Once my girlfriend and I went out for a hot drink at a local cafe. It was the middle of summer so the front doors were wide open to keep the temperature down and let a fresh breeze sweep inside. Unfortunately, as the doors were wide open, the smell of freshly baked muffins and cakes began to attract some unwanted customers. Pigeons, dozens of them, began to stroll into the cafe heading for the kitchens. Many of the customers stopped and stared as the pigeons marched across the room twittering to each other.
A waitress who was passing by suddenly spotted the new customers and screamed. She ran into the kitchen with some of the birds following her. She returned shortly with the entire wait staff. Armed with brooms, they began to shepherd the birds back outside. It was quite a hilarious escapade as there were people running in all directions, brooms sweeping like swords, pigeons flying everywhere. Eventually all the birds were shooed outside and the manager promptly shut the doors. It was one of the funniest things I had ever seen!
Several years ago, I was visiting Boston. I was near Harvard Square and decided to have lunch at a small Chinese restaurant. The meal was OK, nothing great, but nothing to complain about.
After I ate and paid for my meal, I went to use the restroom. The restroom was one of those one-person restrooms, so the toilet was not in an enclosed stall. I was sitting on toilet, doing my business, and I saw a rat sitting in the corner staring at me. This brought a new meaning to the phrase “It scared the sh** out of me!” After that experience, I check out the restroom of a restaurant when I arrive. If it’s not clean, then I leave.
The Olympic games in Beijing, China, have helped to introduce to the world some of the country’s cuisine including, by Western standards, unusual foods such as what’s described in the Daily Mail article, Scorpion kebab, anyone? It’s fast food Beijing style…. For another example, see the video below which depicts reporters from the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times dining at a penis restaurant. They appear to enjoy their meal up until when they’re faced with an ethical dilemma involving one particular type of animal.
In some Asian restaurants, diners point to cages containing the animal that they’d like to consume for dinner. In an article published in the June 2008 edition of Men’s Journal called, “I’ll Have a Glass of Fresh Snake Blood, Please” (see pages 116-120), Lawrence Osborne describes visiting such establishments in China and eating an array of critters including seagull, dog, and donkey, ingesting bull semen, and drinking snake blood.
Many communities are allowing dogs at outdoor dining areas of restaurants. Listings of dog friendly restaurants in the U.S. and Canada can be found here. Unfortunately, in Korea and some other Asian nations, many restaurants are serving dogs – as a meal.
Enjoy these canine cartoons!
Speed Bump copyright 2007 Dave Coverly, dist. by Creators Syndicate
Fugu is a blowfish that has been consumed in Japan for centuries. It also happens to contain a neurotoxin with no known antidote that can result in a very unpleasant death – paralysis and suffucation while being fully conscious – if it’s not prepared correctly. Consequently, Japanese chefs who prepare it must go through years [...]
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