My Plastic Sandwich

I always have some sort of plastic food on my desk at work. I do it mostly because it cracks me up just to look at it but I also get great pleasure watching other people's reaction to it.

I currently have a plastic sushi set comprised of one piece each of tuna roll, shrimp and salmon sushi, wasabi and pickled ginger. There is also a jar of soy sauce, a little dipping dish, a tea cup and a pair of chopsticks to complete the set.

This little food oasis on my desk is really just an extention of me however people who visit me must feel it's an extention of them because they pretend to pour soy sauce in the bowl, use the chopsticks and eat the sushi. Clients and co-workers all seem to have an opinion on the pairing of soy sauce, giner and wasabi or the general merits of Japanese food.

My favorite plastic food was my first, a true to life replica of a bologna sandwich. The original toy, purchased at Toys R Us, came with two slices of processed white bread, a slice each of bologna, American cheese and tomato, 3 slices of pickle and a piece of romaine lettuce. I went to a restaurant supply store and added the cheapest white diner plate I could find, assembled the sandwich and placed it on my desk.

It didn't take long to learn that the humble bologna sandwich is sacred to many people and they have very strong opinions of what exactly constitutes the American original. Some favor meat and bread sans anything else. Others have varying opinions, some quite adamant, about the addition of lettuce, tomato, pickles and cheese. I never bothered to look for plastic mustard or mayo and strangely enough, wthout the visual prompts nobody ever mentioned them!

I've gotten in trouble at work for this behavior. Most of my bosses insist I hide my food when the corporate big wigs come to town. I never do and have spent quite a few meetings with the higher ups discussing food. I can't think of a better way to get to know someone!