My general rule for my posts is... accentuate the positive in cafes and eating establishments.

But, just to demonstrate I can go to the dark side, this post is about a reoccurring annoyance at national chain restaurants in the Norman area.

I’m talking appetizers here. You know, those little shared dishes designed to tantalize your taste buds while bridging the gap between being seated and the arrival of the entree.

To me, and call me old school here, an appetizer is a part of enjoying a more formal dinner. An appetizer is a separate course which presents an opportunity to stretch out the dinner into a dining occasion or event, rather just a feeding. It is an opportunity to linger, with a glass of wine, over some delightful morsel while engaging in conversation with you dinner companion(s).

It is not a side dish!

Last summer, in celebration of my dear wife’s birthday, we went to one of the several chain restaurants on Ed Noble Drive in Norman. To be fair, it is an establishment where we have often enjoyed dining but usually for lunch and not dinner.

After a glass of wine and great conversation in the bar, we were brought to our table and given menus. At this point, before ordering so much as a drink much less the entree, I specifically asked our waiter, “ If we order our appetizer now, will it arrive well before the meal? So we can enjoy it.”

The waiter gave the universal, “ No problem.”

Famous last words.

So I ordered our appetizer, selecting something we could enjoy with another glass of wine.

The waiter returned a little later, taking our drink and entree orders for the evening. Our drinks arrived and we sat quietly talking.

Time passed.

Our waiter returned with our salad and bread sticks.

And, our appetizer ...

... delivered as if it were a side dish to the salad and bread sticks. Even after my specifically ordering it well in advance of our drinks and entrees. Even after specifically asking the waiter if it would arrive well ahead of everything else.

And, this is not the first time this has happened, which is why I have all but given up on ordering appetizers at any of these national chain restaurants. (And, why I am not naming the restaurant, the problem is not theirs alone, it is shared among most chains who offer appetizers.) But, that evening, for some unknown reason I thought it might be okay. Well, it was the same old, same old.

Now, go to any real fine dining restaurant in Norman, say, Misal’s of India or Legends... no problem, the appetizer is actually served as a separate course. For your eating pleasure and the enjoyment of the evening. LaBaguette’s west side restaurant brings dinner rolls to your table as you wait for your brunch. Heck, at the Classen Grill in Oklahoma City, I’ve ordered beignets as a breakfast appetizer for the Bruncheros (and Classen Grill does not even pretend to have appetizers on their breakfast menu) and they can manage to bring the beignets to the table well in advance of our breakfast. And they do this in the middle of a breakfast rush!

I do not blame the servers at these national chain restaurants ... I blame the national chain restaurants. They are so interested in “turning tables” while pretending to be fine dining that they do not seem to train their servers in the little things that make it “a nice dinner”. I say this because the same servers always take their time when presenting the dessert tray and then present the selected delicacy with the sensitivity one could only wish they displayed for an appetizer.

So my advise to national restaurant chains, either learn that an appetizer is a separate course, to be savored and enjoyed, or stop offering them.

Next week, back to goodness and light (and nice).

Labels: Appetizers, Classen Grill, Ed Noble Drive, Legends, Misal, Pet Peeve