Potato and Rice go to a Restaurant

So every now and then, we like to go to a restaurant. Yes yes, Rice shirks her traditional Chinese wife-ly duties and slacks. Besides, it's a way for Potato to show his appreciation of the other days of the week when Rice does cook.

Shockingly, we both like to eat Chinese food. Trouble is, where we live, there are not many "good" Chinese restaurants to choose from. For those of you out there, Panda Express is NOT "good" Chinese food. Rice once came up with this analogy : Panda Express is to Chinese food as Taco Bell is to Mexican.

Many of the Chinese restaurants in the town where we live still use MSG. Ugh! The stuff gives both Potato and Rice incredible headaches. Finally, doing some searching (like on Yelp) and asking around, we found a nice place nearby. According to the various newspaper articles in the restaurant lobby, it is a "one of a kind" building. That is, when it was built, it was built to be the restaurant it is today. It's not a Chinese Restaurant that used to be a Denny's, which was a Season's, which was a Sambo's type of thing. (Speaking of which, on Potato's list of things to do while retired is to create a photo essay of things that used to be other things, like a florist that used to be a Taco Bell, paint store that used to be a KFC, etc.)

Anyway, there are good signs right there in the restaurant lobby. There are several large aquariums, holding fish, lobsters and crabs, all in their separate tanks. There's a nice banquet hall off to the side as well.

After about a two minute wait, the hostess leads us to our seats. Now, when we first enter the dining area, we feel comfortable with our choice of restaurants, as all the patrons in the dining area are Chinese. This, as we all know, is a sign of a good restaurant.

Potato : Well, this is a good sign.

Rice : Indeed, I wonder if I should ask the waitress for the "real" menu.

Potato : Do you have to give her a secret handshake or something?


Now, as we get closer to our sets, we can tell that the dining area is quite large. There area is divided approximately in half, by folding screens. You know the kind, painted black lacquer-y, with Chinese-y decor. The room divider could lovingly be called the "Great Wall of China". There seemed to be two seating areas, one side of the "Wall" were for people like Rice, and the other side were for people like Potato.

As we get to an area of empty tables, still on the "Chinese half", the hostess was confused and was struggling in her mind on where to seat us. So she had a wise idea to seat us in the middle. She then decides to sit us at a table right next to the partition. So, as we sit, all Potato can see are Chinese people, and all Rice can see are Caucasians. Satisfied with her solution, the hostess leaves to get us water and tea.

Then Potato has an epiphany. He notes that the table we're at seems to be the end table of a modular buffet table.

Rice : And?

Potato : Well, check out your side of the table.

Rice : Uh, it looks like it fits into another table?

Potato : And now look at my side.

Rice : It's the end?

Potato : Rounded Corners! You know for the round eye? (gestures, draws circle around his eye)

Rice : Oh! Yeah, well, we think that your people might hurt themselves on a corner...

Potato : "Should ask for some safety chop sticks, you know, sort of like a spork? Only Chinese style."

Rice : (thinking to herself) "You gotta love this man"

Potato spent the rest of the evening alternately gesturing about the rounded corner, and circling his eye with his index finger.

Oh, by the way, the food was pretty good too.