Family finds sport in dining out

The biggest sport in Cape Girardeau isn't played on a field or in a gym. It's played whenever a new restaurant opens.

Every time a new restaurant opens in our town, we flock to the place.

Nevermind the huge crowd. We get excited about eating at a new place even if we have to wait for an hour to get seated. It's recreation at its finest.

Such was the case last weekend in Cape Girardeau.

Joni and I decided we couldn't wait any longer. We had to go try the food at the new Italian restaurant. After all, the restaurant already had been open for five whole days.

So we headed to the new restaurant late Saturday afternoon, figuring it would be less crowded if we had an early dinner. But apparently everyone within a five-state area had the same idea and all showed up at the same time.

Not only did Joni and I decide to eat at the Olive Garden restaurant, we brought along five children for good measure.

As alert readers know, we only have two children. Becca, 14, brought along two of her friends. Bailey, 10, also brought along a friend.

So we had to get a table for seven. That didn't occur immediately.

Like everyone else gathered at the restaurant, we were given a beeper and instructed to present ourselves to the hostess when the red lights started flashing.

The lobby was filled to overflowing. The parking lot was crowded with customers too. A street vendor could have made a small fortune on us.

While Joni waited inside, the rest of our party waited in the van. We watched a DVD movie on our van's small screen.

In the middle of all this madness, I called Joni on my cell phone to see if anyone had fainted from the wait or otherwise allowed us to move up in line.

No such luck. But Joni assured me that some people had actually finished eating and others were actually being seated.

After a long wait, we were seated at a table in the middle of one of the dining rooms.

I had assumed we would be among the few foolhardy souls to bring children to a restaurant on its grand-opening week.

But a lot of other parents had the same idea. Maybe they just figured it was cheaper to drag the youngsters along than find a baby sitter.

Or maybe they were risk-taking, grand-opening restaurant goers like ourselves.

At any rate, we quickly remembered why we were there. We ate well. Becca even liked her chicken fingers.

That was a major accomplishment, akin to getting a good review from a picky restaurant critic.

But what everyone at our table liked most were the chocolate desserts. Best of all, they were free. Our waitress had messed up one of our dinner orders. The end result was that we dined on desserts without adding a cent to our bill.

Such sport isn't for the faint of heart. Making your way through the crowd at such grand openings resembles a rugby scrum. It's best to wear a helmet.

No one keeps score.

But when it's all over, customers come away with a feeling of pride and a full stomach.

And the knowledge that they're ready to do it all over again when the next new restaurant opens its doors.

Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.