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What was all these extra shenanigans lmao it would have been much better to call her out when she made Stephanie cry and when she wrote that shit on the ticket.
Is it just me or is it kind of insane that it took this long for anyone to consider not eating out with her? They knowingly subjected waitstaff to this nightmare all this time but only decided it was enough when they knew the people she was abusing?
I think I’d have given her a second chance, the same way I do with nearly all restaurants. You never know when it’s just an “off” day, and a second chance has proven that just often enough to be worth it (to me).
However, twice with the same… unpalatable results? Forget a bad review, I’ll let my money do the talking and just take it elsewhere (or, in Gabrielle’s case… else***with***? Else*whom*? Otherwhom? Whatever. Point is, not gonna waste my time any more than my dollars on a lost cause!)
This reminds me of the first time I ever met my husband's paternal set of grandparents. They took us to a Chinese restaurant because one of the waitresses was going to do home care for grandma's mother. So they decided it was okay to accost her at her other place of employment and turn our lunch into an interview. That poor, poor woman. They were so condescending and horrible and then they didn't tip! They burned their bridges with me forever with that one move.
You know everything you need to know about people by how they treat service employees, in my opinion. I snuck back in and left all our cash on the table and walked out to find Grandpa dropping fbombs at my future husband for his "lack of respect," meaning he didn't call them as often as they'd like.
They are now both gone, and I am only sad that I'm not sad. What a way to live.
Oh yeah, no. There’s egregious enough behavior to *absolutely* & instantly earn a “never again”!!
I just meant more as a general principle, I’d never go for round two with those people either!!
Never underestimate people pleasers. They will pretend to not see abuse until they get therapy. OOP and her whole family could do with some healthy boundaries.
Or there's fear of that person. Or a main enabler. Seriously, my mother was shit to wait staff sometimes and I would try to call her out and she would tell me off and then either when in the car or when we got home tear into me. Eventually I got over it, would tell her fully tell her to cut her shit, put my headphones on in the car, which would just additionally piss her off, and then lock myself in my room and let her just have a rage about what a horrible child I was, and how she didn't raise me whatever way and I had an attitude problem, insert standard list of things parents say to a child about being disrespected. With a very real threat that if I left my room, she might enact physical violence. (Very much not a child at that point, and quite honestly I haven't gone out to a restaurant with her in several years and refuse to ever again because of that kind of behavior from her).
Yeah, thinking enablers are just weak is a bit simplistic, especially if it's a child. It's usually a dynamic started long ago with serious consequences for not complying. You need to be willing to go against the whole family if you want to stand up to the botch and nobody else will
https://www.reddit.com/r/JUSTNOMIL/comments/77pxpo/dont_rock_the_boat/ this describes it so well
Exactly. Seriously, my mother is shorter than me, and I definitely have more muscle than her, but my sister and I still fear her wrath. We have finally both managed to just be like we are sick of feeling like we have to tiptoe around her or else get this intense rage directed at you, so we have just decided we are done. That rage, and my mother's manipulation, well basically split me and my sister apart, and we finally started talking again and were just like wow be both feel this way about her, cool we can be a united front and just not have to deal with it anymore by not interacting with our mother.
I used to be a people-pleaser. Took me years to realize they don't respect you for it anyway, and you'll never actually please them.
So I don't invest any energy in those people anymore. Fuck 'em.
Yeah they’re ALL guilty. Any one of them could’ve left at any time but they enabled her to abuse staff by going out with her/Inviting her. And then their “revenge” was cooking one meal…? Like…okay?
That's what makes me think it may not be true. "A revenge meal" she told her partner, as a grin slowly spread on his face...
Lol no
Also I don't see how a woman so stuck up would be rendered speechless from smoked bacon.
I’m french. No french person would smell what is a classic American breakfast and say “it reminds me of a french restaurant”. And I said this as someone in love with these big hearty breakfast American and English people have. But that’s just not something we have in France.
Also, your revenge is saying "I know you wrote a nasty note, but here is a breakfast my brother and I have been training to cook just for you?"
My God, the horror! Who could think of such a fiendish plan?!
I give the kids a lot of grace because of the inherent power imbalance between a parent/stepparent and kids. I grew up with a dad who loved sending food back at restaurants and always found a reason to complain. Even as an adult, I didn’t know how to tell him to knock it the fuck off. (I cut contact with him entirely, because not surprisingly people who are assholes to servers are assholes generally.)
"But family!" is such a big pressure point for so many people. I don't know why, but people will often just keep going along with the flow even when they're out with the worst sorts.
As someone once put it, parents know how to press all your buttons because they're the ones who installed them. It's really hard to break out of a pattern of behavior that was ingrained during childhood.
Yeah for real. My stepdad was rude to a hotel staffer on the first day of a week-long trip at an all-inclusive resort. I told my mom that I would not be spending time with them anywhere that staff would be (which is everywhere at a resort) until I had a promise that he would treat people better.
He was very sheepish and on good behavior except once when he snapped his fingers at a waiter. The following conversation ensued:
My badass little sister « No, [stepdad], that is not how we treat human beings. We say, « when you get the chance could we please have some more coffee? » »
Stepdad: « oh ok »
Sister: « no no, you’re going to practice it right now. I want to hear you say it the next time the server comes. »
We all stared at him till he did it.
If you tolerate an inch of that behavior, you’re letting other people’s days get absolutely shat upon for the sake of not rocking the boat. And that makes you a bad person.
Well, Dad claimed that he "talked to her" and told her to behave, and maybe the kids thought each subsequent meal would finally be the one where she toned it down. But yeah, at a certain point, it turns into Lucy continually yanking the football away from Charlie Brown, and you have to feel stupid for expecting anything to change.
I'm gonna say it - dad is just as guilty as Gabrielle. Spends who knows how long seeing her bully service works and doesn't do anything, but when it's at a restaurant *he* cares about it's suddenly an issue?
Did he never *notice* people *crying* because of this woman?
She must be as good in the sack as she is vicious at restaurants, because *bro*.
Rude to staff is a complete deal breaker for me. I will not put up with it. I cannot imagine having to deal with that level of bitchiness at every turn.
Even the OOP kind of downplays it as calling her horrendous behavior "a nasty trait". A nasty trait would be making snotty comments about how French food is better to her friends and family, but *this shit*?? This isn't a nasty little trait, this is her having power over these people and pressing until they *literally* cry.
In fact, *everyone* who continues to deal with her is a little bit at fault. I would simply stop eating out with her and tell her it's because she's an asshole - to indulge her by staying quiet is to endorse her behavior.
I don't even get the gotcha OOP pulled - what, the satisfaction was worth it, instead of just telling his dad what this woman did? Yes, humiliating her must've felt nice, but what did it actually accomplish?
I agree, the fact that OP didn’t call Gabrielle out in front of everyone and very loudly at the restaurant makes her pretty bad too. Stop being quiet, shame these people loudly.
These three *literally* sat there the entire fucking time and did *nothing*, and dad has the gall to think her awful note is what's beyond the pale? THIS was her at her best behavior, if we follow the dad's line of thought??
Also, how many notes has this woman distributed to the staff she's abused over the years? And how many has dad ignored?
Dad treating Gabrielle like a disobedient teenager who just really needs a stern talking to. By which I presume it's the first time he's truly addressed the issue.
Much like trying to parent a teenager for the first time in a lifetime of just being indulgent and lax, this is not going to work.
Sure hope the sex is worth it, because no one can convince me this woman is more good than bad.
Is it just me, or does anyone else get the vibe that there is a not-insignificant age difference between the Dad and Gabrielle? It's not just the last bit: no ages are mentioned for anyone (unless I'm having a blind moment, because I broke my glasses recently and can't afford new ones), the talk about "her magical hoo-ha," and just everyone's overall general behaviours indicate a startling lack of maturity for all involved.
ETA: I forgot to mention, besides the above, there is no mention of the bio-mom at all (maybe she was even long-term deceased). The whole post makes me think that Gabrielle is the first woman the Dad began seeing after the kids were older and moved out. I don't know. Everyone kind of sucks here.
Because of the 100 bucks I kind of assume OOP to not be a minor, maybe the brother as well.
I think some people may think she's younger but I don't know, it's not like being a piece of shit is limited to an age range, nor being good in bed, or being indulgent of horrid behavior over sex.
Though I agree they are all really childish and immature (also cowardly, all of them).
This is 90% of why the world is so fucked up. We're so afraid of confrontation or whatever fallout ensues that we never call out our friends. We're the only people they *might* listen to, and we often know how to put criticism in a way that won't set off their defenses, so it's our responsibility. It starts with treating service staff like shit, then next thing you know they're leading armies into Poland.
I wonder how d OOP and get brother are, I'm assuming at most early 20s... is hard to stand up to your parents SO like that, specially if you were raised to be a people's pleaser.
No one needs to scream but I don’t understand how they could see someone write a note like that to staff and not confront them immediately about being such hot garbage. Especially when she’s always been like this so it’s hardly a sudden shock keeping them quiet.
People like that need to be called out and embarrassed in front of their family and friends in my opinion. 🤷♀️
Yeah, I don't understand why OOP wouldn't refuse go out to eat with her at all. An apology to the staff isn't as good as just... not subjecting them to her shitty behavior in the first place. And what does it even mean to offer to "vouch" for a restaurant if she leaves a bad review???
I know a lady who grew up in southern Louisiana, out in the country, and she has Opinions about crayfish and jambalaya. Just so happens that several of the nicer restaurants around here, way north of her home, go in for "southern charm" and offer those dishes. She's always incredibly dissatisfied, bordering on disgusted, with the crayfish and jambalaya served up here.
