# Incredibly bad and weird experiences at restaurants **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 30, 2015, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040 "2015-09-30T14:25:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/381 "2015-10-08T19:30:31Z")
> [@saje](#): > > There’s a difference too I think between horseradish spice and hot peppers spice. > > I’m a wuss when it comes to spicy hot peppers, I find jalapenos too spicy. But I love radishes (some are pepperier than others) and horseradish, onions and even plain black pepper. And too oftern the spice/heat is all there is, I like a tiny touch of heat to accent flavor, not have my skin peeled off my face. Yeah, extremely spicy food often has no flavor other than HOT. And it blows out your palate, so you’re not tasting anything else non-hot in your meal – but I love jalapenos. I like their flavor. I like a nice blend of spicy and flavorful. I have no interest in bragging about how hot a dish I can eat. Who really cares? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/382 "2015-10-08T19:53:20Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I still remember my good friend when I was a child (Irish girl) freaking out because she ate something she found hot, and drinking glass after glass of water, tears coming out of her eyes, etc. > > The item in question? A radish. Some of them can be extremely powerful, especially if they were harvested after they started to bolt. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/383 "2015-10-08T20:00:26Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > [Adventures with Mac and Cheese](https://youtu.be/ovD178AhhSc) This video is no longer on You Tube due to copyright issues. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/384 "2015-10-08T20:05:05Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > This video is no longer on You Tube due to copyright issues. “It’s famous… it’s viral… it’s going to make me RICH!” “Hello? Hello?” ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/385 "2015-10-08T21:00:24Z")
Not exactly a restaurant story, but a good takeout sandwich shop story none the less: Years ago, my dad told me of the time he and his co-workers got sandwiches at a local eatery and took them to the park on lunch break. They all unwrapped their sandwiches and started eating them with gusto, while shooting the breeze, not paying much attention to what they were putting in their mouths. All of a sudden, Joe, the guy sitting across from dad groaned and turned white as a sheet. He’d eaten half of his corned beef on rye, the other half dropped to the table. The corned beef was crawling with maggots. The guys tried to convince Joe that the maggots were probably just on the half he hadn’t eaten, but he knew better. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/386 "2015-10-08T21:47:36Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > This video is no longer on You Tube due to copyright issues. Lots of returns if you google Mac and Cheese arrested drunk Luke Gatti ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/387 "2015-10-08T21:59:12Z")
I googled the kid’s name (Luke Gatti). Apparently, the incident happened at the University of Connecticut and [he was expelled](http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/266063/luke-gatti-expelled-uconn-mac-and-cheese-tantrum/) as a result. The article also mentioned that he was attending UMass Amherst last year and [was arrested for disorderly conduct there](http://onlyintherepublicofamherst.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/repeat-party-offender.html). ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/388 "2015-10-08T22:26:17Z")
> [@GrandWino](#): > > With your referenecs to Cajun cuisine I think you’re confused by which “French Quarter” \*\*kayaker \*\*was talking about. Kayaker was referring to the island of St. Martin in the Caribbean, half of which is part of France. Oh, well aren’t we fancy Richie Riches what with our islands and Caribbeans and half Frenches. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/389 "2015-10-09T03:06:41Z")
> [@Annoying\_Buzz](#): > > A good sign that the owner is also one of the workers is that they include a “Last Order” time with the opening and closing times. The local Dairy Queen does that. No hot food 30 minutes before closing. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/390 "2015-10-09T04:47:33Z")
I found it by following my nose onto Google, and shut it off after about a minute because it wasn’t all that interesting. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/391 "2015-10-09T04:50:10Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I like heat hot, like wasabi, the sinus clearing stuff (yes, I know the mustard I’m getting here in Florida is most likely not wasabi. But it’s still yummy). However, I don’t like spicy hot. [Tijuana Flats](http://tijuanaflats.com/), a fast food Mexican place down here, (think Chipotle, not Taco Bell) has a sauce bar, where I can select from a wide variety to splash on my blackened chicken tacos. The first time I had wasabi, I had absolutely no idea what it was, and ate a chunk of it. :eek: I immediately found out just how big the human nasopharynx is! 😛 I’m sure a sizable percentage of the people reading this have experienced the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/392 "2015-10-09T06:15:21Z")
