Are You Kidding Me?!

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I'll start by saying it was a good food day for me. Woke up hungry and decided to go out for breakfast. "Restaurant X or Restaurant Y?," I asked Sedona. She was silent on the matter as she knew her goldenness would not be joining me. I ended up at Restaurant "Y" simply out of habit. Wrong choice. Sat up at the bar since it was just li'l ol' me, which provided a front-seat view to the food line. The waitress had my coffee and water out faster than a Texas two-step. My order: one egg over easy, hash browns, crispy bacon, and a fruit cup. 

You might be thinking I'm about to say it took forever to get my order. To the contrary. It was out very quickly. Here's why Restaurant Y was the really, really wrong choice this morning: Between sips of coffee and reading the newspaper I watched in utter horror as the manager hoisted himself up onto a food table! I WAS FLABBERGASTED. He had his dirty, nasty honkin' shoes on a food table that held bins of sausage gravy, mashed potatoes, and whatever else was ladled out of there and served up to customers.

I watched in jaw-dropping disbelief with him STANDING ON A FOOD TABLE to install a new paper roll into the little machine that kicks out orders to the kitchen crew. He finally jumped down and walked away. He neither sanitized the counter, asked an employee to clean the station, or apologized to customers for the completely unacceptable and unsanitary condition he created.

Total lack of understanding about food safety and customer service. Jones would have been apoplectic over such a food sanitation violation!

Lucky for me that didn't totally spoil my appetite, although my order was so-so at best. The manager's actions definitely had me wondering what other unsanitary food practices could be going on that I didn't personally witness.

Now on to the day's more tasty food adventure: The thought of a good steak cooked medium rare has been on my mind. So, I called up Outback Steakhouse and placed a take-out order for a 6 oz. filet, side of steamed broccoli, and a baked potato with extra butter and sour cream. Brought it home and dined al fresco. A truly wonderful, delightful meal accompanied by a small glass of a favorite Sirah -- Petite Petit from Michael David winery.

There you have my gastronomic gadabouting for Saturday, June 23. 

June 23, 2008

Oh, and Happy Anniversary to my sweet niece, Amy, and her darling Jude!