Smorgasbord #35
Decent Human Beings, Idea Man & Highball, Rickey, Collins
Hello friends! This is Smorgasbord, a self-service buffet of ideas—the Costco hot dog of newsletters.
As I write these lines
is attending a homeschooling conference in Southern California, which means I’m flying solo until Sunday morning. My goal is to keep everybody alive and keep the tantrums to a minimum for kids and adults. Diana works hard to keep our home running, and even though she’s going to this conference to learn, I hope some time away helps recharge her batteries.Alright, let’s get on with it.
Decent Human Beings
Diana and I try to go on dates every other week. Sometimes, we go on lunch dates; sometimes, we go out at night. We also try our best to be decent human beings while interacting with the wait staff; after all, they handle our food, and I don’t want any, how to say it, contaminants in it.
But let’s face it: there are people who work in the hospitality industry whose faces look like the patron is their mortal enemy. And sometimes, even if you’re trying to be a decent human being, you’ll encounter another human who may have had a bad day (giving them the benefit of the doubt), and you have a less-than-average experience.
Let’s start with a positive one, though. We went out to lunch at The Thirsty Lion during Arizona Restaurant Week. Their three-course meal was $33, which is a great deal. We got spicy cauliflower for our appetizer, a carnitas salad, and a creme brulee for dessert. Everything was delicious.
Our waitress had curly red hair, and I told Diana she looked like Merida from Brave. When we got our check, Diana asked our waitress if anyone had ever told her she looked like a Disney princess. She replied that since Brave came out, everyone told her she should be Merida for Halloween. Still, she couldn’t get a proper Merida dress until a patron gave her the perfect dress for her costume.
That’s a remarkable story to hear; talk about a great tip for a waitress. “How did you do on tips today?” “Great! Someone gave me a cool dress!” After our little exchange, she told us that she appreciated us making small talk, and she said that some people don’t even keep eye contact when ordering, let alone use words like please or thank you. She told us to sit in her section the next time we went there. I forgot her name, so I’ll ask if we can sit in Merida’s section.
Our less-than-average experience happened at Copper Blues during Dueling Pianos night. It was a very different setting; it was dark and loud, which we didn’t mind at first. But then five minutes passed, ten minutes, fifteen minutes, and nobody came over to take our drink order. I waved to a waitress and asked if she could tell whoever had our table that we were ready to order drinks. The waitress I talked to returned and said the person who had our table “forgot” it was hers and that she would be with us in a minute.
This bar has maybe two dozen beers on tap, and I understand that sometimes they run out of some of them. They were out of my first and second choice, and when we asked, “What do you have?” our waitress looked very inconvenienced. I ended up having a Stone IPA; it was okay. There are two menus on the table: one black-and-white on copy paper and one all-color on glossy paper. We tried ordering food from the glossy menu: denied! The kitchen had a limited menu that night, a.k.a. the black-and-white copy paper. Okay, we could’ve deduced that, but if I were a waiter, I would have started the conversation with the beers they were out of and the food available to avoid frustrations on both parties.
We still had a good time, and the chicken nachos we ordered were okay, but we didn’t stay for a second round of drinks like we usually do and instead went for a nightcap at a cocktail bar where we’re chummy with the main bartender.
Idea Man
If you have read Smorgasbord for a while, you know I’m a sucker for documentaries. Disney+ released Jim Henson: Idea Man, and since I like The Muppets very much, I watched it. It did not disappoint.
I had forgotten that Jim Henson died at 53 in 1990; that’s 34 years ago. I grew up watching The Muppet Babies in Spanish, and then Plaza Sesamo, the Mexican (or rather Latin American) version of Sesame Street, came out. There’s even a Plaza Sesamo amusement park in my hometown, which was all the rage in the 90s. My younger sisters had birthday parties there, and it was terrific.
Little by little, I started discovering the movies. The Muppets Take Manhattan is one of my favorites. Still, I also like the original The Muppet Movie, Muppet Treasure Island, and A Muppet Christmas Carol (a staple during the Christmas season), as well as the Christmas Specials that you can only find on Youtube.
Jim Henson voiced characters like Kermit, Ernie, The Swedish Chef, Dr. Teeth, Waldorf, and Rowlf. And he probably came up with ideas and stories for the whole gang. If you see the progression of his work from Sesame Street to The Muppets, to Fraggle Rock, and then Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. He wanted to push the envelope and innovate in his field.
He even left detailed instructions about what he wanted for his funeral. If you haven’t watched it, grab a box of Kleenex and click here; you can thank me later.
I think I like The Muppets so much because it takes me back to my childhood when I was learning what I found funny, and consequently, it has shaped my sense of humor. On top of that, coming up with goofy voices and silly situations to make someone else laugh seems like the best investment of time. I enjoy making my kids laugh, and I’ve gotten big belly laughs by taking through a stuffed animal.
My daughter said this week we should watch a Muppet movie with the puppets we have at home so they learn how to do things, and that idea alone filled my heart so much because it was all hers. I’m looking forward to our muppet movie night.
Highball, Rickey, Collins
Last week, I told you about The Americano. Because my brain works the way it does, I started thinking about drinks with soda in them and realized there are three very similar yet different styles of drinks that include soda as one of their main ingredients.
The first is the highball, which consists of ice, a base spirit, and a carbonated drink. A prime example is the Whiskey Highball, also known in Mexico as “jaibol.” The Whiskey Highball was the official drink of Mexican weddings in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and it probably still is. Usually made with Buchanan’s Scotch and Topo Chico mineral water, it goes down easy and tastes great. Other examples of this category are the Old Faithful Gin & Tonic, Vodka Soda, and Rum & Coke. I guess hard seltzers would fall into this category.
If you add lime juice to your base spirit and soda, it becomes a Rickey. The Joe Rickey cocktail, named after Colonel Joseph Kerr “Joe” Rickey, consisted of Bourbon, lime juice, and club soda, but you may be more acquainted with the Gin Rickey. I have been drinking Mezcal Rickeys, and highly recommended. It’s as easy as squeezing half a lime in a tall glass with ice, adding two ounces of your favorite spirit, and topping with seltzer, club soda, or what you have.
If you switch the lime for lemon and add sugar, it becomes a Collins! The most famous one is, of course, Tom Collins. Add two ounces of London Dry Gin, one ounce of lemon juice, and half an ounce of simple syrup to a Collins glass. Fill with ice, top with club soda and stir.
There you have it—three very easy options for you to try at home with things you probably already have that can make you a nice long drink that you can enjoy this weekend. Make yourself one. You made it to Friday; you deserve it.
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Sobremesa
In your opinion, which restaurant has the best service ever? And the worst?
What’s your favorite Muppet character?
Would you consider Diet Cokagne a Highball?
Have a lovely weekend!
-W
I think chick Fil a gas the best service consistently. I don't have a worst per day, but having worked in the service industry with my family's business, bad service is very frustrating.
Picking a favorite Muppet is extremely difficult. I loved Miss Piggy growing up, but Kermit is such an icon. Also honorable mention to Gonzo for being the narrator in Muppet Christmas Carol, and to Grover for traveling the world and teaching us about other cultures.
Sadly, because of what I do for a living, I know a lot more about what employees do in restaurants, care homes, nurseries and shops than I would really like. Just this week I asked a client if they needed a knives policy (use of knives, I.e. not throwing them at each other) in their new employment contract! People often treat those who serve them in any capacity as lower than low, but they're just human beings earning a living. Being nice to people requires little effort but can make a real difference.