A blog by Jorge Garcia.

Friday, May 22, 2009

C'mon People Fix Your Menu

It funny keeping this blog. Because I can't tell you how many times something happens to me that I can't wait to share. Like when we stayed at the Westin Pasadena the weekend of my buddy's wedding. 

The hotel was fine. The room service the first day was incredible. (Try the tomato soup if they have it.) There was nothing I was compelled to write about until breakfast the next day.

This is what I ordered.
This is what I got.
Does something seem wrong here? I had to pull out the menu to double check if I had misread it. I envisioned an egg white omelet that actually had the broccoli diced into it. So I called down. 

This is what I love, their first answer was that since we had ordered the oatmeal with the stuff on the side that the kitchen probably assumed we would also want the broccoli on the side?

Honestly?!

They were going to refire the order the right way as it is written in the menu. Great. 

Then they called back and said. That after conferring with the kitchen she was told that this is how the omelet comes. The broccoli is always on the side. So I said, "You do realize that that is not what the menu says right?" 

Of course she had to agree. There is no argument here. I mean maybe if it had read "with cheddar and broccoli" you could almost make the argument that the broccoli had nothing to do with the omelet. 

They still offered to make it the way it's described but at this point it would take too long get it, so I passed. 

I wonder what their macaroni and cheese looks like?

55 comments:

Sonia DeHume said...

jajaja, great post jorge

Pineapple said...

I always enjoy finding the errors on menus - normally on the menu though, rather than on the plate!

EDubyaH said...

This is exactly why I only order Eggs Benedict from room service. I've only had them ruin it once by trying to be too *too* and doing it with prosciutto. blech.

Charmaine said...

hah! That's great! And I wanted to let you know I've been reading your blog for awhile, but I don't know if I've ever commented. Anyhow, just wanted to say that I really enjoy all your posts.

Julie said...

Lol, that would annoy me. I am quite particular about my food.

That doesn't even make sense. Who would order a side of broccoli for breakfast anyways? A dish at my favorite breakfast place here is Eggs Benedict with swiss cheese and asparagus, but the asparagus is UNDER the eggs and cheese. It would be weird if it was on the side.

Freak said...

It is nice that you can't wait to share everything curious that happens to you. That happens sometimes to me too.
I also thonk it is great that you ask for what you want.
Greetings!

sherrypg said...

Where was the cheddar? Was it on the side as well?

AMENMom said...

Painful. This stuff jumps out at me too.

Saw your picture in People--you're the "Find 6 things different in these two photos" subject! Congratulations!

Pauline Laing said...

Call me pedantic, but I'd have trimmed the broccoli just a teensy bit - maybe got rid of the ugly ol' leaf. As it is, it looks like it went from the vegie delivery box straight to your plate.

It's too nice a vegetable to be treated like that!

Melanie said...

My best guess is that it would be macaroni with a chunk of cheese..on the side.

And is that a tomato with the broccoli and hash browns?

BerlyCrow said...

Wow, that is some broccoli! The menu should have read: Giant Stalk of Broccoli with an egg white omelet and cheese because clearly the broccoli is the main dish of the meal, not an ingredient!

contessa said...

My god...it's a TREE!

Christina Bauer said...

You know, the best thing about this post is the last line you wrote. You always know how to make me laugh, Jorge!

Apex Zombie said...

The best thing is, no one complained about it before? They've obviously served this to other people before, for who knows how long, and no one complained :D

TWENTYSOMN said...

the question is did you still eat it?

James Hamlet said...

Hi dude, let me tell you something, here in Spain, nobody would ever ask something like this for breakfast, I recommend you to try something simpliest and tastefull, a big Café con leche, natural orange juice, and a bread roll toasted with olive oil, scrumble tomate above it and jamon serrano at the top.

Believe me, you won´t find any better thing.
Of course if you finish breakfast woth a pair of chopped kiwis, you´ll get heaven.

Have a nice weekend guapo

Carrie Ann said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Carrie Ann said...

This is so cool! I can't believe I am JUST now finding your blog! YOU ROCK! Sorry 'bout the broccoli...I got a good giggle out of it though. :)

Can't wait to catch up on your blogs and continue to read more. :)

Carrie Ann

http://jacobwoodard.blogspot.com/

Eugen Caitaz said...

Yes Jorge!!! Already,I want taste this menu!!!!

T said...

Seriously? This was an American hotel? How often do people eat a gigantic stalk of broccoli with their breakfast? and i see no cheese.
Have the chefs actually seen this served in this form of presentation in other eating establishments and thought "wow- what a novel idea for a breakfast combo." Really?

Jill said...

Where's the cheddar, then?

I stayed at a Westin in Waltham, Mass. recently. I was about to order room service until I took a look at the menu prices. I don't care if the company was paying, I was not going to pay twenty bucks for a turkey sandwich. So I ended up driving a mile and a half to a Papa Gino's and having a sausage and pepper panini.

I'll bet it tasted better than the Westin's turkey, too.

Love the blog. You're blogrolled at mine, nestled between Roger Ebert and Keith Olbermann's baseball blog. That's some mighty fine company, IMHO.

Jodie Lazarek said...

Ha Ha !!!! You got the hash browns AND the field greens.

JimPel said...

I love gigantic stalks of broccoli for breakfast. Who doesn't? Well at least they didn't grill it and try to tell you it was steamed.

susanthe said...