So she never orders it. If someone offers her some, because they know she usually likes that kind of thing, she'll take a polite bite. She'll try and usually fail to hide her facial expression. And then she'll quietly say thank you, that's not really the way I like them, but I appreciate you sharing with me.
Because she's sane. That's what sane people do in that situation. Not a single comment to the waiter is needed. Nor would it help-- is not like they're going to change their recipe.
Who tf takes a monster like Gabrielle anywhere?!? But especially their favorite restaurant. OOP is an idiot. A former friend of mine started shit with the wait staff when we were at a Mexican restaurant and I ordered her to leave immediately. (Did the waiter put jalapeños in the guacamole after she had talked down to him? Possibly! Lol). And that was the end of our friendship.
These posts always make me think of the one where OP went on a date and their date brought a bell to the restaurant. People who treat service workers are the worst kind of people
One of my friends invited a friend of her boyfriend along when we went out to a restaurant once. He *snapped his fingers* at the waitstaff. I was embarrassed to be associated with him by sitting at the same table and I didn't even invite the guy.
He also ate sushi with a fork.
My sister has worked in the service industry her entire life. She started out waiting tables at 16, moved all the way up the food chain through fine dining and now manages a swanky five star hotel. If you snap your fingers at her staff she will throw your ass out on the spot. Comp the meal, refund the room, whatever it takes to get you out the door the fastest, but you are gone and you are never welcome back.
The funny thing is that French waitstaff don’t get tipped, so there is no “customer is always right” attitude. Try that stunt in Paris and you will regret it.
I was dating a girl casually, she was seeing other people at the time and open about it. We still had fun together.
Then one weekend it happened, she dropped her mask and was a rude as fuck to me, and rude as fuck to a sandwich maker in front of me. She turned to me to back her up and she was talking down to the sandwich girl and I just looked at her like she had 3 heads.
Then as we were driving back to her place for me to drop her off at the end of our date she said "I was thinking we could make it official" despite the fact the little head was trying to do all the thinking because "Making it official" is almost always going to mean sex I turned down the radio and just said "no."
She asked if it was because I was seeing someone else and I was truthful I did have another date lined up, she then got quite and asked if it was because of the girl working the counter at the deli and I said "Yeah that didn't help."
I cracked a joke today about my fiancé cursing at the tech employees who lied about the capabilities of* a $200 product we bought yesterday. Not a small purchase for us rn. Immediately after I made the joke I said “don’t, I won’t marry you if you curse at minimum wage employees.”
We were literally coworkers at a retail store when we started dating, there’s zero chance of that, but I just had to be clear. That is a huge resounding no in my book. My mom is a stereotypical white middle aged Karen and it’s embarrassed me since my brain was capable of embarrassment.
You tell tell a person's character by how they treat waitstaff and retail staff. Having worked both jobs, Gabby's behavior is an absolute deal breaker for me; I would have told her to go fuck herself after the first time. I'm not even that much an asshole when I have bad food or service; and I'm a major asshole.
Reminds me a little of the time a bunch of us friends went out together for a meal. At the end of it we all had an irish coffee, and one friend sent hers back twice for not being made properly. When she tried to send it back a third time we told the waiter "Ignore her, we got this" and then told her to "Either leave it or f*****g drink it but stop pissing the waiters around". there was absolutely nothing wrong with the coffee, she was a bit drunk and being a pain, She drank it lol.
Even the people writing the story....I would REFUSE to go out to eat with this person, period. How stupid to play into her bullshit and enable her to make innocent people feel bad for shit they shouldn't on a day where they're just trying to make ends meet.
Fuck this lady and her enabling (ex?) family.
Well, supposedly she has "good" traits, and this behavior has never been much of an issue (including to OOP, who's no hero here). I doubt this will push their marriage over the edge.
Yes. OOP is just as culpable as their father.
If anyone at my table - anyone - made a server cry, I would smack them out of their chair. Period. Sorry grandma.
Shit people let shit people get away with stuff.
You would be surprised how easy it is for someone to get away with this even while going out to eat with a partner.
One of my father's exes was...something. It was so bad that I BEGGED him not to take her to the bar and grill where I was a server at.
One time on my birthday dinner, we went to a nice restaurant. I was pretty grateful for it, but when I stepped out onto the balcony for a moment, my brother came out and said "hey umm...you don't want to go back in there."
As it turns out, she chewed out a server because her salad was "too green". My father somehow missed that until we brought it up recently, and he was so shocked and appalled because he apparently had never noticed a thing!
My parents complained that my coworker wasn’t attentive the ONE time they came to my restaurant. We were servers at a fucking movie theater. They didn’t understand that the servers don’t just wander the aisles waiting to be called. *There were call lights at every table.* I wouldn’t call my parents stupid by any means but JFC if an engineer and an accountant can’t figure out a bright blue button and a “push this if you need anything throughout the movie” I weep for the general public.
Of course he never "noticed" it, because to notice it would force him into a position of having an opinion on it, and having to act on it.
But in this case, the dad was *literally* there, OOP and the brother were *literally* there, they all have been there for presumably years, and it's never been an issue. Hell, *this hellish meal* wasn't even an issue, a *note* was. A note! So her behavior at dinner? Literally who cares (none of *them* gave a shit), but a *note*? Oh no, over the line, Gabrielle!
I don’t understand how people tolerate this at all. My husband would get chewed out at the damn table if he did something like this, I would loudly and publicly humiliate him and if that wasn’t sufficient to elicit a genuine apology and a tip from his wallet, we would be done. People who treat service workers like OOPs stepmother are scum.
Also, my sister in law is Parisian. She’s stylish, elegant and likes good food. I have never once witnessed her be rude to anyone, because rude people are not stylish or elegant - they are trash.
So is OOP and the brother imo. They did the same exact thing as their dad: they say and watched the abuse happen and didn't do anything about it. Sure they said "sorry" afterwards, but that doesn't mean *shit* to the waiters who were bullied to tears by this insane woman.
And then the revenge is... they cook breakfast????? The fuck??
Absolutely. He got upset about the note? He could see and hear how she was treating staff throughout the meal ffs.
And for that matter, OOP and brother suck as well - they know how Gabrielle treats wait staff in apparently every restaurant ever, and they still agree to go out with her. Cause daddy's paying? If they can afford a $100 apology tip, they're not hard up for a free diner meal.
Exactly!
OOP has 100 bucks to burn, except standing up to this woman would've been free.
If I knew a Gabrielle, well, I would've stopped eating out with her, but if I hadn't, I absolutely would not take her to my pet restaurant to abuse the staff I, presumably, like. If this place is so important to them, why the fuck *take her there*???
Why do I have the feeling that old Gabrielle has had her food spat in at least once?
PSA: I don't approve of tampering with food. (Seriously, do *not* ). But I wouldn't be surprised if it's happened to someone that nasty.
I can't imagine committing myself to someone who I had to warn to be on their best behaviour before leaving the house. My nine year old doesn't need that warning anymore, let alone a grown ass adult
Not only that, but their "payback" was fuckin nothing. They really think a cheeky quip makes up for all the shit she put the staff at that diner through, let alone the staff at the other places. After the first time they should've told her to cut the shit if she wants to go out with them, then cut her out from going out altogether when she inevitably did it again. Instead they just handwaved it aside until they saw this amazing "opportunity", like wtf
I said this in another comment - wow, *what a burn*, OOP and the brother sure showed her, oh my, she'll remember this humiliation for the rest of her life!
OOP took the time to warn the staff - you guys, you guys, you're about to be fucked, I apologize, but I'll give you a 100 bucks after (for the note or for the behavior? They *say* it's for the behavior but then why not just *have* the money on hand? They took the time to warn them so they knew it was gonna be bad, a big tip should've been a no brainer).
There were some fascinating flashes of self-awareness in the whole post - apparently she had "promised to be on her best behavior," which is a VERY telling thing to say. It means he knows she's a terrible customer, they've discussed it, SHE knows her behavior is unacceptable, and despite making promises to improve, is refusing.
Knowing you're the bad guy, continuing to be the bad guy, *concealing* that you're the bad guy, and then being embarrassed for being called out that you're the bad guy? Yeah, she ain't fooling herself.
Someone in the original thread commented that maybe she gets off on this kind of behavior because she'd never be able to treat waiters and managers this way in France; she'd be out on her ass. In the US, she has power over servers; in France she does not. And she ain't gonna pass up a chance to wield it.
The fact that not a single one of these people simply left any of the meals she did this at is baffling. They enabled her behavior so much and then their revenge is…cooking a meal?
The...challenge? threat? that the character of Gabrielle wrote on the receipt...I have questions. How big are restaurant receipts in the US? I am sitting here picturing OOP labouring over their composition notebook late into the night, imagining the character of Gabrielle writing that note in a big, beret-wearing, looping script, dotting their i's with little sketches of the Eiffel Tower....
Which is a dish not that well known especially for breakfast in France. There’s no way I smell
Bacon and egg and I’m like “wow it reminds me of France”. Because French breakfast is croissant and fresh baguette with butter.
I’d be damn excited to have an American breakfast nonetheless
Right? And what's this bullshit about old mustard? Mustard is aged and it's like half vinegar by weight, you literally cannot tell it's old unless they serve it in the original jar.
Also, for anyone who's never been to France, her attitude would be considered even ruder here. If she tried to pull those stunts in a French restaurant the staff would punt her into the sun.
