>>Since we were the only people in the room apart from the diners I
>>questioned this. The mezzanine section was for smokers and only in
>>that
>>area did she have tables for two.
>>
>>I said I preferred to stay where we were since we don't smoke anway.
>>She told us that was impossible and when asked why, we were told that
>>a
>>party of four might come in. She did however ask the bikers if they
>>would mind us joining the end of their table! Please don't
>>misunderstand me. We have nothing against bikers and they were a
>>friendly bunch but to refuse a table for 4 for 2 people, when the rest
>>of the place was empty seemsed to be stupid and unwelcoming. I told
>>her to keep her tables, thanked the biker's nicely and left. We found
>>somewhere else that appreciated our custom!
>
> In Vienna about 15 years ago I was strolling around, alone. It was 1
> pm (late for lunch in Austria), I was hungry. Found a nice-looking
> place, with 4 empty tables for 4 on the terrace (it was a beautiful
> sunny summer day). A waitress was there, I said I wanted lunch, she
> motioned for me to come inside. I said no, I preferred outside. She
> said I couldn't sit there (implying I coulnd't take a table for 4
> alone). I hardly need to add that I left. Sigh.

and so these stupid people lose custom!!

"Jim Davis" > wrote in message
...
> snip
>
> As a pretty young parent at the time of 4 very well-behaved children,
> my wife and I liked to take them out at times to eat. We thought it
> was a good learning experience as well as a treat. We were though on
> a pretty strict budget and had to watch our money. More than once we
> went into a restaurant, sat down, looked at the menu and had to get up
> and walk out because we couldn't afford it. This was especially true
> when we were traveling and in a strange town we'd not been before.
> When we could we would read a menu if it was posted outside, or
> sometimes you could just tell by the appearance. More than once
> though we had to embarrassingly get up and leave because of the
> budget. Very embarrassing and A situation I'm sure many have felt.
> Sure glad those times are gone but I feel for those who still have the
> problem.

I admire you greatly for trying to take out your young family Well
done!

In article >,
Rusty > wrote:

> On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 09:39:06 -0700, "<RJ>" >
> wrote:
>
> >It was some years ago,
> >driving through the boondocks of New Jersey
> >.
> >Decided to stop for coffee and a late night snack.
> >The only place open was the "Truckstop Diner"
> >
> >We were turned away at the door by the waitress;
> >"This restaurant is for truckers only"
> >????
> >
> >Who turns away business ?? Why ????

> When we were kids in the early 1960's, our family was out for a drive
> and our parents stopped at a small coffee shop on a busy highway just
> outside of Riverside, CA. There was a small motel behind the coffee
> shop. I was about 10-years old. When our family walked in for lunch, I
> remember there were a lot of women sitting around by themselvers, but
> all dressed up, wearing a lot of makeup. The owner behind the lunch
> counter said, "We don't serve childen here, you'll have to leave". We
> left with out being seated and ate at another place on down the road.
>
> A few months later there was a news story about the coffee shop and
> motel being busted for prostitution.
>
> Maybe they are tuning away one kind of business for another.

I was wondering about this also. Some years ago, almost all truckers
were men. Maybe, "truckers only" meant a strip joint, or a place for
prostitution.

--
Dan Abel

Petaluma, California, USA

"Dan Abel" > wrote

> Rusty > wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 09:39:06 -0700, "<RJ>" >
>> wrote:

>> >We were turned away at the door by the waitress;
>> >"This restaurant is for truckers only"
>> >????
>> >
>> >Who turns away business ?? Why ????
>
>> When we were kids in the early 1960's, our family was out for a drive
>> and our parents stopped at a small coffee shop on a busy highway just
>> outside of Riverside, CA. There was a small motel behind the coffee
>> shop. I was about 10-years old. When our family walked in for lunch, I
>> remember there were a lot of women sitting around by themselvers, but
>> all dressed up, wearing a lot of makeup. The owner behind the lunch
>> counter said, "We don't serve childen here, you'll have to leave". We
>> left with out being seated and ate at another place on down the road.
>>
>> A few months later there was a news story about the coffee shop and
>> motel being busted for prostitution.
>>
>> Maybe they are tuning away one kind of business for another.
>
> I was wondering about this also. Some years ago, almost all truckers
> were men. Maybe, "truckers only" meant a strip joint, or a place for
> prostitution.

Duh!!! I must be losing my touch, of course that's why the truckers
thing.

nancy

On Sat 26 Nov 2005 06:39:41p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Denny
Wheeler?

> On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 11:16:09 -0500, "Nancy Young"
> > wrote:
>
>>We went to this restaurant that had ribs as a theme ... not a rib
>>joint, actually,
>
> Likely not a BBQ place, either. Specially not if it's the one I
> suspect it is.
>
>>Honest, I was waiting for Peter Funt to come over and say we'd been
>>had.
>
> ?Peter? Not Allen?
> (am I dating myself here

Peter is Allen's son and now does CC.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
_____________________________________________

A chicken in every pot is a *LOT* of chicken!

"Denny Wheeler" > wrote

> On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 11:16:09 -0500, "Nancy Young"
> > wrote:
>
>>We went to this restaurant that had ribs as a theme ... not a
>>rib joint, actually,
>
> Likely not a BBQ place, either. Specially not if it's the one I
> suspect it is.

I'm sure you wouldn't know, it was just some place. I don't
think they were a chain, and I don't remember the name of it.
But, no, not a barbecue place. Their big thing was ribs and
fried chicken. Good food.

