Tweet
But between my insane mother and the even more insane women serving us it was more complicated.
On Wednesday I met my mother in the city centre. We looked at some shops and then had to decide whether to head home quickly or stay out for another 3 hours or so - because it's just impossible to get a bus home in the middle. We decided to stay. So some more shopping, food at a cafe we like (and have been eating at all my life) and then we went across the road to a little cafe that also does home made ice cream.
We've had mixed experiences there before. I take my sister there for a birthday ice cream - normally when they have fancy pictures of the food you'll be getting the actual food is a disappointment but this place does a huge sundae with half a bowl of fruit hanging from it. First year I took her she was -->
but in a good way. They have always been lovely to my sister even when we've made a mess, and put candles I took on the ice cream, etc.
But when I've been there with just my mother we've had problems. We waited 25 minutes to be served once. They also made us pay before we ate once, while the people on the next table were only given a bill after. I don't mind either way but I get the impression they don't like us for some reason...
Last time my mother had a problem with her ice cream. She had one scoop chocolate and one scoop coffee. The chocolate had little hard bits in it. (I tried some. Why do people go "This food is wrong - you have some" ? And why do fools like me try ?) She complained and they kept arguing that it was bits of coffee beans in the coffee ice cream. Except it wasn't in the coffee... very grudgingly they took the money off for that scoop.
So yesterday I persuade my mother to go back. We have time to kill. She is dieting. I want ice cream. I win.
My mother decides she'll just have a cone - because she'll eat less ice cream that way
I order for both of us because my mother hasn't got much voice at the moment (and is waiting for an operation next week).
My ice cream comes - 2 scoops in a nice bowl with a wafer. The spoon is a tea spoon but otherwise nothing odd.
Her ice cream comes. Splatted in a bowl with the cone stuck on top.
My mother is feeling a bit doomed at the moment (operation. lack of voice etc.) so she is a bit more upset than is possibly necessary. She considers this "insane" and a sign that she is "always unlucky" and is generally looking very sad. I try and pretend I see nothing wrong with the dish at all and believe it may be the latest fashion in ice cream. I'm not very convincing.
She experiments to see if it can be picked up, and when that doesn't work asks the server if they can scoop it up into the cone properly. Eventually they just bring her a new one in a cone, a bit more than one scoop too.
The problem is that in the mean time we've been looking at the sad upside down ice cream and we've got the giggles. Badly.
I think that maybe the server thought we were laughing at her unpleasantly, but we really weren't.
So I finish my ice cream. My mother finishes her ice cream. I pour part of a can of drink into my glass. My mother gets a wipe out of her bag to clean her face.
I'm drinking my drink from my glass when my mother grabs up my can and peers in.
I snatch it back. It's not empty and I want the sugary and caffiny goodness. (Glass is smaller than can) Apparently she wanted to put her used face wipe in the can
So I'm drinking my drink. My can is safe from predators...
And the server comes by and snatches it. She realises it's still got drink in it as she lifts it and I reach after it, so she puts it back. Says nothing.
My mother gets the giggles again because of the look of horror on my face at the thought of losing my drink. I get the giggles.
I relax again. The server walks back past the other way and snatches the can again. This time while I'm still trying to get it back she realises it still isn't empty and instead of returning it to me tips the rest into the glass. She takes the can. Again she doesn't say a word.
I said to my mother "Do you think she wants us to leave?" and we got the giggles again. And took our time before leaving the (half empty) place.
I've never had service like that. (Except for somewhere we used to go years ago where the restaurant was family run, and the family had a daughter with severe learning disabilities who would help by collecting plates and cups the second you were done, and would sidle up when you were just about to finish. Unnerving until you got used to it, and even then she only took things people had finished with.)
I think I need to find a new ice cream shop.
Victoria J
On Wednesday I met my mother in the city centre. We looked at some shops and then had to decide whether to head home quickly or stay out for another 3 hours or so - because it's just impossible to get a bus home in the middle. We decided to stay. So some more shopping, food at a cafe we like (and have been eating at all my life) and then we went across the road to a little cafe that also does home made ice cream.
We've had mixed experiences there before. I take my sister there for a birthday ice cream - normally when they have fancy pictures of the food you'll be getting the actual food is a disappointment but this place does a huge sundae with half a bowl of fruit hanging from it. First year I took her she was -->
but in a good way. They have always been lovely to my sister even when we've made a mess, and put candles I took on the ice cream, etc. But when I've been there with just my mother we've had problems. We waited 25 minutes to be served once. They also made us pay before we ate once, while the people on the next table were only given a bill after. I don't mind either way but I get the impression they don't like us for some reason...
Last time my mother had a problem with her ice cream. She had one scoop chocolate and one scoop coffee. The chocolate had little hard bits in it. (I tried some. Why do people go "This food is wrong - you have some" ? And why do fools like me try ?) She complained and they kept arguing that it was bits of coffee beans in the coffee ice cream. Except it wasn't in the coffee... very grudgingly they took the money off for that scoop.
So yesterday I persuade my mother to go back. We have time to kill. She is dieting. I want ice cream. I win.
My mother decides she'll just have a cone - because she'll eat less ice cream that way
I order for both of us because my mother hasn't got much voice at the moment (and is waiting for an operation next week).
My ice cream comes - 2 scoops in a nice bowl with a wafer. The spoon is a tea spoon but otherwise nothing odd.
Her ice cream comes. Splatted in a bowl with the cone stuck on top.
My mother is feeling a bit doomed at the moment (operation. lack of voice etc.) so she is a bit more upset than is possibly necessary. She considers this "insane" and a sign that she is "always unlucky" and is generally looking very sad. I try and pretend I see nothing wrong with the dish at all and believe it may be the latest fashion in ice cream. I'm not very convincing. She experiments to see if it can be picked up, and when that doesn't work asks the server if they can scoop it up into the cone properly. Eventually they just bring her a new one in a cone, a bit more than one scoop too.
The problem is that in the mean time we've been looking at the sad upside down ice cream and we've got the giggles. Badly.
I think that maybe the server thought we were laughing at her unpleasantly, but we really weren't.
So I finish my ice cream. My mother finishes her ice cream. I pour part of a can of drink into my glass. My mother gets a wipe out of her bag to clean her face.
I'm drinking my drink from my glass when my mother grabs up my can and peers in.
I snatch it back. It's not empty and I want the sugary and caffiny goodness. (Glass is smaller than can) Apparently she wanted to put her used face wipe in the can
So I'm drinking my drink. My can is safe from predators...
And the server comes by and snatches it. She realises it's still got drink in it as she lifts it and I reach after it, so she puts it back. Says nothing.
My mother gets the giggles again because of the look of horror on my face at the thought of losing my drink. I get the giggles.
I relax again. The server walks back past the other way and snatches the can again. This time while I'm still trying to get it back she realises it still isn't empty and instead of returning it to me tips the rest into the glass. She takes the can. Again she doesn't say a word.
I said to my mother "Do you think she wants us to leave?" and we got the giggles again. And took our time before leaving the (half empty) place.
I've never had service like that. (Except for somewhere we used to go years ago where the restaurant was family run, and the family had a daughter with severe learning disabilities who would help by collecting plates and cups the second you were done, and would sidle up when you were just about to finish. Unnerving until you got used to it, and even then she only took things people had finished with.)
I think I need to find a new ice cream shop.
Victoria J
Comment