Flexible Friday #11 I Have Issues

If you are a regular reader then you already know I have issues…

My issue of the day is…

CHAIN RESTAURANTS.

Friends who know me well know that I prefer to go to locally owned restaurants whenever I travel. It’s a standing joke when we get together as a group and then they gang up on me when we’re deciding on where we’re going “Oh, Sherra won’t go to a chain.”

That’s simply not true. We have chain restaurants coming out of our ears in the Atlanta area. I just get so tired of them that when I am visiting other cities I love to go to local establishments or at the very least, go to a chain that we don’t have in Georgia.

Did I mention that PhilBillPaul took me to Steak ‘n Shake in Tampa on our first date? Trying to impress me and it obviously worked.

We are fan-cee diners. Very cultured. And yes, it’s still true we don’t eat vegetables. We don’t make a big deal about this but other people love to.

So last week we went out to grab a quick bite which we try to do at least once a week sans children. It’s our time to complete full sentences in between tattling cell phone calls that I refuse to answer.

I don’t want to bash the restaurant but I will say we had very poor service. (Another BIG issue for me.) Very unusual waiter who seemed to be in a hurry and was in motion before we finished ordering.

My two favorite food choices are traditional American cuisine or Italian. On this night I chose Italian.

There was a pasta on the menu that I had not heard of so I asked about it. The waiter said the best way to describe the pasta shape was “it is like a small folded ear.”

I said “Excuse me?”

Is it just me or does that not sound very appealing?

I chose penne and PhilBillPaul went with his standard spaghetti choice. He never deviates from his noodle shape and size. Spaghetti only please. He’s wild like that.

After the waiter left, we laughed out loud about pasta being described as a “folded ear.”

Maybe it was unappealing and a little stressful for me because I have been known to wake up after sleeping with my ear folded. It is painful.

Some of you don’t have ears that fold. Consider yourself lucky.

My ears fold. It’s hereditary. I bet my cousin Sally’s ears fold but I’ve never asked her. I know poor Wizzy’s ears fold. Sorry, I know it hurts.

And I had never, ever thought that would be a great shape for pasta.

Being the researcher that I am, I learned that while our waiter was very abrupt, he knew his pasta, darn it!

Because I was so curious, it seems the pasta I ordered on round two of my “endless pasta bowl” actually means “little ear.”

For the fancy few who are reading (actually the fancy few probably stopped reading when they realized I’m so uneducated about pasta) the “folded ear” pasta is called…

Orecchiette

I had to take a picture of the leftovers and educate my kids about this fascinating Folded Ear Pasta. See that one near the top? Looks just like my ear after a bad night.

In spite of the fact that I would have called it Tiny Bowls Pasta or Little Cups Pasta, it was excellent.

If you really want to try the restaurant and since I’m not being paid to write this review, here’s a hint in case you have this chain where you live:

Popeye’s girlfriend + rhymes with pardon

And I also highly recommend the Lemon Cream Cake for dessert. YUM!

Let me know if you already know and love the orecchiette pasta or you figure out that tricky riddle and visit the unnamed chain. 😉

Have a fabulous three day weekend with your family and friends!

P.S. I’m still gathering pictures about one of the reasons I was popping Xanax last week. Stay tuned…