RW and I were sitting here, trying to decide what to have for dinner, as campsite cooking was feeling slightly repetitive. In addition, we were feeling a bit lazy. As we were looking at the menu, RW announced that he was hungry for some good chicken.
ME: "What are you going to get? The chicken platter? A chicken sandwich?"
RW: "No, I'm getting the Chicken Fried Steak."
ME: "Ummm, that's not chicken."
RW: [giving me the 'you don't know what you're talking about look'] "Yes it is."
ME: [giving HIM the 'I so know waaaay more what I'm talking about than you do' look] "No, it's not. It's just what it says it is... Chicken Fried Steak. Steak that's breaded and fried like chicken."
RW: "Oh you are just so completely wrong about this. It's CHICKEN." [I have to hand it to RW, he was very confident in his position]
At this point the couple sitting in the booth behind us started giggling a bit, and glancing furtively over to the people who cannot agree on what Chicken Fried Steak is. The guy finally leaned back over the booth and said to RW:
RANDOM GUY: "She's right - it's steak."
RW was not to be deterred from his position. He was convinced that I had no idea what I was talking about, and neither did the couple in the booth behind us. I attempted a different angle:
ME: "Seriously - I can promise you it's STEAK. 'Chicken Fried' is an adjective describing the noun 'steak'. They even served it to us at Lost Valley Ranch! It looked exactly like fried chicken breast - but it was steak."
RW: "Honey - you are so wrong about this. We'll ask the waitress."
Now usually asking the waiter/waitress would be a grand idea, however, this particular waitress was a summer worker from a different country. A country far, far away, and clearly unacquainted with both the English language and the nuances of our regional diets.
RW: "Excuse me. Can you tell me if Chicken Fried Steak is chicken or steak?" [at this point the couple sitting in the booth behind us was fully invested in this conversation, being as convinced as I was that he was wrong]
WAITRESS FROM A DIFFERENT COUNTRY: "Uhhh, ummmm.. Chicken Fried Steak? Ummm, [clearly making up her mind], that's ... CHICKEN."
RW: [to me] "SEE? I told you so."
ME: [to WAITRESS FROM A DIFFERENT COUNTRY] "Would you mind checking with the cook and getting back to us?"
Several minutes later the WAITRESS FROM A DIFFERENT COUNTRY approached our booth and informed us that it was [drum roll please] actually STEAK.
RW, possibly trying to save some face, and perhaps still mightily convinced of his position, ended the conversation with this:
RW: "Well, That's very weird. In California, Chicken Fried Steak is actually chicken."
He went with the chicken platter.
