I think the word I'm looking for is "sadness"

There’s an odd feeling I’ve noted inside me, particularly with salads. It’s the feeling when my favorite part of the salad runs out (often the candied walnuts). Frankly, I get a little sad.

But why should I? I mean, why didn’t they put more candied walnuts in? Or better yet, why didn’t anyone ever ask me if I wanted more of one thing and less of another? I wasn’t so hot on the raisins, to be honest. I left them on the side. Too bad, though – what a waste. Both a waste of raisins and a waste of a chance to give a customer exactly what he wanted....

Why are we eating?

I had dinner with a group of people recently and noticed something odd. Everyone at the table, I learned after listening to them for awhile, was eating for a different reason and had a different goal. One person was genuinely hungry, having not eaten all day, one was eating because he was invited along and felt obligated. One had the goal of ordering something that the others had not. One was trying to lose weight. One seemed to be most interested in ordering something that had a “large portion”. One was ordering around her allergies. Which leads me to think that maybe restaurants ask the wrong question.

Instead of asking “What will you be having tonight?” perhaps they should be asking “Why will you be eating tonight?” If the restaurant knew your goal for the evening, they could help you order better.

“Hi – I’m not really hungry, but I don’t want people to feel awkward that I’m not eating.”
“Hello – I’m on a first date and don’t want to look like a pig.”
“The doctor says I need to lose some weight. What have you got?”
“I want something sweet.”

Come on waiters…. You’re asking the wrong question!