let their children run around crowded restaurants like they are playgrounds?

Last night, I went out to dinner with a friend. We were both starving and wanted something substantial. Italian food seemed to be a great option to cure our hunger. We also wanted to eat at an open-air restaurant. Since it met all of our criteria, we decided to go to Rolandi’s Pizzeria Cancun. I wasn’t overly impressed the first time I went there, but that was quite a while ago. My friend had recently had a bad experience there because of bad service. We thought that was probably a fluke and decided to give it a chance.

We were seated at a nice table surrounded by vines and other foliage. It’s really quite a lovely setting despite the fact that it is located next to a busy downtown street. Cancun is a busy city so you get used to traffic noises if you want to eat outdoors.

Soon after we were seated, my friend and I both realized we were terribly congested and coughing. It seems they burn incense at Rolandi’s and I am terribly allergic to it…and many other things. A few moments later, there was a cat milling around our table. I’m also very allergic to kitties. Thankfully, it didn’t hang around. While I’m not allergic to children, I certainly wouldn’t consider myself a fan of them. My friend is not a big fan of kids either. Of course, the restaurant had several families trying to enjoy their meals. It seemed as though they all decided the best way to ENJOY the meal would be to send their kids off to play…in the restaurant.

We were bothered by several children running around our table, but what really took the cake was the little girl on roller skates. Yep, her mom and dad thought it would be perfectly acceptable….and not the least bit annoying for other diners…if their little girl (probably 6 or 7 years old) skated through the dining room. I’m not a mother and probably never will be, but I seriously doubt most parents would consider this to be proper behavior for dinner…much less for a dinner in a public place! As a service to everyone trying to enjoy meals at restaurants around the world, I beg all parents to please corral your kids at your table while dining and take all screaming children for a walk outside of the dining area. Things like that really ruin an otherwise nice meal. Ok, enough of my ranting….for now.

The service started out strong! Our waiter came right over and took our drink order. He was back in a flash with our sodas and some fresh-baked bread. We took a few more minutes to look over the menu before ordering. I decided on a Chicken Caesar Salad and a pizza with fresh tomatoes, onions, and garlic. My friend opted for the Tomato and Mozzarella salad and Rigatoni in a white cream sauce. Shortly after taking our order, the waiter seemed to lose interest in us. Our entrees were delivered one at a time…by the busboy…and empty glasses or extra plates were not removed unless the busboy or server were especially bored and needed a job to do.

When the server decided to make a cameo appearance at our table, I ordered dessert. I had been smart enough to check out the dessert menu before ordering dinner and allowed just enough room for some Coconut Ice Cream with Mangoes and Nuts. Well, the “nuts” they mentioned on the menu consisted mostly of nut dust rather than actual nuts. In fact, I don’t think anyone with nut allergies would’ve ever had any side effects from the scant amount of nuts that were sprinkled on the ice cream. However, the ice cream was probably the best I’ve had in Mexico. Ice cream here is nothing like what we are used to in the US, so it was a lovely surprise to have REAL ice cream for a change. Fresh mangoes on the side were just an added treat!

Once I was finished and couldn’t stand to eat another bite, I thought the server would swoop in and clear the plate. We’d use that opportunity to ask for the check. About 30 minutes later, he showed up. Not exactly what I would consider ‘swooping in’. It’s a small restaurant so I’m not sure where he had run off to….or why he’d leave his tables unattended for that long. Our meal was tasty, but not sure it’s worth the hassle of bad service, screaming children, and burning incense. (Yes, i know the screaming, rollerskating children were not the fault of the establishment, but it detracted from my dining experience, nonetheless.)

Going out to dinner gave me something to do for a couple of hours….and something to rant and rave about on today’s blog, but I think that from now on, I will just order take-out from Rolandi’s Pizzeria and enjoy it in my home.