I Should Have Sent It Back

Posted: September 26, 2011 at 7:39 pm

Evening, friends! I hope you all had a good day. I certainly had a good one here. It was one of those days that felt extremely productive without feeling overwhelming. That always marks a good day in my book. What else makes a good day in my book? Blogging! I valued all the discussion on what makes quality content in blogs.

I would love for you to give your point of view too!

Funnily enough, tonight’s post is actually a prime example of one that I would have likely skipped over before changing my blogging habits. I would have told myself “oh, it’s just another standard weekend day in the FFF house”. But why shouldn’t I recap some of our weekend fun if I enjoyed it and feel like giving you a peek into our Saturday? Why not is right. Which is why I’m here now.

After Saturday’s mother-daughter shopping time and getting other errands accomplished, we picked up the boys for some family bonding. I bet you can guess what our family bonding experience included…

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Time in the sun at the park! Go figure. Winking smile 

We have to soak up as much park time as we possibly can while the weather is so perfect for it. You can’t beat anywhere in the high 60s to low 80s for park fun. If I can get my kids outside playing and expending energy without freezing to death or stewing in my own sweat – I am there! Plus, it is so fun watching Makenzie play now. She has become quite the little adventurous one.

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I have to keep a close eye on that one. I think she forgets that she is an itty bitty. Yet another way she is like her mommy – wanting to run around and explore everything.

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Then Braedon sits over there taking after his daddy.

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A people watcher to the extreme!

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After enjoying the great outdoors for a little over an hour, the two adult units decided they needed some grub. It should come as no surprise that grub on a Saturday night involved dining out a la group deal. Groupon all the way!

This particularly deal was for a new to us restaurant called “The CooCoo’s Nest”.

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It looked like a happening place with a jam packed parking lot. After being seated, I quickly ordered a Blue Moon and some water. I was craving a beer like none other on Saturday. I think long runs do that to me. Seriously!

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Then, I got to work on deciding what to order. Uh-oh. The menu didn’t seem very promising. All of the food was your standard bar fare of chicken tenders, huge burgers, nachos, and the like. Nothing at all stuck out to me as sounding all that great. I eventually settled on the fish tacos. Along with a side of mango slaw, which I actually really enjoyed.

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The fish tacos, on the other hand?

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I should have sent them back. And I probably would have had we not used a group deal and had to get going. At least they didn’t taste as unappetizing as they look, but they certainly weren’t even close to good. I actually took at all but one piece of fish per taco and mainly ate the sweet potato fries they accidentally brought out extra (thank goodness for that mistake!) and the slaw. I also helped Peter finish off his Sweetwater 420. A dinner of beer and sweet potato fries can’t be all bad, right? That’s at least what I will tell myself. Can’t win ‘em all, I guess!

  • Do you have trouble sending back food?
  • Were you more adventurous or observant as a kid? As a kid, I was more observant, but I definitely like DOING now.

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38 Comments to “I Should Have Sent It Back”
  1. Hi! Remember me!? I swear I still read every post I just suck at commenting. Your blog has certainly come a long way since I started reading. Anyways, I have no shame. I would have sent it back 🙂

  2. Love that pic of M jumping! And Blue Moon after long runs = bliss!

  3. Julia says:

    I hate sending food back, so I get where you are coming from.

    I received a completely wrong meal (ordered a pasta dish with scallops and was served a very different asian meal containing scallops) in Shanghai this past week. I didn’t send it back, because it looked fine to eat and I was pretty sure it was a mix-up due to the language barrier. It was late in the evening, we were hungry, service in Shanghai is SLOW, and I didn’t want to make the server feel stupid. We even paid about $4 more for the mistake meal.
    If this had happened in the U.S. I might have thought more about sending it back, but I’m still not sure I would have.
    I also think my decision would depend on the type of restaurant – at a bar type place similar to where you were, I probably would not, but maybe at a nicer place, where I expected more then I would.
    Great post!

  4. I don’t remember ever sending food back. My mom scared me with stories about spitting in our food when I was little than I can’t stomach doing it. Silly, huh?

    I was definitely not adventerous as a kid and was very shy. Now I’m not. I’m hoping that I can instill some fearlessness in my kids so that they never miss out on anything like I felt I did sometimes. But, I’m learning with my stepson that they’re either born that way or not.

  5. Man– I hate it when a meal disappoints like that! Even so, I’m such a wuss– I hardly EVER send anything back!!

    At least you got some tasty sweet potato fries out of the night!

  6. Huh, I was cleaning and you were playing on Saturday…not fair! HHMMM, that’s such a hard call. I know this will sound bad, but I question the service if I send something back. If it’s not what’s described on the menu, then I would, but if it was and you didn’t like it then, no, I wouldn’t.

  7. Rebecca says:

    Love the kid photos, as always!

    I don’t remember ever sending anything back. I’m not sure I’ve ever I needed to… Although there was one time I went out with a couple of friends and one of us appeared to have a hair in our food. The other friend pointed it out to our server, who came back a few minutes later politely insisting that it was a string from a dish towel or something. But she was going to give us a break or a free muffin or something, which was cool.

    I’m more of an observer. I think I always have been.

  8. Mellissa says:

    I never sound food back but should! I ordered dinner tonight and it took 2 hours and the driver actually asked for a tip.

  9. I am horrible at sending food back! I spent too many years as a server to make a fuss – even when I should.

  10. I was a little bit of both as a kid! Haha great pics, so cute 🙂

  11. I am usually not one to send back food. If it’s what I order and it’s not good I kind of feel like it’s my fault for not ordering what I wanted. If it’s not what I ordered on the other hand or it’s not cooked right, I send it back.

  12. Lee says:

    I don’t usually send food back. Only if I’ve asked for something not on it (like mayo) and it’s on it anyway, then I will.

