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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Family & Friends
- Subject: Life Experience
- Published: 06/13/2023
Table for Two at Trudy's
Born 1975, M, from Manchester, United KingdomA TABLE FOR TWO AT TRUDY’S.
BY CHRIS PLATT.
One Monday lunchtime, Jake joined his colleagues in the break-room. The group were all in their mid-twenties, and were close friends both inside and outside of work. Over the four years that Jake had worked at the firm, several of his friends had joined the company, and the line between work friends and non-work friends had blurred even further.
Jake made himself a cup of tea and took a free seat at the table next to his friends. He asked Mitchell, his closest friend, if he’d had a good weekend.
‘Really good, actually.’ Mitchell replied. ‘Nicola and I went to this new Italian-American restaurant in the Northern Quarter.’
The Northern Quarter was Manchester’s coolest area. Anyone who was anyone hung out in the bars and restaurant of the area. At the mention of a new trendy eatery, the group were suddenly all ears, other conversations being dropped to hear about the new restaurant.
‘It’s called Trudy’s Place, and has the vibe of a New York diner. It’s so cool. The food is just out of this world.’
‘No way.’ Fiona joined in. ‘You went to Trudy’s? One of my friends went last week, says it’s the best pasta she’s ever had.’
‘It’s so good.’ He enthused.
Over the next few weeks, Jake heard so much about the new restaurant. Trudy’s was the place to dine, and every few days another of his friends had visited the restaurant and was raving over the culinary delights the place offered. It was expensive, they said, but was so worth it. You couldn’t put a price on cuisine like that. It wasn’t so much a meal, more of an experience. Jake’s birthday was coming up at the end of the month, and there was only one place he wanted to go. He would take his girlfriend, Anna, to the exclusive restaurant to try the wonderful food for themselves.
Imagine being able to tell everyone, that for his birthday, he’d been to Trudy’s. That would be so cool. When he told Anna he’d booked them a table for two at Trudy’s, she shrieked in delight.
The restaurant was packed, most of the tables crammed with diners, the air was thick with chatter and Dean Martin crooning in the background. The walls were lined with black and white framed photographs, of baseball players, movie stars and American and Italian landmarks. Waiters dashed this way and that, carrying large trays of food. Most of the diners were in their twenties, like he and Anna. Maybe as you got older, you became less fussy about fine-dining. He noticed that a lot of the diners were on their mobile phones, taking photos of the food on the table in front of them, or taking selfies in the exclusive restaurant.
A waitress in a white shirt approached them.
‘Yes?’ she said.
Jake was quite taken aback by her tone. He explained that they had a reservation for a table for two. The waitress turned and grabbed two menus and hurried away across the room. Jake and Anna followed, weaving in between the tables, finally reaching their small table outside the door to the toilets.
‘Drinks?’ She said, the tone still cold and flat.
They ordered two pints of Italian lager before the waitress turned and walked away.
‘Can you believe we’re actually here? Trudy’s! Everyone will be so jealous.’ Anna said.
Anna took out her mobile phone and messaged some of her friends, excitedly, about where they were dining.
Fifteen minutes later there was still no sign of their drinks and nobody else had approached their table to take their order. Jake waved at the waiter passing by, but, in what he sensed was a practised technique, he simply walked past them without even looking in their direction. When a waitress finally came over to take their order, Jake opted for the Trudy Mega Burger, and Anna selected the jokingly titled, pasta Harry Biata.
When their food and drinks order finally arrived, Anna’s pasta looked nice but Jake had been given a plain chicken burger, instead of the stacked mega-burger he had ordered.
‘You should send it back.’ Anna said. ‘Tell them it’s not what you ordered.’
‘You are joking! It’s tricky enough trying to get a pint of lager out of this lot, never-mind, complaining about the food. Anyway, how’s your pasta?’
‘Yes, yes, it’s nice.’ Anna said, prodding at the dish with her fork.
Jake sensed that it was hardly the best meal she’d ever tasted.
When the bill came, Jake nearly choked on his pint of beer. The food had been average at best, the service almost non-existent, and now they were charging him a small fortune for the privilege. Next year, he told himself, they would go to the lovely Indian restaurant over the road from where they lived. They would avoid swanky restaurants in trendy areas of the city. He was reminded of that children’s story about an Emperor who was given indivisible new clothes.
As they were leaving, Anna phoned one of her friends. She gushed that they had gone to Trudy’s for Jake’s birthday.
‘Oh, it was simply wonderful.’ She said.
At lunchtime the next day, he mentioned to his group of friends that he’d gone to Trudy’s the night before.
‘Trudy’s?’ Fiona said. ‘Nobody goes there anymore. You should try Mario’s in Eccles. Their food is just divine.’
Table for Two at Trudy's(CPlatt)
A TABLE FOR TWO AT TRUDY’S.
BY CHRIS PLATT.
One Monday lunchtime, Jake joined his colleagues in the break-room. The group were all in their mid-twenties, and were close friends both inside and outside of work. Over the four years that Jake had worked at the firm, several of his friends had joined the company, and the line between work friends and non-work friends had blurred even further.
Jake made himself a cup of tea and took a free seat at the table next to his friends. He asked Mitchell, his closest friend, if he’d had a good weekend.
