I love to spend time with my friends across a table, sharing a meal – especially the sharing part. I always ask for a taste, and I’m not shy about it either! So, you can imagine my devastation when I went to a big group dinner and we all ordered the exact thing.
Nothing could have prepared me for this devastation.
What was supposed to be a normal pasta dinner for a friend’s birthday turned into chaos as soon as our orders were placed. The night started fine, jokes were made, drinks were ordered, the menu was under review. It was my dear friend’s Jessica’s birthday and she was so excited to try this new spunky Italian spot in her neighborhood, famous for their penne alla vodka.
I knew what I was getting, but I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. Who knew penne alla vodka could ruin a life?
The waiter took my order first: penne alla vodka. Then Jessica’s: also penne alla vodka. I was a little taken aback, but it was her birthday and what the birthday girl wants the birthday girl gets. It wasn’t until Jessica’s cousin, Josh, set a dangerous precedent that the night took a turn for the worse. Josh looked the waiter dead in the eyes and said, “Um, you know what? I’ll get the same thing.”
The echoes of “I’ll have the same thing” still ring in my ears to this day. All 12 of us ordered the same exact pasta dish.
The whole point of going to dinner with a huge group of people is to taste each other’s food, so we can all have a bite of everything on the menu. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Has everyone lost their minds? How could they do this? It felt illegal for us all to order the exact same dish, but sure enough the waiter brought out 12 pasta alla vodkas to our party of 12 idiots.
Since Jessica’s 24th birthday dinner at Panna Nonna, I haven’t been able to enjoy group meals since. Work lunches and bestie brunches have passed by, but I still fear it’ll happen again, everyone hungering for the taste of the same dish and all of us stupidly ordering the exact same thing.
