This weekend my entire family got together in Florida to celebrate a milestone birthday for my mother. About twenty people gathered in a swank Italian restaurant to gorge ourselves on pasta and celebrate the birthday girl.
It is so fun to turn the tables and be a customer rather than a server. I'm always interested to see how other restaurants handle large parties, and how other servers perform. I'm a critical observer but at the same time, I'm pretty laid back. I waited far too long for my Grey Goose and soda, Scott, but don't worry. We cool.
Back to my Mom. You might find it interesting to learn that she came up with the idea for the movie "Daylight" years before it was made into a motion picture starring Sylvester Stallone. In the Hollywood plot, two sides of a tunnel leading into New York City collapse and our hero must save everyone inside by leading them to "daylight." My mother's version was called "Mid-day in Manhattan" and had baaasically the same concept, except in her version everyone in the tunnel dies at the end.
Me: "Mom, no one is going to want to see that movie it sounds really depressing."
Mom: "No, Sarah, it's uplifting because it tells people to appreciate their loved ones while they're still around."
Me: "Hmmm."
Totally my Mom's idea.
So, now my mother has another concept, but this time it's for the show Candid Camera. It's related to restaurants, and in her honor I'm putting it out here on the internet in the hopes that one day it too can make it to film.
SCENE: A group of men enters a very fancy steakhouse. They have cocktails and wine, and they all order different cuts of meat for dinner. As their food arrives at the table, the last man's entree is covered under a silver cloche.
The server leans down...
"I'm sorry sir, but the restaurant has run out of steak. We're very pleased to let you know that instead of your ribeye, we have this delicious hot dog."
And voila, the cloche is lifted to reveal a hot dog on a bed of lettuce.
She explains that the gag works because the server is unapologetic, and doesn't understand why the customer isn't satisfied with a savory all-beef hot dog.
This is a cloche. You know, like you serve hot dogs on.
My mother is many things. She is accomplished, and caring, and smart, but perhaps best of all, she makes me laugh. She covers the gamut from sarcastic to silly and she can make witty remarks like no other. Please, producers, if you're reading this: put a hot dog on a platter and make this happen for the best Mama out there. Sylvester Stallone can play the server.
