About once a week I’ll look at my home packed lunch with disdain and run out to pick up something to eat, instead of suffering through the typical hard boiled egg and salad. The place that tends to be my favorite haunt lately is a simple Italian meat market quasi deli that not only carries decent sandwiches, but also has upscale hot food dishes. They’re a little pricey, but definitely worth every penny.
And so all morning I dreamt of one of their turkey and provolone sandwiches with romaine lettuce and a hearty brown mustard slathered on a fresh hard roll. As soon as the clock struck 12:00 I sped over there, only to find that I wasn’t quick enough. There were at least a dozen people in front of me. Bored I began to watch the guys fill the orders and as I followed their actions it struck me that they weren’t wearing protective gloves. It was then one of the deli workers handed a wrapped tuna on rye to the customer in exchange for a crisp $20 bill. This guy opens the register, puts in the $20 and then hands the patron his change. I thought yuck! Didn’t I just watch some news report making statements about germs and bacteria on paper money? Didn’t they say the longevity of staphylococcus bacteria on a bill was 17 days? No problem, I thought placating myself, they probably wash their hands a lot, but before that thought finished he waited on the next victim in line without so much as dipping his fingers in holy water.
Overwhelmed by the potential food contamination I directed my attention elsewhere, but to my horror I watched as the owner, who was making a pair of subs for a snobby metro-retro couple, asked, “Do you want lettuce and tomato on those?”, and before he finished the word tomato he wiped his nose with his right hand. In their sing-song voices they responded, “Yes”, while inwardly I screamed…NOOOOOOOOO!!! Calmly I stepped out of a now exceedingly long line without a word and walked [I was proud of myself that I didn’t run!] to the door.
Once back to the safety of my car I realized that although I was repulsed by this newly banned food establishment I was still hungry and pondered where I could possibly to go that wouldn’t put me off of take-out for the rest of my life. I needed a place that enforces sanitary precautions, a place that gets audited by the health department on a regular basis
And so I ended up going where every other germ-a-phobic person would go, to Costco’s. It was there that a very clean gal, wearing a hair net and gloves, gave me a hotdog and a large soda with unlimited refills. Sigh, all that for a dollar fifty and peace of mind as well! Life doesn’t get any better than that!
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Ewww... I was in the A&P one time and while this girl waited on me she complained to the girl she was working with that she thought she was too sick to come in and started hacking and sniffling... I took the meats she gave me and put it with the cheese she had sliced for me and left them behind before I checked out of the store.
ReplyDeleteThe deli is probably mafia so be careful about the complaint... maybe the Fireman could make a call for you to the Health Dept.
Never thought of that. I didn't make a stink, I simply came back to the office and shared my experience with everyone, which means lost revenues, because the guys were totally grossed out.
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