OK... yesterday's rant was a bit much... or so I have been informed.

Today's rant is once again about people, but in a larger scope. I'm talking about public spaces in general, with the example coming from our experience last night.

Yesterday was the birthday of the devoted Matriarch of my better half's family. The big 79!!!

As a request for her birthday, she wanted to go to Carrabas, somewhere in/near Frazer, PA. I would like to specifically direct this to the Owners and Patrons of this establishment...

We arrive at this restaurant, our party of nine, promptly at our agreed time of 7 pm. To find a line. "35 minutes to a table" Now myself, coming from the land of York, unless you are attempting to eat at a chain/restaurant in/near a mall, or if some sort of large unscheduled event happens nearby, a wait for a table is pretty much unheard of...even if there is a short (under 10 minute wait), there's always the restaurant next door, down the block, or...wait the ONE WHERE YOU MADE A RESERVATION...what the hell happens to the ability to make a reservation, once you lose sight of a city skyline?

Of course we all know it is more efficient to have a staff of 3 or 4 off duty cheerleaders, loosely organize a scribbled list of names. They can herd the cattle into the isles between the already seated customers, and issue modified blinking versions of the pager I carried back in 1984. Why have a single person manage a reservation list...I'm so dumb.

So we decide to wait (what other choice do we have?). So we say that we will "be in the bar". It seems that the grand wizards in the corporate offices of Carrabas, responsible for the design of the space, has neglected to make any suitable waiting area for this situation. In this box, it seems that the "bar" is a mere foot and a half away from a wall of "bar height" tables, all occupied by people who have equally waited their half hour for a seat.

So we, and many other potential diners, are forced to stand between the door, the bar, and the wall of already seated persons...this is wrong on SOOO many levels.

First off, for the staff, having to constantly "excuse me", and "pardon me" through the sea of people who are waiting to be seated, just to do their job. I hope the management give an extra hazard pay to the staff working this section of the restaurant.

Second, the persons already seated in this area...if I were one of them, I would insist on a discount on my meal...to have flocks of people standing behind/over me as I attempt to enjoy my meal, never mind the delays to my now cold meal, by my servers having to carry tray fulls of food through coughing, sneezing, aggravated patrons, who have no place else to wait, than on my shoulder.

Third, and the most important portion of this rant, is the lack of simple courtesy these patrons have for one another...I would personally like to thank Beavis and Butthead... the two frat boys who thought it highly appropriate to have not a loud, but most noticeably over animated conversation, in this tight "wait space". They apparently, through a poor attempt to impress the delta-delta-delta girls they were with, thought that a complete stranger (that being myself), would enjoy a constant literal ribbing, to further their efforts to get laid. Needless to say, I had made a loud comment or two with regard to their complete disregard to their surroundings, and went outside for a breather.

I would also like to thank Marge and George... these two early 60-ish stocky individuals, during their wait, moved somewhat to the far end of the bar. Once their cheerleader issued, magic vibrating light show came to life in their hands, you would have thought there was a fire. Not word pass their lips, barreling towards the hostess station... One member of my party, has a portion of her drink spilled down her jacket, cause Marge likes her some spaghetti, and we all know what happens when you get in the way of Marge - that 5 foot grandma linebacker, with a dyejob selected from a crayola box, and her 30 cents worth of Barilla.

So we wait...30 minutes...40 minutes...50 minutes, we have all at at least, one time or another, gone outside, just to be free from the uncomfortable feeling of of shoulder to shoulder contact with a stranger.

So we are finally called, the table is ready... um... almost. We're seated at the table, with nothing but a tablecloth. Now, I am really not upset by this much, as I am just happy to be seated, SOMEWHERE. After some light conversation, we notice...there's still nothing on the table. We are informed by our waitstaff duo, that the dishwasher is running, and plates will be out soon. But they will take our drink order. At least our stuff will be clean. We put in the drink order, and go about our conversations.

OK finally...bread...side plates...we...get 5 of the 9 required sets of silverware... the non alcoholic drinks hit the table, but the rest of (majority) of us are still waiting, cause the "bar is slow".

The remainder of the meal went fine from this point, as we received everything as ordered, nicely presented, and the service from our duo was stupendous. My veal was surprisingly a decent cut, not expected from a chain restaurant.

Now as far as the wait... I do not expect the staff to be able to read minds, carry a stopwatch, or force out a seated patron, so that I can sit. HOWEVER, it is an all too common practice, for restaurants to completely underestimate the wait time, so as not to lose the customer. I can understand a difference of a few minutes, but DOUBLE? Are you that unaware of your business practices to estimate a wait time within say 15 minutes? And besides, after a half hour, I've already committed myself to this restaurant, why leave now? You'll just have to start again somewhere else. That's right, you've got me trapped.

But I have to say that this was a lousy meal. It was lousy due to the experience prior to being seated. From being herded into an isle for almost an hour, to be pushed and needled by fellow waiting patrons, by the time I sat down, it was already predetermined I would not enjoy what I was served, no matter what it was. On top of that, the situation lends itself willingly to become a horrible experience, because the longer it goes on, the more time you have to be exposed to (and focus on) all of those little imperfections that ruin an experience, and makes the palette bitter prior to any food being served.

A wait (twice as long as stated), a push, standing, concerns for a 79 year old woman standing for almost an hour, move left, "excuse me" right, doing a softshoe shuffle in my 12 inch by 12 inch square, attempting to let the staff do their job, while not hovering over the people seated immediately to my right or my back. Bump left, the plant is in my hair, spilled drink, Beavis, Butthead, Marge, George...

It is apparent by this experience that this restaurant is too small to handle the flow of patrons of the area. There is a standard practice that has been instituted, with much success, in the past. The customer is always right...Take a reservation.

***My apologies to the staff of this establishment, as you have done all that you can do to make my dining experience a pleasurable one, but it is the practices of the management of this (and other similar establishments) that force me to seek an alternate environment, where I am not dry humping a fellow patron for an hour, and paying for the "luxury" of dining on an (at best) average meal. I hope that the generous gratuities I have left in the past not only show my appreciation for your service, but are a source of additional compensation for dealing with your management's incompetence.