The People in your Neighborhood (IHOP)

It was just a guy ordering dinner but it was so intriguing to me that I had a hard time turning my brain off. I woke up at around 2:30 and was imagining how I would structure a post around this. Guess its time to find out.

Like many couples, we had a big dinner on Valentine’s Day so ended up at IHOP the day after. I’m no foodie and there are just times when a combination of eggs, cheese, hash browns and some kind of pork is what you need. Strangely, I rarely get the pancakes which is what is in their name but that’s not important right now.

If you’ve ever been to a mostly breakfast place for dinner, it is a different experience. I looked around the dining room and just imagined what circumstances led all of us to this place on the day after Valentine’s.

There was what looked to be a mother/daughter and the daughter never took off her headphones for the entire meal. That was kind of sad.

There was also the couple with three kids including what had to be twin babies. The guy spent the entire meal looking at his phone. That was also sad. Maybe he needed a break from taking care of the babies or maybe he just wanted to be somewhere else. There’s probably a story there but I don’t think it ends well.

There was the lady with four kids who were a little rowdy but not obnoxiously so. It made me wonder where the father was. Divorce? Working? Dead? Something else?

Yes, I sometimes look at random people and start trying to imagine or figure out their back story. Just the way my mind works.

Then a guy is escorted by us to sit at the booth behind me. I didn’t stare at him as he walked by since that would be rude but my guess from a quick glance is that he’s retirement aged.

Our server comes over and gives him the “Hi I’m **** and I’ll be taking care of you”. This guy greets him repeating his name (good) and after being asked what he wants to drink, launches into his order. Iced tea and hot chocolate for drinks (interesting combo) and then the t-bone steak and eggs with the steak cooked rare and the eggs over easy.

Why that intrigued me, I can’t say but I suddenly found myself wanting to ask this guy a bunch of questions. I mean he certainly had the air of someone used to being in charge or control of things. So what was he doing at the IHOP?

And why would he order the steak at IHOP. I know its on the menu but I can’t imagine it is of the highest quality. Maybe that didn’t matter to him. Maybe a steak was just a steak and he’s not the type who wants the dry aged stuff from a fancy place. Or maybe he usually does that but the Sunday after Valentine’s still presented limited opportunities so he settled for IHOP.

Why was he alone? Had he ever been married. Did his wife divorce him because he was impossible to live with after retiring. Or did she die and he has to eat out because she did all the cooking. Or did he never find the time or right woman. Again, sometimes my mind just works this way and something about what and how he ordered just made me extra curious about who he was and what the life circumstances were that brought him to the IHOP on that Sunday night.

Then I started thinking about the person who would have to prepare the steak. I have no idea how many T-bones IHOP sells but it doesn’t seem like it would be a lot. I’m sure he’s trained but how many steaks has he (I’m assuming a guy here) cooked in his IHOP life. And getting it rare might be a little tricky. Was there some extra pressure to get this order right? The guy didn’t seem like the type who would pitch a fit if his steak wasn’t to his liking but steak people can be fussy and if you overcook a rare steak, you can’t fix it and you have to start all over again.

Plus it was interesting that he ordered both a rare steak and over easy eggs. Does he like his food a little on the raw side. Is there some new diet that calls for minimal cooking. I can’t imagine what the plate would look like with the steak juices and egg yolks all mixing together.

The hot chocolate is an interesting choice. IHOP doesn’t have a desert menu although some of their pancake options are essentially deserts. So maybe the hot chocolate served that purpose. I suppose if you’ve already committed to steak and eggs, a little more indulgence isn’t an issue.

In reality, this guy probably isn’t as interesting as I think he is. But that’s just where my mind wandered to and now I get to share my musings with you.

End note – I’m still mostly retired from this blog but last night was interesting to me (you probably think I need to get out more) and I was compelled to share it. So we’ll leave this here until the next time some random event triggers so many thoughts.