>>Honest, I was waiting for Peter Funt to come over and say we'd
>>been had.
>
> ?Peter? Not Allen?
> (am I dating myself here?)

(laugh) I don't know why I said Peter, I guess that's who popped into
my head first.

nancy

On Sun, 27 Nov 2005 20:37:19 -0500, "Nancy Young"
> wrote:

>>>Honest, I was waiting for Peter Funt to come over and say we'd
>>>been had.
>>
>> ?Peter? Not Allen?
>> (am I dating myself here?)
>
>(laugh) I don't know why I said Peter, I guess that's who popped into
>my head first.

See Wayne B's reply to me. I *was* dating myself. again. sigh.

--
-denny-
"Do your thoughts call ahead or do they just arrive at your mouth unannounced?"

"It's come as you are, baby."

-over the hedge

"Denny Wheeler" > wrote

> On Sun, 27 Nov 2005 20:37:19 -0500, "Nancy Young"

>>(laugh) I don't know why I said Peter, I guess that's who popped into
>>my head first.
>
> See Wayne B's reply to me. I *was* dating myself. again. sigh.

Unlikely. I saw *many* *many* more and of the father's shows before
I knew Peter existed. Classics. Would still make me bust a gut today,
I know.

nancy

Maybe when the owners started the business, a condition of the original
planning permission was that the cafe was to cater for lorry drivers only,
in order to prevent extra traffic to the site.

Similar thing is under discussion in the UK.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/4217408.stm



"<RJ>" > wrote in message
...
> It was some years ago,
> driving through the boondocks of New Jersey
> .
> Decided to stop for coffee and a late night snack.
> The only place open was the "Truckstop Diner"
>
> We were turned away at the door by the waitress;
> "This restaurant is for truckers only"
> ????
>
> Who turns away business ?? Why ????
>
>
>
> <rj>

My worst:

I was sitting in a hotel restaurant in Tampa (on a job interview trip).
Suddenly, out of the wall lantern popped a huge cockroach, the size of
which I had never seen before. I started to scream but stopped myself,
though the entire restaurant heard me. The waiter came by and said
"Oh, I see you just met Charlie".

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andy Yee E-Mail: ayee AT mn dot rr dot com
President Home Page: http://home.mn.rr.com/andyyee
New Directions Engineering, Inc.

Godwin's Law: As a USENET thread grows, the probability of a reference
to Hitler or Nazis approaches 1.00.
Corollary: When such a reference is made, it is generally
recognized that the poster has LOST the argument.

"Michael "Dog3" Lonergan" > wrote in message
...
> "Rob" > looking for trouble wrote in
> oups.com:
>

> >
> >
>
.. A good time was had by all.
>
> Michael
>

Or by just you and the pianist? <vbeg>

kili

Andy Yee wrote:
> My worst:
>
> I was sitting in a hotel restaurant in Tampa (on a job interview trip).
> Suddenly, out of the wall lantern popped a huge cockroach, the size of
> which I had never seen before. I started to scream but stopped myself,
> though the entire restaurant heard me. The waiter came by and said
> "Oh, I see you just met Charlie".
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Andy Yee E-Mail: ayee AT mn dot rr dot com
> President Home Page: http://home.mn.rr.com/andyyee
> New Directions Engineering, Inc.
>
> Godwin's Law: As a USENET thread grows, the probability of a reference
> to Hitler or Nazis approaches 1.00.
> Corollary: When such a reference is made, it is generally
> recognized that the poster has LOST the argument.

oooh, that reminds me
I was in DC a couple years back visiting friends. One of them took me to his
favorite chinese restaurant. It was in Dupont Circle, iirc, a half level below
street level - you had to walk a half flight of stairs to get to the place.
The concrete at the bottom of the stairs was all busted up, opening into some
dark space.

As we sat and chatted I had the wild misfortune of seeing a rat pop out from
under the stairs. then another. then i realized they were darting all over the
floor. I never saw more than 3 at once, but I honestly don't know if there
were 3 or 30. And they were bold ****ers running across the floor and
everything.

I DID scream, oh yes i did. I was freaked.

The weird thing, my friend had lived in DC for 7 years and never saw a single
rat. The week that I'm there we see rats in the restaurant, in the metro and
on the sidewalks!

--
..:Heather:.
www.velvet-c.com

Once I went to a little Chinese place that I had gone to a few times
before.

The food there was pretty good, and I always used to ask for my food
"hot" with Red pepper.

Well, they always used to make it just a little too mild for my tastes,
and this one time I told the waiter, I want it so hot, "I want flames
coming out of my mouth".

Well, the cooks obliged. My Chicken with Chinese Veggies was literally
Red in color from all the hot pepper they threw in this time.

The food was soooo hot, I was gasping, sweating, and drank 3 Cokes, and
water with the meal.
The funny part was while I was eating, and gasping, the two cooks were
standing by the doorway of the kitchen laughing their asses off! :-) I
guess they figured "That'll teach me"! Mark

On Sat, 03 Dec 2005 09:59:34 +0100, Hexe <> wrote:

>We went to Provencal several years ago, where very few people speak
>English. We had stopped in a small village for lunch, the restaurant
>was very much part of the village, no tourists.
>
>We both had more or less forgotten our high school French and couldn't
>translate the menu. We used body language to indicate that we did not
>know what the items were. The waitress turned to the villagers,
>discussed the matter and they all began making animal noises to indicate
>what the meat was.
>
>This also happened in Basque country in Spain, where the waitress swam
>like a fish.
>
>
>:Hexe

That was one of the pleasures of traveling in Europe.
Folks had no problem with a bit of "Communication Charades"
In many cases, better than the phrase-book I was trying to use.