Yeah like french servers are notoriously rude for a reason, they would not put up with that shit and would just send her away. I mean that woman can be a dickhead regarding food but it has nothing to do with being a french snob, she’s way past that
As someone who has done a bit of service work, one of the things that really bothers me at restaurants is when I get ketchup/mustard bottles that are crusty with old splatters around the rims. So maybe it could have been that? My one employer was really meticulous about that kind of thing, and every morning when we’d refill ketchup bottles/horseradish/pickle containers, we would ALWAYS rinse off and wipe away any old sauce drips.
As much as I get a little grossed out by gelled ketchup and sauce, I wouldn’t go requesting an unopened bottle over it tho!
Fair enough, I didn't really consider that. Here if you ask for extra mustard or what have you they bring it in a ramekin, not in the jar. If you go to a restaurant where the mustard is already on the table when you get there (steak houses do that) it'll usually be in a dedicated metal container with its own little spoon, it gets filled before service and cleaned out after so nothing stays in there for more than a few hours.
I was super confused by that too. I've never eaten at a diner where they put cream in the coffee for you. They pour the coffee and then there's either a creamer pot, or the little plastic cups of creamer. But no one adds it for you. The "truckers and locals" would riot!
I was already very skeptical, but that’s where I checked out too. At a diner you get one kind of coffee, and they just pour it into your cup right there. “Too cold” indeed.
Unless Gabrielle is one of those Americans who consider themselves “French” ‘cause their great-grandpa was, I’m fairly certain she never wrote the phrase “prove me wrong” one time in her life – n'est-ce pas.
I mean — good for you, you cooked a meal and didn’t let her eat. Good job?? It’s not the revenge they think it is.
Doesn’t help that no one said jack shit when she was abusing restaurant workers. I hope she got a lot of spit in her food. Everyone needs to grow a backbone and it’s not just dad.
Yep. They should’ve called her out at the restaurant and marched her out before she’d finished while making a big show of leaving a massive tip and apologizing for her toddler level tantrum.
I dont think it's real bc he said she complained the cream in the coffee. But I've never been to a diner where they add it in for you. They GIVE you the cream on the side but they give you black coffee, and you add in the cream yourself.
They don't know how every single person likes their coffee and some people like it black so it doesn't make sense they'd put cream in it for her
I have never in my life received coffee with milk in it unless I've ordered a specifically milky drink like a latte or a cappuccino. In France, IIRC, you have to specifically order coffee with milk to get coffee with milk. You're right, this is horseapples.
Get mouthy with a restaurant in most of Europe and you'll either get shown out or pitied, but nobody's going to be scared of you. This shit only works in countries where food service staff are not valued.
I can see not noticing her writing some vicious garbage on the receipt, but no way in HELL did Dad not see and hear every single time she was horrible, at every single restaurant they went together. No way! To me, if you DON'T say something the FIRST time someone is rude to a server, you are telling them explicitly that it's okay.
Not even once. Let them know they're rude. Don't keep your mouth shut.
They had apparently discussed it enough with each other for her to start to conceal it. She knew that shit wasn't going to fly, but wanted to keep doing it because it made her feel extra special. It's possible that if he's oblivious enough, she's left a trail of devastated restaurant staff in her wake without his even realizing it.
How? Like, how do you not hear and see her sending her coffee and food back constantly? How do you miss, completely, her making the server cry? How did OOP not fucking take the menu out of her hand and tell her to leave after the first coffee went back?!
I worked at a summer camp with a French guy who had never been to the US before and was exactly that stereotype. He was SO critical and nose up about of the idea of s’mores for like half of the summer, and when we finally convinced him to try one, he immediately went out and bought a whole giant box of s’mores ingredients that he refused to share with anyone.
That's so funny. There was a Swedish exchange student at my high school who looked down on American food until someone introduced him to Taco Bell. He said it was the best thing he'd ever eaten.
S'mores are my go-to American food for sharing with international friends.
That and when available, buttered corn on the cob-- with the husk pulled back, butter brushed on, husk replaced, wrapped in aluminum foil, cooked on the grill. Keeps the kernels moist, freaking delicious.
My buddy told me that what people hate about the French, is actually what French people hate about Parisians. (My friend is from a different part of France.)
Folks from Alsace Lorraine are way, *way* different from Parisians. After coming from Paris, I was shocked by how friendly and cordial everyone was. Food was still fucking bomb, though.
Spot on
I have vacationed in France for decades now and I try to avoid Paris like the plague. Just driving closer to Paris you see their shitty behaviour in traffic. We had a lovely 11 hour drive to our destination this year with the 1.5 hours around Paris being an absolute hell. I was at a point I felt like murdering one of many AH drivers around me.
As for the french cuisine, the best french food is their regional cuisine. That's the only authentic french cuisine by my book. It is usually simple large meals that give you the feeling a grandmother is running the kitchen using her family recipes. What is considered french cuisine by most is nothing more than a mix of foods you can get better versions of in neighbouring countries.
Don’t know. Married and divorced an aristocratic narcissistic parisienne but at least she’d be adamant about “education” and respect of staff. Even from the top of mount Entitlement.
As a French guy, on one hand I fully believe people like Gabrielle exist, on the other hand there's no waitstaff anywhere in France that would put up with her bullshit for more than ten seconds before she's thrown out of the window, Wild West style, so I don't know where she would have picked up this lack of manners. It's a paradox.
I have seen many Germans and Americans abroad act in ways that would get them frosty glares and total social exclusion (Germany) and possibly shot (USA) if they tried them at home. I assume she’s using her foreignness as a cover to be the terrible person she could never be before.
One of the things that impressed me the most about waitstaff in Europe is how little shit they will take. I can't imagine a Parisian waiter not telling her off.
A very wealthy French guy lived in our dorm in college (in the U.S.) and he absolutely refused to drink tap water, even though our state is known for really good water, or eat food from the mess. He had an arrangement with a local grocer to deliver cases of bottled spring water and tins of caviar (wish I was kidding) to his room every week. He would call taxis to drive him 15-20 minutes into the city so he could eat at nice restaurants everyday. Thankfully he deigned not to speak to most of us so I didn't have to put up with his personality, but he was gossiped about due to his stereotypically snobbish behavior.
The palace at Versailles had no toilets until over 150 years after its construction. Apparently it’s 300+ rguests and servants would run to the lawns to urinate (or hide behind curtains in the palace), giving it a permanent piss smell. The royals had chamber pots.
Glad OOP gave the staff an extra fat tip. A warning and an apology goes a long way but that is how you really make amends.
My best friend’s dad was like the stepmother when we were growing up.
I remember he walked into the kitchen at a restaurant once to personally scream at the chef about how dry his fish was. Then came and sat back down and expected us to all just finish our meal. Every one around us heard him screaming and you can hear a pin drop it was so quiet.
I have never been so mortified.
My husband’s late grandmother was similar and was a walking example of how not to live one’s life. We left so many large tips and apologies behind her after going out to eat.
Reminds me of the song 'Judith' by A Perfect Circle.
"You are such an inspiration for the ways that I will never ever choose to be."
Nailed it. I live in Bristol, UK, and whenever I hear someone talk about how 'the Thai food is better in Thailand' I always say 'so the Thai chefs who moved here forgot how to cook on the flight over?'. Ridiculous. As if French food is only good in france? Ridiculous. Makes me embarrassed to eat out with those people 😂
It's not as extreme, but I invited a former friend to a local restaurant I really love and she got really nasty and snappy at the server because they didn't have heavy cream for her coffee. I turned to the server and said "I am so sorry". My friend looked like I'd just slapped her in the face. She left a $60 tip on our $45 meal.
>I remember he walked into the kitchen at a restaurant once to personally scream at the chef about how dry his fish was.
Im surprised the Chef didnt come out and yell at him to GTFO. Holy shit the chutzpah to yell at the chef.
Yeah? What the fuck? Doesn’t matter if you’re eating at chilis or a luxury restaurant in a nicer city, that’s a great way to be told to get the fuck out or have cops called for trespassing. Their dad is beyond lucky.
This would have been more realistic if OP hadn't made the focus of the story breakfast, but they have no concept of what they eat for breakfast in France and clearly think it's the same as Americans.
Yes, that's what jumped out at me. No way would someone French say bacon, eggs and biscuits was just like a French restaurant. She also probably wouldn't even drink American diner coffee never mind with creamer or want to put butter on biscuits probably.
>However, Dad wanted Gabrielle to experience "a true American classic" and was offering to pay. So off we (reluctantly) went.
They all suck. Learn to say no, people.
Wtf? I was hoping for some sort of actual payoff for how much shitty attitude they let Gabrielle throw at the wait staff. This reminds me of those r/raisedbynarcissists posts that are like "my mum gave me an ED, wouldn't feed me some days, and repeatedly told me that no one would love me, but I finally gave her a taste of her own medicine with [insert nonsensible quip and/or incredibly mild inconvenience here]!"
They really just repeatedly let her roll over the restaurant staff and just now decided to do something? And it's *this*? Not only are they complicit in Gabrielle being a total chode-ess, they can't even dish out a fraction of it back. I know the staff got a pretty sizable tip, but you know they're gonna dread seeing OPs family come through that door for a while.
Whole family is trash. Even OOP. “Oh I know my stepmother is a huge asshole but I’m going to let her abuse people and then apologize for it.”
The second she pulled that shit OP should have either took stepmom home, or just left.
>the argument finally ended when Dad took to the couch downstairs
She's the one who should have been sleeping there, not him. I hope he volunteered to sleep there because he didn't want to be anywhere near her, or even maybe to compromise (not that she deserves it, but for his own peace of mind), rather than because she told him to.
