Chubby's Burgers gave me a chubby

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So there is this great burger place in West Fort Worth on Camp Bowie Blvd. across the street from Rusty's and Score, formally the hooker spot Gizmos. This place, I can say, truly has some of the best burgers in the area. There is one other place, Salsa Fuego, that makes some Reeeaaallly good burgers. Anyway, I digress. This burger joint is called Chubby's Burgers.

I almost hate to say anything bad about this place so, before I do I am going to tell you how I feel about their food. It is really good. The burgers are huge and flavorful, the fries are crisp and fluffy and delicious. The garden is fresh and the soda is never flat. You won't get any of that Jack in the Box or Burger King inconsistent burger roulette. I personally, as a general rule, would rather eat at a small local burger joint before a fast food giant of a place and Chubby's is one of those joints.

Now... With that said. I have the sad duty to report that I am fully disappointed with Chubby's and their staff. A bit over a week ago I walked into Chubby's with the little doe my lady friend and I could scrape together, not wanting to cook, and not wanting to eat the flesh of the giants Wendy, Jack and King, we decided on Chubby's famously good burgers. It was a Friday night and walking in it was a lot less crowded than I thought it would be. I bellied up to the bar wishing I had enough to sip a cold one while I waited on my order. As I waited I did, as I always do, take a look around the restaurant, cataloging faces, marking booties, checking my exits and escape routes. During this time I decide what to order, how to order it and approximately how much it would cost. I had time to consider the beer after all. That was when I realized, I had been sitting there for some time.

I noticed that the guy sitting to my left at the bar, sipping a beer, and the guy to my right at the bar, also sipping a beer, had moved on. The guy on my right got his food, double checked it before he paid and then sat and watched the game, basketball, before he left. The guy sitting to my left, also by now vanished, I remember answering the phone when it rang. Regular, or employee on lunch break he had to have noticed me sitting there. The wait staff, two young, cute Texas Barbie types, were working their cute little tails off but each time they went from the beer cooler, taps and register to the dining room, or TV remote, they passed me by and never spoke a word.

There was no, "Hey darlin' can I getcha a brew while you wait?"

There was no, "It's gettin' a bit busy in here hun, can I get you a soda while you wait?"

There wasn't even a, "What'll it be?"

The problem I have here is that there was no acknowledgement at all. They walked around me and I watched them serve everyone else around me and not once did anyone in that building acknowledge my presence. It was as if I was  ghost. For 45 minutes I sat there waiting to be dazzled by a Chubby Burger and no one had bothered to notice my being. It's bad enough when a man like me is ignored. The seas rise in our minds and we want to flood everything. But when we are stepped around, or over as if we don't exist ... well the world was destroyed by water the first time; here it's fire that drives us.

Destroyed by Fire!

"How DARE you ignore me?" I fume as I decide what to do.

I could speak up. But why should I have to? I am a customer with money that I've made the choice to spend in your establishment. Don't I deserve some attention? The toughest par about it was the fact that i had recently heard a story on NPR about modern racism. I am not a huge believer in the racist state and I struggled with something I'd heard during that broadcast as I sat there at that bar fuming and trying to decide what to do.

"I hate it when you are the only black man in the building and the world acts as if you don't exist." The guy on the radio had said earlier that day. I thought, then, as he said it, that those things don't happen to me. As I sat there at that bar waiting to be noticed I realized that it does and I realized that it is fucking bullshit. I decided to leave.

I have walked out of places and NEVER returned. I will still sneak into a Denny's and eat and omelette's and biscuits with sausage gravy, but I will not spend my money at Subway. I walked out of Chubby's and I bought our food, that we didn't want to cook, off of the flesh of the giants. Which one is irellevant; we ate it, we hated it and we learned a lesson.

Over the next week we talked about that night here and there and we decided that there was something that had to be done. Even if it was a small thing. In the course of these conversations, one night, hungry and not wanting to cook, and again not wanting to feast on the flesh of giants, we decided on Chubby's.

"I don't wan to go." I told her.

"I understand," she said "I'll go."

"You can tell them to kiss my ass if you want," I told her.

She did me one better than that actualy, she gave me the ultimate compliment.

"My friend was here the other day," she said to one of the 'Barbie's" behind the bar, "and he sat here for 45 minutes waiting to be acknowledged."

Of course she got the usual I'm sorry's you'd expect from an establishment that doesn't want to alienate all of the grey and invisible faces that pay their bills. Would you like a coupon? We are SOOO sorry.

"What you don't know," she continued, "is that he his a local writer and an amateur foodie and he had a bit of a following and you can believe that this won't go unnoticed.

That's when I knew that I had to say something and I have the platforms to say what I want. So ... 

Here we stand a line in the sand. While I love their food and while I will not discourage you from eating it, yet, I will ask of you one thing. When you do buy your burger from Chubby's Burgers in West Fort Worth on Camp Bowie Blvd. across the street from Rusty's and Score, formally the hooker spot Gizmos. You let those bastards know that, in this economy, they may loose a huge fan base just because of poor customer service. You let them know that we are watching and that I will be writing about it should they pass, or fail. And while you are there, grab me a Chubby.