<rj>

The cutest thing I ever saw while in the restaurant business came from a 7
month old baby. The family had been eating with us since before the baby's
birth. They had two older kids that were wonderful and super well behaved.
The parents spent a lot of time with the kids.

They always "said Grace" before they ate. From the time the baby could sit
in a high chair, the little thing would put his little hands together,
close his eyes, and bow his little head. When dad said, "Amen", the baby
would wait patiently for Mom to give him his food. She would take a little
plate and put some French fries, little pieces of meat, or some veggies -
whatever they were having - on it. That baby never tossed anything on the
floor or played with his food.

One Sunday night, they came to eat after church. They were later than
usual and they took my last table. I explained that we were behind and
that it would be a few extra minutes before their food would be up. When
their food finally came, the baby's eyes got wide as saucers and he stared
intently at it. The dad said, very quietly, "Let's pray" - the cue for
the
children to bow their heads. The baby just stared at the food. He never
uttered a sound, but he couldn't take his eyes off the food.

The mother whispered in the baby's ear as she put her hands together. The
baby put his little hands together, but he stared at the food. With gentle
coaxing, he then bowed his head, but he stared at the food. Finally, he
closed his eyes - for about 2 seconds - then he stared at the food. The
family waited patiently as the mom whispered to the baby. The dad had
clamped his jaws together to keep from laughing and the mom turned around
in her seat away from the baby to stifle her own laughter. Those of us
watching knew we couldn't laugh. The whole scene lasted about two minutes.
Finally, the baby compromised. He put his little hands together, bowed his
little head, and closed ONE eye, keeping the other eye glued to the food.
Close enough! The dad said the shortest prayer in history and the baby got
his food.

Elaine, too

"Elaine Parrish" > wrote in message
...
>
> The cutest thing I ever saw while in the restaurant business came from
> a 7
> month old baby. The family had been eating with us since before the
> baby's
> birth. They had two older kids that were wonderful and super well
> behaved.
> The parents spent a lot of time with the kids.
>
> They always "said Grace" before they ate. From the time the baby could
> sit
> in a high chair, the little thing would put his little hands together,
> close his eyes, and bow his little head. When dad said, "Amen", the
> baby
> would wait patiently for Mom to give him his food. She would take a
> little
> plate and put some French fries, little pieces of meat, or some
> veggies -
> whatever they were having - on it. That baby never tossed anything on
> the
> floor or played with his food.
>
> One Sunday night, they came to eat after church. They were later than
> usual and they took my last table. I explained that we were behind and
> that it would be a few extra minutes before their food would be up.
> When
> their food finally came, the baby's eyes got wide as saucers and he
> stared
> intently at it. The dad said, very quietly, "Let's pray" - the cue
> for
> the
> children to bow their heads. The baby just stared at the food. He
> never
> uttered a sound, but he couldn't take his eyes off the food.
>
> The mother whispered in the baby's ear as she put her hands together.
> The
> baby put his little hands together, but he stared at the food. With
> gentle
> coaxing, he then bowed his head, but he stared at the food. Finally,
> he
> closed his eyes - for about 2 seconds - then he stared at the food.
> The
> family waited patiently as the mom whispered to the baby. The dad had
> clamped his jaws together to keep from laughing and the mom turned
> around
> in her seat away from the baby to stifle her own laughter. Those of us
> watching knew we couldn't laugh. The whole scene lasted about two
> minutes.
> Finally, the baby compromised. He put his little hands together, bowed
> his
> little head, and closed ONE eye, keeping the other eye glued to the
> food.
> Close enough! The dad said the shortest prayer in history and the baby
> got
> his food.

Awwwwwwwww bless him)))))))))))))

On Sat 03 Dec 2005 12:55:04p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it The Bubbo?

> Andy Yee wrote:
>> My worst:
>>
>> I was sitting in a hotel restaurant in Tampa (on a job interview trip).
>> Suddenly, out of the wall lantern popped a huge cockroach, the size of
>> which I had never seen before. I started to scream but stopped myself,
>> though the entire restaurant heard me. The waiter came by and said
>> "Oh, I see you just met Charlie".
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Andy Yee E-Mail: ayee AT mn dot rr dot com
>> President Home Page:
>> http://home.mn.rr.com/andyyee New Directions Engineering, Inc.
>>
>> Godwin's Law: As a USENET thread grows, the probability of a
>> reference
>> to Hitler or Nazis approaches 1.00.
>> Corollary: When such a reference is made, it is generally
>> recognized that the poster has LOST the argument.
>
> oooh, that reminds me
> I was in DC a couple years back visiting friends. One of them took me to
> his favorite chinese restaurant. It was in Dupont Circle, iirc, a half
> level below street level - you had to walk a half flight of stairs to
> get to the place. The concrete at the bottom of the stairs was all
> busted up, opening into some dark space.
>
> As we sat and chatted I had the wild misfortune of seeing a rat pop out
> from under the stairs. then another. then i realized they were darting
> all over the floor. I never saw more than 3 at once, but I honestly
> don't know if there were 3 or 30. And they were bold ****ers running
> across the floor and everything.
>
> I DID scream, oh yes i did. I was freaked.
>
> The weird thing, my friend had lived in DC for 7 years and never saw a
> single rat. The week that I'm there we see rats in the restaurant, in
> the metro and on the sidewalks!
>

You sure some branch of the government hadn't just let out some session or
other?

