07-27-2005, 10:52 AM
I personally find it rather depressing to go out for dinner here in the states! Going to someone’s house for a meal here isnt nearly same as going to someone’s house in the UK. Americans don’t turn the TV off when you go to their house, they turn it up! And when you have finished eating you leave? Now I don’t know about you but when I had a dinner party in the UK I have made a commitment for the whole night 7 - at least 02.00! Americans seemed to have missed the point that eating together isn’t the WHOLE point, it’s some of it. It’s a social event, a gathering.
And going out to dinner well that’s a choir. First of all you are asked a million and one questions. Soup or Salad? Which dressing? And so on. And god forbid you don’t want to conform. I like soup and salad, don’t get me wrong, but often when I eat salad I don’t have enough room for my meal. I order my meal because I want to eat it today, not because I want to take it home in a Styrofoam container and let it stink my car out and rot in my fridge.
The other day I went to the Olive Garden, I was asked the usual soup or salad. I said that I didn’t want either. I may just as well told the waitress that I had it on very good authority that the world was ending tomorrow, I probably would have got a better reaction! She looked at me like I was mad. It’s free, she told me. Great, give it to the large looking man in the corner, he looks mighty hungry! She looks at me, then at the other people at my table and walks away. She then comes back just to make sure I didn’t want the soup or salad. I try to assure her that that in the time it takes to get a few glasses or water I had not changed my mind. She then brings the other people at the table their soup and salad (I believe that Americans go into some type of seizure if they don’t get the free stuff) and she leans across to me and says “I put a little extra in the salad bowl for you in case you change your mind. I look at her bemused and said, what part of no do you not understand? I was the given a look by the yanks on my table, who contrary to popular belief, have no spine and are used to bad service and accept it without complaint.
I then had to order my main course, I ordered some type of pesto pasta. The same waitress, who obviously thought I was some type of idiot, leans across to me and says, you do like pesto don’t you? I look her square in the eye and say "No darling I don’t, I can’t stand pesto. That’s the point you see, I’m a bit of a masochist and usually around this time I have the whips and chains out, well you see my dear I am here so that wouldn’t be appropriate now would it? So, I have decided to punish myself by ordering a meal I quite clearly don’t like and denying myself the simple pleasures of soup and salad. Now I don’t expect you to understand this but after years of a dull sex life darling you learn to get your kicks anywhere you can! "
As you can imagine the rest of the meal went without incident, the Yanks didn’t speak to me again and left a huge tip to compensate for the eccentric Brit along with looks like - we found her outside- we are very sorry. Although, half way though the meal the waitress brought us out the bill and asked if we wanted anything else? Why do they do that? Why do they ask you if you want dessert before you have even finished your main course? Is it me or is this behavior very strange? I can’t stand getting the bill before you have finished eating? I might want something else but I don’t know because I haven’t finished eating the something I have now? I wouldn’t mind if the restaurant was busy but there was just us and a hungry looking man in the corner! If they left me alone they would get more money out of me. I like to have a few glasses of wine before I go home. I like to sit and chat with my friends and maybe have coffee or a bottle of wine, some whisky or something.
I remember the times when in the UK dinner lasted from 07.00 – close. And when you had finished the table cloth was covered in red wine bottles and stains. Why have the Yanks not grasped this concept? Why is dinner to them just the action of consuming as much food as possible in the smallest amount of time and talking the rest with you? Why is going out to dinner a function not an event, that always leaves you a little disappointed?
And going out to dinner well that’s a choir. First of all you are asked a million and one questions. Soup or Salad? Which dressing? And so on. And god forbid you don’t want to conform. I like soup and salad, don’t get me wrong, but often when I eat salad I don’t have enough room for my meal. I order my meal because I want to eat it today, not because I want to take it home in a Styrofoam container and let it stink my car out and rot in my fridge.
The other day I went to the Olive Garden, I was asked the usual soup or salad. I said that I didn’t want either. I may just as well told the waitress that I had it on very good authority that the world was ending tomorrow, I probably would have got a better reaction! She looked at me like I was mad. It’s free, she told me. Great, give it to the large looking man in the corner, he looks mighty hungry! She looks at me, then at the other people at my table and walks away. She then comes back just to make sure I didn’t want the soup or salad. I try to assure her that that in the time it takes to get a few glasses or water I had not changed my mind. She then brings the other people at the table their soup and salad (I believe that Americans go into some type of seizure if they don’t get the free stuff) and she leans across to me and says “I put a little extra in the salad bowl for you in case you change your mind. I look at her bemused and said, what part of no do you not understand? I was the given a look by the yanks on my table, who contrary to popular belief, have no spine and are used to bad service and accept it without complaint.
I then had to order my main course, I ordered some type of pesto pasta. The same waitress, who obviously thought I was some type of idiot, leans across to me and says, you do like pesto don’t you? I look her square in the eye and say "No darling I don’t, I can’t stand pesto. That’s the point you see, I’m a bit of a masochist and usually around this time I have the whips and chains out, well you see my dear I am here so that wouldn’t be appropriate now would it? So, I have decided to punish myself by ordering a meal I quite clearly don’t like and denying myself the simple pleasures of soup and salad. Now I don’t expect you to understand this but after years of a dull sex life darling you learn to get your kicks anywhere you can! "
As you can imagine the rest of the meal went without incident, the Yanks didn’t speak to me again and left a huge tip to compensate for the eccentric Brit along with looks like - we found her outside- we are very sorry. Although, half way though the meal the waitress brought us out the bill and asked if we wanted anything else? Why do they do that? Why do they ask you if you want dessert before you have even finished your main course? Is it me or is this behavior very strange? I can’t stand getting the bill before you have finished eating? I might want something else but I don’t know because I haven’t finished eating the something I have now? I wouldn’t mind if the restaurant was busy but there was just us and a hungry looking man in the corner! If they left me alone they would get more money out of me. I like to have a few glasses of wine before I go home. I like to sit and chat with my friends and maybe have coffee or a bottle of wine, some whisky or something.
I remember the times when in the UK dinner lasted from 07.00 – close. And when you had finished the table cloth was covered in red wine bottles and stains. Why have the Yanks not grasped this concept? Why is dinner to them just the action of consuming as much food as possible in the smallest amount of time and talking the rest with you? Why is going out to dinner a function not an event, that always leaves you a little disappointed?