Great Village...Bottled Beer served at 41-degrees
It did not start out to be a great day. Up at 5:00AM, I headed for the office early to tackle the mounds of paperwork in anticipation of some looming deadlines. On the way to work I was in a car accident. Just a fender bender, but we waited for over two hours for the police to arrive until we finally gave up, exchanged information and called off the squad car.
The accident really put me behind schedule and the day flew by as I worked, non-stop, through the lunch hour. By 6:00PM I hurried out of the office to meet my wife at my daughter’s drum lesson. I had not realized, due to my cloistered afternoon, that a summer rain storm had rolled into the heart of Tucson.
People gathered at the front door of my office building waiting for the torrent to slow down before running for their cars. I had no choice. Already late, I half ran, half walked to my car, taking the full brunt of the downpour. The parking lot was a six inch lake. I felt the water slush over the tops of my brand new faux florsheims and instantly soak my sox as I struggled to unlock the car door.
My drive to the rendezvous was slow. In Tucson, we are so used to good weather that we don’t drive very well when it’s wet. I passed two accidents on the way to the music lesson. All the while soaking wet, with a crumpled hood in front of me serving as a constant reminder of that morning’s mishap.
After the music lesson we headed for some place close for dinner. Great Village, a Chinese restaurant located at 1000 South Harrison served the purpose.
By now the rain had let up, but the the skies were still overcast and gloomy. As we pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, the owner stood outside staring at an ominous front of clouds that were next in line for our typical summer storm.
The Great Village is interesting the way it is set up. The first thing you see when you walk in the front door is the cash register and the serving area in front of the open kitchen. The first table in the dining room has been converted into a temporary storage area with cases of beer stacked underneath. A vacuum cleaner and carpet sweeper stand guard in front of some pre-folded napkins and other paraphernalia of the restaurant trade.
As the waiter arrived to take our drink order, the sound of thunder rocked the building and the lights dimmed, flickered off, them came back on. The red upholstered seats, the red carpet, the pink painted walls of the restaurant took on an erie glow as our eyes adjusted to the light. What more does this day have in store?
Great Village does not serve draft beer so I ordered a bottle of Miller Lite. The waiter quickly arrived with a 10oz frosted beer glass and the bottle which he presented to me as if it were a bottle of wine. “That’s fine”, I said smiling at my daughter as she giggled. As if he were auditioning for the part of Kramer from Seinfeld, he flamboyently twisted the top and poured the contents expertly into the tilted glass. The temperature of the beer was 41-degrees.
For dinner we ordered two entrees to share, beef and snow peas and garlic chicken. Our meal was delivered almost instantly. In fact, I noticed that our waiter was lightning quick. Darting from table to table, no customer ever waited or wanted.
The beef and snow peas came served in a tasty sauce with water chestnuts and carrots. The garlic chicken included water chestnuts and celery and was smothered in a clear white sauce which taste reminded me of egg-drop soup. We had fun passing the plates and spooning the entrees over mounds of steamed rice that was served on the side.
As our dinner progressed I noticed that my eight year old daughter had more than the usual amount of energy. Her drum lesson went great. She was glad I was not hurt in the accident. She made a thingamabob at kid’s art at Mrs. Tiggy-Winkles today. Was I going to have my car fixed? She couldn’t wait to go back to Disneyland. Her eyes sparkled as she smiled. She laughed loudly at her own jokes, and at her age she still thinks that my jokes are kind of funny. The busy day had slowed down to this moment. A moment of pure pleasure watching my daughter enthusiastically enjoy life. Watching my daughter enjoy the beef and snow peas. "This is great," I thought.
I opened my reporter’s notebook and wrote down, Great Village - Great Choice!
William Ackerley
