It happened to me again.

It was very sudden.

I didn’t even have time to react.

I’d just finished my gravlax.

I was taking another sip of wine.

And then wham! Down it went.

“With the compliments of the chef,” she said.

As soon as I saw the ubiquitous martini glass and the festering blob of mush I knew.

I’d been “limoncello-ed.”

I checked with my guest – how many courses did we order, eight? No – two.

I looked around.

Had Uber taken us to the Palace of Versailles by mistake?

I couldn’t see any white gloves… only blue jeans on the servers.

Now I had to get creative.

What would I say?

Time was running out.

Soon she’d be back.

“Was the sorbet not to your liking, sir?”

“Well… errrr…”

It was too late. I was unprepared.

“Maybe you’d kindly ask Chef how a Puligny Montrachet tastes after sucking on a frozen lemon... ”

I didn’t say that but I should have.

And my point is… Would chefs kindly cease this ridiculous habit of serving sorbets in the middle of a simple meal?

It’s pretentious and not relevant.

There are many ways to enhance a great meal. An engaging smile and a brief visit to the table from the manager would be at the top of my list.

But never a limoncello sorbet!