Off topic: First time I ate at Dave & Buster’s

Note: This story is going to be off-topic compared to my other posts, but I thought it would be interesting for me to talk about it.

The other day, I was at the mall shopping with my mother. I was getting awfully hungry but I wanted to wait until I’m done shopping so I can eat. That turned out to be a huge mistake.

I was extremely low in energy and the more I shopped, the more I thought about food. For context, I’d eaten a snack at 5:00 in the morning and I assumed we were leaving earlier. We didn’t leave until 12:00. Before I had a snack, I’d slept for only four hours and I apparently couldn’t go back to sleep. Normally, with my depression, I tend to ignore my hunger and my body somehow doesn’t seem to release enough ghrelin. Either that, or my stomach doesn’t feel any contracts so I would be sure to get an instant reminder of my hunger cues.

In this case, however, I was famished. Regardless, I shopped for about two hours. Relieved that I got my shopping done, I staggered my way figuring out what to eat. Suddenly, the word “Dave & Buster’s” blared in my mind. The mall, which is an hour and a half drive from where I live, had recently opened a Dave and Buster’s back in April, and I was craving for pizza.

That joy soon faded when my phone rang. I answered it. It was my mom. She told me to come over to Old Navy to try on a couple of pairs of pants that she found. Only problem was, I walked nearly HALF A MILE to Dave & Buster’s, so now I have to walk another half a mile back to where Old Navy is.

I staggered all the way back, my stomach feeling emptier than a bottomless pit. I was so exhausted from forcing myself to walk all the way back, my whole body began to sweat. Finally, I was at Old Navy. I was panting heavily.

Eventually I tried on the pairs of pants mom gave me, they fit and were nice and cool. I honestly dreaded having to put my sweaty jogging pants back on again as it felt tighter for me to put on recently. As I struggled to put my clothes back on, I told my mom I feel weak. She replied that I didn’t get enough sleep. I replied that I actually hadn’t eaten in a while.

It was now almost 4:00. When all this was over, I realized I was short on money, so my mom was generous enough to hand me twenty bucks so I can finally eat. My stomach growled of both hunger and delight, and my heart was singing “hallelujah, gimme some grub!”. I happily swaggered all the way to Dave & Buster’s, then I finally waited to get an available table.

It only took a couple of minutes for the waitress to arrive and ask what I would like to order. I quickly scanned through the menu and found the pizza category. I replied I would like a cheese pizza, I wanted to try that first before attempting to order pepperoni or sausage toppings the next time round.

Now Dave & Buster’s feeling like a carbon copy to Chuck E. Cheese’s and Gatti’s, both of which I ate there before and their pizzas tasted horrible, so I was expecting the same here. Not even ten minutes later, and my pizza finally arrived. It was shaped like a rectangle instead of the typical circle you’d get in other pizza places. It was so weird to me, but the pizza itself looked promising.

It was hard for me to cut it apart with a fork and knife, so I just used by hands to pick it up. Thankfully, it wasn’t too touch for me to touch. I sank my teeth into one slice, and I was surprised by how it tasted. It was delicious, much better tasting compared to Gatti’s and Chuck E. Cheese’s. I ate every last bite.

When I got finished eating, I decided to call my mom. I told her I’m at Dave & Buster’s, but she told me she didn’t know where it was at. I told her it was next to the play area. She still couldn’t find it, and never did. I told her I’ll just come out and find her when I get finished with my drink.

When I came out and went back to the car with mom, I told her about Dave & Buster’s, which I explained to her is an arcade place similar to Chuck E. Cheese’s. She then finally understood what I was talking about.

And that was the first time I ate at Dave & Buster’s. I’m sure there are hundreds of others in the country, but that was my sole experience of eating there at the mall. And I’ll say that I definitely might come back there again, and next time, I’ll bring my mom with me.