The day I seasoned a flattop with confetti instead of shortening

At this diner in Portland last month, I grabbed what I thought was the shortening bucket during a crazy Sunday brunch rush. Turned out someone had dumped rainbow sprinkles into an empty container for some kid's birthday cake. I spread that greasy rainbow mess all over the 400-degree griddle before I even looked down. The head chef just stared at me and said, 'Well, breakfast just got festive.' Has anyone else ever grabbed the wrong container during a service?

3 comments

3 Comments

brian_ramirez16d ago

lol okay I gotta be that guy but honestly that sounds like a great accident to me. I bet the pancakes and eggs on that griddle came out looking like a unicorn threw up on them but in a good way. If I was a customer and saw rainbow hash browns I'd probably think the place was doing something fun and artsy on purpose. Plus nobody got sick and you didn't burn anything right so what's the big deal?

the_hugo16d agoTop Commenter

@brian_ramirez, you're making a good point about the fun look, but I wonder if we're overthinking this. 50-year-old grills aren't exactly food-grade surfaces anymore, even if they get cleaned. I'd be more concerned about the metal flaking off or old grease getting into the food than the color.

hannahw3016d ago

Take this with a grain of salt but I'd be way more worried about the 50 year old mystery grease flakes than the color of my eggs. Like yeah rainbow hash browns sound fun but not with a side of classic 1970s grime. Brian I think you're underestimating how much old metal can just start shedding into food after that many years. Unicorn vomit might be a vibe but tetanus isn't. Your mileage may vary but I'll pass on the vintage cookware for now.