A is for Anticipation

After the order is made and the waiter retreats, the baguette can be ripped apart and spread with sweet butter or the focaccia dipped in olive oil. Maybe the waiter left crackerbread, cheese biscuits, or miniature sourdough rolls. Regardless of the sustenance, a person should enjoy the bread and enjoy the wait. Let crumbs fall on the tablecloth. Peer at the plates of nearby diners. When the kitchen door swings open, catch glimpses of cooks. Listen for waiters reciting desserts. During these moments, the promise of the order is at its peak, and the anticipation will enhance the meal.

Unless, of course, the bread is stale, the drinks never come, and two ants crawl out of the butter. Or the wait is just too long. However the cooks are not the waiters – even when service disappoints, the food still has potential. But poor service can give good food a bad taste. So keep fingers crossed when ordering, and hope to enjoy the bread, the wait, and a meal that fulfills its promise.