My OWN Version of the Hunger Games

The Hunger Games movie came out this weekend.  Everyone seems to have loved the book.  I was "okay" with it.  I've always been a fan of dystopian settings, or post-apocalyptic settings, so the book was right up my alley, and I know the author wants the romance to be drawn out over the course of the trilogy (I haven't read the second book yet) but it seemed to me that the main character, Katniss, was particularly . . . stupid. . . regarding relationships.  I kept struggling to understand her responses to things and giving the author the benefit of the doubt that the character had been raised "cold" and in a friendless/emotionless environment. . . how COULD she understand what these other characters were trying to show her?  But it got REALLY really hard and I found myself rolling my eyes at some of the characters' responses particularly near the end of the book.  Anyway, this isn't a book review post.  The movie came out, and it looks intriguing.  

Saturday my parents offered to come over and watch the kids so that Leslie and I could get out of the house and spend some time together.  Last time I took her to a place she really likes, Cioppino, and she said she wanted me to pick this time.  A new burger place opened up, and I didn't want to spend a boatload of money, so I suggested that.  The place is called "Burgatory".  We drove about fifteen minutes away and walked in and the hostess said, "It'll be a two hour and fifteen minute wait." 

My wife thought she said "15 minute wait." 

I turned to her and said, "Do you want to wait?" 

She looked at me like it was a no-brainer. . . "15 minutes?  Yeah, of course we'll wait." 

"TWO HOURS and 15 minutes!" I told her, and we immediately left.

We drove to a place in Lawrenceville (suburb of Pittsburgh) called Alchemy N Ale.  Alchemy N Ale is this place that she and I have now visited three times.  I want to fall in love with it, but it fears commitment, apparently.  They can't help but fuck something up every visit.  Before we ordered I asked the waiter, "Are you out of anything?"  

The previous visits' sins had all been "we're out of that-related".  The cardinal sin came when my wife's meal was delivered to the table and the waiter chose THAT MOMENT to inform me that they were out of what I had ordered a half hour before, so I had to order while my wife was eating.  It was not a good "restaurant" moment.  So in response to my question, the waiter answered, "No."  

My wife ordered a steak and glass of wine, I ordered "frito pie" (I'm a class act) and a Railyard Ale.  A few minutes later the waiter returned and informed us they were out of the green beans that the steak came with, and were out of Railyard.  It's like the management of the restaurant is mocking me; daring me never to come back.

We had a drink each and then appetizers and dinner and left to go to a friend's bar because by that point the bartender no longer knew how to make a drink I'd ordered the previous two visits and we were just over the whole "experience".  We had driven half way to the bar and I looked at the clock and said, "In fifteen more minutes we can get our table at Burgatory."  I was bummed because I really wanted to try it, and obviously the Alchemy N Ale experience had not dulled the pain.

So, that was Saturday.  This morning my wife called me and said that the radio was talking about how "any restaurant located near a movie theater had a two-hour wait because of the Hunger Games premiere."  (see, The Hunger Games thing linked back, it wasn't a TOTAL nonsequitur).  This was good news because I'd sort of written off Burgatory because I don't care HOW awesome a fucking hamburger is. . . I'm not waiting two hours and fifteen minutes just to sit at a table for the privilege of ORDERING the fucking thing.

So anyway. . . Sometime soon. . . BURGATORY!!!  In other news. . . Alchemy N Ale:  Dead to me.