Here is a weird one. This is truly one, where I wish I could find the guy. Or, at least know what happened to him.
-This one will be filed under the 'Regulars' file, whenever the hell I create it. Any waitron or restaurant person has an opinion on, and maybe a soft spot for, regulars. They offer a wonderful window into random souls. What is more personal than eating? And, as a server, when you end up serving a person as often as 4 or 5 meals a week over a decent span of time, you can really get to know them. More on that later...
-This guy I specifically remember seeing twice, and I waited on him once. I remember very little, but what I do remember is extremely vivid, and would probably have to be electro-shocked out of memory to forget.
-When he did come in to eat, he came in solo. And (literally) opened the place for Saturday lunch. He would be waiting in his car when the doors opened.
-He was certifiably insane. No doubt about it. But, not in a Dahmer way. More like 'Doc' in 'Back to the Future'. I don't know his name, or what he did, but he was palpably brilliant. I don't want to amp this up too much, because there isn't much in the way of a story here. Just some details:
-He drove a humongous beat-up late 70's station wagon, like a Country Squire. The thing was in obvious dis-repair. He had 3 or 4 giant dogs that stayed in the car, while he dined by himself. During the entire duration of the meal, the station wagon shook from the dogs going crazy inside the vehicle.
-He was giant. Probably 6'8", in the 280 pound range. The most visually shocking part was that he wore one of those one piece painter/mechanic suits (ie Dickies brand). He appeared to live in his. I seem to remember a denim-ish one, covered in paint, oil, grease, and who knows what. He had shock orange hair (natural), and beady, crazy looking blue eyes.
-He talked the entire time, to either himself, or whom ever was addressing him. Very nice. Nothing malicious, but I don't recall much of it making any sense. Brilliant sounding chatter.
-He ate extremely quick (like 3 or 4 courses in 15 minutes).
-I only remember one verbal interaction with him, and I will never forget it. Let's call him Raymond(he looked like a Raymond):
-Me: "And what kind of dressing would like for your salad? We have French, Italian, Creamy Peppercorn, Thousand Island..."
-Raymond: "Oh god, not Thousand Island. That always looks like someone vomited on my salad".
This blog is dedicated to the Hillcrest Dining Room, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. I worked there through high school and college. I have to admit that I think about the place, and the people often, probably more than I should. I decided it was time to start jotting down what I remember (yes, for pure nostaglia, but also as an amateur historical record). Hopefully, someday I can use social network channels to open this up to other people who remember the place.
The Idea
The idea here is pretty simple. To write down what I remember, and what little I can find, about this place before I, or we all forget. A few caveats:
-The style will be essentially 'stream of consciousness'. I'll type as quick as it pours out of my head.
-I will try to keep up on grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc, as best as I can. This is one of my biggest pet peeves in our tech-heavy world, but it won't be perfect.
-For now, I have commenting open to 'anonymous', so anyone can say whatever they want. If this gets out of hand, or spammed, I'll will set accordingly.
-The style will be essentially 'stream of consciousness'. I'll type as quick as it pours out of my head.
-I will try to keep up on grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc, as best as I can. This is one of my biggest pet peeves in our tech-heavy world, but it won't be perfect.
-For now, I have commenting open to 'anonymous', so anyone can say whatever they want. If this gets out of hand, or spammed, I'll will set accordingly.
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