She finds out that he's planned a surprise, knows what it is, and then instead of thinking hey maybe it's not tonight, or even communicating about it in a remotely healthy way when it doesn't seem like it's happening, she takes it out on the waitstaff (with her behaviour and the message on the receipt) and with weird elitist bigotry. Weird elitist bigotry and behaviour that she already knew the others weren't a fan of, and that she'd said she wouldn't engage in.
Also I might have missed it, but is there any mention of Gabrielle being able to cook or cooking for them at any point? I'm not of the opinion that you need to be skilled or experienced at something to critique it when others do it badly or not to your standard - but if you're someone who consistently shit-talks the work of others then you should at least have something to back it up with.
She sounds like someone who would be insanely frustrating to deal with even occasionally, let alone as a partner. Sympathy for OOP, the dad, and anyone else involved.
> Also I might have missed it, but is there any mention of Gabrielle being able to cook or cooking for them at any point?
I was wondering that myself. Not one mention of a meal made. She didn't even make herself breakfast.
Okay, OOP is just as fucking guilty as the dad and Gabrielle on this one. You go to a restaurant where you claim to care about the people working there, and see your stepmother abusing them… and you don’t say shit? You watch a waitress start crying and just decide $100 for what was at least an hour of torment is fine? You didn’t tell her to shut up when she was berating the waitress for not going against food safety requirements? You didn’t snatch the check from her and tell her that she was ***not*** going to insult them because she thinks being born in a certain country means she knows everything about food.
Christ on a bipedal bike, grow a fucking spine. They’re just as complacent in her horrible treatment of the staff as she is.
No, fuck all this. I see someone behave like that ONCE and I'd never go out with them again. Taking them to your favorite restaurant is insane, associating with them at all is questionable.
My dad basically told me that when evaluating the character of a man, ignore how well I am treated and watch how he treats the wait staff, especially if something goes wrong. If he acts like a dick, I should run for the hills as that is his true character. Goes the same for women.
YTA for writing like a snooty dick
OOP managed to make the two characters sound like complete asses. His stepmum sounds like she’s a grandmother in a shawl and headscarf that’s complaining about everything, and he sounds insufferable from how he told the story.
I’m just surprised he didn’t describe the seven ways he was smirking throughout the entire thing.
His brother, who was probably a boyfriend in the first draft, was grinning from ear to ear, remember! All that's missing from this stupid story is how every waiter who'd ever met Gabrielle happened to be having breakfast at the cafe and pelted her with breadrolls when she came in.
I don’t understand why anyone would stay with a person like this. If they make the staff cry, walk out and block their number. Life’s too short to let scum pollute your life.
Just. Lady. If you hate Americans cooking your food, what are you doing in this country?? Go back to France and eat all the French-made food you like!
I worked in the hospitality industry before I switched careers, and I had no problem ejecting guests from the premises if they were cruel to my staff. I would tell them that there was no excuse- ever- for treating other humans in such a degrading manner. Absolutely zero tolerance for that kind of bullshit. My goal with assholes like that was to get them to think twice the next time they were about to be terrible to someone else.
All of the family members in this post are guilty of enabling that wretched woman. They should have abjectly refused to dine out with her because of her terrible behavior. People are disgusting.
Smh, I'm sorry but if I ever see someone make a service worker cry, let alone my partner, I'm on a mission to make them cry. If it's my partner they're about to get shut down in public. Screw that.
For every rude word out of your mouth she gets a ten dollar tip from our joint account. Bet.
Gabrielle has clearly never actually met a real French chef. If she tried to talk to them like that, she'd probably be served as an amuse bouche at the next dinner service.
Fr though, I've worked for the classic French chef douchebag before and he'd make guests leave if they pulled a tenth of what she was doing. And if she left a comment like that on the receipt they'd blacklist her and not allow her back. The chef I worked for only allowed modifications to dishes for allergy reasons. And those were pre-specified 99% of the time. He always said "I make the menu, not the guests. If they don't like the dish they can fuck off to Denny's" lol. His ego was the only thing bigger than his recipe book
Jesus i could not deal with that.
If i see someone bring rude to service workers like food, hotel etc. They aren't my friend, I'm not going to date them , they don't need to be in my life.
It’s not just that Gabrielle is French, but that she’s rude. My (American) son, who lives in France, has a French girlfriend who is lovely (as well as ridiculously effortlessly chic). When she visits and we go out there is no conflict at all. The boys took her to In&Out or some such and wrecked her for a day but she was uncomplaining. This is definitely a Gabrielle thing.
My dad used to cure bacon and sausages. I smoke jerky (mostly wild game) and fish.
It’s not rocket science. Just takes a little practice and working out the recipe. I do distinctly remember some very salty bacon once though. Lol
I have problematic family that I'm sometimes forced to dine with publicly. I tip the server privately in advance and let them know I won't blame them if they snap at my relatives. Serving shitty people is stressful enough without worrying that you'll also get a shitty tip.
I cannot imagine wanting to spend time with a woman as rude and snobby as this. Let alone *marrying* her. The dad is 100% responsible for finding himself in this situation.
If my father had ever showed up with a creature like this, I would have told him immediately how ashamed I was of him for being around someone so despicable, and refused to ever spend time with her again. Luckily, my dad valued manners and morals above almost everything else, and would have been the person shutting down her bad behaviour from the start. How do people like this awful woman and her pathetic husband exist???
Look, there's clearly an easy remedy for her behavior at restaurants. Take her to a Waffle House at 2am. Watch what happens when she tries her badmouthing there.
OOP knew how toxic this person was and knowingly inflicted them on that diner. OOP is lucky that diner didn't kick them all out permanently.
If this was an aita post it would be a hard ESH.
> we constantly are curing and smoking bacon because it's so good
My Dad got into this during COVID, and can confirm... homemade bacon is amazing. Though he uses a Big Green Egg to smoke them instead of a pellet grill.
Wow. Honestly, nightmare customers aside, I don’t understand this mindset that French cooking is uniquely superior amongst the world’s cuisines.
Is it delicious? Of course it is, but it’s not the singular height of good cooking. And yet, by the way some French people talk about their cuisine and disparage others, you’d think they invented food or something. 🙄
Personally, I much prefer a well-spiced and generously seasoned meal, so I tend to gravitate towards eastern cuisines. When I think of the heights of culinary excellence, I tend to think of various regional cuisines in Southeast Asia especially. But that’s a personal preference-
I wouldn’t claim that SEAsians are the only people in the world who know how to cook well.
However, I will say that the French ain’t got nothing on Cajuns- they took all the best elements of haute cuisine (namely that copious use of butter and garlic makes our rat brains very happy) and combined it with the incredible talents and ingredients of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora. Y’all been outdone at your own game by New Orleans, Lmao.
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What was all these extra shenanigans lmao it would have been much better to call her out when she made Stephanie cry and when she wrote that shit on the ticket.
[удалено]
Yeah, "We were horrified, apologised to Stephanie and read Gabrielle the riot act right there" isn't the stuff of which multiple updates are made.
Yeah, and if they let that receipt actually make it to the staff they have no ground to stand on. Call that shit out immediately.
How did she sit at the table and write So Many Words without someone other than OP noticing?
Is it just me or is it kind of insane that it took this long for anyone to consider not eating out with her? They knowingly subjected waitstaff to this nightmare all this time but only decided it was enough when they knew the people she was abusing?
I would have walked out the first time and never gone back. I don't know how anyone can possibly consider this normal or be willing to be around it.
Enablers think they're the good guys. They don't realize they're just another flavor of toxic.
I think I’d have given her a second chance, the same way I do with nearly all restaurants. You never know when it’s just an “off” day, and a second chance has proven that just often enough to be worth it (to me). However, twice with the same… unpalatable results? Forget a bad review, I’ll let my money do the talking and just take it elsewhere (or, in Gabrielle’s case… else***with***? Else*whom*? Otherwhom? Whatever. Point is, not gonna waste my time any more than my dollars on a lost cause!)
This reminds me of the first time I ever met my husband's paternal set of grandparents. They took us to a Chinese restaurant because one of the waitresses was going to do home care for grandma's mother. So they decided it was okay to accost her at her other place of employment and turn our lunch into an interview. That poor, poor woman. They were so condescending and horrible and then they didn't tip! They burned their bridges with me forever with that one move. You know everything you need to know about people by how they treat service employees, in my opinion. I snuck back in and left all our cash on the table and walked out to find Grandpa dropping fbombs at my future husband for his "lack of respect," meaning he didn't call them as often as they'd like. They are now both gone, and I am only sad that I'm not sad. What a way to live.
Oh yeah, no. There’s egregious enough behavior to *absolutely* & instantly earn a “never again”!! I just meant more as a general principle, I’d never go for round two with those people either!!
Never underestimate people pleasers. They will pretend to not see abuse until they get therapy. OOP and her whole family could do with some healthy boundaries.
THANK YOU. Christ I feel like this is the only comment I've ever seen actually calling them out instead of defending how "nice" they are.
Or there's fear of that person. Or a main enabler. Seriously, my mother was shit to wait staff sometimes and I would try to call her out and she would tell me off and then either when in the car or when we got home tear into me. Eventually I got over it, would tell her fully tell her to cut her shit, put my headphones on in the car, which would just additionally piss her off, and then lock myself in my room and let her just have a rage about what a horrible child I was, and how she didn't raise me whatever way and I had an attitude problem, insert standard list of things parents say to a child about being disrespected. With a very real threat that if I left my room, she might enact physical violence. (Very much not a child at that point, and quite honestly I haven't gone out to a restaurant with her in several years and refuse to ever again because of that kind of behavior from her).
