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Monday, April 28, 2008
Excuse me waiter, this meal stinks.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On our regular “Friday dinner out” my family decided to try an Italian restaurant near our home. We had noticed this place for a while, but it never seemed all that busy…always a disconcerting sign. After passing by it for almost a year, we decided it was time to take the plunge.
Immediately there were signs that this was not going to be a successful outing. Even though we ordered substantial entrees, the waiter kept pushing appetizers so “we wouldn’t have to wait so long for food.” When he finally brought a basket with squares of a bread-like substance, a cross between a foccaccia and a biscuit, our teeth couldn’t penetrate its surface. I turned my piece over and saw the bottom was burned to a crisp. Several other pieces were marked by the same “sign of the char.” As a lark, we decided to leave the bread, blackened side up, to see what the waiter would say. Amazingly even though he came to the table repeatedly to sell us another glass of wine, he managed to never acknowledge the incinerated mass in the center of the table.
When our entrees arrived, there wasn’t much improvement. One entree was edible. The other two could be picked around. The fourth was basically a science experiment gone horribly wrong.
When he came to inquire about dessert, he asked if we wanted to wrap the barely touched dishes. When we declined, explaining they really weren’t that tasty, he acted as if that was most expected and acceptable reply and left to get the check.
All I can say is thank goodness for the ice cream store next door! We could splurge without an iota of guilt.
Have you ever gone to a place that was just too bad for words? What do you do? Don’t you think they should be able to get a hint that something isn’t quite right or do you have to spell it out for them?
Note: If you share a dining horror story here, the restaurant name is not important, just your experience and what you did about it.
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