# Damnit, she's only 18 months old, she's gonna touch that hot plate no matter what you say! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 8, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306 "2012-05-08T18:53:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/281 "2012-05-14T10:25:30Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > Uh, no. Once again, all the restaurant is offering is food brought to your table Then why should I tip the waitress? I should be tipping the fucking chef, if the waitress isn’t providing me with a valued service. > [@](#): > > They are not offering to babysit your children, or keep them safe from anything that is commonly found at a restaurant. “Age Appropriate Service” =/= “Babysitting” Nor does it equal “Mind Reading” nor “Bending Time and Space to Magically Create a Clear Spot on the Table” It’s a service mindset. You have this creature in a high chair. It’s small, stupid, easily injured, has a giant cry-hole in the front, and is probably the single most important thing in the world for two people you’re counting on for a significant part of your day’s wages. Treat it that way. Kimstu, at the risk of you calling me a whiner, you do realize that (unless they ordered fajitas\*) the parents have no idea that the platter is going to be hot until the waiter brings it. Thus, the need for the waiter to communicate with his customer before putting the platter down, he has information that they don’t. Once he does say something, then the patrons should act immediately to clear an appropriate space for the platter, and rearrange the table as necessary. \*If it fajitas, the waiter shouldn’t put the sizzling hot cast iron pan down in front of a toddler for any reason, even if the parent demands it. At that point, it’s “fuck the parent, I’m not going to put some little kid in harms way just because you’re ignorant uncaring assholes.” ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/282 "2012-05-14T10:25:55Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > You are a parent. You shouldn’t expect anyone to have the same level of concern for your child’s safety that you do. These are such bizarre replies. One generally has a certain minimal level of concern for the safety of all children, such that one does not put burning hot objects before them. ---
**Author:** ![Uber\_the\_Goober](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/58956e/32.png) [@Uber\_the\_Goober](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uber_the_Goober)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/283 "2012-05-14T11:43:28Z")
[QUOTE=curlcoat] \ stuff, things, and mouth-noises \ [/QUOTE] I do believe you are subconsciously a troll. I can’t fathom how anybody could be so blatantly ignorant of so much at the same time…I could be wrong, and I’m not going to provide cites, but I think I’ve even seen your ignorance contradict itself on occasion. You are now my entertainment. I like watching teh stupid once I’ve determined that it is in fact stupid, and not merely misguided. Oh, and you are a smelly, slimy, self-lubricated, malformed and misshapen mandingo fuckstick. (Just wanted to squeeze that in there…That’s what she said!) ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/284 "2012-05-14T11:58:29Z")
> [@echo6160](#): > > (Just wanted to squeeze that in there…That’s what she said!) Would have been funnier if you edited your post, added in the first half of the parentheses, and then put TWSS as the edit reason. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/285 "2012-05-14T13:48:51Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Threads about minor irritations whose premises can be interpreted in two slightly but crucially different ways to shift the onus of responsibility for the minor irritation from one presumably well-meaning and mostly harmless party to another presumably well-meaning and mostly harmless party are Doper crack. None can resist. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/286 "2012-05-14T13:53:13Z")
> [@scratch\_llll](#): > > Really? Surely it can’t be common either since I’ve not met one in my half century on the planet. I guess we’re having different life experiences. That’s okay. 🙂 > [@](#): > > Then again I wouldn’t have said it was common to meet people who think it’s okay to burn a child if the parents are inattentive either. \ That’s your take-away from this thread, eh? Okey dokey. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/287 "2012-05-14T14:33:25Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > These are such bizarre replies. > > One generally has a certain minimal level of concern for the safety of all children, such that one does not put burning hot objects before them. Expectations are inherently low for any thread that consists mainly of people shouting “waiters should know not to sear my defenseless baby’s flesh with a branding iron!” and “yeah, well waiters are too busy to dress in a Barney costume and be godfather/mother to your special needs brat!” at each other. