There are some unusual requests that restaurant patrons have made while I was serving them. This weekend was a prime example of odd requests.
Our caprese salad is spinach, tomatos, mozzarella, and some dressings. One woman wanted it with basil leaves instead of spinach, and her dining companion wanted it with no green at all.
One of our steaks can be done with teriyaki sauce and noodles. A man wanted it seasoned with teriyaki but no noodles.
We have an adult portion of chicken tenders as well as a kid’s portion. We have an adult grilled chicken dinner and a kid’s portion. One girl ordered two of the children’s portions because that was cheaper (by $1) than the adult dinner.
When a guest ordered one of our hottest buffalo sauces, I warned him that it would be very spicy. He asked “Can you make it less hot?” The answer I wanted to give was, “Yes, by tossing your wings in a different sauce,” but all I said was, “No, sorry. Do you want to choose a different sauce?”
People put ranch on the oddest things. I do not like ranch dressing at all, so perhaps it does go with more than I think. Here are things that have “needed” ranch in the past: cheese steak sub, BBQ bacon cheeseburger, fish sandwich, pierogies, and nachos. Likewise, mayo apparently goes with everything. People enjoy it with buffalo chicken sandwiches and cheese steaks as well as their hamburgers.
Fruit is a tough request because anything other than a lemon requires that I go to the bar. I’ve been asked for cherries with water and limes with sodas, but oranges only with beers. I realize those aren’t unusual requests, but sometimes the number required is extreme. I’ve watched people squirt four and five slices of orange into their beer (I could have just brought them orange juice instead of the beer). It is not uncommon for someone to ask for three or four lemons or limes to go with their beverage.
I’m not going to get started on alcoholic requests. People develop a liking for a particular drink, and they want THAT specific drink. And people order their “usual” drink as if I were their usual waitress who brought that unusual drink to them several times a week. For example, “Absolute Citron martini with three olives, sugar on the rim.” Or I’d like a mojito, but I only want it if it’s really sweet, and I want there to look like a jungle of mint in there, so put lots of mint in it.” It takes me a few moments to write such an order to make sure I get it correct; I will get an ear-full if it’s not their usual.
And the time element is what is toughest about these usual requests because it takes me time to get these correct. I have to ask the chefs, ask the bartenders, run to get the extra ranch, etc. And while I’m processing weird requests, I am not doing the other things I should be doing at my other tables.