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
_____________________________________________

A chicken in every pot is a *LOT* of chicken!

Wayne Boatwright wrote:

>>
>> oooh, that reminds me
>> I was in DC a couple years back visiting friends. One of them took me to
>> his favorite chinese restaurant. It was in Dupont Circle, iirc, a half
>> level below street level - you had to walk a half flight of stairs to
>> get to the place. The concrete at the bottom of the stairs was all
>> busted up, opening into some dark space.
>>
>> As we sat and chatted I had the wild misfortune of seeing a rat pop out
>> from under the stairs. then another. then i realized they were darting
>> all over the floor. I never saw more than 3 at once, but I honestly
>> don't know if there were 3 or 30. And they were bold ****ers running
>> across the floor and everything.
>>
>> I DID scream, oh yes i did. I was freaked.
>>
>> The weird thing, my friend had lived in DC for 7 years and never saw a
>> single rat. The week that I'm there we see rats in the restaurant, in
>> the metro and on the sidewalks!
>>
>
> You sure some branch of the government hadn't just let out some session or
> other?
>

I wondered the same thing myself.
On another visit out there, we were walking from his place (Connecticut and
Van Ness) to get some ice cream. This is a fairly nice neighborhood and I was
surprised to see roaches out on the sidewalk. As much as I love DC, and I do
love that city to death, I don't think I could live in a city where most of
the denizens revert back to their natural state when they're not at work.

--
..:Heather:.
www.velvet-c.com

"Mark D" > wrote
>
<SNIP>
> The food was soooo hot, I was gasping, sweating, and drank 3 Cokes, and
> water with the meal.
> The funny part was while I was eating, and gasping, the two cooks were
> standing by the doorway of the kitchen laughing their asses off! :-) I
> guess they figured "That'll teach me"! Mark
>

I had a similar experience at an Indian Restaurant here in Sandy Eggo. I
ordered a Vindaloo and was surprised how mild it was. I sent it back. It
returned a little spicier, but still not a vindaloo. I sent it back. There
was loud yelling from the kitchen. The, I assume, chef opened the door from
the kitchen and when I was pointed out to him, he glared at me for a full
minute. Back to the kitchen and more yelling. The vindaloo returned. I
turned pale, sweated gallons instantly, shook, moaned in pain, and said it
was satisfactory. God it was hot! I'm glad I had the big bottle of
Kingfisher (and a second), naan and ghee or I would not be among the living
now. The chef got his revenge! I got a damn good dish of vindaloo......the
likes of which I could not possibly eat nowadays. My buddy laughed his ass
off and still brings it up now and then.

Charlie

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005, Mark D wrote:

> Once I went to a little Chinese place that I had gone to a few times
> before.
>
> The food there was pretty good, and I always used to ask for my food
> "hot" with Red pepper.
>
> Well, they always used to make it just a little too mild for my tastes,
> and this one time I told the waiter, I want it so hot, "I want flames
> coming out of my mouth".
>
> Well, the cooks obliged. My Chicken with Chinese Veggies was literally
> Red in color from all the hot pepper they threw in this time.
>
> The food was soooo hot, I was gasping, sweating, and drank 3 Cokes, and
> water with the meal.
> The funny part was while I was eating, and gasping, the two cooks were
> standing by the doorway of the kitchen laughing their asses off! :-) I
> guess they figured "That'll teach me"! Mark
>
>

Hehehe! I can relate to those cooks! I had two guys come in one morning
right about 5 a.m. and they wanted what they called a Texas Omelet. As it
turned out, that was a concoction of hamburger, cheese, onions, green
pepper,
and hot peppers wrapped in 4 eggs and smothered with chili. Boo, hiss. I
said I
was game and would give it my best try. They said, hot, hot, hot and
they teased
me about not being able to make it as hot as they could get it in Texas.

I asked them if they were sure they wanted it hot, hot, hot and when they
agreed,
I set out to make it. In my part of the country, hot, hot, hot is not the
norm, but I had
Jalapenos and crushed red pepper flakes. I thinned my very thick, homemade
chili with
Jalapeno juice and added the peppers to the mix and heated in the
microwave. I browned the meat with Jalapenos, onions, and green peppers,
and the red pepper flakes. I had Hot Pepper Cheese (Jalapeno) and cheddar.
I made two huge omelets
loaded with all this stuff and more jalapenos and crushed red pepper and
covered the
whole thing with a deep layer of chili. Boo, hiss! They ate every bite of
it and left a huge tip.

I would have hated to have been trapped in that car a few miles down the
road!

Elaine, too

Charlie wrote:

> I had a similar experience at an Indian Restaurant here in Sandy Eggo. I
> ordered a Vindaloo and was surprised how mild it was. I sent it back. It
> returned a little spicier, but still not a vindaloo. I sent it back. There
> was loud yelling from the kitchen. The, I assume, chef opened the door
> from the kitchen and when I was pointed out to him, he glared at me for a
> full minute. Back to the kitchen and more yelling. The vindaloo returned.
> I turned pale, sweated gallons instantly, shook, moaned in pain, and said
> it was satisfactory. God it was hot! I'm glad I had the big bottle of
> Kingfisher (and a second), naan and ghee or I would not be among the
> living now. The chef got his revenge! I got a damn good dish of
> vindaloo......the likes of which I could not possibly eat nowadays. My
> buddy laughed his ass off and still brings it up now and then.

