The Surprise Dessert

A few weeks ago, a group of my friends took me out for dinner to celebrate my birthday. It was a great time and we enjoyed catching up.

At the end of the meal, as we were about to ask for the check, our waitress (a Marcia Brady look-a-like) brought over an apple pie and ice cream dessert dish in honor of my big night. Apparently, my buddy Fink had slipped away during the meal and pulled the ol' fake bathroom trick. Sneaky bastard.

We were all stuffed beyond belief but the surprise dessert looked amazing. None of us were going to pass it up and I'll explain why:

As a diner, you are mentally prepared for any apps, entrees or desserts that you ordered. After all, you chose them.

The surprise factor, however, always changes the game. It carries a certain mystique. At that moment, the apple pie & ice cream dessert seemed like an added bonus... and who doesn't cash in their bonus?

Armed with our eating utensils, the 6 of us suddenly resembled a pack of hunters salivating over our prey. However, some hunters are more aggressive than others and my roommate Matt is a perfect example.

When we were apartment hunting and we finally (after a lot of searching) came across one that we liked, he yelled "we'll take it!" before the realtor had even ended her presentation. The rest of the onlookers didn't stand a chance. The man shows no mercy.

Fink (who sat next to Matt) was well aware of this. Consequently, the poor guy dove in for the dessert with the urgency of a fugitive escaping for his life!

Unfortunately, he couldn't handle the pressure and slipped up. The rest of us watched as a giant scoop of the ice cream flew through the air (as if in slow motion) and landed in my glass of wine! I don't even want to go into detail about how our once aesthetically perfect apple pie was mutilated.

Let's just say that when Marcia Brady returned to the table, her expression said it all. She looked like Brad Pitt in Se7en, after he had opened a package containing his wife's amputated head!

I understand where Fink was coming from and it's hard to blame him. However, in life, we are often forced to do battle with fierce competition and it's important to remain strategic and composed. That's Sprezzatura.

Otherwise, you'll just end up with a scoop of ice cream in your wine.

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