Dinner out With The Cranky’s
Anyway.
I was
listening in to the dude at the next table order his dinner.
“There is
a guy just asking to complain about his food.”
“Why.”
“He just
ordered his burger ‘medium well.’ What
the Hell is ‘medium well’?”
“It’s a legitimate
order.”
“Maybe
for a thick steak…maybe. He is ordering
a burger. Medium would be a tinge of
color in the middle and plenty of juice.
Well would be no color and just enough juice to not be dry. What the Hell is medium well in a
burger? How do you cook ‘medium well?’ I guess you cook it about 20 seconds longer
than medium?” It is a ridiculous order
for a burger. I’m telling you he is just
setting the chef up for failure. A
burger is rare, medium rare, medium or well.
Medium well is a bogus order for a burger.”
“Well
here comes our check, you want to hang around long enough to see if he
complains.”
“Don’t
have to, he will complain.”
“How are
you so sure?”
“I used
to shoot pool with a friend years ago, at the VFW that used to be a pool
hall. Across the street is the diner,
after pool we would go have a night time snack at the diner.”
“Yeah so…”
“So,
every time we went to the diner this guy would order ‘soft scrambled’ eggs. What the Frig are ‘soft scrambled’ eggs? When you scramble the egg, it is either
uncooked and runny, or it is cooked and not runny. What is ‘soft scrambled?’”
“Just barely
cooked?”
“That’s
just it. This was a diner. The chef probably earns a bit over minimum
wage, this is not Bobby Flay behind the grill.
I can just picture him when he gets the order for ‘soft scrambled’.
‘Soft scrambled? I’ll show
you soft scrambled!’”
“How did
the eggs come?”
“Never to
his liking. It was always, ‘look at
this, it’s runny, you call these soft scrambled?’ or ‘these are solid, I
asked for soft scrambled!’”
“So, he
sent them back?”
“Hell no,
he just wanted to complain, no one knows what the Hell ‘soft scrambled’ means. Just like no one knows what you expect when
you order a burger medium well. Trust me
this guy will complain.”
“Your
probably right. Let’s go or we’ll be
late to watch ’90-day Fiancé.’”
Are we the
only ones that listen in to the next table at a restaurant?
Cranky Old Man - Righteous - Keep On Keeping On
ReplyDeleteCheers
All - the - time. My lit'l sis and I even comment on their conversation by building our own conversation around it. In most cases tho, I have to say. Listening to the "next table over" people. They're either very normal every day working schleps with the same issues as everyone else or they're completely stupid. Every now and again you'll get that sweet young love couple that you know saved all of their pennies for the big date... I like to pay for their meals occasionally. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't think so. There might be a blog or two out there talking about a couple discussing medium-well burgers, soft scrambled eggs, and 90-Day Fiance.
ReplyDeletei did not do it until now
ReplyDeletewhenever i am out with family i am always so charge with ideas and chats may be it's because we do it occasionally and i feel excited :)
this was interesting read
scrumbled egg ,yes i was once stuck in situation when my eldest son would say mom egg must be half fry and i never could do it perfectly ,but the reason was that i never wanted to give him half fried egg with fear of salmonella :(
I don't listen to conversation; I MAKE people listen to mine. At a restaurant for instance I would either talk to whoever is with me, or if alone on my cell-phone, just loud enough to be heard. Not too loud to be obnoxious, but loud enough to be interesting. I say, "Yes ... I think XYZ Inc are a good company. Buy as many shares as you can afford before the price goes sky high. Also ABC & Co are worth buying right now. They are about to merge with a firm in the France and open the European markets!"
ReplyDeleteThat certainly keeps people at the next table interested, or other passengers on the train.
You should try it next time you are at a restaurant with Mrs C.
God bless.
My hearing is not great, so I struggle to concentrate on what people are saying at my own table. I have heard of soft scrambled eggs (it's like medium!) but I have never specified how I've wanted me eggs, ever.
ReplyDeleteI always try to listen and observe what is going on around me. I have to be careful not to step in and get involved in something so that's the draw back. Outback used to be our favorite go to place when we lived in Montana, but haven't found that same feel in any of the restaurants in other cities we have lived in. Always enjoyed their happy hour buy one get one wine free (in Montana, no where else).
ReplyDeletebetty
I have a difficult time hearing my husband across from me so not often. But he will if he can. I couldn't care less. But once after one of our American sign language class we had to go to dinner and only sign as our final test. We then heard everyone talking about us because they thought we couldn't hear. It was a friggin' hoot. Especially when I said good bye to the woman who coveted my shoes but felt she couldn't ask since I was deaf. I told her where I got my shoes. I can't tell you the satisfaction this gave me. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt would have to be pretty interesting for me to listen to someone else. I can't remember the last time so I'll have to say no. I ordered a medium steak once and it was raw. I'm not sure it ever hit the broiler.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day, Joe. 😎
Think I would have gotten some coffee just to hear the rest of the story. I don't listen in restaurants but do in doctor's offices or any place where I have to wait.
ReplyDeleteJust the title alone made me laugh--I'm with Patti, I would've hung around to see how that burger turned out! PS. I think I've been asked how I wanted my burger about 5-6 times in my life, I always used to say "Not burnt". Who wants a mushy burger??
ReplyDeleteWe try not to eavesdrop, but sometimes you can't help it. That guy wants to complain.
ReplyDeleteI guess you could crack them in a bowl add a little milk, salt and pepper and beat them real good put butter in a fry pan on low heat and scramble them until they are just soft. He probably wouldn't like them cooked like that, but I do, smile.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to explain, but there is a difference between soft-scrambled and regular scrambled. Soft is that point where the eggs are fully cooked, but dished up immediately and not left to sit in the pan for even a second longer as this extra time "hardens" the set just enough to firm the egg. Any longer and the scrambled eggs are rubbery. If the scrambled eggs are runny, they are either undercooked, too old, (old eggs do not scramble as well as fresh eggs) or too much milk has been used in the mixture, a tactic well known to mothers who had too many mouths and not enough eggs, like my MIL.
ReplyDeleteReading this made me understand why tables and chairs are so far apart where I live. I guess listening in to conversations is a no-no.
ReplyDelete