The Man Behind the Curtain

Some things in life are simply better left unknown.

Santa Claus comes to mind. Wouldn't life be so much more magical if the true identity of good old St. Nick were never known? Same for the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny and the actual ingredients of an Oscar Meyer hot dog.

When Dorothy and her rag-tag bunch of castaway friends went to see the wizard in Emerald City, their hopes and desires were limitless. With the help of the wizard, the scarecrow would once again have his brain, the lion would again have his courage, and Dorothy would finally be able to return home to Kansas.

Remember their disappointment upon peeking behind the curtain, learning that the wizard was nothing more than a con artist - a travelling salesman with a knack for navigating hot air balloons? Their lives would never be the same. They were now jaded and disillusioned. Their innocence was now lost. The magic was now gone.

Last summer, while making a weekend get-away to the Northern California coast, we had the opportunity to visit Emerald City. You might know it as Our Favorite Little Restaurant in Trindad. I had considered posting the name of the restaurant, but thought better of it. You’ll see why in a moment. Trinidad is a quaint little seaside town and "The Restaurant” is a quaint little cafe in that quaint little town. 

And they have some of the best food known to man.

I’ve been there probably a half dozen times and have not had a bad meal. Their clam chowder is incredible and this, coming from a non-clam chowder guy, is saying a lot. Their blackberry cobbler is out of this world.

The kids love the place as well. You see, they have this item on the kids menu that the kids can’t get enough of. Its call Mac-n-Cheese. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. Whenever I am in charge of preparing Saturday or Sunday lunches, it is always Mac-n-Cheese. Either that or cold cereal. That’s all I’ve got in my culinary arsenal.. But the kids never tire of it. They love the stuff.

But there is something special about the kids dish as prepared by “The Restaurant”. Despite all of the other delicious items on their kids menu, the kids always seem to come back to the Mac.

This particular trip, we were at the eatery with two other families, totalling 9 kids. The majority of the kids ordered Mac-n-Cheese, fries and a side of Ranch Dressing. A delicious meal, to be certain. And it had better be, at almost $6 per meal. Since it was something that we knew the kids would enjoy, we didn’t balk at the price tag. Plus, it was “The Restaurant” and it was sure to be good.

I should have know that something was amiss when I caught a peek into the serving area and saw a large bottle of Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing. This didn’t bother or surprise me. After all, I like Hidden Valley Ranch, and they didn’t charge us extra for the dipping sauce. Plus, they have to get their food from somewhere, so why not in bulk at Costco? For something that tastes good and is offered at no extra charge, they can serve whatever they want. Right?

On this occasion, our food was taking longer than usual. We thought that to be odd. After all, Mac-n-Cheese had to be a fairly popular kids item, so it should be one of those items that they always had on standby.

As our waitress brought out all of the items that the adults ordered, she apologized profusely for taking so long with the kids’ food. She then explained that they only had one microwave working. I thought to myself, “What does one working microwave have to do with our order?”

She continued.

They had underestimated how many of the the kids at our table would order Mac-n-Cheese and how long it would take to cook each order. You see, they used Kraft Instant Macaroni and Cheese packets. You know - the kind that come with two single size packages - one for the macaroni and one for the powdered cheese. The same product that we have in our pantry that we recently purchased at WinCo for $1.38 for 10 packets. Now, we were paying more than $50 for 9 packets! The same exact stuff with a couple of french fries (likely frozen Ore Ida), and some Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing from a Costco-sized container.

While I appreciate the waitress’s candor in explaining why our food was late, in some ways I wish that I had never been afforded that sneak peak “Behind the Curtain” to see how one of my favorite restaurants prepares their food. 

Life was bliss, with me knowing that, while on vacation, my kids were eating a healthy, quality, home-cooked style meal. And darn it, I was okay with paying $6 to do so.

Will this knowledge stop me from continuing to eat there? Absolutely not. I did mention that their blackberry cobbler was out of this world, didn't I?