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/288 "2012-05-14T15:43:30Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > I guess I don’t tend to frequent those places - do you live in the southwest? It could be a regional thing. OTOH, since I am never dining with a child that would need a highchair, I probably wouldn’t know if any given restaurant offered them or crayons. Unless I’m on the road, I don’t tend to go to restaurants that have kids menus. Northeast, so perhaps it’s regional; however, I don’t recall any problems finding restaurants with high chairs on my last trip out to California in the late 1990s, and I was spending a lot of time with my 2yr-old niece who would still have been in a high chair. > [@](#): > > That seems extremely stupid. You are giving a being without the ability to deal with silverware or hot plates access to a table that almost always will not have enough room to keep all those things away from it? It is what it is. The benefit of the non-tray chairs is that they will also hold a infant car seat, and presumably those restaurants purchasing that type of chair are okay with that clientele. Those chairs also take up much less room, leaving more room for waiters to walk through and not trip up, and it seems to me that most places that have them have tables with adequate room unless one is ordering an appetizer for every person or something equally ludicrous (said with love, since my favorite Mexican place does tend to cause me to stress-test the table with plates that must also be kept out of the reach of the kid due to temperature.). ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/289 "2012-05-14T15:58:39Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > These are such bizarre replies. > > One generally has a certain minimal level of concern for the safety of all children, such that one does not put burning hot objects before them. Friend **Frylock** , I’m a little baffled why my response there was bizarre. The OP agreed with me on that point. I doubt you expect others to have the same degree of concern for your children that you do. I didn’t want to join in the feces flinging now that this thread is in the monkey cage, but you and I seem to be able to interact even when we have diametrically opposed cosmologies, so I hope you’ll clarify for me as if we were in a reasonably sane forum. My entire point worth discussing is that a parent has to take responsibility for the well being of their child whether the rest of the world behaves rationally or not. They have to assume the best waitperson will accidentally put a hot plate within reach of their child, so there is no additional effort required by the parent even if the world was filled with considerate and intelligent people performing menial tasks for sub-minimum wage. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/290 "2012-05-14T16:01:08Z")
I have been watching this train wreck for a while and the thing that really strikes me is that even the more expensive/adult centric places now have high chairs and crayons. You see, parents will bring their kids anywhere. So, the server might only see one kid a night. In a fairly upscale place, they are focussing on the service to the adults. The lower bar being high chairs and crayons seems the wrong line in this day and age. ---
**Author:** ![BottledBlondJeanie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/0ea827/32.png) [@BottledBlondJeanie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BottledBlondJeanie)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/291 "2012-05-14T16:01:42Z")
I apologize if it’s already been addressed, but fajitas don’t sizzle because the plate is hot. It’s the ‘sauce.’ Of course I have no idea what you do at home, but this is true for all of the chain restaurants I’m aware of. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/292 "2012-05-14T16:03:45Z")
What “sauce”? ---
**Author:** ![BottledBlondJeanie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/0ea827/32.png) [@BottledBlondJeanie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BottledBlondJeanie)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/293 "2012-05-14T16:22:52Z")
It’s usually just hot oil dumped on the skillet immediately before serving. It makes those lovely sounds when it comes into contact with the water in the food. Mind you the skillets are hot, but they’re not causing that sound. The chains do this for liability reasons. I’m sure there are some smaller places that do heat the plates up to get that kind of sizzle, but think of the cost/benefit analysis for large chains… ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/294 "2012-05-14T16:26:40Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Friend **Frylock** , I’m a little baffled why my response there was bizarre. The OP agreed with me on that point. I doubt you expect others to have the same degree of concern for your children that you do. > > I didn’t want to join in the feces flinging now that this thread is in the monkey cage, but you and I seem to be able to interact even when we have diametrically opposed cosmologies, so I hope you’ll clarify for me as if we were in a reasonably sane forum. > > My entire point worth discussing is that a parent has to take responsibility for the well being of their child whether the rest of the world behaves rationally or not. They have to assume the best waitperson will accidentally put a hot plate within reach of their child, so there is no additional effort required by the parent even if the world was filled with considerate and intelligent people performing menial tasks for sub-minimum wage. No one disputes that. The OP just wants to rant about the fact that some people who should know better are putting him in a position to have to exercise that responsibility on so many occasions. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/295 "2012-05-14T16:28:59Z")
