Hello, dear readers
So, you might remember I mentioned a Valentine’s day meal, yeah?
Well, that happened, and jolly nice it was too. Getting to our prearranged venue and back, though, well that … was less nice.
I’ll explain.
Where There's Smoke
My wunderwifey, Tina and I had decided to mark our ongoing romance the day before Valentine's day in order to avoid the crush. This took us from Saturday the 14th to Friday the 13th of February, something which we should possibly have been a little bit more attentive about.
Not that the meal itself was anything but lovely. No, Hickory’s Smokehouse, one of a chain of American Barbecue style restaurants mainly contained in the north of the U.K. but expanding quite rapidly around the country.
Regardless, our local branch (is ranch the right word?) is a lovely place we’ve visited before and having a fully stocked bar (with 24 bourbons no less) has something of the air of a local pub to it.
But, of course, this time we were eating.
The Meat Of It
I started with the chicken wings, which will surprise exactly no-one who knows me, and Tina had the Frickles (that’s fried pickles to you and me). From there I moved on to the smoked beef rib, possibly the tenderest bit of meat I’ve ever had (steady!) and Tina had the smoked brisket. Both were served with underwhelming fries, a good cheesy coleslaw, and a pickle of red onions and Jalapeno peppers. It was scrummy, All was washed down with a beer (lager for Tina, an IPA for me. We even, after a short debate, had dessert. An apple pie cheesecake jar for Tina and a cookie creation thing for me.
Regardless, our local branch (is ranch the right word?) is a lovely place we’ve visited before and having a fully stocked bar (with 24 bourbons no less) has something of the air of a local pub to it.
But, of course, this time we were eating.
The Meat Of It
I started with the chicken wings, which will surprise exactly no-one who knows me, and Tina had the Frickles (that’s fried pickles to you and me). From there I moved on to the smoked beef rib, possibly the tenderest bit of meat I’ve ever had (steady!) and Tina had the smoked brisket. Both were served with underwhelming fries, a good cheesy coleslaw, and a pickle of red onions and Jalapeno peppers. It was scrummy, All was washed down with a beer (lager for Tina, an IPA for me. We even, after a short debate, had dessert. An apple pie cheesecake jar for Tina and a cookie creation thing for me.
We’ve taken to using Uber as our taxi of choice, specifically Uber Assist which guarantees a car big enough to take a wheelchair (not a given) as well as a driver with the relevant training and experience.
It saves the lottery of some small saloon with a boot my fixed frame chair has no chance of fitting in turning up and turning around. It takes away the guess work. It’s convenient.
Or at least it should be.
Appy Talk
The fly in the ointment is there seems to be a dearth of such vehicles on a Friday night (or possibly the Friday night before Valentine’s day). It meant watching the progress bar matching us with a driver fill up multiple times as the clock ticked further and further to our pre-booked meal. In the end I think Tina (on whose phone the app is) tried at least three or four times, and each time we watched as the car shaped sprites on the map circled our location before the message popped up that none of them were ‘suitable’.
In the end we booked a normal Uber, contacted the driver to warn him of our ‘special’ circumstances and got to the restaurant in reasonably good time. Not for decent pre-meal drinks, you understand, but with fifteen minutes or so before the table was ready.
And that just left the journey home.
Which was extra, extra fun, because, as we repeated the same rigmarole with the added difficulty of a less than ideal phone and internet signal, Tina’s phone battery decided to die (R.I.P. Cause of death, too much doom-scrolling Facebook). It left us in a bit of a pickle (or Frickle, if you prefer). Luckily, this is where the staff at Hickory’s really came through.
With A Smile
If my chair had fitted in the boot of one of the staff member’s car, I’m pretty sure we would have got a free ride home. As it was, the maitre d’ phoned around for us (my phone had no signal at all), making our situation clear to every taxi firm, and after a bit of a wait in which Tina only slightly unravelled, we just about managed to escape the place that was still open and still serving alcohol (the horror).
With A Smile
If my chair had fitted in the boot of one of the staff member’s car, I’m pretty sure we would have got a free ride home. As it was, the maitre d’ phoned around for us (my phone had no signal at all), making our situation clear to every taxi firm, and after a bit of a wait in which Tina only slightly unravelled, we just about managed to escape the place that was still open and still serving alcohol (the horror).
We were even both offered a free drink for our difficulties, too, despite none of it being especially Hickory’s fault. An example of exceptional service that transformed a situation that may well have spoiled things into a rather lovely end to a rather lovely night.
Until next time!
#
Hey, there! If you enjoyed reading any of the above, why not take a look at some of my published work? Below you’ll find links to a number of short stories I’m lucky enough to have included in anthologies. I’d love to know what you think.
New Tales Of Old
Death Ship
Pestilence: Drabbles 1
Reaperman: Drabbles 3
The Musketeers Vs Cthulhu
Eldritch Investigations
Until next time!
#
Hey, there! If you enjoyed reading any of the above, why not take a look at some of my published work? Below you’ll find links to a number of short stories I’m lucky enough to have included in anthologies. I’d love to know what you think.
New Tales Of Old
Death Ship
Pestilence: Drabbles 1
Reaperman: Drabbles 3
The Musketeers Vs Cthulhu
Eldritch Investigations
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