Friday, June 28, 2013

Changing Deli

Place: Jason's Deli
Lunch: Pastrami on French bread (w/Russian dressing, provolone), Texas chili, oily garlic toast thingies you get free off the end of the salad bar, Coke, free ice cream cone

I haven't eaten here in forever. Naturally, everything has changed.

Me: "manager's special with pastrami po-boy and Texas chili."

Smiling Counter Girl: "What kind of bread?"

Okay, they didn't used to ask that. "The Po-boy bread?"

Smiling Counter Girl: "The French bread?"

Me: "Uh, sure."

Smiling Counter Girl; "Did you want anything on it?"

Me: "Do you still have the Russian dressing they used to put on it?"

Smiling Counter Girl: Well, it's a build-your-own sandwich now. The only sandwich we automatically put the Russian dressing on is the Reuben now."

Me: "So if it's a build-your-own sandwich, would one of my options be the Russian dressing?"

Smiling Counter Girl: "Um...Oh!  Sure."

She inputs into the register, which is also new.  They used to write down the order on paper, put it on a clip, and send it down a zip line.  Then you'd pay at a different station.  But they're all computerized now.  The old pay station is now a self-serve touch screen for people ordering the salad bar.  They can do the whole order themselves with no human interaction.  Lucky bastards.

Smiling Counter Girl: "Anything else on the sandwich?"

Me: "Provolone."

Smiling Counter Girl: "Anything else?"

I review the register screen and see only a sandwich. "I asked for the Manager's Special, with Texas chili."

Smiling Counter Girl: "Oh! You wanted the Manager's special?"

Me "Yes."

She now has to re-input the entire order, which she does cheerfully.

"What kind of soup did you want?"

The sandwich that eventually arrives is amazingly basically the same sandwich I used to get by simply saying "Pastrami Po-Boy". The plate includes chips, but no longer includes the pickle spear.

I miss the pickle spear.

And the zip line.

Zip lines are cool.