Dan Ryan’s and the final exit

I shoulda known when I saw the sign on the car park door:

Where do we go from here?
In case you went looking for another exit after this one.

Next to the Regent Hotel is that very old branch of that American chain of restaurants known as Dan Ryan’s Chicago Grill, and that’s where me and two female companions decided to eat after a spot of shopping (buying cloats).

The only good thing about dining at one of these places is that you know what you’re gonna order because the menu hasn’t changed for twenty odd years. But the waiter who assigned himself to our table was still a little too quick to ask what we wanted. Roughly 0.0345 seconds had passed after we settled our backsides into our seats before he asked to take our order.

Then he came back about 0.0996 seconds after we had told him to please give us a minute, and asked to take our order again. Good thing this time we were ready and we had resolved to order the ribs. Because, y’know, you eat ribs at Dan Ryan’s?

When he was jotting down our orders, we noticed something strange. He was addressing only me and ignoring my female dinner companions.

“Can I repeat your order, sir?”, he said.

“How about some drinks with that, sir?”, he said again.

2.457 seconds later, he came by again and asked, “Would you like any drinks with your meal, sir?”

And 1.753 seconds after the rack of ribs landed on our table, he popped up and asked, “How’s the food sir everything alright?”

Less than an hour must have passed when we threw in the moist towelettes and asked for the bill. The bill was presented to ‘sir’, who passed it to his female friend who wanted to use her Citibank credit card. The processed bill came back and was re-presented to ‘sir’, who, by this time, was wracked with trying to stifle laughter, and meekly pointed at sir’s dining companion, at which point, sir’s assigned waiter went ‘oh’.

It was time for the final exit.

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…come and enjoy an most authentic American brunch,

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…and receive a free dessert when dine-in.

I dunno. Maybe they spik like that in the Singapore part of Chicago.

iTunes is playing an illegal copy of Born At The Right Time from the album “Anthology, Disk 2” by Paul Simon of which I have the original CD.

Surf stop: The High Levels

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25 responses to “Dan Ryan’s and the final exit”

  1. My RSSs Mr Brown Rockson Roy Ng Stylemywords Scott Adams RSSMiyagi

  2. eLsi3 Avatar

    hahaha. hilarious.

    some waiters/waitresses are like tt.

    some of them speak too fast.

    some of them speak too soft. (think u talking to ur gf/bf IZZIT!)

    but at least they’re better than those who look down on ppl.

    cant stand it.

  3. eLsi3 Avatar

    hahaha. hilarious.

    some waiters/waitresses are like tt.

    some of them speak too fast.

    some of them speak too soft. (think u talking to ur gf/bf IZZIT!)

    but at least they’re better than those who look down on ppl.

    cant stand it.

  4. Prab Avatar
    Prab

    how old was that waiter ?

    Perhaps the waiter hasn’t gotten over the mid teenage crisis some guys face of being unable to face women and talk face to face with them… ROFL..brings back memmories…

  5. Prab Avatar
    Prab

    how old was that waiter ?

    Perhaps the waiter hasn’t gotten over the mid teenage crisis some guys face of being unable to face women and talk face to face with them… ROFL..brings back memmories…

  6. MQube Avatar

    Hahaha! That is so stereotypical!! Whoever said the men are the ones with the ability to pay??

    I once went for coffee with my brother at Takashimaya, and when the bill came, it automatically went to him, who then redirected the waitress to me….me! who was looking at her expectantly as she walked over while my bro was buried in a book….aiyoh…at least pause and see who pulls out the purse first mah!

  7. MQube Avatar

    Hahaha! That is so stereotypical!! Whoever said the men are the ones with the ability to pay??

    I once went for coffee with my brother at Takashimaya, and when the bill came, it automatically went to him, who then redirected the waitress to me….me! who was looking at her expectantly as she walked over while my bro was buried in a book….aiyoh…at least pause and see who pulls out the purse first mah!

  8. Michael Chua Avatar

    What a sexist waiter. Was it becasue your female companion look unpleasant or fierce or unapproachable? Or was he gay?

  9. Michael Chua Avatar

    What a sexist waiter. Was it becasue your female companion look unpleasant or fierce or unapproachable? Or was he gay?

  10. nadnut Avatar

    maybe tat waitor recognises you, SIR! =P

  11. nadnut Avatar

    maybe tat waitor recognises you, SIR! =P

  12. caleb Avatar
    caleb

    What a twat.

    Anyway the food there isn’t very good.

  13. caleb Avatar
    caleb

    What a twat.

    Anyway the food there isn’t very good.

  14. lee Avatar

    sir, maybe the waiter wanted you to blog about him sir, and he probably thought you’ll pick up the check sir, or perhaps he wanted to hit on you.. actually I think he was trying to be polite. honestly.

  15. lee Avatar

    sir, maybe the waiter wanted you to blog about him sir, and he probably thought you’ll pick up the check sir, or perhaps he wanted to hit on you.. actually I think he was trying to be polite. honestly.

  16. Tym Avatar

    I really, really hate it when waiters assume the guy is in charge like that.

    PS: I thought Dan Ryan’s opened in Singapore in 1990 or 1991? So notch yet twenty years, right?

  17. Tym Avatar

    I really, really hate it when waiters assume the guy is in charge like that.

    PS: I thought Dan Ryan’s opened in Singapore in 1990 or 1991? So notch yet twenty years, right?

  18. virgin_undergrad Avatar

    wow, how did manage to take all those photos for ur ICT? do they allow cameras in camps now?

  19. virgin_undergrad Avatar

    wow, how did manage to take all those photos for ur ICT? do they allow cameras in camps now?

  20. PM-G Avatar

    What the heow?!? He actually came back to ask if the food was good? Never happens to me in Singapore. Happens all the time in the US, even at Applebee’s. Wonder if they get to keep the tip. That’s usually the reason why.

    I will say the Raffles Hotel has good service. Best I’ve experienced in Singapore. But Tony’s in Saint Louis… OMG! They’ll warm your plate on a tiffin if you go to the bathroom in the middle of a meal. So your food stays warm. They even bother to learn my unpronounceable-to-angmoh surname. All I had to do was tell the greeter my name and next thing i know my captain, waiter and busboy knew my name. So cool!!

  21. PM-G Avatar

    What the heow?!? He actually came back to ask if the food was good? Never happens to me in Singapore. Happens all the time in the US, even at Applebee’s. Wonder if they get to keep the tip. That’s usually the reason why.\

    I will say the Raffles Hotel has good service. Best I’ve experienced in Singapore. But Tony’s in Saint Louis… OMG! They’ll warm your plate on a tiffin if you go to the bathroom in the middle of a meal. So your food stays warm. They even bother to learn my unpronounceable-to-angmoh surname. All I had to do was tell the greeter my name and next thing i know my captain, waiter and busboy knew my name. So cool!!

  22. the screwy skeptic Avatar

    Not even a tad of Singapore in Chi town, unfortunately, but I’d love to see somebody speak Singlish here. Singlish, by far, is the most befuddling linguistic concoction created by any Asian culture, ever, to Westerners.

    And the only Dan Ryan we have is the Dan Ryan Expressway, as far as I’ve seen.

  23. the screwy skeptic Avatar

    Not even a tad of Singapore in Chi town, unfortunately, but I’d love to see somebody speak Singlish here. Singlish, by far, is the most befuddling linguistic concoction created by any Asian culture, ever, to Westerners.

    And the only Dan Ryan we have is the Dan Ryan Expressway, as far as I’ve seen.

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