We always brought our toddler and at the beginning the lady says assertively something like "I'll take her" and hauls our daughter around the corner. So after about 20 minutes of no sign of daughter I decide to go take a peek at the situation. Well it turns out she has a daughter of her own, Down's Syndrome, it appears to be, and our daughter and the cook's daughter were having a fine time hanging out at the end of the corridor around the corner. I went back to the table and finished our excellent meal.
We are always interested in these sorts of things and now we find them more commonly off the beaten track in Mexico.
Nine times out of ten I'd usually just get the meal of the day from one of the ladies. It was always good, and it was actually kind of fun to wonder what you were going to get! I definitely see the appeal of not having to think about it.
The Special.
Just show up, sit down, turn the coffee-cup right-side up, and order exactly like this before anyone has a chance to put a menu in front of you: "I'll have the special."
If they're doing it right, there will be no questions about your order.
Coffee will show up. Soon after, food will show up.
It will be fast, hot, inexpensive, and of a general quality that is par or better compared to anything else they might be have on the menu at that particular diner.
But reading this and the comments here, it occurs to me we sort of have something comparable: the legendary Full English Breakfast.
(Insert Full Scottish, Full Irish, and Full Ulster as appropriate. I can't remember what it was called but I've had a few Full Welsh as well.)
You go in, and you order a Full English, and that is the extent of your choice. It's generally wonderful.
But that's where the similarity ends.
As an American, even I know that a Full English has a defined set of things included. Sausages, mushrooms, etc: It can't be a Full English without the things that constitute a Full English Breakfast.
But otherwise, the special (or maybe more properly, "the daily special" but nobody ever says it like that) isn't like ordering a Full English at all. The special isn't even a little bit predefined.
The Special could be a club sandwich and potato chips, or meatloaf and mashed potatos, or a burger and fries, or some tacos, or regional fish like Walleye or something. Or whatever.
And the main distinction is that The Special changes daily, and oftentimes there will be different Specials for lunch, breakfast, and dinner.
In American diners, the special is usually written on a sign on the wall and/or maybe outside by the door.
Whatever it is, at whatever time, it's just a reasonably-complete meal that they're selling at a special low price right now that requires minimum effort on everyone's part and that they're prepared to serve a ton of today.
And tomorrow, the special will be something completely different.
A person may or may not be able to order whatever items that comprised yesterday's special, but if they can then the price will be higher today than it was yesterday.
But that doesn't matter, see? Just walk in, order "The Special," and food will show up.
This is still strange to me.
Perhaps the context matters: I am not a fussy eater, and I love street good and cheap eats. I much prefer it to fine dining. But there's a reason for the latter: I'm a lifelong vegetarian. So long as I can get something without flesh in it, I'll eat anything, preferably deep-fried.
But whereas across the British Isles I can ask for a veggie Full English and get something good, I can't imagine walking into a food place and ordering sight-unseen, unless it was a veggie place, and they are typically upmarket and expensive, not the sort of basic joint I happen to prefer.
This thread has been an education. :-)
I'm not sure why Americans have so many food allergies these days, but I can only guess it something to do with either food quality, or parents that don't make their kids eat various foods. Japan has long had a culture of eating whatever food your parents gave you, and absolutely never wasting food.
As for dietary restrictions, yes, that's absolutely a thing unique to foreigners here. Japanese people don't have silly religious restrictions about food like other cultures, and vegetarianism and veganism are not terribly popular, though they are slowly growing.
It is not only Americans, it is also Europe. My theory it is because of pesticides. I never had Strawberry allergies, except when i bought some from a big producer.
But the second time I was WTF?!? I asked and got told by the server that they had remembered what I ate and went from there. The process was: if I wanted to order, when we sat, ask for a menu. They sometimes had specials that were different (not just a marked down chicken dish) then we got menus to see them. Otherwise lunch appeared. It was really kind of nice that they knew what we liked and brought it. We seldom had the same plates which was also interesting.
And here it is almost 35 years later and I still remember lunch there. Miss you Jenny and Dave.