(no subject)

-tap tap tap- This thing on?

Restaurant protocol

It's a pretty normal part of American restaurant protocol for the waiter to ask me, midway through the meal, how I like the food. Unfortunately, this is a dishonest question. The question isn't really asking my opinion of the meal in any fine-grain sense; it's just trying to figure out if I've have been served acceptably. The usual answer is that the food is fine, or good, and if I really am enjoying the meal I'll usually answer happily. The other answer is that a terrible mistake has been made: the chicken is undercooked, the side dish is spoiled, or there's a fly in the soup.

Of course, all of those are things that the diner should have noticed and pointed out to the waiter before they get back to ask of their own accord, so the question doesn't really serve any purpose.

There's no room in this protocol for me to say "Well, the fish is rubbery, the vegetables are limpid, the potatos clearly came out of a box, but I didn't really expect any better. The beer is good, though."

I should have had more beer and less food, and avoided that body-tingling twitch that I get when I eat too much grease without enjoying it.