Sureality Check

“I’ll take the Zinfandel, please. Thanks!”

It seemed such an easy choice as it would pair well with the risotto I had ordered. “White Zinfandel.” The waitress said as she started writing in her pad.

“The Zinfandel,” I corrected quickly as she started turning to the next person at the table. “not the White Zinfandel, please.”

“We don’t have one of those.” The waitress reported. I flipped back open the wine list and looked at the array of reds they offered. There was a page full of varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Merlot; there was another arrayed with vintages of Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Zinfandel. “You seem to have five of them.” I said indicating the bottom of the page.

“Do you want a bottle?” She asked.

“No,thank you; just the glass.”

“You need to order off the first page.” She responded.

“I’ll need a sec, please come back to me.” I said, scanning the Cabernets, Malbecs, and Merlots. I could see no indication on the wine list of the per-glass pricing on any of these items; nor on the Syrah ordered by the diner two places to my left, nor for the Pinot Noir ordered by the next person on.  As there was nothing on the first page that appealed, I ordered the Pinot Noir (hoping she had forgotten that she told me to order off the first page.

It wasn’t a Zinfandel, but it was nice.

Wherever you are today, I hope that you have gotten the things you like, even if they weren’t the things you wanted.

Don Bergquist – August 27, 2014 – Piscataway, New Jersey, USA