Side of Saliva: Beer Garden Server Asks Kitchen to Spit on Burger
The customer’s reaction was, naturally, one of disgust.
Image: tomorca/iStock
And with that refreshing stein of lager, we’ll have a cheddar cheeseburger, well-done, with toasted bread, mayo and caramelized onions. Oh, and by the way, could you please spit in it too?
The Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden in Astoria, Queens, has made national headlines this week after a customer found some stomach-turning cooking instructions on the receipt for his Father’s Day cheeseburger.
In a photo shared with New York City’s WABC Eyewitness News, a dinner receipt bears the request that the kitchen add cheddar to a cheeseburger, cook it well-done, toast the bread and “PLEASE SPIT IN IT TOO.”
When Curtis Mays realized what that meant, he felt like he was going to be sick to his stomach. He alerted the manager and was not charged for his meal.
While Mays originally told WABC that the waitress was fired “immediately,” a statement posted to the beer garden’s Facebook page explained that she has been “suspended pending the outcome” of an investigation.
It is unclear why the request was made, since the waitress in question had never received any complaints in the past, according to the manager.
As Eater pointed out, some are suggesting that the note could have been intended as a request to “PLEASE SPLIT IT IN TWO” though that would be three typos in the span of five words. So while we’d like to believe in the goodness of humanity, we also have a hard time forgiving a typo rate of 60%.
Mays suggested that the trick might have been played because of a mix-up with his order. Nonetheless, the manager does not believe that the cooks would actually have done such a thing.
The Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden has been around since 1910, when it was founded as a community center for Czech immigrants. It boasts a dedicated clientèle, many of whom took to social media to defend the restaurant and its employees. Others have pointed out recently that, while it claims to be family-friendly, the beer garden has recently been rude and aggressive to adults with small children.
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