I have just spent a week in the US to visit my customer’s, it is a round of lunches and dinner’s. The United States has so much choice it is overwhelming. On of the games I play is to try to order breakfast without having to be asked a question, “two eggs over easy, sausage, hash browns coffee and orange juice please.” “What sort of toast sir, white brown or sour dough?” ... failed again.
One Customer picked me up from the airport and on the way to the office we stopped at a drive through coffee shop, the fact that they have Drive Through coffee shops was amazing enough but the choice was endless. “Coffee or tea”, “large medium or small” (in that order), “How many shots”, “what sort of syrup”. “Full fat or skinny milk” etc. etc. I asked for a medium cappuccino and the assistant was waiting for the rest of the order, I said “just a medium cappuccino”, it took a while before she understood that I just wanted a plain Medium Cappuccino with nothing else. For lunch we went to a Pasta Bar, on the wall is a list of ingredients and sauces. The first question was “which three ingredients?” after some thought I went for Chicken, Mushrooms and peppers Then a few moments later “what sauce do you want?” I went for cream sauce, then it was “what sort of pasta?” I have no idea what the shapes of past are called... its all just pasta to me. I was reduced to pointing. Then finally “parmesan cheese?“ What I really wanted was a menu which I could pick a meal that suited me. I am not a chef I don’t want to assemble the food myself..... let the professional’s do it.
The next day I was in a different restaurant with a different client. I was ordering steak; the meet in the Midwest is the best in the world. I was asked how I would like it cooked and asked for “medium rare” “we can’t do that sir, will medium do?” I asked why not and was told that there was an increased chance of food poisoning from eating uncooked meat and this particular restaurant did not allow medium rare in case you became ill and sued them foe serving undercooked meat.
Choice when you don’t want it and no choice when you do. It is these sort of oddities that I love about the US!!