    I crave beer after a long run too.

  13. You know…I hear nothing but good things about Blue Moon with an orange slice. 🙂 I might have to try it.

    I am in love with Mr. B’s hair!!! Such a great color…especially with those eyes!!!

    I wish you lived closer…M and Hannah and Maddie would have a BLAST together. Seriously…I see her pictures of being dressed up and running around on the playground and it makes me think of my girls. 🙂

    I’m a good mix of observant and active. I love people watching…but recently, I’m up for playing more.:)

  14. I always send back food if I’m not satisfied. I figure it I’m paying, I should get what I want!!

  15. I have no problem sending a meal back if it’s not cooked properly (especially overcooked meat) but when it just plain sucks I’ve never done it. Mostly because I’m scared what they’ll do to anything else I order and it’s awkward to say “can you take this back, it’s horrible?” haha So usually I’ll just suck it up and pick at it and make a mental note to not go back there again.

  16. Meg says:

    I hate when fish tacos come out all breaded like that! It’s so disappointing because I think I’m getting fish tacos not FISH STICK tacos. 🙁 Boo. I’m terrified to send back food on the off chance someone gets sassy and does something disgusting to it.

  17. I NEVER send anything back! There were probably times that I should have, but I am so timid with stuff like that! I have always been that way! At least you had a Blue Moon…that makes for an excellent night! 🙂

  18. Karen says:

    I never have the courage to speak up and send something back. I have a non-confrontational personality so I avoid anything that would cause tension or make a scene.

    I’m definitely more on the observant side. I was always the one sitting on the sidelines watching everyone but never brave enough to give it a shot.

  19. Beer and sweet potato fries! Nom!

    If I really hate something I order, I usually tell the waiter. They will usually bring you something else, at least at a discount if not complimentary.

    That picture of B is /to die for/.

  20. Amy Lauren says:

    I hate sending food back. I’ll only send it back if it’s absolutely not what I ordered, but I’m usually so picky and so specific about what I order that I don’t know how they could get it wrong.

    Glad it’s a little cooler there and you’re able to go to the park. It’s still super hot here and it’s rained for like the past week! I’m ready for some outdoor time myself.

  21. B n B says:

    Meh…it’s only food. There are worst things in life. It can’t always be good 🙂

  22. I’ve never sent food back at a restaurant, even if I hated my meal. I’m usually not shy or timid, but I guess I just feel too bad doing that!

  23. I never do. I am such a weiner. However, a night with beer is NOT a night wasted.

  24. I never send food back — I feel so bad doing it! I know there are times I should, and I know (in theory) that I’m paying good money for it and it should be decent. But I still never do.

  25. Elaine says:

    I have never sent food back and there has been plenty of times where I should have. I guess I just feel bad.

  26. I think beer and sweet potatoes are superb.

  27. Heidi says:

    I wish I had known you were going there.. I could have warned you. I’ve been twice and really should not have gone the 2nd time. It’s the only place that’s ever messed up a salad for me.. and that’s hard to do! Sometimes those coupons are just too good to pass up though.

    Next time you want a restaurant by the lake, aim for Skogies. Really good! And Norman’s Landing which is a couple of exits south down 400 from CooCoo’s is a good place.

  28. peacebeme says:

    I don’t have any issues sending back food. I have even asked a bartender to make my drink stronger when I felt like it was just juice and I wasn’t getting what I was paying for! 😉 Problem is that my fiance gets SO embarrassed when I do these things so I guess I hold back sometimes now. As long as you say it in a nice way though, I think you deserve to get what you paid for!

  29. Khushboo says:

    I don’t have an issue sending food back- as a paying customer, we are entitled to! Although I sometimes don’t only because I can tell it would really embarrass my fellow diners (which baffles me to be honest)

  30. It’s quite unusual in Germany to send back food just because you don’t like it. It’s basically “you order it, you pay for it”. Period. Unless there’s something really wrong with it, like it’s completely cold or burned or way too salty.
    Well, maybe I’m wrong and I’m just too shy?

  31. Alyse says:

    I never send food back. I feel embarrassed to for some reason. Plus, maybe the cook the was just having an off day. It happens.

  32. Depends on the situation for me too if I send it back or not. I recently had fish tacos that I really did not enjoy and didn’t send them back either. Coincidence?!

  33. Brittany says:

    I always feel bad about sending back food. I feel like if it isn’t THAT bad then I’ll just eat it. If it is something like too spicy, then i’ll usually send it back because I can’t even eat it. If there is a HAIR in my food, forget it I will have no trouble sending it back because I will not touch that plate!

    • Tina says:

      That’s how I am. If it just doesn’t taste great, but is still edible and nothing disgusting, I’ll usually just eat it. I would rather not deal with the hassle!

  34. I hate sending food back. It embarrasses me so badly! I wish I had more guts to get what I want, but I hate feeling like I’m creating an issue. The only time I’ve sent something back was recently when I ordered buffalo chicken tenders and they came out honey bbq… I tried one to make sure and they were not right so my table encouraged me to send them back (we had had pretty bad service so far, so I didn’t feel that bad returning the food)… so I did… and when they came back out, they had just taken the same tenders with the old sauce on them and tossed them in buffalo sauce. Talk about a disaster! I actually talked to the manager that time and refused to pay for the meal. I was shaking I was so scared though!

  35. Coco says:

    Ugh. I hate when my food comes and its not want I expected. Like the chicken that was battered and deep fried when I expected grilled (sent back) or the tuna that was tunafish salad as opposed to grilled tuna (I picked at it, but I always ask now). The one thing that I thought must have been wrong on the menu but was right: “a grilled cheese burger.” Instead of a bun, the burger was served in between 2 grilled cheese sandwiches! I did not send that back, though!

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