Once again, it's time for another installment of...

As The Assisted Living Facility Turns.  This episode is entitled "Where's the Parmesan".

Menus for the dining room are published one week at a time and for the most part are on a cycle of six weeks (there are occasional changes and occasional 'special' meals).  So last Monday when this week's menu was published, everyone could see that lunch today was scheduled to be Chicken Parmesan, with "baby red potatoes" and steamed vegetables.  I suppose it's not that big a deal that Chicken Parmesan is being served with potatoes rather than pasta, but whatever.

However, as I heard from a number of residents during and after the meal (and was able to see for myself), there was a big problem with lunch.  It was chicken, but it was not Chicken Parmesan.  There was no marinara sauce.  The chicken was on the bone.  It was not breaded and it had no real Parmesan cheese on it.  There was a dusting of cheese flakes on it, as though the cheese shaker you use to put cheese on spaghetti had been used lightly on the chicken.

Then to compound matters, the lemon cake that was supposed to be dessert was so poorly made that pieces of it contained more holes than the average slice of Swiss cheese.  Since the head chef is off until Tuesday and the Facility Director isn't due back until after January 1st, there is little the President can do but take down the complaints and promise to address them to the proper people upon their return.  In point of fact, the President was so tired of hearing these complaints that rather than risk hearing more of them by going to the dining room for dinner, he chose to go out and pick up something to eat. 

It didn't help.  As he walked back from his car to his room through the lobby, the President received more complaints about lunch, and about dinner as well.  Worse yet, he noticed that the suggestion box had not yet been put back up, which will undoubtedly lead to one resident making a mountain out of a molehill the next time she sees the President. 

Tune in next time.