Memorial Day is the official unofficial start of summer!
The start of summer = outdoor fun in the sun 
Whether you’re staying local or going on a road trip, take advantage of the long weekend with these top ten things to do.
From beaches to hikes to ice cream, we’ve got you covered, thanks to Scout.me. Take a look at our full list after the jump!
Still wishing the weekend was here? Us too. But to help your daily grinds, we released a small update over the weekend that makes Scout for iPhone even easier to use. We’ve added a new “Tips and Tricks” section in the app to help you discover cool features you may not have known existed within Scout.
Check it out:
Also, if you didn’t already know, you can share your location or a certain place you’re going via text, e-mail, Facebook and now, Twitter!
If you’re a current Scout user, download the update and let us know what you think! If you are new to Scout on iPhones, try out the 30-day free trial and we’d love to hear your feedback.
Okay, we’ve all been there…
You’re sitting at a restaurant (hopefully one you discovered on scout.me), patiently waiting for your food, when after about 30 minutes your meal arrives.
Excited and hungry, you voraciously dig in. But just three-seconds into your meal, it hits you like a ton of bricks: This food isn’t right.
What’s the problem with your meal? It might be:
So what do you do? Well, if you’re paying for a meal, there’s absolutely no reason it shouldn’t be done correctly. The restaurant is in the business of providing a great quality dining service and if it’s not up to your standards, you should let them know and send the food back, right?
Of course, the problem for most of us is, it’s not easy to send back food because it could lead to an awkward confrontation with your server. Maybe more than that, you really don’t want to make your server upset in fear you might end up with something extra in your meal.
So what do you do when you want to send your food back at a restaurant but don’t want to make your server mad? Here are some tips to make this awkward and unavoidable situation a little more palatable.
7 Magic Words You Need to Know When Sending Back Your Food
The first key to easily handling situations where you need to send food back is simple. Just remember these 7 words:
“I know it’s not your fault but…”
Why these words? Not shockingly, servers are just like any of us. They want to be treated politely, respectively, and with understanding. By approaching your server with these 7 words, you’re doing just that. Also, by letting them know that you don’t believe it’s their fault, you’re using language which will diffuse them and decrease the chances they’ll become defensive.
Be Specific
When you’re letting your server know there’s a problem with your order, you’ll also want to get very specific about what you’d like. This is also a great opportunity to ask any questions to help clarify your order and help set expectations for both you and the server.
Prevent Sending Food Back in the First Place
Want to avoid catastrophe at a restaurant? Many situations where you need to send food back can actually be easily avoided by just being proactive in your communication with your server before you place your order.
For example, if you don’t like sauces to the point where it’s actually a deal-breaker on ordering an item, you might want to let your server know that – even if it doesn’t mention it on an item’s description in the menu. As I know too well, many of these descriptions leave many items and ingredients out and letting your server know even preventatively could save you a lot of time and discomfort.
Now it’s your turn: Tell us your secrets to sending food back
Let’s be honest: Sending food back at a restaurant is really uncomfortable and at all costs, many of us would like to avoid these situations altogether. Unfortunately though, as long as there are restaurants, there are bound to be scenarios where for one reason or another an item needs to be sent back to the kitchen. When these situations do arise, hopefully, you’ll remember these tips for getting your food corrected simply and easily.
Did I miss anything? Do you have any secrets for handling these situations?
Let me know in the comments section below. And don’t forget, you can always discover new restaurants and places to eat by checking out scout.me.
For the most part, I’ve always considered myself to be pretty open to trying new things. Whether it’s a new activity or visiting a new place, I love the sense of adventure that comes with experiencing something for the first time. After all, variety is the spice of life, isn’t it?
But among the many activities there are to try, to me, no single one is more enjoyable than trying or discovering new foods. In fact, for any who have eaten with me, they know that calling me an enthusiastic eater could be considered an understatement. @nanpalmero?
As a result of this, I’ve been in several situations where I’ve tried things that by most western standards are considered to be gross, extreme, or just plain weird. So you may not be surprised then that I have become used to receiving strange looks from across the table, after which of course, are followed by questions like “why?” or “how can you do it?”
To them, my answer is this. When I look at cuisines and dishes from around the world, I realize that there are people – including entire cultures – who eat things that some in our culture may define as weird. But to those who live in them, eating those things can be as normal as eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is to us. And if they can eat these dishes, then why can’t I?
No reason if you ask me.
So for better or worse, I do, try, and discover a lot of new flavors and food and I’m still here to write this blog about them. They haven’t all been great experiences, but being completely honest with you, I’ve regretted none of them.
Today, I wanted to share with you my top 3 most interesting foods I’ve eaten… EVER. Here we go!
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