Toledo: A Problem of Menus
l The Spanish government, aware that the golden rewards of tourism could evapo- rate as quickly as they appeared, has taken sensible steps to protect the tourist. Restaurants are required to offer, in addition to their la carte menus, a special tourist menu from which one can get a good meal and a bottle of wine at a fixed price. By ordering from this menu one can eat really well in Spain and at about half the price he would expect to pay in either France or Italy. 2 But. I sat down in a restaurant in Toledo, looked at the menu and said, "I'll take tish soup, Spanish omelette and flan." "And what wine?" "Whatever comes with the meal." "Nothing comes with the meal." "But it says right here "You have to order that. Then it's extra." But the menu says. "You're pointing at the tourist menu." That's what l ordered. "Oh, no! You didn't mention the tourist menu "I'm mentioning it now." "You can't mention it now. You've got to mention it when you sit down." "But you haven't even given the order to the kitchen." "True. But I've written it in my book. And it's the writing that counts." You mean that if I'd said "tourist menu' at the start, my meal would have cost me a dollar and sixty cents?" Clearly But since I delayed three minutes the same meal is going to cost me two-sixty Plus sixty cents for the wine 4 I tried to point out how ridiculous such a situation was, but the waiter was