catch-22

The other day, I went to Talo Coffee for lunch.

I had intended to try their thick omelette sandwich, but figured I would just miss the serving time (11:00).

When I got there, there were many seats taken and the lunch menu was displayed outside.

The waitress asked me if I was there for lunch, and I said "yes". She then asked, "You aren't here for the thick omelette sandwich?"

(I was actually there for that but figured that they weren't serving it already and said I was there for lunch...)

So I said, "no I'm here for lunch".

She again asked me about the sandwich and I again said I was there for lunch...geez!

I ordered the ladies set which was a daily special...chicken with vegetable italian yaki (which turned out to be chicken, veggies, some ketchup and cheese that was stuck under the broiler)...salad, rice and a mini dessert (which I think was a type of cheesecake) and coffee...990 yen (tax included).

As I waited for my lunch, I people watched...

There was tension in the air from the kitchen trying to fulfill orders and tension from the waitress trying to serve and wipe/wash dishes...

A table with about 3 ladies were having a nice time chatting...

As I was eating...a woman came in and asked if she could order "the sandwich"...they told her she could, but if an order for lunch came in, her order would be put aside until the lunch order was filled...eep!

Apparently in order to make "the sandwich" it takes awhile to make the omelette...still, she agreed to wait if she needed to.

Then, a group of ladies came for "the sandwich" and were told they would need to come back at 13:00 when the lunch crowd died down...

It was then that the owner told the group chatting that they needed to leave in order to turn over their table..

I was shocked to see this as it wasn't overly busy....

It's a kind of catch-22...you want to get your business out there, so you agree to be published in magazines and such...social media adds more "advertising"...the wave hits and you are krazy busy...some go out of business because they cannot keep up...most regulars are unable to visit and this usually leads to your business falling apart...

I can understand that when you are a "one man show" in the kitchen, things can get kind of krazy especially when all the tables are filled...

I notice that Japan has a hard time saying "no".

If you need to place limits it's what you need to do...

And we should respect these limits...

What I didn't really like about the whole scene was that they were shooing out customers that had just finished eating and were enjoying themselves.

If there was a line out the door waiting for tables, I would understand, but there wasn't.

For now, I'm won't be going back...

Sad because it was a really laid-back place before...