Would You Like Some Piercing Noise with your Entree?

We met our friend Chris at the Apollo Bar and Grill last night in Easthampton, and the place was packed. They’ve recently added the word bar to their name, but fortunately, that means only one new TV and like last time, it wasn’t even turned on. We got a good table and caught up with what Chris is doing these days, and it was a jovial Wednesday evening about 7:30.

As I tucked into my beet and goat cheese salad, a piercing siren shrieked, shaking the whole place. People looked around, and realized it was a fire alarm, blasting all through the entire Eastworks Complex. Loud, alternating between the piercing alarm and silence, with flashing strobes that lit up the hallways and the restaurant. Nobody knew what to do except to continue eating our delicious appetizers, and raising up the conversational volume to keep pace with the siren.

It went on, we sipped wine, we talked louder, until finally we had to get up and get out of the noise. Poor Casey Douglas, in his chef coat, walked out and consulted with the yellow-booted fireman, who walked around saying that they had to check the whole building before they could turn off the alarms that were beginning to deafen even the hardiest of us.

We went outside with many of the other diners, and after about 15 minutes, had to return to our table, but this time we put tissues in our ears to block the sound. After about 25 minutes, the sound of silence returned, thank god. The apple smoked pork and the lovely red cabbage tasted much better without the noise, and all was again well in our favorite local restaurant.