We always go to Mo’s when we’re at Cannon Beach, because it’s delicious and family-friendly and it’s on the beach with a nice view and we hardly ever eat seafood. I almost always order something tame, like clam chowder or such. This time I was determined to be surprised!
- Waitress
- And what would you like?
- Me
- I’d like you to surprise me.
- Waitress
- You’d like what now? (I sensed a recurring theme starting here. Serving staff seem surprised to learn that a patron wishes to be surprised.)
- Me
- I’d like you to surprise me. Anything on the menu is fine, but no hamburgers and I’m too hungry for a salad alone.
- Waitress
- Okay! Well that’s the first time in 8 years this has happened. You ought to get a prize or something!
For the record, I did not in fact get a prize. However, I did get a delicious plate of fried cod fish-and-chips, which the waitress explained is something they make right there at the restaurant. (It was not immediately clear to me what they don’t make at the restaurant. Perhaps she meant it was local fish or something, or that they ship their clam chowder from Wisconsin dehydrated in plastic bags.)
Scoring Breakdown: Mo’s Restaurant
| Score | Comments | |
|---|---|---|
| Audacity |  |
No samplers, which is good, but no raw oysters either, resulting in a middle-of-the-road score. Fish-and-chips is unquestionably a safety bet as far as seafood surprises go. |
| Reaction |  |
This waitress really seemed to get into the spirit of the thing. Once she understood what I wanted, there was no faffing about with trying to figure out what I would actually enjoy. I received the impression of having brought a small ray of sunshine into her otherwise predictable day. |
| Discovery |  |
I would have been very likely to order fish-and-chips if I was not seeking high adventure, and in fact I think I may have even done so several years ago. |
| Satisfaction | |
The fish-and-chips were quite good, I would definitely order them again. |
Overall score: +1. This was a good experience, which is paradoxically not surprising, because Mo’s is always a good experience.
Bonus Surprise: Burly Motorcycle Gangsters!
I don’t think this was related to my efforts, but midway through the meal the restaurant was invaded by a horde of rather seasoned individuals whose bepatched leather jackets and stern looks proclaimed to be members of a “motorcycle club” whose logo prominently featured skulls and revolvers. There were at least thirty of these intimidating characters, and I began to wonder if this was a hostile takeover of poor Mo’s establishment. I would have snapped a picture of the scene, but I chose not to for two very prudent reasons: a) I didn’t have a camera, and b) I once read some extraordinarily sage advice which told me “never snap a photo of a man who can snap you”.
It is probably best not to apply our scoring scale to the incident of the motorcycle gang, as this here Internet is becoming full of more and more kinds of people and you never can tell how a hardened motorcyclist would take a thing like that. Therefore, I will leave it to your imagination.