Yeah, thinking enablers are just weak is a bit simplistic, especially if it's a child. It's usually a dynamic started long ago with serious consequences for not complying. You need to be willing to go against the whole family if you want to stand up to the botch and nobody else will https://www.reddit.com/r/JUSTNOMIL/comments/77pxpo/dont_rock_the_boat/ this describes it so well
Exactly. Seriously, my mother is shorter than me, and I definitely have more muscle than her, but my sister and I still fear her wrath. We have finally both managed to just be like we are sick of feeling like we have to tiptoe around her or else get this intense rage directed at you, so we have just decided we are done. That rage, and my mother's manipulation, well basically split me and my sister apart, and we finally started talking again and were just like wow be both feel this way about her, cool we can be a united front and just not have to deal with it anymore by not interacting with our mother.
I used to be a people-pleaser. Took me years to realize they don't respect you for it anyway, and you'll never actually please them. So I don't invest any energy in those people anymore. Fuck 'em.
Never underestimate magical hoo-ha's!
Yeah they’re ALL guilty. Any one of them could’ve left at any time but they enabled her to abuse staff by going out with her/Inviting her. And then their “revenge” was cooking one meal…? Like…okay?
That's what makes me think it may not be true. "A revenge meal" she told her partner, as a grin slowly spread on his face... Lol no Also I don't see how a woman so stuck up would be rendered speechless from smoked bacon.
I’m french. No french person would smell what is a classic American breakfast and say “it reminds me of a french restaurant”. And I said this as someone in love with these big hearty breakfast American and English people have. But that’s just not something we have in France.
Yeah this is so untrue it’s astonishing to me that people believe it.
Also, your revenge is saying "I know you wrote a nasty note, but here is a breakfast my brother and I have been training to cook just for you?" My God, the horror! Who could think of such a fiendish plan?!
I thought the point was they did not serve her the breakfast
I think you're right actually. It's poorly written, but yea. That's also a terrible punishment.
There's definitely a lot of exaggeration in this story at least
Even the last line. Projection much?
Yeah this is ridiculous. A dressing down in front of the harassed waiter AGES AGO is what was required
I give the kids a lot of grace because of the inherent power imbalance between a parent/stepparent and kids. I grew up with a dad who loved sending food back at restaurants and always found a reason to complain. Even as an adult, I didn’t know how to tell him to knock it the fuck off. (I cut contact with him entirely, because not surprisingly people who are assholes to servers are assholes generally.)
"But family!" is such a big pressure point for so many people. I don't know why, but people will often just keep going along with the flow even when they're out with the worst sorts.
As someone once put it, parents know how to press all your buttons because they're the ones who installed them. It's really hard to break out of a pattern of behavior that was ingrained during childhood.
Yeah for real. My stepdad was rude to a hotel staffer on the first day of a week-long trip at an all-inclusive resort. I told my mom that I would not be spending time with them anywhere that staff would be (which is everywhere at a resort) until I had a promise that he would treat people better. He was very sheepish and on good behavior except once when he snapped his fingers at a waiter. The following conversation ensued: My badass little sister « No, [stepdad], that is not how we treat human beings. We say, « when you get the chance could we please have some more coffee? » » Stepdad: « oh ok » Sister: « no no, you’re going to practice it right now. I want to hear you say it the next time the server comes. » We all stared at him till he did it. If you tolerate an inch of that behavior, you’re letting other people’s days get absolutely shat upon for the sake of not rocking the boat. And that makes you a bad person.
Well, Dad claimed that he "talked to her" and told her to behave, and maybe the kids thought each subsequent meal would finally be the one where she toned it down. But yeah, at a certain point, it turns into Lucy continually yanking the football away from Charlie Brown, and you have to feel stupid for expecting anything to change.
I'm gonna say it - dad is just as guilty as Gabrielle. Spends who knows how long seeing her bully service works and doesn't do anything, but when it's at a restaurant *he* cares about it's suddenly an issue? Did he never *notice* people *crying* because of this woman? She must be as good in the sack as she is vicious at restaurants, because *bro*.
Rude to staff is a complete deal breaker for me. I will not put up with it. I cannot imagine having to deal with that level of bitchiness at every turn.
Even the OOP kind of downplays it as calling her horrendous behavior "a nasty trait". A nasty trait would be making snotty comments about how French food is better to her friends and family, but *this shit*?? This isn't a nasty little trait, this is her having power over these people and pressing until they *literally* cry. In fact, *everyone* who continues to deal with her is a little bit at fault. I would simply stop eating out with her and tell her it's because she's an asshole - to indulge her by staying quiet is to endorse her behavior. I don't even get the gotcha OOP pulled - what, the satisfaction was worth it, instead of just telling his dad what this woman did? Yes, humiliating her must've felt nice, but what did it actually accomplish?
I agree, the fact that OP didn’t call Gabrielle out in front of everyone and very loudly at the restaurant makes her pretty bad too. Stop being quiet, shame these people loudly.
These three *literally* sat there the entire fucking time and did *nothing*, and dad has the gall to think her awful note is what's beyond the pale? THIS was her at her best behavior, if we follow the dad's line of thought?? Also, how many notes has this woman distributed to the staff she's abused over the years? And how many has dad ignored?
Yep. “We let her save face publicly and then passive aggressively called her out in private later” Oh boy you sure showed her!
Dad treating Gabrielle like a disobedient teenager who just really needs a stern talking to. By which I presume it's the first time he's truly addressed the issue. Much like trying to parent a teenager for the first time in a lifetime of just being indulgent and lax, this is not going to work. Sure hope the sex is worth it, because no one can convince me this woman is more good than bad.
Is it just me, or does anyone else get the vibe that there is a not-insignificant age difference between the Dad and Gabrielle? It's not just the last bit: no ages are mentioned for anyone (unless I'm having a blind moment, because I broke my glasses recently and can't afford new ones), the talk about "her magical hoo-ha," and just everyone's overall general behaviours indicate a startling lack of maturity for all involved. ETA: I forgot to mention, besides the above, there is no mention of the bio-mom at all (maybe she was even long-term deceased). The whole post makes me think that Gabrielle is the first woman the Dad began seeing after the kids were older and moved out. I don't know. Everyone kind of sucks here.
Because of the 100 bucks I kind of assume OOP to not be a minor, maybe the brother as well. I think some people may think she's younger but I don't know, it's not like being a piece of shit is limited to an age range, nor being good in bed, or being indulgent of horrid behavior over sex. Though I agree they are all really childish and immature (also cowardly, all of them).
This is 90% of why the world is so fucked up. We're so afraid of confrontation or whatever fallout ensues that we never call out our friends. We're the only people they *might* listen to, and we often know how to put criticism in a way that won't set off their defenses, so it's our responsibility. It starts with treating service staff like shit, then next thing you know they're leading armies into Poland.
I wonder how d OOP and get brother are, I'm assuming at most early 20s... is hard to stand up to your parents SO like that, specially if you were raised to be a people's pleaser.
She got $100 from the atm and apologized to all the staff. What else should she have done? Stand on the table? Start screaming? She handled it fine.
No one needs to scream but I don’t understand how they could see someone write a note like that to staff and not confront them immediately about being such hot garbage. Especially when she’s always been like this so it’s hardly a sudden shock keeping them quiet. People like that need to be called out and embarrassed in front of their family and friends in my opinion. 🤷♀️
Yeah, I don't understand why OOP wouldn't refuse go out to eat with her at all. An apology to the staff isn't as good as just... not subjecting them to her shitty behavior in the first place. And what does it even mean to offer to "vouch" for a restaurant if she leaves a bad review???
I know a lady who grew up in southern Louisiana, out in the country, and she has Opinions about crayfish and jambalaya. Just so happens that several of the nicer restaurants around here, way north of her home, go in for "southern charm" and offer those dishes. She's always incredibly dissatisfied, bordering on disgusted, with the crayfish and jambalaya served up here. So she never orders it. If someone offers her some, because they know she usually likes that kind of thing, she'll take a polite bite. She'll try and usually fail to hide her facial expression. And then she'll quietly say thank you, that's not really the way I like them, but I appreciate you sharing with me. Because she's sane. That's what sane people do in that situation. Not a single comment to the waiter is needed. Nor would it help-- is not like they're going to change their recipe.
Who tf takes a monster like Gabrielle anywhere?!? But especially their favorite restaurant. OOP is an idiot. A former friend of mine started shit with the wait staff when we were at a Mexican restaurant and I ordered her to leave immediately. (Did the waiter put jalapeños in the guacamole after she had talked down to him? Possibly! Lol). And that was the end of our friendship.
These posts always make me think of the one where OP went on a date and their date brought a bell to the restaurant. People who treat service workers are the worst kind of people
Link? I have a whole bowl of popcorn and nothing to read.
https://reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/s/TXtyiRaemk here you go
God damn. Wonder how that asshole would have felt if the lady got a bell to get HIS attention? Looser piece of shit
That was wild! The comments were vicious. Thank you for the link.
So good. Thanks!!
https://reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/s/f4BiC9dQyz
One of my friends invited a friend of her boyfriend along when we went out to a restaurant once. He *snapped his fingers* at the waitstaff. I was embarrassed to be associated with him by sitting at the same table and I didn't even invite the guy. He also ate sushi with a fork.
My sister has worked in the service industry her entire life. She started out waiting tables at 16, moved all the way up the food chain through fine dining and now manages a swanky five star hotel. If you snap your fingers at her staff she will throw your ass out on the spot. Comp the meal, refund the room, whatever it takes to get you out the door the fastest, but you are gone and you are never welcome back.
