The Fairly Odd Behavior of a Waiter

It was a Thursday afternoon in Durango, Colorado, and like most tourists of the Southwest, my daughter and I had a hankerin' for some good French food. (Don't ask.) So we mosied in to John Pierre's Bakery and Restaurant.

The waiter asked if we would like anything to drink. My daughter ordered hot tea, while I opted for water. He left and returned with a bowl of packaged teas, a small tea cozy of hot water and a mug. The teas were all decaf and not particulary interesting.

Since we weren't very hungry, we decided to split an appetizer and a main dish. We perused the menu and chose an olive plate for an appetizer and a garden pasta dish as the main course. The waiter returned and we ordered the olive plate.

'Well, I think we are out of olives. We used to have that, but I don't think we have olives any more.'

I looked at the menu. 'What about the cheese plate?' I asked.

'Well, we have some cheese. I'm not sure what we have actually. Let me go ask. I will come up with something for you. Would that be okay?'

'Sure, whatever you think,' I replied. Hey, I'm on vacation and feeling pretty laid back.

He returns a few minutes later with a plate of cheese and fruit, along with a basket of french bread. Close enough.

Our food arrives. The waiter explains that the pasta bowl is hot. He tries to maneuver it onto the table, but is obviously uncomfortable with the heat searing into his fingers. (I resist the temptation to explain to him the importance of oven mitts or a well-placed kitchen towel.) He drops the hot bowl onto the table. 'There you go!' He retreats to the kitchen, which is good, because by now we are laughing at the entire fiasco.

I feel sorry for him. He appears to be the only employee in the place, serving as cook, waiter, and bartender.

When we finally look at the bowl of pasta, we are stunned to see that the dish is loaded with olives! I guess these are the vegetable pasta olives and not suitable for an olive plate. Well, to be fair, they were simply black olives and not a variety of olives one would expect to find on an olive plate. The pasta was good, but no overwhelmingly so.

We have dessert, my daughter the creme brulee and I had a dark chocolate rum truffle. The desserts were very good. We took the remainder of the French bread home and I made French toast with it the next morning. It was far better than the dinner we had at the French restaurant.

If you go to Durango and have a hankering for some French food, stop by Jean Pierre's and purchase a loaf of their freshly baked French bread, take it home with you, and make some french toast.  You won't be disappointed.