Awkwardness can happen anywhere, especially around food. I’ve been in plenty of awkward food situations.
There’s the moment at a restaurant when your food is served first, and everyone at the table is staring at your plate because it just made them ten times hungrier. Luckily, one or two others usually have a plate arriving right behind yours, so the attention doesn’t stay on your plate for long. If I receive my plate first, I typically wait until at least two others have gotten theirs before I begin eating, in order to lessen the awkwardness.
However, this post isn’t about that. This post is about that awkward moment when you’re out to eat with a group of people and your food arrives last. I mean very last. The “everyone else is half-way finished with their food by the time your plate arrives” kind of last.
If you’re out to eat with family or friends who know you well, it’s not that bad. Someone usually cracks a joke about it, or they’re helpfully nice about it, insisting on flagging down the waiter or waitress if necessary. The awkwardness happens if you’ve never been out to eat with this circle of individuals, or maybe you only know one person out of the group.
I happened to be eating out with a group of co-workers a few weeks ago, my bosses included. They were on a brewery tour (I was DD) and had decided to stop in to this restaurant for some dinner. Our party consisted of eight adults and two toddlers.
The restaurant seemed a bit fancy, with cloth napkins and couples sipping out of wine glasses, so our party of ten didn’t exactly fit with the aesthetic, but we were hungry. So we ordered and food began arriving a while later. Salmon, salads, scallops, and mini steaks were brought to the table. People began digging in as their food arrived. Eventually everyone received their food, except me.
This is when the awkwardness begins. I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced this moment, but it’s not fun. I had ordered a single serving pepperoni pizza, and I wouldn’t have thought steaks would cook faster than a pizza. All the scenarios of what could have possibly happened to my pizza began spawning in my head. Could she have forgotten about me? I was in the middle of the order so maybe I was skipped over. She hasn’t acknowledged me. Does she think all the food has made it to our table? Wouldn’t a pizza have been out by now? Each time I glimpsed a tray of food exiting the kitchen, I hoped it was my order, but then that sinking feeling would set in when I’d see it being carried to another table.
At this point, everyone is occupied by their food, and I try not to look out of place. I don’t want them to notice that I’m the only one left waiting. I try to look pleasant, like I haven’t noticed I’m missing anything, hoping my pizza will be along any minute. I don’t want someone to comment on the empty space in front of me, which would draw everyone’s eyes to me as they ate, causing me to continue the act of not having noticed my food hadn’t arrived yet.
I was hoping no one would offer me part of their meal while I waited, for me to politely decline and pray my plate would just get there already. So I sit there watching them eat, smiling awkwardly. Granted, they had small portions, but some people were able to finish their food by the time I could flag down the waitress. She apologized and said the pizza oven only held two pizzas at a time, so mine was in now, and would be out soon. I felt reassured, and also relieved that, at least in this instance, no one had commented on my late food.
Everyone had finished eating by the time my plate arrived, but it was okay because they were still talking and ordering more drinks while I ate my pizza, which was delicious! I was just glad the awkward moment of my missing food was over!
Once, at a restaurant, my order took ages to arrive. When it finally did, it was completely wrong! I politely informed the server, but instead of fixing it, they seemed flustered. Eventually, they brought the correct order, but it was clear something had gone awry in the kitchen. It was a bizarre experience! If you've ever had a similar dining mishap, share your story on https://www.facebook.com/MyBKExperience/.