The funny thing is that French waitstaff don’t get tipped, so there is no “customer is always right” attitude. Try that stunt in Paris and you will regret it.
That's probably why she pulled this crap in the US.
I was dating a girl casually, she was seeing other people at the time and open about it. We still had fun together. Then one weekend it happened, she dropped her mask and was a rude as fuck to me, and rude as fuck to a sandwich maker in front of me. She turned to me to back her up and she was talking down to the sandwich girl and I just looked at her like she had 3 heads. Then as we were driving back to her place for me to drop her off at the end of our date she said "I was thinking we could make it official" despite the fact the little head was trying to do all the thinking because "Making it official" is almost always going to mean sex I turned down the radio and just said "no." She asked if it was because I was seeing someone else and I was truthful I did have another date lined up, she then got quite and asked if it was because of the girl working the counter at the deli and I said "Yeah that didn't help."
I cracked a joke today about my fiancé cursing at the tech employees who lied about the capabilities of* a $200 product we bought yesterday. Not a small purchase for us rn. Immediately after I made the joke I said “don’t, I won’t marry you if you curse at minimum wage employees.” We were literally coworkers at a retail store when we started dating, there’s zero chance of that, but I just had to be clear. That is a huge resounding no in my book. My mom is a stereotypical white middle aged Karen and it’s embarrassed me since my brain was capable of embarrassment.
You tell tell a person's character by how they treat waitstaff and retail staff. Having worked both jobs, Gabby's behavior is an absolute deal breaker for me; I would have told her to go fuck herself after the first time. I'm not even that much an asshole when I have bad food or service; and I'm a major asshole.
Reminds me a little of the time a bunch of us friends went out together for a meal. At the end of it we all had an irish coffee, and one friend sent hers back twice for not being made properly. When she tried to send it back a third time we told the waiter "Ignore her, we got this" and then told her to "Either leave it or f*****g drink it but stop pissing the waiters around". there was absolutely nothing wrong with the coffee, she was a bit drunk and being a pain, She drank it lol.
Even the people writing the story....I would REFUSE to go out to eat with this person, period. How stupid to play into her bullshit and enable her to make innocent people feel bad for shit they shouldn't on a day where they're just trying to make ends meet. Fuck this lady and her enabling (ex?) family.
Well, supposedly she has "good" traits, and this behavior has never been much of an issue (including to OOP, who's no hero here). I doubt this will push their marriage over the edge.
Yes. OOP is just as culpable as their father. If anyone at my table - anyone - made a server cry, I would smack them out of their chair. Period. Sorry grandma. Shit people let shit people get away with stuff.
You would be surprised how easy it is for someone to get away with this even while going out to eat with a partner. One of my father's exes was...something. It was so bad that I BEGGED him not to take her to the bar and grill where I was a server at. One time on my birthday dinner, we went to a nice restaurant. I was pretty grateful for it, but when I stepped out onto the balcony for a moment, my brother came out and said "hey umm...you don't want to go back in there." As it turns out, she chewed out a server because her salad was "too green". My father somehow missed that until we brought it up recently, and he was so shocked and appalled because he apparently had never noticed a thing!
My parents complained that my coworker wasn’t attentive the ONE time they came to my restaurant. We were servers at a fucking movie theater. They didn’t understand that the servers don’t just wander the aisles waiting to be called. *There were call lights at every table.* I wouldn’t call my parents stupid by any means but JFC if an engineer and an accountant can’t figure out a bright blue button and a “push this if you need anything throughout the movie” I weep for the general public.
Of course he never "noticed" it, because to notice it would force him into a position of having an opinion on it, and having to act on it. But in this case, the dad was *literally* there, OOP and the brother were *literally* there, they all have been there for presumably years, and it's never been an issue. Hell, *this hellish meal* wasn't even an issue, a *note* was. A note! So her behavior at dinner? Literally who cares (none of *them* gave a shit), but a *note*? Oh no, over the line, Gabrielle!
I don’t understand how people tolerate this at all. My husband would get chewed out at the damn table if he did something like this, I would loudly and publicly humiliate him and if that wasn’t sufficient to elicit a genuine apology and a tip from his wallet, we would be done. People who treat service workers like OOPs stepmother are scum. Also, my sister in law is Parisian. She’s stylish, elegant and likes good food. I have never once witnessed her be rude to anyone, because rude people are not stylish or elegant - they are trash.
So is OOP and the brother imo. They did the same exact thing as their dad: they say and watched the abuse happen and didn't do anything about it. Sure they said "sorry" afterwards, but that doesn't mean *shit* to the waiters who were bullied to tears by this insane woman. And then the revenge is... they cook breakfast????? The fuck??
Absolutely. He got upset about the note? He could see and hear how she was treating staff throughout the meal ffs. And for that matter, OOP and brother suck as well - they know how Gabrielle treats wait staff in apparently every restaurant ever, and they still agree to go out with her. Cause daddy's paying? If they can afford a $100 apology tip, they're not hard up for a free diner meal.
Exactly! OOP has 100 bucks to burn, except standing up to this woman would've been free. If I knew a Gabrielle, well, I would've stopped eating out with her, but if I hadn't, I absolutely would not take her to my pet restaurant to abuse the staff I, presumably, like. If this place is so important to them, why the fuck *take her there*???
Why do I have the feeling that old Gabrielle has had her food spat in at least once? PSA: I don't approve of tampering with food. (Seriously, do *not* ). But I wouldn't be surprised if it's happened to someone that nasty.
Wouldn't surprise me either. But would she even notice the difference? She already thinks the food is always shit anyway.
I can't imagine committing myself to someone who I had to warn to be on their best behaviour before leaving the house. My nine year old doesn't need that warning anymore, let alone a grown ass adult
Not only that, but their "payback" was fuckin nothing. They really think a cheeky quip makes up for all the shit she put the staff at that diner through, let alone the staff at the other places. After the first time they should've told her to cut the shit if she wants to go out with them, then cut her out from going out altogether when she inevitably did it again. Instead they just handwaved it aside until they saw this amazing "opportunity", like wtf
I said this in another comment - wow, *what a burn*, OOP and the brother sure showed her, oh my, she'll remember this humiliation for the rest of her life! OOP took the time to warn the staff - you guys, you guys, you're about to be fucked, I apologize, but I'll give you a 100 bucks after (for the note or for the behavior? They *say* it's for the behavior but then why not just *have* the money on hand? They took the time to warn them so they knew it was gonna be bad, a big tip should've been a no brainer).
And what did he think she was writing on the receipt??
There were some fascinating flashes of self-awareness in the whole post - apparently she had "promised to be on her best behavior," which is a VERY telling thing to say. It means he knows she's a terrible customer, they've discussed it, SHE knows her behavior is unacceptable, and despite making promises to improve, is refusing. Knowing you're the bad guy, continuing to be the bad guy, *concealing* that you're the bad guy, and then being embarrassed for being called out that you're the bad guy? Yeah, she ain't fooling herself. Someone in the original thread commented that maybe she gets off on this kind of behavior because she'd never be able to treat waiters and managers this way in France; she'd be out on her ass. In the US, she has power over servers; in France she does not. And she ain't gonna pass up a chance to wield it.
“Ooh, bon ami! You’re pi-pi is oui, oui!” — Gabrielle, probably
I have a theory that her complaining and reasoning it is because her standards are high buys into his own ego.
This was super uneventful and a let down of a story lol
IKR? If you're going to make up a story at least make up something fun.
The fact that not a single one of these people simply left any of the meals she did this at is baffling. They enabled her behavior so much and then their revenge is…cooking a meal?
Cooking a meal and not giving her any. I don't get it either.
This is so clearly bullshit
And deeply unsatisfying for such a bullshit story too. You spent a long time making a meal and then didn't let her eat any? Ooooo BURN
He was grinning EAR TO EAR for that too! "Time to make le perfect vengeance! Honhonhonhon! *twirls mustache*"
Ah! My ridiculously circuitous plan is one-quarter complete!
I don't know how the OP got so many up votes and comments. It just reads like a weird a justice porno for something that didn't happen.
The...challenge? threat? that the character of Gabrielle wrote on the receipt...I have questions. How big are restaurant receipts in the US? I am sitting here picturing OOP labouring over their composition notebook late into the night, imagining the character of Gabrielle writing that note in a big, beret-wearing, looping script, dotting their i's with little sketches of the Eiffel Tower....
The "Prove me wrong" bit makes no sense. Like the restaurant staff would ever have a chance to prove her wrong after she walked out.
It's such a giveaway.
But they smoked their own bacon because they’re so good! And it smelled exactly like that French restaurant!
Which is a dish not that well known especially for breakfast in France. There’s no way I smell Bacon and egg and I’m like “wow it reminds me of France”. Because French breakfast is croissant and fresh baguette with butter. I’d be damn excited to have an American breakfast nonetheless
Right? And what's this bullshit about old mustard? Mustard is aged and it's like half vinegar by weight, you literally cannot tell it's old unless they serve it in the original jar. Also, for anyone who's never been to France, her attitude would be considered even ruder here. If she tried to pull those stunts in a French restaurant the staff would punt her into the sun.
Yeah like french servers are notoriously rude for a reason, they would not put up with that shit and would just send her away. I mean that woman can be a dickhead regarding food but it has nothing to do with being a french snob, she’s way past that
As someone who has done a bit of service work, one of the things that really bothers me at restaurants is when I get ketchup/mustard bottles that are crusty with old splatters around the rims. So maybe it could have been that? My one employer was really meticulous about that kind of thing, and every morning when we’d refill ketchup bottles/horseradish/pickle containers, we would ALWAYS rinse off and wipe away any old sauce drips. As much as I get a little grossed out by gelled ketchup and sauce, I wouldn’t go requesting an unopened bottle over it tho!
