Last night I went by our favorite Chinese restaurant in Chattanooga, which is owned by Germans. I ordered the Peking shrimp for my mom, and chicken with snow peas for my sister. I was craving black bean sauce. It wasn't on the menu, but I asked if there was any way they could make tofu with black bean sauce. They said they were sorry, but that dish wasn't available.
I said, "Oh, OK. Just thought I'd ask."
I really wanted a big bowl of tofu with black bean sauce. After looking over the menu for another minute or two, I was a pest. I said, "Oh God. Are you sure you can't put together a black bean tofu dish for me?"
"No. We can't do that. Not unless we make the chicken with black bean sauce and leave out the chicken. And SUBSTITUTE tofu."
"That would be great."
