"It will be a 10 minute wait"

I just got back from a nice meal from Abuelo's a fairly new Mexican restaurant in our area. When we walked in we were greeted warmly and handed one of those flashing, vibrating hockey-puck pagers to let us know when a table would be ready, then we were informed that it would be about a 10 minute wait.

I know you guys do the same thing I do... immediately survey the landscape and see how many empty tables there are in the place. Yeah, you do it too, don't you? You sit there and wonder why are they making you wait. What is it? Not enough busboys (bus-persons?) Do they want you to wander into the bar and buy a beer? Are they trying to build up anticipation? Maybe they want you to think you are getting a commodity that is in short supply? Whatever their reason, it is a bit frustrating.

I have noticed that many restaurants always seem to have a wait (no, I am not concerned about Cracker Barrel, they really do have a queue.) I just wonder if it is a ploy.

So we sat there on that long bench in the foyer and waited for the pager to come alive. Sho 'nuff... about 10 minutes later, it starts carrying on like Richard Simmons after a commercial break.

We were led to our seats, passing 9 empty booths (half were not yet bussed) and we sat down, still feeling a little surly, but by the time the food came out and we took a few bites, we were OK. The Chiles Relleno as well as the Yucatan Shrimp fajitas were delicious, so I suspect that we will return one day soon and we probably will get to wait for another 10 minutes.

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