By any chance was that the Indian restaurant on Sports Arena Boulevard? I
had several similar experiences there, before they finally accepted that
when I said "hot" I *meant* "hot." It was kind of funny because when I
first placed my order and said I wanted it *very* spicy, the waitress said,
"Are you sure? Because our cooks are Mexican, and if you say hot, they'll
make it really, really hot." Then the food came and there was NO
discernible heat.

In sharp contrast, when I first came to San Diego in 1985, I used to
frequent a Sri Lankan restaurant in National City. That curry was SPICY!
Well, the Navy moved me back to the East Coast for the next five years, and
when I returned to San Diego in 1990, that restaurant was gone. In its place
was a Long John Silver's. In fact, MOST of my favorite restaurants were
gone, including Garcia's, which I thought was one of the most rock-solid
places in town. And that brunch place in Mission Beach, which always had a
wait of at least an hour on Sunday morning...also gone.

Bob

In article . com>,
Michael O'Connor > wrote:
>I went to this restaurant near Detroit where I used to go for lunch
>occasionally, and when they brought out my Chicken Alfredo, after I had
>eaten about a third of the meal I discovered a small piece of wood in
>the bowl. The piece of wood was about two inches long.

Worse yet: I was having a bowl of jambalaya in a cajun restaurant
in Fort Worth. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain as I bit down on
something hard. I spat out a 1-inch long shard of porcelain, along
with blood from a pierced tongue.

I called over the waitress, showed her the broken shard of porcelain
and my bleeding tongue. She said some noncommital words like, "Oh,
it must have come from the dishwasher" as if this sort of thing
happened every day and I shouldn't worry about it. She left and
acted as if nothing happened. I didn't tip, and never went back.


On another occasion, I was at a Chinese buffet. One of the
selections was fresh green salad. I noticed a large (2 inch) green
caterpillar on one of the lettuce leaves, perfectly camouflaged
(*exactly* the same color; I wouldn't have noticed had I not seen it
in profile with a steel surface in the background). To make sure
nobody else scooped up the caterpillar into their plate by accident,
I put it on mine, went to my table, and called the waiter over. I
didn't say a word, just pointed at the caterpillar on my plate. His
eyes got wide. He said "Oh my God!" and whisked away my plate.
Less than a minute later he appeared at the buffet take away the big
container of salad before anyone else ate from it. He discarded the
entire thing and replaced it.

-A

axlq wrote:
> In article . com>,
> Michael O'Connor > wrote:
>
>>I went to this restaurant near Detroit where I used to go for lunch
>>occasionally, and when they brought out my Chicken Alfredo, after I had
>>eaten about a third of the meal I discovered a small piece of wood in
>>the bowl. The piece of wood was about two inches long.
>
>
> Worse yet: I was having a bowl of jambalaya in a cajun restaurant
> in Fort Worth. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain as I bit down on
> something hard. I spat out a 1-inch long shard of porcelain, along
> with blood from a pierced tongue.
>
> I called over the waitress, showed her the broken shard of porcelain
> and my bleeding tongue. She said some noncommital words like, "Oh,
> it must have come from the dishwasher" as if this sort of thing
> happened every day and I shouldn't worry about it. She left and
> acted as if nothing happened. I didn't tip, and never went back.
>

I would have refused to pay for the meal, went directly to the hospital,
and sent the bill to the restaurant. but that's just me

>
> On another occasion, I was at a Chinese buffet. One of the
> selections was fresh green salad. I noticed a large (2 inch) green
> caterpillar on one of the lettuce leaves, perfectly camouflaged
> (*exactly* the same color; I wouldn't have noticed had I not seen it
> in profile with a steel surface in the background). To make sure
> nobody else scooped up the caterpillar into their plate by accident,
> I put it on mine, went to my table, and called the waiter over. I
> didn't say a word, just pointed at the caterpillar on my plate. His
> eyes got wide. He said "Oh my God!" and whisked away my plate.
> Less than a minute later he appeared at the buffet take away the big
> container of salad before anyone else ate from it. He discarded the
> entire thing and replaced it.
>
> -A


--

saerah

"Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a
disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice."
-Baruch Spinoza

"There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly
what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear
and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There
is another theory which states that this has already happened."
-Douglas Adams

Michael "Dog3" Lonergan wrote:
>
> I've told my roach story so many times I'll not repeat it. I love DC and
> have visited many times but sadly it's been too many years since my last
> visit. Any new eating places in the DuPont area I should know about?
>
> Michael
>

You know, the sad thing is that I go to DC a lot, and I eat at a lot of great
places and I can neer ever remember the names of the places we eat at!! There
is a terrific sushi place in Dupont Circle (i think?? I can't remember, we
took a cab and I can only remember where places are in relation to metro
stops).

If you haven't been to Brickskellers you MUST GO! Little, packed tight
basement bar with 6.4 million different beers from around the world and
waitresses who know their stuff. Describe the beers you like (unfiltered
wheats for me) and they'll point you in the right direction.

I haven't been to DC in over a year, I'd hoped to get there this summer but I
never got the chance, things were too hectic.

--
..:Heather:.
www.velvet-c.com

On 3 Dec 2005 21:20:13 -0600, "Bob Terwilliger"
> rummaged among random neurons and
opined:

>By any chance was that the Indian restaurant on Sports Arena Boulevard? I
>had several similar experiences there, before they finally accepted that
>when I said "hot" I *meant* "hot." It was kind of funny because when I
>first placed my order and said I wanted it *very* spicy, the waitress said,
>"Are you sure? Because our cooks are Mexican, and if you say hot, they'll
>make it really, really hot." Then the food came and there was NO
>discernible heat.

