I have made a promise to myself not to let myself be so unfiltered or negative because I don't want people to make people feel bad. So I will do my best not to do anything like that. I don't want to be that way. I wish there were better dining options where I live. In order to suggest what could be better--I feel like you have to explain what isn't great.
When I go to restaurants in my current hometown, there is a sort of lack of something that I can't ignore. I'm not a foodie. I'm not a restaurant snob. I just like good food. I like to be able to go out to eat with my husband on a date night and enjoy food that was prepared in a way that is unexpected, healthy and more than I could pull off on my own at home.
This past week, a couple my husband and I know from our old neighborhood in Chicago passed through our small town in WI. We went to a specialty, local restaurant. It seems like promoting a restaurant that is local makes sense when you want to see the local economy thrive. It's a little thing each person in town can do to make a big difference. So we went to this local place. Not a truck stop. Not a dive. The prices for each entrée range upward from about $10, which is a little more than Applebee's asks. I figure that for that--there might be a decent chance that the service will be good and food pretty good, too.
We walked in and were seated and left to wait for about 30 minutes. My friend asked a young man if our table was in his section. The young man said, "No". A little while later, he came back and said, "Oh, you were my table," and took our orders. Things went down from there. Long waits. Plates served hotter than you can touch them because they were sitting under lights for so long they nearly turned red. The top of the food was crisped from the lights. We got ignored by the wait staff for almost the rest of the meal. Then, just before bringing over the check, he came to the table and asked us if we had just been to church. Odd and inappropriate--but we made a fair amount of uncomfortable small talk with him and let him get on with his work. My daughter ordered a dessert to go. She ate it at home and it gave her an upset stomach within ten minutes because it was so over the top sugary. I felt bummed out. I want to feel like I spent my money well. I didn't.
Last year, our friend's sister and her family stopped through town on the way to the Twin Cities. We took them to a place by the river. She asked the waiter at the restaurant we took her to if they served real chicken wings or if the wings were processed. The waiter assured her that no, the wings on the menu did look like wings and they were not pre-made, processed wings. When the wings were brought out--they looked like frozen Tyson boneless wings. They didn't look like wings. They looked like chunks of breaded chicken meat that was fried. I was pretty embarrassed for my town. My friend did not enjoy them and I could not blame her. I felt bad for the waiter because there seemed to be a lack of understanding about what a real chicken wing looks like before it is processed. It wasn't a lie. I think the person just didn't know.
Last night, my husband and I got a babysitter and went out for dinner. Again, local. We went to one of the places in town that people rave about and seem to consistently love. The waiter told us that the drink special was ginger beer plus some spirit to make it a specialty cocktail. I asked if I could order just the ginger beer. He asked his boss and came back with an apology. The ginger beer was only for customers who were drinking the alcoholic beverage and not for those who do not want the added alcohol. Ridiculous, in my opinion--but I shrugged it off.
We ordered an appetizer that we have ordered before and that we enjoy. Often, when friends ask us to eat at this restaurant--we simply order this appetizer and skip the meals. The waiter brought it out and it was about half as much as they normally bring. This was our date night and we were still hungry--so I ordered a meal that people have told me is consistently good. It was about $20 for a plate of vermicelli, a tiny amount of thinly sliced and shredded Canadian bacon, bread crumbs, butter, maybe a dash of cheese and a fried egg on top. I tried not to overthink the thing--but I know that the restaurant was making a profit on that and I was disappointed with the lack of flavor.
My husband ordered a non-alcoholic beer and the waiter took it away half full and went all the way to the back and then came back to our table and said, "Oh, wow--sorry. I didn't see that you were not done with this," and plunked down the half full bottle that he said he couldn't pour into a glass because they were out of frosted glasses. In a normal situation (to my thinking) he might have brought out a new one, maybe? He could have offered an unfrosted glass. I have been a waitress. I feel like it has ruined me as a customer in a restaurant. We wanted to order dessert--but the desserts were all gone. We arrived at 6pm for dinner--so I don't know how that happened--but it was a bummer. It was like they weren't expecting customers last night.
A local person we know came over to our table, greeted us and told my husband while we were dining that she loves what he writes on fb and turned her back to me while she talked to him exclusively. She said she doesn't post or use fb or click 'like'--but wanted to tell him in person. (When we got home, we saw that she posted twice about being at the restaurant while in the restaurant--which made me laugh.) It was uncomfortable for me. She has been to our home and we have spent time together but I'm not a local celebrity like my husband appears to be to some. He is attorney. I stay at home and take care of the kids. That sometimes makes other women in town either align with you if they also stay home--or act like you don't exist if they have careers. I can't say what made her act that way--maybe it wasn't about me at all--but it was awkward. The time I ran in to her before that was at a grocery store and I chirped out a "hello" and was greeted with a "half of a hi" according to my daughters. They said it was what people do when they don't like you. I knew that already. Just felt bad that my daughters had to see that.
Then our neighbors saw us and chatted us up about funny things and we laughed so much it helped me get over all of that. I am glad I know people who are from here and people who are not from here and who don't need to make me earn a full, "Hello" from them. I give my full "Hellos" out pretty freely regardless. I can't help it if others don't.
So here is what I wish my town had--a nice, clean well-lit place. Charge me $35 if you are serving expertly cooked lamb chops or something. Don't be ridiculous about your prices for a meal that requires little skill and almost nothing in ingredients. Don't offer a drink as your special and refuse to make a non-alcoholic version. I would love a place to eat a good meal for a reasonable price or even a high price if it makes sense. Put some thought in to the décor. Don't just hang as many paintings and pictures as you can find in a thrift store. More does not always mean better. Make the atmosphere comfortable. Think about what music you play and how people will feel when they are listening to "Never Going to Give You Up" by Rick Astley or Cher's "If I Could Turn Back Time" as they are eating your food. Will it remind them of sitting at the doctor's office or of being in an elevator? I don't want to sit on seats that wobble or hurt and be charged $100. I also don't want to sink into a booth with broken springs in the cushions. I'd rather go to Applebee's or Denny's or Perkin's. The food won't be special, but I will know what I am getting in to when I go and I won't feel like I'm getting ripped off.
I want the local economy to grow. I am all about supporting local business. I just feel lousy when local business doesn't try very hard and expects me to pay for more than they are giving. They act like they don't have to try hard because they have just enough of the local population to count on whether they do or they don't.
There are a lot of places in town that do seem to care about how they treat customers and what kind of business they run. I wish that there were more places like the Golden Leaf. Locally owned, nice place to be and not a rip off. It's well managed and the quality is consistent. I wish they served dinner. On a holiday morning, I had already cooked the evening meal and prepared everything but the breakfast and so in a rush, I drove through the Golden Leaf drive through and ordered a dozen Golden Muffins for my family and our overnight guests. They sold them to me and then the next time I went through, the owner said she wasn't pleased with the quality of that batch and insisted that I take another. I thought they were fine--but she didn't. She has won my loyalty forever.
The others? Meh. They don't need me. They don't need to seek my half hearted approval of the food or the dining experience they provide. They have all the customers they need. I can drive in to Eau Claire or St. Paul when I really want good food for dinner.
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