Taste = Experience ?

Carrie's recent blogpost in addition to my experience driving past some ethnically dressed people has got me thinking about our experience when dining in ethnic restaurants.

Chang's (Storrs, CT): Does anyone remember that protest outside of the high school last year about how the Chang's workers were all here illegally and were being paid under minimum wage and living in a basement? That shit was legit! Or when I ask the lady for "tofu with broccoli in brown sauce" she has no idea what I am talking about because she can only understand enough English for me to tell her the numbers from the menu. Everyone who works there is Asian.

Guapo's (Washington, DC): Mexican restaurant where I feel as if I can almost see the sombreros on all of the waiters. They are all Hispanic and all probably under 5’6”. They are constantly brining you chips and salsa while talking in a heavy Mexican accent.

La Petite France (Stafford, CT): Bakery where I work. The owners (Romeo and Alexandra) are from France and speak in extremely heavy accents. Alexandra’s grandmother has also been helping out recently and is here from France for a few months. She is about eighty years old and wears dresses, orthopedic shoes, and sneakers while smiling at me in silence when I do something correctly because she cannot speak a word of English.


Willington Pizza (Willington, CT): No one Italian works here.

Abyssinian (West Hartford, CT): They guy who served my food last time I was there was most definitely not Ethiopian.

McDonalds (Everywhere?): Pretty sure they don’t only have Americans working there serving our American food.

See how in the picture something just looks wrong? YEAH IT’S BECAUSE THE SERVER doesn’t exactly fit. It would be like if the guy from Chang’s were working at the Abyssinian or if a Guapo’s waiter served your food at La Petite France or if a black guy served you sushi. It just doesn’t fit.

Discuss…