Not on the menu

Here's an insider tip. All restaurants have some "special" items that are not on the menu. If you can find out about these, you enter an elite group of connoisseurs for that particular restaurant. Oh and be prepared for some fabulous taste-tacular extravaganzas in your mouth.

Sometimes, these are old items that are no longer on the menu. Sometimes they are hybrids (I like the word 'hybrid') of two or more items that exist on the menu. Sometimes they are "chef specials" that the cook only makes for friends.

When you order such an item, the 16 year old behind the cash register will look at you in admiration. You ARE somebody. One day she hopes to be "in-the-know" like you are. The feeling is quite exhilarating, I must admit.

One such item is the Mr. Misty Freeze at Dairy Queen. This item falls under the "hybrid" section of the "not on the menu" list. Oh sure- the Misty Slush is on the menu. But the Mr. Misty Freeze is a cross between a slushy and a float.

That's right. Ice cream in a slush.

Let me tell you- it's something else.

You can order it in any flavor that the misty comes in. Last night I had the Blue Raspberry. Another of my favorites is the Kiwi-Strawberry.

When you order it, give the worker a wink. Then just smile quietly as everyone you are with tries to figure out what you got, and why that isn't on the menu.

Welcome to "in the know". You've earned it. Rock star.