Rude!

Sometimes the art of dining well is nothing more than dining for free. So with a bare pantry and a coupon for McDonald's new fruit and maple oatmeal in hand, I knew I should swing through the drive-thru this morning for a power breakfast.

I was thrilled that the drive-thru line was empty at 8:00 on a weekday morning. I quickly figured out why. When I drove up, the lady said (in some form of English), "We're not taking drive-thru orders for 5 more minutes." Odd, but ok. It probably would've been hard to cash in my coupon for free food at the window anyway. So I swung into a parking spot and quickly made my way to the door. But I was almost run over by a maniac who was speeding away from the window, screaming profanities at the woman in the window, and generally not paying attention to pedestrians. That woman was obviously  upset about the 5-minute break and needed her coffee or sausage biscuit or something.

Inside, there was no line, no one looked very busy, and people were cheerful. I can't understand why they were taking a drive-thru break. They could have at least explained it. It was nothing worth screaming ugly words about at 8 a.m. On a much smaller level, I agree with the crazed driver. Really? You're just gonna shut down the drive-thru with no explanation? Ridiculous! Now I know why I prefer to get breakfast from the local coffee shop instead of the fast-food joint.

On a food-related note, I kinda like the oatmeal. I could eat my Irish oatmeal with brown sugar, almonds, Craisins, and yellow raisins almost every day, so I don't mind that McD's version has Craisins, dark and light raisins, red and green apples, and a hint of maple. But I can see how if you're used to your maple & brown sugar instant Quaker, then you might not like it. But for $1.99, it's a better alternative to those burritos or biscuits.