#restaurants #dining #EatingOut #DigestiveDistress #StomachIssues #SpicyFood #OverpricedRestaurants
The well-dressed waiter brings out the pink elixir.
In an ad for Pepto Bismol, a patron at what looks to be a fancy restaurant experiences some digestive distress, and the waiter brings out the Pepto wrapped in a cloth napkin.
First, if one owned the restaurant, and a customer became distressed, wouldn’t you inquire about what he ate? Would you try to trace what might have caused the distress?
And, why, as an elegant restaurant, would you make it a point to have Pepto on hand for customers?
Finally, if you experienced digestive distress at a restaurant, how likely would it be that you would go back to that restaurant?
These are all questions designed to illustrate how farfetched the ad is.
But it also raises questions about dining out, and what you eat.
Do you frequently eat spicy food? Do you relish enduring as much heat as possible when you eat?
If so, digestive distress may be a regular occurrence, whether dining in or dining out.
If you stay away from spicy food, and you get digestive distress after an elegant meal, then you may want to determine whether that restaurant is suitable. If you pay a big bill – which could also give you distress – on top of your queasiness, then you should re-evaluate your dining options.
Restaurants, particularly elegant ones, often charge a premium. For that price, the food needs to be tasty, plentiful – or, at least, satisfying – and the atmosphere needs to be, well, elegant.
The food should never make the clientele sick, or give them distress.
Even less expensive restaurants shouldn’t give their diners distress.
If they do, and they’ve made an honest mistake, they should own up to it.
No one would expect them to do it deliberately.
Offering them medicinal relief upon distress is a sign that you might expect your diners to get ill.
That would not be good for business.
The bottom line is if you have a sensitive digestive system, you should be careful what you eat, and where you might eat it.
Some restaurants’ prices should indicate that they expect their food to be good, and distress-free.
By the way, some restaurants are overpriced for no good reason. Others are worth the splurge. Know the difference.
Bon appetit.
Peter