Alison got me thinking about eating at restaurants and, specifically, the specials. I’ve always been impressed with how waitstaffers have to memorize new specials every day or week. Some restaurants make them more complex than the standard menu items. A Turkish restaurant I went to in Houston had four specials, and it took the waiter about five minutes of uninterrupted speaking to get through them all.

I wonder what percentage of restaurant-goers actually listen to and order a special. It seems that people usually zone out and go straight to the menu not having heard what any of the specials were because they are, on average, more expensive than the menu items.

I’m proud to say I don’t ignore the waitstaffer as they recite the specials. I’m also proud to say I say “thank you” for every beverage refill (see Alison’s post). But I’m not exactly proud to say I’ve left my phone number with a few too many waitresses... and have yet to get a call-back. I'm sure my phone number looks a lot more interetsing than the other three dozen they get in the course of a shift...