In Chiang Mai, Thailand, my wife and I had breakfast at a little restaurant, and when we got the bill, I noticed that we’d been overcharged. I pointed this out to the waiter, and he said it was correct. I grabbed the menu I had looked at and pointed the price out to him. He went away, then came back with another copy of the same menu, but with different prices on it, that matched what we had been charged. A spirited disagreement followed. Stopping for dinner on the way back from a ski trip in California, I overheard a woman at the next table asking the waiter how much the restaurant charged for a bounced check. At a little beachside restaurant in northern Borneo, I ordered a chicken curry. Ten minutes later, the waitress came back, and apologized, since they were out of chicken. I ordered something with beef and mushrooms instead. Ten minutes later, the waitress again apologized that they were out of mushrooms. I wised up. “What do you have today?” and ordered whatever that was. Another ten minutes, out came our meals. Mine was chicken curry with mushrooms. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/393 "2015-10-09T07:58:31Z")
Not bad, just weird although we really should have expected it. After a visit to a hospitalized relative, we took Abuelita to our favorite restaurant. Uncle Javier and his wife were already in line, with another cousin and his family. As we waited in line, a third batch of relatives arrived. The owner said “wait a minute, isn’t don Julio in the hospital?” “uh, yes” “how many of you were there?” “uh… more than 50 sure,” “at least 60” “you guys think it may be more than 70?” “Pacoooooo! Open the other room!” Given that the other room had a legal capacity of 69 people and how tightly packed we were yeah, it had been more than 70. Food was still yummy. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/394 "2015-10-09T10:38:12Z")
> [@GrandWino](#): > > With your referenecs to Cajun cuisine I think you’re confused by which “French Quarter” \*\*kayaker \*\*was talking about. Kayaker was referring to the island of St. Martin in the Caribbean, half of which is part of France. Yes, and on the French side of the island there is a mostly residential area called the French quarter. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/395 "2015-10-09T17:44:57Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > You can pretty much expand that rule to “never eat a spicy cuisine anywhere in New England unless…” > > I’ve gotten used to the phenomenally bland food here and located the small handful of restaurants that understand what “spicy” and “hot” actually mean. But in doing so we’ve crossed off almost every Mexican, Indian and Thai place for 25 miles around. (Not to mention the occasional diner whose food is no spicier, but has a “hot” option composed of pure ghost pepper sauce. Which means you can’t just tiredly ask for “really hot,” meaning three shakes of the Tabasco bottle instead of two, without the chance of getting something that will crack engine blocks, yuk yuk.) I’m not sure what your location means, but if you’re ever in Montpelier, the Royal Orchid Thai place is recommended for nice hot food. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/396 "2015-10-09T18:17:54Z")
Off-topic - My 4 year old daughter eats ghost peppers. Freaks people right out, it does. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/397 "2015-10-09T18:20:44Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Buca di Beppo? Their food’s like Chef Boyardi directly from the can. Oh, come on. Not very good, I’ll grant you. But the Chef is in a class by himself. ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/398 "2015-10-09T18:22:21Z")
My wife and I went to a local Mexican restaurant. On this particular night they had a mariachi guy playing and singing going from table to table. He came to our table and started singing at which point we realized his pants were unzipped. We sat there unsure what to say or do until he left. If I had thought about it I would have tipped him so he would leave quickly. But all I could do was try not to laugh at his gaping open zipper 3 feet from my face. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/399 "2015-10-09T18:23:09Z")
> [@mozchron](#): > > Off-topic - My 4 year old daughter eats ghost peppers. Freaks people right out, it does. Yeah, I used to eat way hotter food when I was a little child, but not ghost peppers! On that note, Trader Jo’s has AWESOME ghost pepper chips that are hot but not burn-your-face-off-hot. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040/400 "2015-10-09T18:24:02Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > I’m not sure what your location means, but if you’re ever in Montpelier, the Royal Orchid Thai place is recommended for nice hot food. We’ve actually found at least one good place in each cuisine. There are some really, really terrible “Mexican” places around here, but there’s one in downtown Hartford that’s good enough (a bit fancy, a tad bland, but good otherwise). Thai and Indian are covered. Oddly, it’s a decent “Chinese restaurant” that eludes us - a good one closed right after we visited it for the first time, most are greasepits or very, very bland and overcooked (think '60s Chinese buffet) and the others change from your basic $10 bento box dinner to pricey individual dish places without warning. They’re okay, but it’s annoying to go for a quick midweek $50 family dinner and walk out two hours and $150 later… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incredibly-bad-and-weird-experiences-at-restaurants/733040.md?page=21)