the past three weeks in a row, partner has gone to chipotle and been served by the same employee who, in bold defiance of the testimony of his own eyes and ears, ardently refuses to believe carnitas exist
partner: āHi, could I please have a bowl with white rice, black beans, and carnitas?ā
employee (completely blank expression): āNo.ā
partner (autistic) (socialscript.exe encountered an unhandled exception) : āā¦Uh. Um. Sorry?ā
employee: āWe donāt have that.ā
partner (wondering if perhaps he put too much of the authentic accent on the word and thatās whatās throwing the guy): āYou donāt haveā¦(pronouncing it whiter) carnitas?ā
employee (face still unreadable): āNo.ā
partner (looking at the near-full hotel pan of perfectly normal carnitas in its usual place on the other side of the glass) (noticing this employee looks unfamiliar) (maybe heās a new guy that just started five minutes ago with no training?) : āTheā¦pork?ā (pointing at it)
employee: āWe donāt have pork.ā
partner (beginning to wonder if heās the one thatās losing it) (desperately looks to the menu on the wall behind the employee) (the menu lists carnitas as a protein option) (the word ācarnitasā is not crossed out or taped over or otherwise adulterated) (carnitas have been on the standard menu since at least 2016) : āOkay. Um. Are youā¦sure?ā
other employee working the toppings part of the line (familiar) (have seen her before) (she has cool earrings): *gives the new guy a strange look, nudges him aside, and scoops the carnitas onto partnerās bowl before continuing with the other toppings*
Repeat conversation again the next week. And the next. Same guy. If itās a bit, no one is laughing, including the employee.
theories Iāve considered:
- the employee keeps very strictly kosher/halal/vegan and refuses to handle pork (understandable, I respect that, but if youāre gonna work at a place that serves pork I do kinda feel like when someone orders it youāve just gotta tap in a coworker to do it for you)
- someone did something gross to the carnitas and the employee is trying to warn people not to order it (??? throw it out then? also, three weeks in a row???)
- the employee is a space alien who views humans as so similar to pigs that for us to eat them is tantamount to cannibalism
- the employee is the lead in a kdrama romance about a pampered, clueless chaebol heir who is sent by his father to work in the companyās restaurants for a year in order to prove heās ready to take over as CEO. heās dumb as rocks but they canāt fire him or even correct him that harshly due to the power gradient. partner is just a minor reoccurring character, and the interaction is kept the same from week to week to highlight the development of the relationship between the employee and his love interest with the cool earrings (even if the restaurant is literally a fully-branded Chipotle, thatās somehow still not enough product placement for me to believe this is a real kdrama)
After reviewing again with partner, evidently I forgot a detail that set this weekās carnitas denial dance apart from the others.
partner (well aware of what heās getting into with this guy now): āHi. Could I please have a bowl with white rice, black beans, and pork?ā
employee: āWe donāt have pork.ā
partner (demonstrating a level of patience only a public school teacher could have): *points at the pan of carnitas* āCould I please just have some of that?ā
employee (after several slow, confused blinks): *points at the same pan* āThatās steak.ā
partner (looking at the hotel pan theyāre both pointing at) (it is filled with shredded meat of a pale beige color) (at the other end of the row of pans is another pan containing dark brown, lightly charred meat chopped into small pieces): āOkay.ā *deciding heās willing to play in this fantasy space if it gets the job done, he points at the first pan again* Then could I please have the steak?ā
employee: *starts to reach for the pan at the other end containing the actual steak*
partner: "Ohāno, sorry, this one please?" *points at the first pan containing the carnitas*
employee: *blinks, then just walks away and starts helping the next customer in line, leaving partner's bowl unfinished*
other employee with cool earrings: *rolls her eyes at new employee, takes partnerās bowl, and fills it with carnitas herself*
new theories:
- the employee is a bridge troll who will only dole out his delectable carnitas to those who prove themselves worthy by correctly answering his riddles three
- the employee is stoned out of his mind at all times on a specific strain of weed that totally erases the concept of pork from his memory and awareness
My dealer: got some straight gas š„š this strain is called āpork eraserā š³ youāll be zonked out of your gourd šÆ
Me: yeah whatever. I donāt feel shit.
5 minutes later: dude I swear I just saw some steak in the hotel pan
My buddy Phillip pacing: Chipotle upper management is lying to us