<snip>

This reminded me of a time the DH and I were in Chinatown in San
Francisco and ate at a *great* Chinese place called The Empress of
China. Had to go up a flight of stairs and we were the only
Occidentals in the place. The DH asked for some Szechwan dish that
claimed to be spicy, but the DH likes a bit of heat, so he ordered it.
The waiter said, "Are you sure, sir? Is very, very hot!?" Well, you
you can't tell him much, so he ordered it. Took one bite, his eyes
*bugged* and he got a where-can-I-spit-this-out look on his face. I
swear, smoke was coming out of his ears. He gamely ate a few more
bites, then "helped" me eat *my* dinner. The waiter never said a
thing, but had a small smile on when he removed the nearly untouched
dish.

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
AAC(F)BV66.0748.CA

"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

-- Duncan Hines

To reply, replace "spaminator" with "cox"

Michael "Dog3" Lonergan wrote:

>
> Where on DuPont? Have you been to Nathan's or better yet the notorious
> "Fireside"? What fun!
>
> Michael
>

I don't remember, this was my new years 2004 trip so it was a while ago and I
want to say this was the hang over recovery lunch, so the rats didn't help.

OOOH! Have you been to Ben's Chili Bowl?? Nothing beats 2am chili cheese fries
and a banana shake after seeing a show at the Black Cat...good times.

--
..:Heather:.
www.velvet-c.com

In article >,
(Mark D) wrote:

> Once I went to a little Chinese place that I had gone to a few times
> before.
>
> The food there was pretty good, and I always used to ask for my food
> "hot" with Red pepper.
>
> Well, they always used to make it just a little too mild for my tastes,
> and this one time I told the waiter, I want it so hot, "I want flames
> coming out of my mouth".
>
> Well, the cooks obliged. My Chicken with Chinese Veggies was literally
> Red in color from all the hot pepper they threw in this time.
>
> The food was soooo hot, I was gasping, sweating, and drank 3 Cokes, and
> water with the meal.
> The funny part was while I was eating, and gasping, the two cooks were
> standing by the doorway of the kitchen laughing their asses off! :-) I
> guess they figured "That'll teach me"! Mark

Pretty funny. Sometimes Chinese people are so polite that it is painful.

My daughter and I went to Seattle to visit my brother, many years ago.
We were invited to go to a Chinese restaurant. Most of the party was
Chinese. It was lunch, and my brother said that you couldn't beat their
lunch special. Soup, main dish and rice. My daughter ordered. The
waiter told me that my daughter didn't want the soup. I asked why not?
He said it was too spicy. It was hot and sour soup. Now, my daughter
loves this stuff. She was only six, and we've been served some that was
too hot for her, but never as a lunch special. I told the waiter to
bring it, and I would eat it if she didn't. My brother ordered broccoli
beef. His wife ordered broccoli beef, spicy. I had never heard of
this. I now routinely order almost everything at the Chinese restaurant
"spicy". The waiter is happy to comply, but there is some kind of
secret rule, and the cook decides whether it is appropriate or not. If
it is appropriate, I get the food spicy, otherwise the waiter brings a
little plate of chili paste and I spice it up myself. Back to my story,
I order something with a star, meaning it is spicy. I'm feeling a
little unsure here, so I ask for it "not too spicy". We get our soup,
and it's just fine for my daughter. My brother gets his plate, and it
has a bunch of hot red peppers. His wife gets hers, and there aren't
any. I'm thinking of saying something, but decide not to. The waiter
puts down my plate, and there are an awful lot of red peppers there.
The waiter looks at my plate, looks at me, realizes that I had asked for
"not too hot", points at a pepper, and tells me "don't eat that". After
lunch, I ask my brother how he liked his food. He said that it was very
good, but that he was surprised at the hot red peppers, saying that he
had never had broccoli beef with them before!

--
Dan Abel

Petaluma, California, USA

"Bob Terwilliger" > wrote in message
...
> Charlie wrote:
>
> > I had a similar experience at an Indian Restaurant here in Sandy Eggo.
>
> By any chance was that the Indian restaurant on Sports Arena Boulevard? I
> had several similar experiences there, before they finally accepted that
> when I said "hot" I *meant* "hot."

No, it was on Shelter Island. It was a very nice place but didn't last more
than 3 years. Probably the rent was too high at that location.

> when I returned to San Diego in 1990, that restaurant was gone. In its
place
> was a Long John Silver's. In fact, MOST of my favorite restaurants were
> gone, including Garcia's, which I thought was one of the most rock-solid
> places in town. And that brunch place in Mission Beach, which always had a
> wait of at least an hour on Sunday morning...also gone.
>
> Bob

That is the case Bob. I have lost some favorites over the years. Some nice
old bars and taverns have been either closed or gentrified as well. Things
must change I suppose, but sometimes it is dissapointing!

Charlie

"Elaine Parrish" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Hehehe! I can relate to those cooks! I had two guys come in one morning
> right about 5 a.m. and they wanted what they called a Texas Omelet.
<snip>

Great story Elaine! You went out of your way for them and I admire that!

Charlie

In article .com>,
"Rob" > wrote:

> Irrespective of the location, what's been your funniest or worst
> restaurant experience/s you've had so far - as in the food and / or
> service being terrible, or the food and service being fine and very
> good, but something else amusing occurred.

We have four Chinese restaurants in our neighborhood. We have our
favorite, but it doesn't always work for dinner for one. I do it
sometimes, and have soup or chow mein, but at times I want something
more. Another place has a dinner special. It's US$7.25, and includes
soup, egg roll, entree and rice. The food is good.

