In restaurants and at home... sometimes you just have to say NO.
A photo online of a BAD pint of Guinness made me think about the time I was served a creepy-crawlie in my salad in a Dublin restaurant. The thing is, salad comes from the ground so it's not completely beyond the realms of belief but it was the disappointment that got me the most. I really wanted that lunch, and I'm sure the person who ordered that badly-presented pint of Guinness really wanted that pint. Food disappointment; there's nothing quite like it.
The listeners of The Early Breakfast also had some stories about food they just couldn't eat:
- “My sister Roisin used to go to a deli years ago for her lunch... they made your sambo to order. Anyway, one day she was eating her TUNA sandwich when she got a minty taste .... she spat out what was in her mouth and there was a chewed up lump of chewing gum in her tuna mix!”
- “Paula, years ago, I got a roll made up in a well-known supermarket. The girl was rude as heck. She was cleaning up after the last roll she made, went over to the bin, emptied the bits into it and then wiped the knife off the top of the bin to clean anything off it… and then buttered my roll with the same knife! I looked at her in amazement, told her I’m not getting a roll now, she looks at me with 10 heads. Vile.”
- “I waited half an hour for burgers and chips. They arrived burnt and cold. I didn't complain in case I had to wait another half hour. Just never went back!”
- “That one time I had a salad that was FULL of hair.”
- “First time slow cooking a stew in the slow cooker. The recipe called for 2 cloves of garlic and not knowing any better I threw in 2 whole bulbs. It was rancid. Nobody ate it!”
- “Paula, I used to work in a fancy hotel and was told to stop squashing the freshly made sandwiches I served. The thing is, after years of squashing my own sandwiches, I found it challenging!”
- “Hi Paula. Got a chicken fillet burger meal from a fast food restaurant one day... I drove all the way home to eat it to discover there was no chicken fillet.. devastated. Like how does that happen?!” - Shane in Wexford
- “A group of us went to a posh-ish hotel in Barnsley about 18 years ago and when we ordered steak well done it was that rare, one of the people asked for it dead first!” - John hauling a load of drink from Wexford to Dublin
- “Morning Paula, a few years ago I was at a wedding and the soup was being served. The lady serving our table served me my soup but the way she was carrying the bowl meant her thumb was in the soup, so I said politely could I have one without her thumb in it ....yuck! Have a wonderful weekend!” - Catherine in Sligo
- “Hi Paula. I was ordering a panini in a cafe once. The staff member made my panini. Put it in the press. Then emptied the bins brought them out the back. Came back in with the same gloves on and took my panini out and presented it to me. I pointed out to the manager what had happened. Requested a refund and left. Yuk!” - Jack, Citywest.
- “I used to live with two Brazilians who used to wash the sauce off baked beans before eating them. My Irish brain found it hard to cope with the ritual.”
- “Morning Paula we used to go to this lovely coffee dock in work but one day I watched a new staff member making a sandwich. Afterwards she licked the spoon and put it back into the mayo! Needless to say we stopped going!”