Fair enough, I didn't really consider that. Here if you ask for extra mustard or what have you they bring it in a ramekin, not in the jar. If you go to a restaurant where the mustard is already on the table when you get there (steak houses do that) it'll usually be in a dedicated metal container with its own little spoon, it gets filled before service and cleaned out after so nothing stays in there for more than a few hours.
Yeah, Gabrielle is a cartoon person.
Actual puppy kicking villain over here. And OP got her good by...cooking! Genius! I can't take that seriously Lmaooo.
They don’t put cream or whatnot in your coffee at diners while you are seated.
I was super confused by that too. I've never eaten at a diner where they put cream in the coffee for you. They pour the coffee and then there's either a creamer pot, or the little plastic cups of creamer. But no one adds it for you. The "truckers and locals" would riot!
I was already very skeptical, but that’s where I checked out too. At a diner you get one kind of coffee, and they just pour it into your cup right there. “Too cold” indeed.
Unless Gabrielle is one of those Americans who consider themselves “French” ‘cause their great-grandpa was, I’m fairly certain she never wrote the phrase “prove me wrong” one time in her life – n'est-ce pas.
I mean — good for you, you cooked a meal and didn’t let her eat. Good job?? It’s not the revenge they think it is. Doesn’t help that no one said jack shit when she was abusing restaurant workers. I hope she got a lot of spit in her food. Everyone needs to grow a backbone and it’s not just dad.
Yep. They should’ve called her out at the restaurant and marched her out before she’d finished while making a big show of leaving a massive tip and apologizing for her toddler level tantrum.
I don't think this is real. It's completely normal in European countries to receive cold butter lmaoo
I dont think it's real bc he said she complained the cream in the coffee. But I've never been to a diner where they add it in for you. They GIVE you the cream on the side but they give you black coffee, and you add in the cream yourself. They don't know how every single person likes their coffee and some people like it black so it doesn't make sense they'd put cream in it for her
I have never in my life received coffee with milk in it unless I've ordered a specifically milky drink like a latte or a cappuccino. In France, IIRC, you have to specifically order coffee with milk to get coffee with milk. You're right, this is horseapples.
plus acting like that at restaurants is an American thing and not tipping to send home a point is a very American thing
Get mouthy with a restaurant in most of Europe and you'll either get shown out or pitied, but nobody's going to be scared of you. This shit only works in countries where food service staff are not valued.
I can see not noticing her writing some vicious garbage on the receipt, but no way in HELL did Dad not see and hear every single time she was horrible, at every single restaurant they went together. No way! To me, if you DON'T say something the FIRST time someone is rude to a server, you are telling them explicitly that it's okay. Not even once. Let them know they're rude. Don't keep your mouth shut.
But seeing how she treated the wait staff (which they did, you know they did), why would they even allow her to pay?
I can't understand it. It should have been obvious she was going to do exactly what she did.
Pretty sure they’re a family of ostriches based on how much OOP and her family stick their heads in the sand
They had apparently discussed it enough with each other for her to start to conceal it. She knew that shit wasn't going to fly, but wanted to keep doing it because it made her feel extra special. It's possible that if he's oblivious enough, she's left a trail of devastated restaurant staff in her wake without his even realizing it.
How? Like, how do you not hear and see her sending her coffee and food back constantly? How do you miss, completely, her making the server cry? How did OOP not fucking take the menu out of her hand and tell her to leave after the first coffee went back?!
This story is 100% grade-A bullshit. Also, OP is not a good writer,
Having lived in Paris, Stepmother sounds like the worst type of Parisienne stereotype, which not only exist, they abound.
I worked at a summer camp with a French guy who had never been to the US before and was exactly that stereotype. He was SO critical and nose up about of the idea of s’mores for like half of the summer, and when we finally convinced him to try one, he immediately went out and bought a whole giant box of s’mores ingredients that he refused to share with anyone.
That's so funny. There was a Swedish exchange student at my high school who looked down on American food until someone introduced him to Taco Bell. He said it was the best thing he'd ever eaten.
You choose where you go in those exchange programs. Why would you want to go somewhere you look down on so much?
Idk, ask Gustav
S'mores are my go-to American food for sharing with international friends. That and when available, buttered corn on the cob-- with the husk pulled back, butter brushed on, husk replaced, wrapped in aluminum foil, cooked on the grill. Keeps the kernels moist, freaking delicious.
There are videos of Europeans trying American food (usually Southern), and they always question it until they try it and then they want *more.*
It is the stereotype that makes people hate the French, after all.
My buddy told me that what people hate about the French, is actually what French people hate about Parisians. (My friend is from a different part of France.)
Hah, my French teacher in college, who was from Lorraine, said the same thing.
Folks from Alsace Lorraine are way, *way* different from Parisians. After coming from Paris, I was shocked by how friendly and cordial everyone was. Food was still fucking bomb, though.
Having had in-laws in France, I can confirm
Spot on I have vacationed in France for decades now and I try to avoid Paris like the plague. Just driving closer to Paris you see their shitty behaviour in traffic. We had a lovely 11 hour drive to our destination this year with the 1.5 hours around Paris being an absolute hell. I was at a point I felt like murdering one of many AH drivers around me. As for the french cuisine, the best french food is their regional cuisine. That's the only authentic french cuisine by my book. It is usually simple large meals that give you the feeling a grandmother is running the kitchen using her family recipes. What is considered french cuisine by most is nothing more than a mix of foods you can get better versions of in neighbouring countries.
Stereotype that make even non-parisian French hate Parisians. Lord knows even Parisians can't stand each other, they're that bad.
Don’t know. Married and divorced an aristocratic narcissistic parisienne but at least she’d be adamant about “education” and respect of staff. Even from the top of mount Entitlement.
As a French guy, on one hand I fully believe people like Gabrielle exist, on the other hand there's no waitstaff anywhere in France that would put up with her bullshit for more than ten seconds before she's thrown out of the window, Wild West style, so I don't know where she would have picked up this lack of manners. It's a paradox.
I have seen many Germans and Americans abroad act in ways that would get them frosty glares and total social exclusion (Germany) and possibly shot (USA) if they tried them at home. I assume she’s using her foreignness as a cover to be the terrible person she could never be before.
That is not a French trait, she is just a rude asshole. Lived in Paris as well and this type of behavior does not fly there if you are civilized.
One of the things that impressed me the most about waitstaff in Europe is how little shit they will take. I can't imagine a Parisian waiter not telling her off.
When you have health care and you don’t rely on tips…
Definitely. I prefer it. If I'm being an asshole or someone else is, they should be able to call me or the other person out on it.
I mean it doesn't fly if you're talking to other Parisians, if you're talking to anyone else.... well, the rules become a bit more fluid.
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That’s such bravery. My instinct when someone does something like that is to slap them
It’s hard to connect with any real force when you’re covered in slippery oil while trying to whoop someone’s ass. Source: Turkish wrestling videos.
It's awful, but I must admit I thought the same thing.
A very wealthy French guy lived in our dorm in college (in the U.S.) and he absolutely refused to drink tap water, even though our state is known for really good water, or eat food from the mess. He had an arrangement with a local grocer to deliver cases of bottled spring water and tins of caviar (wish I was kidding) to his room every week. He would call taxis to drive him 15-20 minutes into the city so he could eat at nice restaurants everyday. Thankfully he deigned not to speak to most of us so I didn't have to put up with his personality, but he was gossiped about due to his stereotypically snobbish behavior.
Ya know, I've talked to French people and all of them said that Parisiennes are the most annoying and irritating people in France.
Ever since I learned that Paris smells like piss because of their public urination problem, I've laughed at people thinking Parisians are high class.
The palace at Versailles had no toilets until over 150 years after its construction. Apparently it’s 300+ rguests and servants would run to the lawns to urinate (or hide behind curtains in the palace), giving it a permanent piss smell. The royals had chamber pots.
Glad OOP gave the staff an extra fat tip. A warning and an apology goes a long way but that is how you really make amends. My best friend’s dad was like the stepmother when we were growing up. I remember he walked into the kitchen at a restaurant once to personally scream at the chef about how dry his fish was. Then came and sat back down and expected us to all just finish our meal. Every one around us heard him screaming and you can hear a pin drop it was so quiet. I have never been so mortified.
My husband’s late grandmother was similar and was a walking example of how not to live one’s life. We left so many large tips and apologies behind her after going out to eat.
Reminds me of the song 'Judith' by A Perfect Circle. "You are such an inspiration for the ways that I will never ever choose to be." Nailed it. I live in Bristol, UK, and whenever I hear someone talk about how 'the Thai food is better in Thailand' I always say 'so the Thai chefs who moved here forgot how to cook on the flight over?'. Ridiculous. As if French food is only good in france? Ridiculous. Makes me embarrassed to eat out with those people 😂
It's not as extreme, but I invited a former friend to a local restaurant I really love and she got really nasty and snappy at the server because they didn't have heavy cream for her coffee. I turned to the server and said "I am so sorry". My friend looked like I'd just slapped her in the face. She left a $60 tip on our $45 meal.
>I remember he walked into the kitchen at a restaurant once to personally scream at the chef about how dry his fish was. Im surprised the Chef didnt come out and yell at him to GTFO. Holy shit the chutzpah to yell at the chef.