Good thing you didn't order meatloaf.

King J, Queen M, Princess E and Princess M said...

I do the same thing with my blog. My husband laughs at me when something happens and I say, "Oh I can't wait to blog about this." :)

And well, that just looks gross.

redelf said...

I would have assumed it was in the omelet too.

Paul Spooner said...

Live the dream man, live the dream...

Capmaster said...

Don't ever order "Pigs In A Blanket" there!!!

Please Type Legibly said...

Wow....duly noted. No room service from the Westin Pasadena....LOL

*~Dani~* said...

I would be greatly disturbed if the contents of my omelette were on the outside of my omelette so I am with you on that one.

Also, I too find that I cannot wait to put things on my blog that has happened to me. I think that means you are officially a blogger!

Cheers!

Matt said...

Wait.. so when I order Fish with chips, the chips come INSIDE the fish?
This was definitely weird and worth a call down.. but Probably my biggest pet peeve in the world is people that SUPER picky about their food and complain about every minute detail.

Wednes said...

I've never actually ordered room service food before, but doesn't $15 sound like kind of a lot for eggs and hash browns with a side of broccoli?

Let's hope you got a discount since they didn't have to take the time to cut up your broccoli. ;-]

Connie said...

lol, they'd probably give you a dish of macaroni's with a wedge of cheese on the side.

James Hernandez said...

Jorge,

Be happy you didn't get lima beans on the side instead of broccoli! Also, is that $15 you paid for that? Must be nice being independently wealthy!

cc said...

I love this post, it's just classic. This could be a Saturday Night Live skit.. The over-literal room service staff..

Order a scotch & soda, get a guy named McCutcheon at your door holding a Coke.

WolfenM said...

Hiya! Just discovered your blog, yay! Love the show and especially Hurley; can't wait till January for new eps!

I can't remember the last time I went to a restaurant and something *didn't* get screwed up. When Dad and I took my mom out for Mother's Day, first the place gave me the wrong salad. I explained that I'd ordered a Caesar, and the girl who brought it asked if I meant I wanted the house salad with Caesar dressing instead of blue cheese. (It should be noted that Caesars *were* on the menu.) Then they gave me a baked potato with my BURGER (I ordered fries), *and* they left off the sour cream on mom's potato while also adding butter (which she didn't ask for). They never did bring my fries, and mom's replacement potato had ONLY sour cream AND butter (she'd ordered sour cream, cheddar, and bacon), even after we specified she didn't want butter! XD It was such a pathetic comedy of errors, I went right past anger without stopping and went on to amusement. They were at least apologetic about it, though, even gave us a gift certificate for our trouble -- so many places act like you're the one with the problem when *they* screw up your order. I've had the "But it's on the menu this way!" fight far, far too often ....

Momof4 said...

I have to agree. After all, they didn't serve it with a side order of cheddar.

Thanks for entertaining us and keeping us company w/ your blog. It's going to be a loooong wait until LOST is on again, and your blog helps scratch the itch.

Michael Dines said...

For $15, they should make it as you describe and send a serf up to your room to spoon feed their guests.

Honeybell said...

Who the hell thinks ANYONE would want to eat a broccoli tree for BREAKFAST?

Not only should they change their menu, but perhaps re-evaluate what they think people enjoy eating.

But then I'm rather passionate about breakfast food.

Whit said...

I can't imagine you're the fist to complain about it. Lazy kitchen.

Simba's Mom said...

I had a similar experience when my husband got a turkey sausage and cheese omelette and they just stuck it all on the outside. You can see a picture here:
http://simbasmom.vox.com/library/post/a-tale-of-two-omelettes.html

D'nelle said...

that is one GIANT side of broccoli.

WEIRD

Heather said...

LOL!!!

aaron said...

I stayed at the Sheraton Heathrow a few months back and took a picture of the menu. One of the items was a wilted spinach salad.

There's some truth in advertising.

Miztification said...

You're braver than I am. When a restaurant/or room service makes a mistake I'm afraid to point it out because of what they might do to the food.
My sister taught me at least one way to get around this.
One time she ordered a sandwich through the drive-thru of...I guess it was McDonalds and they forgot the cheese on her sandwich. They wanted her to give the sandwich back, so that they could put it on. She wouldn't. She made them give her the slice of cheese still in the wrapper in a sandwich container.

I get that way about blogging too.

ValMo said...

hahahahahaha

You always have the funniest food stories! I'm kinda jealous.

dezyner said...

we were on a cruise last summer and we ordered macaroni and cheese for our 16 month old daughter. She received boiled macaroni noodles with a slice of processed cheese on top (kraft singles type)... she had fun picking all the cheese off the noodles though :)

KW said...

someone told me there's a big difference between "made of" and "made with."

"made of" means it's in there.

"made with" means they could just be standing next to it while they made your food.

Mark said...

Where is the cheddar!? If the cheddar was in the omelette I'd question why the cheddar was added and not the broccoli...

ted mills said...

I ordered off the new "happy hour menu" at one of my local spots the other day, and I had the "calimari cheese nachos". Which is exactly what it was: calimari on top of nachos. But I was told that it originally was two separate items that got misprinted together. And since then they've been making it that way.

So. Yeh.

But that broccoli was funny.

Dina said...

Too funny! They should put a block of cheddar cheese on the side.

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