 The waiter arrived at the table before I had decided exactly what it was I wanted for dinner—there were just so many choices. Natalie went ahead with her order, and then it was my turn.
"Mmm ... everything looks so good," I gushed. "I just can't decide what to have."
He smiled politely and nodded, waiting patiently to press pencil to paper.
"Let's see, I think I'll go with the New York steak with mushro ... "
"Are you sure about that?" Natalie interrupted. "Don't forget about mad cow disease. You really should stay away from the steak."
"But I love steak," I whined.
"Yes, but steak doesn't love you. Don't forget what your doctor said about staying away from red meat," she reminded me.
"Oh, all right," I conceded, looking back to the menu. "Well, how about the grilled salmon? How's that tonight?"
"Excellent choice, sir," praised the waiter, scratching out the steak to pencil in the fish.
But Natalie shook her head.
"You don't want to have that," she warned. "Haven't you heard about the toxins they've found in farmed salmon? It said in the Washington Post that farm-raised salmon contains high concentrations of cancer-causing contaminants."
The waiter sighed and scratched out my second choice.
"OK, fine," I said. "I guess I'll just have the grilled lemon chicken," I told the waiter, then turned to Natalie and asked, "There's nothing wrong with the chicken is there?"
"No, if you're not afraid of salmonella or the avian flu," she said.
The waiter and I shared a frustrated glance, then I glared back at the ever-shrinking number of choices on the menu.
"Well, I suppose I'll just have the garden salad then," I sighed.
The waiter looked at Natalie before writing anything on his pad.
"Then I guess you didn't read the story in the San Jose Mercury this week about the germs they've found in fruits and vegetables," she said. "You may think that a salad is good for you, but you could be ingesting dangerous microbes."
Hmm, so what's left to eat? Meat used to be good, then it was bad (high fat content), then it was good (Atkins Diet), then it was bad (mad cow disease). We were told to eat chicken and fish, fruits and vegetables. But reports come out every week warning us of the dangers connected to those foods as well. What's a diner to do?
The waiter was still waiting, though no longer as patient as before.
"Well," I said, taking one final desperate look at the menu, "I guess that only leaves the pasta."
Natalie shook her head again.
"Uh-uh," she said. "Carbs."
Want to talk? Call me at 408.354.3110, ext. 31, or drop me a note at dsparrer@svcn.com.
|