‘Really good, actually.’ Mitchell replied. ‘Nicola and I went to this new Italian-American restaurant in the Northern Quarter.’
The Northern Quarter was Manchester’s coolest area. Anyone who was anyone hung out in the bars and restaurant of the area. At the mention of a new trendy eatery, the group were suddenly all ears, other conversations being dropped to hear about the new restaurant.
‘It’s called Trudy’s Place, and has the vibe of a New York diner. It’s so cool. The food is just out of this world.’
‘No way.’ Fiona joined in. ‘You went to Trudy’s? One of my friends went last week, says it’s the best pasta she’s ever had.’
‘It’s so good.’ He enthused.
Over the next few weeks, Jake heard so much about the new restaurant. Trudy’s was the place to dine, and every few days another of his friends had visited the restaurant and was raving over the culinary delights the place offered. It was expensive, they said, but was so worth it. You couldn’t put a price on cuisine like that. It wasn’t so much a meal, more of an experience. Jake’s birthday was coming up at the end of the month, and there was only one place he wanted to go. He would take his girlfriend, Anna, to the exclusive restaurant to try the wonderful food for themselves.
Imagine being able to tell everyone, that for his birthday, he’d been to Trudy’s. That would be so cool. When he told Anna he’d booked them a table for two at Trudy’s, she shrieked in delight.
The restaurant was packed, most of the tables crammed with diners, the air was thick with chatter and Dean Martin crooning in the background. The walls were lined with black and white framed photographs, of baseball players, movie stars and American and Italian landmarks. Waiters dashed this way and that, carrying large trays of food. Most of the diners were in their twenties, like he and Anna. Maybe as you got older, you became less fussy about fine-dining. He noticed that a lot of the diners were on their mobile phones, taking photos of the food on the table in front of them, or taking selfies in the exclusive restaurant.
A waitress in a white shirt approached them.
‘Yes?’ she said.
Jake was quite taken aback by her tone. He explained that they had a reservation for a table for two. The waitress turned and grabbed two menus and hurried away across the room. Jake and Anna followed, weaving in between the tables, finally reaching their small table outside the door to the toilets.
‘Drinks?’ She said, the tone still cold and flat.
They ordered two pints of Italian lager before the waitress turned and walked away.
‘Can you believe we’re actually here? Trudy’s! Everyone will be so jealous.’ Anna said.
Anna took out her mobile phone and messaged some of her friends, excitedly, about where they were dining.
Fifteen minutes later there was still no sign of their drinks and nobody else had approached their table to take their order. Jake waved at the waiter passing by, but, in what he sensed was a practised technique, he simply walked past them without even looking in their direction. When a waitress finally came over to take their order, Jake opted for the Trudy Mega Burger, and Anna selected the jokingly titled, pasta Harry Biata.
When their food and drinks order finally arrived, Anna’s pasta looked nice but Jake had been given a plain chicken burger, instead of the stacked mega-burger he had ordered.
‘You should send it back.’ Anna said. ‘Tell them it’s not what you ordered.’
‘You are joking! It’s tricky enough trying to get a pint of lager out of this lot, never-mind, complaining about the food. Anyway, how’s your pasta?’
‘Yes, yes, it’s nice.’ Anna said, prodding at the dish with her fork.
Jake sensed that it was hardly the best meal she’d ever tasted.
When the bill came, Jake nearly choked on his pint of beer. The food had been average at best, the service almost non-existent, and now they were charging him a small fortune for the privilege. Next year, he told himself, they would go to the lovely Indian restaurant over the road from where they lived. They would avoid swanky restaurants in trendy areas of the city. He was reminded of that children’s story about an Emperor who was given indivisible new clothes.
As they were leaving, Anna phoned one of her friends. She gushed that they had gone to Trudy’s for Jake’s birthday.
‘Oh, it was simply wonderful.’ She said.
At lunchtime the next day, he mentioned to his group of friends that he’d gone to Trudy’s the night before.
‘Trudy’s?’ Fiona said. ‘Nobody goes there anymore. You should try Mario’s in Eccles. Their food is just divine.’
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Kevin Hughes
06/13/2023CPlatt,
"Emperor's New Clothes indeed! " I laughed at the ending...we Humans so want to be "cool". I worked a Golf Tournament once, and beer that sold for $2.25 at the Grocery Store, cost $17 at the Tournament. But it was "Country Club Beer" said my friend. LOL Five beers, a hundred dollars...that will make anyone hop. LOL
Loved it! Five Stars because that is the max.
Smiles, Kevin
Help Us Understand What's Happening
CPlatt
06/13/2023Thanks a lot, Kevin. We're on the same wavelength! I hear people raving over swanky bars and restaurants. They only go so they can tell their friends they've been. Take care, Chris
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Shelly Garrod
06/13/2023Oh my, CPlatt, that was really good. A good eatery to one may not be to another. Their food and service wasn't the best! Nice pull at the end. Enjoyed the story.
Blessings Shelly
Help Us Understand What's Happening
CPlatt
06/13/2023Thanks Shelly. There are some city centre bars and restaurants that everyone raves over and I don't see the fuss. I thought there's a story there! Cheers Chris
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