Difficult orderers

So, we're a few weeks in, and I'm starting to reach that point where people are noticing my unique eating habits. (I refuse to call said habits weird or strange. Personally, I think eating food with no actual food in it is weird, but whatever.)

Last night, I went to Baumhauers to watch my beloved tarheels play. Surprisingly, they had a fabulous menu of things I could eat, but when I asked about them, I was told they only serve them for lunch. I offered to pay a dinner price for the $5 lunch special of a grilled hamburger patty, broccoli and sliced tomatoes, but no dice. Instead, I ordered a burger, with no bun, substitute broccoli instead of fries (making sure to ask for no butter.) Annoying, but not too hard right? EPIC FAIL.

About 20 minutes later, all that arrived was a hamburger patty (no trimmings) and 2 sad pieces of broccoli, which as soon as I took a bite, I had to spit out. It was obvious there was butter on it. I waited for the server to return, apologized again for being difficult, and requested both the trimmings for my burger and some broccoli without butter. I finally got it in the end, and it was surprisingly filling, if not a little sad looking:



The whole time I was ordering though, I felt super embarrassed in front of my easy ordering friends. Tyler over at Paleochix offered this post on the subject:

Another etiquette ”issue” I have found in becoming a cavegirl are my complicated restaurant orders. I am NOT a picky eater (never have been) and have always gotten a kick out of those people whose orders are 3 pages long. Trouble is, I’ve become one of those people! I order the meet dish, verify the cooking method, NO cheese, swap all sides for veggies, NOT cooked in butter, ice water only…blah blah. As long as you smile and tip well, this seems to not cause too much trouble. Although I get questioned from my eating buddies nearly EVERY time, “What do you mean no cheese??”

This is one part of paleo that is really hard for me. I don't eat out much generally, but when I do, I hate giving difficult orders. In fact, I can't actually think of a time I've sent food back before last night. My family owns a Mexican restaurant, and having worked in the kitchens back there, I know how annoying it can be during a rush to have to decipher the order, especially if written in bad handwriting. In that regard, I also know that even if I ask for it not to be cooked in butter, I really don't have much of a way of knowing, especially if it's a protein of some sort. I know I need to just get over this, especially since I'm traveling this weekend. We'll see how 4 days of eating out treat me. Will report back on Tuesday.