Last night we went for dinner at Maderos, (PCH, Redondo Beach which has been reviewed here.) We had a yen for their bacon-wrapped shrimp stuffed with Cotillo cheese. Very much a crowd pleaser.
During the usual service start, chips, three salsas, what to drink? our server addressed me as "honey" a couple times which I thought was funny because he said "honey" to rhyme with Hootie. It sounded … awkward. It also sounded funny because the usual server would use "darlin'" or "Hon" instead. Male or female. The ear is accustomed to that. He took our orders and whisked himself away. But I got to thinking about this honey business...and suddenly I wondered if maybe one of those #MeToo bimbos might come in, be addressed as honey/hoooney and go ballistic.
Since we like everyone in the place because they are genuinely welcoming, I decided on a mission to save ours from a potential slap down. I patted the banquette and when he had sat down, I asked, "How do you say "honey" in Spanish?" He thought a moment and said, "Miel" which is honey in French, too.
I said, "Because of those #MeToo crazy women you might want to say it in Spanish and let them ask you. He nodded thoughtfully, thanked me and went back to work. "And," I continued, "You're mispronouncing it - it rhymes with Bunny like Honey Bunny." He nodded and tried it out. Both of us satisfied, off he went again.
Then I started thinking, as I chewed thoughtfully, "I hope I didn't hurt his feelings..." so when he made another pass past us, I apologized, adding, "It's not for me - you could call me, 'Hey, puta!' and I'd just laugh; I don't care!" He grinned and said, "I know." . You don't think that didn't give me pause.
It was my turn to treat and you better believe, he got the full 20%.
NOTE: The restaurant had just opened and attendance hadn't perked up yet. I was not taking him away from other people's dinners.
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