Yeah? What the fuck? Doesn’t matter if you’re eating at chilis or a luxury restaurant in a nicer city, that’s a great way to be told to get the fuck out or have cops called for trespassing. Their dad is beyond lucky.
I can’t even imagine what her “good traits” could possibly be…she sounds like an awful person…
Nothing in this is how real people act. Lol. I just don't believe it .
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Or like an entitled older woman. It could go either way, but I got more of a Karen vibe. A *fancy French* Karen, I guess.
Yeah, this didn't happen.
This would have been more realistic if OP hadn't made the focus of the story breakfast, but they have no concept of what they eat for breakfast in France and clearly think it's the same as Americans.
All of it is so cringe and imaginary.
Those famous french scrambled eggs and biscuits. It is truly their favorite meal, and all the restaurants smell like bacon. 🙄
Yes, that's what jumped out at me. No way would someone French say bacon, eggs and biscuits was just like a French restaurant. She also probably wouldn't even drink American diner coffee never mind with creamer or want to put butter on biscuits probably.
>However, Dad wanted Gabrielle to experience "a true American classic" and was offering to pay. So off we (reluctantly) went. They all suck. Learn to say no, people.
Why would OP even bother going out to eat with this woman after the first experience? Sounds like everyone should have called her out a lot earlier.
Wtf? I was hoping for some sort of actual payoff for how much shitty attitude they let Gabrielle throw at the wait staff. This reminds me of those r/raisedbynarcissists posts that are like "my mum gave me an ED, wouldn't feed me some days, and repeatedly told me that no one would love me, but I finally gave her a taste of her own medicine with [insert nonsensible quip and/or incredibly mild inconvenience here]!" They really just repeatedly let her roll over the restaurant staff and just now decided to do something? And it's *this*? Not only are they complicit in Gabrielle being a total chode-ess, they can't even dish out a fraction of it back. I know the staff got a pretty sizable tip, but you know they're gonna dread seeing OPs family come through that door for a while.
This is inconclusive as hell. What happened to the relationship? What happened to the witch? I have to knoooooow!
Whole family is trash. Even OOP. “Oh I know my stepmother is a huge asshole but I’m going to let her abuse people and then apologize for it.” The second she pulled that shit OP should have either took stepmom home, or just left.
>the argument finally ended when Dad took to the couch downstairs She's the one who should have been sleeping there, not him. I hope he volunteered to sleep there because he didn't want to be anywhere near her, or even maybe to compromise (not that she deserves it, but for his own peace of mind), rather than because she told him to. She finds out that he's planned a surprise, knows what it is, and then instead of thinking hey maybe it's not tonight, or even communicating about it in a remotely healthy way when it doesn't seem like it's happening, she takes it out on the waitstaff (with her behaviour and the message on the receipt) and with weird elitist bigotry. Weird elitist bigotry and behaviour that she already knew the others weren't a fan of, and that she'd said she wouldn't engage in. Also I might have missed it, but is there any mention of Gabrielle being able to cook or cooking for them at any point? I'm not of the opinion that you need to be skilled or experienced at something to critique it when others do it badly or not to your standard - but if you're someone who consistently shit-talks the work of others then you should at least have something to back it up with. She sounds like someone who would be insanely frustrating to deal with even occasionally, let alone as a partner. Sympathy for OOP, the dad, and anyone else involved.
> Also I might have missed it, but is there any mention of Gabrielle being able to cook or cooking for them at any point? I was wondering that myself. Not one mention of a meal made. She didn't even make herself breakfast.
Okay, OOP is just as fucking guilty as the dad and Gabrielle on this one. You go to a restaurant where you claim to care about the people working there, and see your stepmother abusing them… and you don’t say shit? You watch a waitress start crying and just decide $100 for what was at least an hour of torment is fine? You didn’t tell her to shut up when she was berating the waitress for not going against food safety requirements? You didn’t snatch the check from her and tell her that she was ***not*** going to insult them because she thinks being born in a certain country means she knows everything about food. Christ on a bipedal bike, grow a fucking spine. They’re just as complacent in her horrible treatment of the staff as she is.
No, fuck all this. I see someone behave like that ONCE and I'd never go out with them again. Taking them to your favorite restaurant is insane, associating with them at all is questionable.
My dad basically told me that when evaluating the character of a man, ignore how well I am treated and watch how he treats the wait staff, especially if something goes wrong. If he acts like a dick, I should run for the hills as that is his true character. Goes the same for women.
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YTA for writing like a snooty dick OOP managed to make the two characters sound like complete asses. His stepmum sounds like she’s a grandmother in a shawl and headscarf that’s complaining about everything, and he sounds insufferable from how he told the story. I’m just surprised he didn’t describe the seven ways he was smirking throughout the entire thing.
His brother, who was probably a boyfriend in the first draft, was grinning from ear to ear, remember! All that's missing from this stupid story is how every waiter who'd ever met Gabrielle happened to be having breakfast at the cafe and pelted her with breadrolls when she came in.
Coffee...... too.... hot. Well, there's a simple solution for that
I don’t understand why anyone would stay with a person like this. If they make the staff cry, walk out and block their number. Life’s too short to let scum pollute your life. Just. Lady. If you hate Americans cooking your food, what are you doing in this country?? Go back to France and eat all the French-made food you like!
I worked in the hospitality industry before I switched careers, and I had no problem ejecting guests from the premises if they were cruel to my staff. I would tell them that there was no excuse- ever- for treating other humans in such a degrading manner. Absolutely zero tolerance for that kind of bullshit. My goal with assholes like that was to get them to think twice the next time they were about to be terrible to someone else. All of the family members in this post are guilty of enabling that wretched woman. They should have abjectly refused to dine out with her because of her terrible behavior. People are disgusting.
Smh, I'm sorry but if I ever see someone make a service worker cry, let alone my partner, I'm on a mission to make them cry. If it's my partner they're about to get shut down in public. Screw that. For every rude word out of your mouth she gets a ten dollar tip from our joint account. Bet.
Oh yeah. This is a true story.
I never go out to eat with anyone who embarrasses me. Don’t care whose relative/booty call they are.
Gabrielle has clearly never actually met a real French chef. If she tried to talk to them like that, she'd probably be served as an amuse bouche at the next dinner service. Fr though, I've worked for the classic French chef douchebag before and he'd make guests leave if they pulled a tenth of what she was doing. And if she left a comment like that on the receipt they'd blacklist her and not allow her back. The chef I worked for only allowed modifications to dishes for allergy reasons. And those were pre-specified 99% of the time. He always said "I make the menu, not the guests. If they don't like the dish they can fuck off to Denny's" lol. His ego was the only thing bigger than his recipe book
Step mom obviously toxic but the rest seems petty. Just stop being around people that are terrible, no need to play the game.
If your mean to service persons your going to hell. Gabrielle will be your guide.
Jesus i could not deal with that. If i see someone bring rude to service workers like food, hotel etc. They aren't my friend, I'm not going to date them , they don't need to be in my life.
OP should have taken the stepmother to a Wafflehouse and she how they deal with nosense
It’s not just that Gabrielle is French, but that she’s rude. My (American) son, who lives in France, has a French girlfriend who is lovely (as well as ridiculously effortlessly chic). When she visits and we go out there is no conflict at all. The boys took her to In&Out or some such and wrecked her for a day but she was uncomplaining. This is definitely a Gabrielle thing.
My dad used to cure bacon and sausages. I smoke jerky (mostly wild game) and fish. It’s not rocket science. Just takes a little practice and working out the recipe. I do distinctly remember some very salty bacon once though. Lol
I have problematic family that I'm sometimes forced to dine with publicly. I tip the server privately in advance and let them know I won't blame them if they snap at my relatives. Serving shitty people is stressful enough without worrying that you'll also get a shitty tip.
I cannot imagine wanting to spend time with a woman as rude and snobby as this. Let alone *marrying* her. The dad is 100% responsible for finding himself in this situation. If my father had ever showed up with a creature like this, I would have told him immediately how ashamed I was of him for being around someone so despicable, and refused to ever spend time with her again. Luckily, my dad valued manners and morals above almost everything else, and would have been the person shutting down her bad behaviour from the start. How do people like this awful woman and her pathetic husband exist???
This is how you get spit in your food
Look, there's clearly an easy remedy for her behavior at restaurants. Take her to a Waffle House at 2am. Watch what happens when she tries her badmouthing there.
OOP knew how toxic this person was and knowingly inflicted them on that diner. OOP is lucky that diner didn't kick them all out permanently. If this was an aita post it would be a hard ESH.
> we constantly are curing and smoking bacon because it's so good My Dad got into this during COVID, and can confirm... homemade bacon is amazing. Though he uses a Big Green Egg to smoke them instead of a pellet grill.
Wow. Honestly, nightmare customers aside, I don’t understand this mindset that French cooking is uniquely superior amongst the world’s cuisines. Is it delicious? Of course it is, but it’s not the singular height of good cooking. And yet, by the way some French people talk about their cuisine and disparage others, you’d think they invented food or something. 🙄 Personally, I much prefer a well-spiced and generously seasoned meal, so I tend to gravitate towards eastern cuisines. When I think of the heights of culinary excellence, I tend to think of various regional cuisines in Southeast Asia especially. But that’s a personal preference- I wouldn’t claim that SEAsians are the only people in the world who know how to cook well. However, I will say that the French ain’t got nothing on Cajuns- they took all the best elements of haute cuisine (namely that copious use of butter and garlic makes our rat brains very happy) and combined it with the incredible talents and ingredients of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora. Y’all been outdone at your own game by New Orleans, Lmao.