You can eat like a pig, but don’t bring one

I was in Raytown last Saturday to do a little shopping with my friend Truman, a total fan of Dirty Don’s, the salvage store for the serious bargain hunter. Truman had already been there once that week to scope out the deals and on our outing, he quickly dragged me over to the box filled with 12-ounce packets of Ethiopian Sadamu whole coffee beans priced at less than four bucks (and really superb, as it turned out) and a crate of gift-wrapped boxes of gourmet chocolates. “They’re just a teeny bit past their expiration date,” Truman explained, “but really delicious and only two bucks!” I usually won’t buy food if it’s even a couple of weeks past the expiration date, but in this case it seemed like a fair deal. The chocolates were great.

Before we left Raytown, Truman had another bargain venue he wanted to check out: Mama China Restaurant at 6623 Raytown Road. “The parking lot is always packed!” he told me. “That’s got to be a good omen, right?”

The news about the parking lot was an understatement. I had to circle the lot several times before I could find a space to pull in. This joint was jumping! I did hesitate at the entrance, however, when I saw the hand-printed sign taped to the door: “No Animals Please!!!!”

“Is that code meaning ‘Don’t come in and eat like a pig’ or does it really mean, you know, animals?” I asked Truman.

“I guess we’ll see,” he said.