Location: Uno Chicago Grill, Queens, NY
I wanted to tell you about a man and his mother who are regulars at the restaurant.
The man is in his late 40's to early 50's. He comes in with his elderly mother and sits at the same table - every time. He finds the server immediately and orders two cups of Sierra Mist, a vegetable soup, boneless wings with no sauce, our smallest steak, and two sides of mashed potatoes. He then pays and tips the server quite nicely... and then leaves his mother there. Mind you, this woman doesn't speak a word of English.
The first thing I was curious about... why does he order two cups of Sierra Mist when the refills are free? The answer: one is used for soaking her dentures.
She began to eat the soup just fine. When it came time to eat her boneless wings, she peeled the breading off as if they were peanuts and sucked the chicken out from the inside (EWW). It was a slow morning in the restaurant and I was so caught up in the way she was eating these wings, I spent about twenty minutes just staring at her in complete disgust. That's when it dawned on me... this woman's next course was a well-done, eight ounce steak. I could not even imagine how she would tackle this. I thought perhaps that soaking her teeth in sugar-laden Sierra Mist must somehow make them strong enough for her to be able to chew steak. I gave the steak to her then hid behind a wall for a while just watching her attempt at eat.
She first cut the steak into small pieces... without eating any of the meat, she moved on to her mashed potatoes. After a few bites, she fell asleep. Her son picked her up almost three hours later (one hour after shift change, of course). He actually asked if she was being good. I went and told one of the other servers the story, and before I could finish he replied, "Oh yeah, table 63? Apparently we're cheaper than a nursing home."
Thanks for another stellar tale supporting why we enjoy our jobs!
Props to you, Selma!
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