What? No Crème Brûlée??

Last night we went to one of our favorite Italian restaurants in the Triangle Area. Our Italian haunts include:

• Casa Carbone
• Ragazzi's
• Johnny Carino's
• Romano's Macaroni Grill
• Carrabba's
• Olive Garden
• California Pizza Kitchen

Of those, only Casa Carbone is not a chain, but these are the places we go to when we feel like Italian in the North Raleigh region we live in here in the Triangle.

Anyway, last night we hit Carrabba's on Capital Blvd. When we walked in at 5:30 on a Saturday night, we were told the wait would be an hour to an hour and ten minutes. No Prob, we thought, as when they say there's a 60-70 minute wait, we're usually seated in about 25 minutes.

Well, guess what. Last night we were seated at 6:40, exactly an hour and ten minutes after we arrived. That's cool, I guess ...

Our server, Jason, I believe, greeted us kindly and asked how we are doing this evening. I always have to bite my tongue to avoid saying, We're famished, thank you very much, due to the wait for this table. But how could I? They warned of a 60-70 minute wait, and that's how long it took. Instead, we gave him a generic, Fine, and you?

Anyway, one of the first things he said to us, in addition to the daily specials, was that the dessert of the day was Crème Brûlée, however, it was so popular that it was already sold out.

I am somewhat of a sarcastic person at times, so I said, "What? No Crème Brûlée?? WELL, then..." Like we were going to walk out then and there. Of course, I was just joking. Truth be told, although I have heard of Crème Brûlée, I don't really know what it is, nor do I really care because we usually don't order dessert anyway in a restaurant. Who has room after all that bread, salad or soup, and the dinner?

Soon after Jason left to get our drinks, I said to Kathy, Why would he tell us that they were out of the dessert of the day? What's the point if we cannot order it? Was he telling us in the event we were told, Be sure to go to Carrabba's and get the Crème Brûlée, in order to spare us from the agony of waiting an hour and ten minutes, (in spite of being warned,) only to find out later that they were out? If that were the case, they should announce that right at the door. "Welcome to Carrabba's. The wait's about an hour to an hour and ten minutes, and by the way, there's no Crème Brûlée."

The drinks soon arrived, and that's the last I thought about the Crème Brûlée while we were there. (There's something about the arrival of the drinks that causes one to forget about a LOT of things.)

Anyway, it was later in the evening after we had came home that the thought of the mystery surrounding the announcement of no Crème Brûlée that it hit me. Jason was simply explaining, in a round-about way, why our seating was so delayed. More people than usual were ordering dessert last evening. And of course, when more desserts are served, it pushes out all remaining seating.

Any restaurant personnel care to confirm or deny my theory?

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