It’s Not ‘Rocket’ Science

My mom and I stop at an Italian restaurant for a late lunch. We get the same thing: cannelloni classico al forno. The description of the dish is as follows (I copied this from the website): Lasagne with an aromatic minced beef and tomato sauce, onions, carrots and celery.

The food arrives about fifteen to twenty minutes after we order, and both plates are full of arugula. It is mixed in with the sauce, and there is more of it heaped on top of the dish.

Neither my mom nor I like arugula, but the kitchen is about to close for lunch, and the long green strands of arugula are easy enough to pick out of the dish. No big deal; we simply pile it on the napkins and eat our food.

Fast forward to later in the year. My company decides to have their Christmas party at this restaurant. I again order the cannelloni (they were excellent!), but this time I specifically tell the waiter to have it made without arugula.

Waiter: “There is no arugula in the dish.”

Me: “I ordered them last time, and there was a lot of arugula.”

The waiter points to the description in the menu where they don’t mention any arugula.

Me: “Great, so it shouldn’t be a problem to leave it out then.”

The food starts arriving, and guess what is all over my lovely cannelloni? Yes, the arugula that is neither mentioned in the menu nor supposed to be in it, according to the waiter.

So, I call him back to complain about the arugula, and he is very apologetic and takes my dish away to have it prepared anew. Of course, this means I’m sitting there waiting as my coworkers enjoy their food, so I decide to use the chance to head to the bathroom.

As I walk past the hallway that leads to the kitchen, I hear the slightly raised voice of the waiter as he says:

Waiter: “You’re not [famous German TV chef]! You put in exactly what it says on the menu and nothing else. If you want to be creative, take up painting!”