07.05.08
Lunch at Ruby Tuesday
Today I was out and about running a few errands before I stopped in to visit a local Barnes & Noble book store. There are ten of these stores within twenty-five miles of my home. This particular Barnes & Noble is the only one out of these ten that has a poetry group that meets on a monthly basis to share their poetry. I’m going to attend an open mic poetry reading Monday, July 7, 2008 in the evening. I’ll be new to the group, but I’m excited to be given the opportunity to share my poetry with some fellow poets and writers. I suffer from a bit of “stage fright” but this is supposed to be a small group so I’m hopeful I won’t freeze up, we’ll see. I wanted to get a feel for the lay of the land and spent about an hour browsing the different book sections. I bought a copy of “3XCARLIN AN ORGY of GEORGE” by George Carlin from the clearance table for $11.68 with my 10% off. I think George would have approved.
Before I drove to the book store I stopped in for lunch at a Ruby Tuesday across the street. I was seated immediately and after the waiter gave me the menu I ordered a glass of “freshly” brewed unsweetened iced tea. I decided to check out the salad bar. It was your typical salad bar with your typical offerings, but everything looked fresh so I took a plate and created my salad. When I returned to my table my “freshly” brewed unsweetened iced tea was waiting for me. I added one sugar packet, stirred until it was dissolved then tasted it, too bitter. I added another sugar packet, stirred, still too bitter. After I had added a total of four sugar packets there were no more and the tea was still too bitter.
When the waiter returned I asked for more sugar. He returned with a plate of about fifteen sugar packets. After four more sugar packets, the tea was drinkable. Now I don’t have a sweet tooth and this certainly wasn’t the “sweet tea” customarily served by restaurants in the south, not by a long shot. I literally use a pinch of sugar in a cup of coffee and I drink about one and a half pots of coffee a day. I asked the waiter how long ago the tea had been brewed and whether the tea bags were still in the container he obtained my glass from. He didn’t know. I suggested he check, as I had to add eight teaspoons of sugar to make the tea drinkable. My salad had barely any flavor and the blue cheese dressing must have literally been made just before it was put out. It tasted like sour cream and mayonnaise unless I bit into the rare chunk of blue cheese I encountered. It was a perfect match to my “fresh” iced tea. When I left, my glass was half full, no refills.
So what’s with the “freshly” brewed iced tea at Ruby Tuesday? Haven’t they heard that real blue cheese dressing contains Worcestershire Sauce and a touch of lemon juice, or that it requires the use of an electric mixer or blender?
The highlight of my day, “AN ORGY of GEORGE”.