shish tawoo

Shish tawoo is the name of a dish I order when I visit "Jerusalem Restaurant" on Eglinton West for lunch. A skewer of marinated chicken with a generous portion of saffron rice and a tangy salad, lentil soup and a pita. A great deal at less than $8 (plus PST, GST and tip, of horse)

Now, this is what I don't get: I would think that a nice, reasonably priced lunch like that is a good opportunity to unwind. And yet today, as I am noshing on my delectable chicken, a middle aged gentleman to my right keeps answering his cell phone, which rings with an annoying, bubbling tone every three minutes. His hapless wife is sitting across from him, mute, staring past him, chewing on her pita. Two tables over, a young, doughy trailer park character in a Leafs sweatshirt sits listening to music on his headphones, while his mother - or perhaps older sister - reads the paper. They're waiting for their order to arrive and have run out of things to say, I guess. Right behind me, two elderly ladies are talking so loud, it really sounds like they're arguing - but perhaps they are just hard of hearing and consequently the whole restaurant (save for the headphones dude) can hear about the workplace adventures of a Colleen who was caught pilfering office supplies and has been served a reprimand...or something like that....could have been a Mary Ann caught kissing the boss...I can't remember.

The point is people's awful restaurant manners. Just come on in, smile at the wait staff, order your food, kick back, relax, enjoy your lunch and leave a good tip. Switch off the fricking cell phone, put away your headphones and try to converse at a decent decibel level. A restaurant I visited in Holland a few years ago had it right. They had a sign at the entrance that said: "Remember that all the really important people are impossible to reach". Not a single cell phone chime was heard!