So one night, my wife is out of town and there are no kids home. I'm
starving, so I decide to have the dinner special. I go down there.
It's a little early, and they are about 1/3 full. I get seated at a
booth. I order orange sesame chicken. I've had this before, and it's
really tasty. I get my soup and egg roll. My waiter keeps coming
around and apologizing for no food. I don't understand. There are two
waiters, maybe ten tables with people. I have a direct view of the
kitchen. There are three cooks, and they are very busy, but no reason
for a long delay. I like my waiter. He is no nonsense. The other
waiter is really obnoxious and I'm glad I don't have him. He is an
"entertainer". "Call me Uncle Mike!" No thanks, he's not my uncle. He
sings happy birthday to a table. It's really horrible. I wonder if he
did it on purpose. "Uncle Mike" is in the kitchen every two minutes. I
have a direct view, and he's doing a juggling act with the order
tickets. It's pretty obvious why I have no food. He's taking the
tickets for his tables and moving them to the front, and taking the
tickets for the other waiter and moving them to the end. I note that
the table that had no food when I came in, not only got their food but
they are done and leaving. I came because I was starving, and I have no
food. The final straw was when a single woman came in. She was seated
right across the aisle from me. She ordered the same identical meal as
I had. I had been there a good half hour before she came in. She got
her food before me. I did get my food, and it was very good, but it was
a good hour before it came.

--
Dan Abel

Petaluma, California, USA

On Sun 04 Dec 2005 07:09:15p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Dan Abel?

> In article .com>,
> "Rob" > wrote:
>
>> Irrespective of the location, what's been your funniest or worst
>> restaurant experience/s you've had so far - as in the food and / or
>> service being terrible, or the food and service being fine and very
>> good, but something else amusing occurred.
>
> We have four Chinese restaurants in our neighborhood. We have our
> favorite, but it doesn't always work for dinner for one. I do it
> sometimes, and have soup or chow mein, but at times I want something
> more. Another place has a dinner special. It's US$7.25, and includes
> soup, egg roll, entree and rice. The food is good.
>
> So one night, my wife is out of town and there are no kids home. I'm
> starving, so I decide to have the dinner special. I go down there.
> It's a little early, and they are about 1/3 full. I get seated at a
> booth. I order orange sesame chicken. I've had this before, and it's
> really tasty. I get my soup and egg roll. My waiter keeps coming
> around and apologizing for no food. I don't understand. There are two
> waiters, maybe ten tables with people. I have a direct view of the
> kitchen. There are three cooks, and they are very busy, but no reason
> for a long delay. I like my waiter. He is no nonsense. The other
> waiter is really obnoxious and I'm glad I don't have him. He is an
> "entertainer". "Call me Uncle Mike!" No thanks, he's not my uncle. He
> sings happy birthday to a table. It's really horrible. I wonder if he
> did it on purpose. "Uncle Mike" is in the kitchen every two minutes. I
> have a direct view, and he's doing a juggling act with the order
> tickets. It's pretty obvious why I have no food. He's taking the
> tickets for his tables and moving them to the front, and taking the
> tickets for the other waiter and moving them to the end. I note that
> the table that had no food when I came in, not only got their food but
> they are done and leaving. I came because I was starving, and I have no
> food. The final straw was when a single woman came in. She was seated
> right across the aisle from me. She ordered the same identical meal as
> I had. I had been there a good half hour before she came in. She got
> her food before me. I did get my food, and it was very good, but it was
> a good hour before it came.
>

You stayed too long at the fair. Having witnessed all that, I'd have been
out of there after 20 minutes.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
_____________________________________________

A chicken in every pot is a *LOT* of chicken!

Dan Abel wrote:
> [snip]
> "Uncle Mike" is in the kitchen every two minutes. I
> have a direct view, and he's doing a juggling act with the order
> tickets. It's pretty obvious why I have no food. He's taking the
> tickets for his tables and moving them to the front, and taking the
> tickets for the other waiter and moving them to the end. [snip]

Interesting story, but I don't understand why you just watched it.
Wouldn't it have been entertaining to tell your waiter what the other
waiter was doing? When we're stuck having to go out alone we need to
be looking for some fun, don't we? -aem

In article >,
says...
> Finally, the baby compromised. He put his little hands together, bowed his
> little head, and closed ONE eye, keeping the other eye glued to the food.
>

That kid's got his priorities right. He can come dine at my place any day ;-)

-P.

--
=========================================
firstname dot lastname at gmail fullstop com

In article et>,
says...
> The vindaloo returned. I
> turned pale, sweated gallons instantly, shook, moaned in pain, and said it
> was satisfactory. God it was hot! I'm glad I had the big bottle of
> Kingfisher (and a second), naan and ghee or I would not be among the living
> now. The chef got his revenge! I got a damn good dish of vindaloo......the
> likes of which I could not possibly eat nowadays. My buddy laughed his ass
> off and still brings it up now and then.
>
> Charlie

LOL. That reminds me, 30 years ago when I was living in Hamburg I used to know
some Pakistanis and these dudes invited me for dinner one night. They'd cooked
a chicken, and I cannot tell you what the name of the dish was - but it was so
hot, I'd take one bite and the tears would be squirting out of my eyes.
Regardless, this was one of the tastiest chickens I've ever had in my life. I
had seconds, and thirds ... and everybody had a good laugh. And, b.t.w., I used
to cook very hot food myself those days, most of my German friends had trouble
eating my cooking. But that dish, that was in a different order of magnitude
I wish I could recreate it. About the only thing I am sure of is cumin tho'.

