This afternoon I called Peking, a Chinese restaurant just a few blocks from my office, to order General Tso’s Chicken. Looking over a menu that had come with some past order, I settled on General Tso’s Chicken. Not quite sure of how to pronounce “Tso’s,” I figured that I’d use the number next to it. All Chinese menus have numbers, but I’d never used them.
"I’d like number 28, please. I’ll come by and pick it up."
"28?"
"Yes, number 28."
"Use name, please. Not number."
I’d always suspected.