"After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relations."
Dear Oscar Wilde,
How wrong could you be!
Recently, as part of Mademoiselle Dodo's birthday celebrations I decided to invite the extended family out to dinner.
I have attempted to take the family out of their home-cooked environment on a number of occasions, and all have been disasters at various levels. At one superior Italian restaurant my brother-in-law asked for "proper" bread when served focaccia and my mother stood up and started to clear the table when the wait staff did not appear immediately to do so. At others there have the complaints about small serves, the suspicious looks at unfamiliar food, the heated arguments about the bill and other events fortunately too painful for me to remember.
The one dinning out experience my family participated in regularly while I was growing up was the annual "feast" at the all you can eat smorgasbord restaurant located in the Dandenong Ranges where you queued and jostled for food while being serenaded by yodelling and repeat renditions of the chicken dance. While as a child I thought this was fun, I now enjoy a more diverse culinary experience.
Armed with the knowledge gained from previous failures I chose a restaurant that has recently opened to good reviews. It was Hungarian, so there would be no problems with unfamiliar food. It was local, so there should be no problems with access. It was reasonably priced, so there should be no complaints about the cost. The menu was diverse enough to cater to most tastes. Surely I had hit a winner. And those of the family who dine out regularly thought so too.
Maybe this time my family's prided belief in speaking "the truth" would be supressed by good manners.
After three hours of criticisms of the menu, complaints about the slowness of service (my family can eat a three course dinner in 20 minutes flat) and loud comparisons to the home-cooked versions of the various dishes, I admitted defeat.
And as to forgiving my family? Well Oscar Wilde, what do you think?
