Entry for 28th November, 2007

I was out for dinner last night at Siena on Uddingston, and a very pleasant experience it was too - all the food was served "family style". We had to ask what this meant, because in our household "family style" means that the food is thrown on the floor by a toddler whilst a baby screams loudly; often it ends with a full pot of yogurt deposited on one member of the family's head.
Happily, this is not "family style" for families in Italian restaurants in Uddingston. There the term means that the starter an pasta courses are served in the middle of the table so that you and your fellow diners can help yourselves. This is all rather fun, except it does rather lead to the "Gunfight At the OK Coral" moment which happens when any food is shared communally - you know; when you're down to the last portion.
In this case we had whittled down the plate of mini crostini to a last forlorn piece of toasted bread. We all began to glance sidelong at each other and I could swear that the music from the Good the Bad and the Ugly began to play. (Come to think of it, music from a spaghetti western is particularly appropriate for a showdown in an Italian restaurant).
I saw my father make a move and then I pounced, sweeping up the delicious toasty snack from under his greedy fingers. Other diners cowered beneath their tables as I sunk my teeth in and crunched.