PF Chang's Daytona Beach
Restaurant or museum. Pick a lane.
In my blog post titled, “Time to Decompress,” I talked about the PDQ restaurant and asked if anyone knew what the acronym stood for. Did you correctly guess that PDQ stands for Pretty Darn (or Damn) Quick? Let’s try another one. Do you know what the initials in PF Chang’s stand for? (See choices below…AFTER you read the blog post.)
To celebrate Darren’s birthday, we decided to try PF Chang’s in Daytona Beach. Well, we didn’t actually decide to go there. It was more like God was in the mood for Chinese and caused a power outage at our first choice (which will not be named in case God is still mad at them). And, to be honest, PF Chang’s wasn’t really our second choice. I heard Donna and Darren cycle through quite a few alternatives. But Darren must have done his famous Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Moe because suddenly—presto chango—we’re at PF Chang’s demanding to be fed.
FYI: That eeny, meeny, miney, moe children’s rhyme has some dark origins. Children in England, France, Denmark, Germany, and Zimbabwe have been singing it for centuries. But some researchers say it goes further back and was used in Ancient Celtic rituals to sort out who would be chosen to die. And you might not want to know the U.S. origins, which have been traced to the slave-trading days. Take a look at the words for a moment: Eeny, meeny, miney, moe, Catch a tiger by the toe. If he hollers, let him go, Eeny, meeny, miney, moe. At least eight different versions have been found using n***** in the second line.
Getting back to the story, the PF Chang’s in Daytona Beach provided plenty for us to look at as we waited for a table. Although I was a little curious about all the war statues. The giant horse statue in front has a very Trojan horse feel to it, and there are statues of ancient Chinese soldiers posted at each entrance. Even the pleasant-looking woman in the dining room wall mural gave me an uneasy feeling—I could swear the woman’s eyes were following me.
But the vibe of the restaurant is definitely refined, with an upscale Chinese cuisine. The restaurant was built five years ago, so it’s still got that new-car smell. It’s also got that new-age problem all restaurants are struggling with: a worker shortage. The vacant tables we saw are the calling cards of today’s disgruntled restaurant workers, who refuse to become gruntled again. (Did you know “gruntled” is a real word? It means to put in good humor.) See my blog post titled, "Supply Chain Issues and the Labor Shortage."
So, you could say, that the lack of waitstaff and the hourlong wait for a table made us a little disgruntled too. But we made the best of a bad situation, and we certainly handled ourselves better than the diners at the table seated next to us, who placed their order but gave up on it before it arrived. (A reminder that kitchen staffs have been impacted by the worker shortage too.) On the plus side, the waitstaff was kind enough to award us the food abandoned by those diners. We were also comped for the desserts. And the candle for Darren's birthday was spectacular.
But it’s not an ideal situation to go out to a restaurant and have to wait an hour to be seated and then another hour to be served. But, if we can just be kind to each other, not let anger get the best of us, and keep a positive attitude….
Let me know how that works for you. I'm still stuck on that wall mural. I know she was watching me.
PF Chang’s stands for what?:
Pretty Friendly Chang’s
Pure Flavor Chang’s
Paul Fleming Chang’s
Popular Food Chang’s
#whydochildren’srhymesalwayshavetheworstmeanings?
