Breakfast!

Where I am staying at, there is a complimentary breakfast served from 6:00am till 10:00am for guests.  Now this is not a "continental" breakfast... it is scrambled eggs, depending on the day either potatoes or pancakes - sausage or bacon or both, and always cereal, muffins, bread, orange juice, apple juice, milk, coffee, etc.  About the only thing they don't have is fresh fruit... although there is always fresh salsa, and since tomatoes and chile peppers are technically fruits...

There are two different servers and two different cooks I have met.  A week after I arrived, I asked if they had any tortillas.  I was thinking about making a breakfast burrito.  They did not.  However the next time I had breakfast, I noticed it was both a different server and cook.  So I asked again.  Again, they did not...

However, the next time I went... the cook came out and asked me if I wanted a tortilla!  To this day, when that cook is there, I can always get a tortilla!

Now onto the subject of breakfast meats... sausage or bacon.  I enjoy both, however I will always choose bacon over sausage given the choice.  Typically, they alternated between the two, day to day.  One morning as I received a tortilla, all they were serving was sausage.  So I asked if they had any bacon that day.  They did not.  However, I noticed that the next time I had breakfast, there was both sausage and bacon!  And yes, I also got a tortilla!

And to make a breakfast burrito, one really needs potatoes... not pancakes.

Fast forward several weeks to this morning...

As I walked in to the restaurant, the server greeted me, as they always do, to all customers, yet I wasn't asked for my room number.  Which got me thinking, it has actually been a few weeks since I was asked for my room number.  Guess I am now a well known guest.  However, this morning it was more like this:

Server:  Good morning sir!  Una tortilla y patatas este manana?
Me: Si Senora!  Muchas gracias!

The server immediately left the dining area to the back, coffee pot in hand.  As I put a scoop of scrambled eggs on my plate, I heard the dinging of one of those little 'service' bells and some muffled discussion.  As I continued down the self-service line, pancakes (well that explains the question regarding the 'patatas,' got to the breakfast meat - sausage.  Now this confused me for a moment, as I was offered a tortilla and potatoes, but there was no bacon.

Before I could get to the end of the self-service line, there was a tortilla, a small plate of potatoes, and a glass of orange juice (my breakfast beverage of choice) sitting at a table, that I usually sit at if available.  After I put together my little breakfast treat and had began to eat, the cook came out to refill one of the hot trays.  It was the cook that never has tortillas.  So I took the opportunity:

Me: Senor!  Muchas gracias por la tortilla y patatas!  Son muy buenos.
Cook: De nada, Senor!  Gracias. Buenas dias!
Me: Buenas dias!  Manana, en la manana!
Cook:  Si.  OK!

As a side note, there were several other customers that were enjoying there complimentary breakfast that witnessed and overheard the brief exchange between the server, the cook, and I; as well as the personal, custom service to a my table with some "off-menu" items.  I didn't hear anyone comment, nor did anyone ask me how I got what I got... but it made me think that they probably thought I was someone special or important.

Now this is a complimentary breakfast.  Even though it is free, it is usual and customary to leave a tip.  However, when I was able to get a tortilla and potatoes to make my burrito, I would leave a bigger tip.  After all, I was getting extra attention and service.  What I think happened this morning, was the server knew who I was, and that I liked to get a tortilla.  So she made sure that the cook, who never seems to have tortillas, was able to produce one for me, as well as knowing he made pancakes this morning, that he was able to fry up some potatoes for me as well!  She knew I would leave a little extra!

I am not someone special or important, just because I received a little extra attention, compared to everyone else this morning.  I simply made a few requests, and when it was able to be fulfilled, I rewarded the effort.  Now, I no longer have to make the request, it is just offered.

My next goal is to work on the bacon availability situation...