-P.

--
=========================================
firstname dot lastname at gmail fullstop com

In article .com>,
"aem" > wrote:

> Dan Abel wrote:
> > [snip]
> > "Uncle Mike" is in the kitchen every two minutes. I
> > have a direct view, and he's doing a juggling act with the order
> > tickets. It's pretty obvious why I have no food. He's taking the
> > tickets for his tables and moving them to the front, and taking the
> > tickets for the other waiter and moving them to the end. [snip]
>
> Interesting story, but I don't understand why you just watched it.
> Wouldn't it have been entertaining to tell your waiter what the other
> waiter was doing? When we're stuck having to go out alone we need to
> be looking for some fun, don't we?

I don't know what was going on. There were two waiters and three cooks.
Anyone who worked there for five minutes knew what was happening. My
waiter was waiting for the food to come out. There's no way he didn't
notice that "Uncle Mike's" orders were coming out and his weren't. My
waiter was lying to me. I knew he was lying. He knew he was lying. He
knew that I knew that he was lying. My waiter and the three kitchen
staff were younger, maybe in their thirties. "Uncle Mike" was a
generation older. If he had been a contemporary, they would have
stuffed him in the garbage can out back. My theory was that he was a
relative of the owner.

The Chinese are a different culture. I find it interesting to observe,
but sometimes confusing. I was visiting my brother, and his wife was
complaining about her sister. She does this a lot. The sister is a bad
cook. She gives out all these orders about cutting and chopping, but
then doesn't know how to put the food together and it doesn't taste very
good. I ask her why she puts up with this. She looks at me seriously,
and says, "she's the oldest". End of story. OK. My nephew wants some
birds. The shopping center where my SIL works has a guy who sells
birds. My SIL doesn't like animals. Actually, she does, but she likes
to eat them. She doesn't like pets. My brother isn't too excited about
pets either, so he's no help. No way is Jimmy getting these birds. So
he's got these birds. I don't understand. He's only like 10, and he
does what he's told. His parents don't want them. I ask my SIL, and
she says that her father got them. What can she do, he's her father?
We aren't talking young here. She and my brother are in their forties.
Her parents don't even live in this country. They live in Taiwan, where
they have an apartment. They visit the US a couple of times a year.
They usually stay about six months at a time. They have five children,
all in Southern California, and they usually stay with the daughters.

--
Dan Abel

Petaluma, California, USA

"Charles Gifford" > wrote in
. net:
>
> Great story Elaine! You went out of your way for them and I
admire that!
>
> Charlie
>
>

I was once at Chevy's, not known to be too authentic. I ordered
their firecracker pork enchilladas, and knew it wasn't spicy enough
for me. I asked the waitress what she could do about that.
Instead of putting a bottle of hot sauce in front of me, she said
that she would ask the cook. He ended up making a pesto of
habaneros, fresh oregano, and olive oil. My friends were skeptical
about this sauce, so they took turns tasting it. Every one of them
almost spit it out; much too hot for them. They looked at me weird
when they saw me slathering it all over my enchilladas. It spiced
up the dish quite sufficiently without masking the other flavors.
I went to the back and tried to tip the cook, but he refused, so I
left the waitress a big tip.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
Andy Yee E-Mail: ayee AT mn dot rr dot
com
President Home Page:
http://home.mn.rr.com/andyyee
New Directions Engineering, Inc.

Godwin's Law: As a USENET thread grows, the probability of a
reference
to Hitler or Nazis approaches 1.00.
Corollary: When such a reference is made, it is generally
recognized that the poster has LOST the argument.

Hexe <> wrote in :

> We went to Provencal several years ago, where very few people speak
> English. We had stopped in a small village for lunch, the restaurant
> was very much part of the village, no tourists.
>
> We both had more or less forgotten our high school French and couldn't
> translate the menu. We used body language to indicate that we did not
> know what the items were. The waitress turned to the villagers,
> discussed the matter and they all began making animal noises to indicate
> what the meat was.
>

One of my best experiences with Chinese food was in a rural village in
China, about 100 miles NW of Hong Kong. We had a absolutely scrumptious
multiple course meal of crab, lobster, clams, frog legs, etc. Eight
dishes for 8 people, the final cost was $15. I left them a 50% tip, and
the waitress was totally flabbergasted; imagine paying $22 for an 8
course meal!

Now here's what bothered me:
I left the restaurant, and noticed in front that there was cart with
wooden animal cages with mostly chickens in them; however there was
one cage with a giant hairy rat. Suddenly my stomach didn't feel very
good, but I didn't vomit. I know my relatives would not have ordered
that for my mother and I, but it still bothered me!

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andy Yee E-Mail: ayee AT mn dot rr dot com
President Home Page: http://home.mn.rr.com/andyyee
New Directions Engineering, Inc.

Godwin's Law: As a USENET thread grows, the probability of a reference
to Hitler or Nazis approaches 1.00.
Corollary: When such a reference is made, it is generally
recognized that the poster has LOST the argument.

He could also said a short prayer like:

Good folks,
good meat,
good God,
let's eat!

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andy Yee E-Mail: ayee AT mn dot rr dot com
President Home Page: http://home.mn.rr.com/andyyee
New Directions Engineering, Inc.

Godwin's Law: As a USENET thread grows, the probability of a reference
to Hitler or Nazis approaches 1.00.
Corollary: When such a reference is made, it is generally
recognized that the poster has LOST the argument.