Every restaurant I worked in, fajita skillets were hot. Just before they went out you put on some lemon juice/water to make the sound. Never saw hot oil being used on a cold skillet, and kinda doubt the sizzle would reach the table if you did it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/296 "2012-05-14T16:43:15Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Kimstu, at the risk of you calling me a whiner, you do realize that (unless they ordered fajitas\*) the parents have no idea that the platter is going to be hot until the waiter brings it. Thus, the need for the waiter to communicate with his customer before putting the platter down, he has information that they don’t. Once he does say something, then the patrons should act immediately to clear an appropriate space for the platter, and rearrange the table as necessary. Unless you’ve all ordered salads, I think it makes sense to assume that **anything** a server might bring you at a restaurant could possibly be uncomfortably hot or otherwise inappropriate or dangerous for your toddler to be grabbing. Therefore, common sense and courtesy to the server both dictate that it’s on the adult patrons to clear some table space **outside** the “toddler zone” **before** the food arrives. Don’t expect your server just to stand there holding a bunch of plates while you conduct negotiations about table clearance that you should have taken care of beforehand: it’s inefficient and thoughtless. And yes, a server should certainly always warn the patrons about extra-hot plates no matter where on the table they’re putting them. No whining citations issued. ---
**Author:** ![BottledBlondJeanie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/0ea827/32.png) [@BottledBlondJeanie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BottledBlondJeanie)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/297 "2012-05-14T16:44:34Z")
Don’t dispute that the plates are hot, just not that hot. But, perhaps you worked for a franchisee who has yet to be tagged for this. Sorry for the hijack. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/298 "2012-05-14T16:45:06Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > No one disputes that. The OP just wants to rant about the fact that some people who should know better are putting him in a position to have to exercise that responsibility on so many occasions. I appreciate that. If you read the whole thread, and look at my summary after the thread moved here, you’ll see that the OP contributed briefly to the train wreck, then pulled back. Other’s decided to keep beating the dead horse. The nature of what one feels is rant-worthy is a discussion of interest, in some other venue. It is unfortunate that he did not hear from anyone of a like mind early on. I hadn’t noticed that I was joining a pile on right away. My nature is generally to take the side of the guy facing unfair odds. But at some point I was just responding to those who felt that assuming responsibility for your own child is somehow child-hating. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/299 "2012-05-14T16:54:46Z")
> [@BottledBlondJeanie](#): > > Don’t dispute that the plates are hot, just not that hot. But, perhaps you worked for a franchisee who has yet to be tagged for this. Sorry for the hijack. If Safety Nazis like the OP get their way, in five years all we’re gonna get with fajitas is a waiter going “_ssssss_” into his cupped hand! _\_ ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/300 "2012-05-14T17:24:21Z")
> [@BottledBlondJeanie](#): > > It’s usually just hot oil dumped on the skillet immediately before serving. It makes those lovely sounds when it comes into contact with the water in the food. Mind you the skillets are hot, but they’re not causing that sound. > > The chains do this for liability reasons. I’m sure there are some smaller places that do heat the plates up to get that kind of sizzle, but think of the cost/benefit analysis for large chains… I don’t eat in chains that much, as there are a gazillion Mexican/TexMex restaurants around here that are excellent and not part of a chain. Every one of them keeps their fajita skillets in an oven of some sort, and the food is placed on the skillet just before serving. Any oil is from when the food was cooked. The liquid is generally either from the veggies sweating, or from lemon juice which was placed on the food as it was plated. Skilleted. Whatever. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306.md?page=16)