Kate and I went down to Richmond to hit up Costco and Stony Point a few weeks ago. While were at Stony Point, we had P.F.Chang’s for lunch, and I ordered the Kung Pao Chicken. As usual, I asked the server to make it extra, extra, ridiculously super spicy. First of all, P.F.Chang’s has more people working there than any restaurant I’ve ever seen. I feel like we never saw the same person deliver food around us twice. In any case, when our food came out, the girl who brought it to our table looks at my dish, and says, “Absolutely do not eat one of those peppers. They are insanely hot. I know you’re brown and everything, but they are insanely hot.” She was brown as well, so by the unwritten rules of who’s allowed to stereotype, this comment was perfectly acceptable. Having been warned by a fellow brown person, I was a little apprehensive. I waited for her to get out of sight and slowly put a chili in my mouth. Boy was I disappointed. Hot, but nothing notable. I reversed my previous position and made a mental note that she was racist.
When we went to Costco, it was a Saturday afternoon, which is prime sample time. You could have two meals in Costco when they have all their samples out. One lady was offering three varieties of Tasty Bite, which makes pretty decent instant Indian food. As I approached the table, she held out a small cup of lentils and said, “Would you like to try some of your food?” She was perfectly friendly, and honestly, I don’t even think she realized she said it. It made my day.
i worked at pf chang’s for four days! the first three were training.
hmm… come to think of it, I do remember thinking I heard you being a little racist at the beach.