You need to understand, if you don’t already, that there is a difference between grumpy and mean. While restaurants have their regulars, both grumpy and mean, there is clearly a soft side to the grumpy ones. Ask any waiter and they definitely have someone in mind. Proving that point, a chef stopped by a diner in Michigan with a twist order: he wants what the happiest customer gets and the grumpiest customer gets. That includes burnt toast.
“I want you think of your grumpiest regular, not meanest just grumpiest, what do they order?” Jason (TikTok/thechefandwife) asks a waitress at the start of his TikTok video. Equally strange is that he also asks for the order of the one customer that “lights you up when they come in.” Being totally in on the fun, the waitress has two people already in mind, but Jason doesn’t want to know what it is beforehand, and it must be right down to the chosen sauce.
To his surprise, Jason is greeted with two delicious meals: a blueberry pancake, chewy bacon, and an omelet, while the other is crispy bacon, crispy fries, and toast lightly buttered with jam. Oh, and another omelet no ketchup. Jason chows down, positively critiquing the food (and being a chef, I trust his judgement).
“Can you hear that?” Jason says to his wife, Kate. He crunches the crispy bacon into the microphone. It sounds perfectly cooked! In good fun, Jason whispers, “No ketchup on your potatoes, man? Come on!” But they are crispy and the omelet on the side is the perfect blend. “They are good, though,” Jason says.
One commenter jokingly said, “I knew the happiest person would get a pancake. Obviously.” Because pancakes bring smiles and grumpy people don’t smile.
Another added, “This is so fun!! And she knew exactly who you were talking about.” She was so excited, too! The grumpy ones turn out to often be big softies anyway. Not to mention very particular about their orders.
“Mr Grumpy sitting across the restaurant thinking, ‘That man got MY ORDER, ‘” another commenter joked. And maybe he did — the waitress mentioned her grumpy regular was there. Jason was even whispering, so he had to have been close enough to pick up on the conversation.
It just goes to show that even regular people working oftentimes grueling jobs still make the effort to think of others. That’s the spirit of community. Something tells me those customers would love to be let in on the little joke, too!
