A hearty disrecommendation
Apr. 11th, 2026 10:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
baroque_mongooseEverything was fine on the way home yesterday till we stopped for lunch at a service station. There was a small food court with five different places to eat and/or drink, plus a shop at the back selling things like toys, games, puzzle magazines, and the various other things people want in order to prevent boredom on long car journeys. (For some reason, the loos were accessed via this shop, and the signposting wasn't great... well, to be honest it was almost non-existent. The disabled loo wasn't bad when I found it, though.)
I prefer to have my main meal in the middle of the day, and the most substantial option looked like Burger King. I seemed to recall they used to do a vegan burger, so presumably they still did.
Well, they did; in fact there was a choice of two, both somewhat more substantial than I actually wanted, and you had to order them using what they called a "kiosk". It wasn't really a kiosk. It was a large touch screen with a card reader at the bottom, and it was not massively intuitive (to the point that neither of us found any customisation options, though I was informed later that they were there). So I ordered a Plant-Based Whopper, and the friend I was travelling with ordered something chicken-related, I think.
It was, honestly, not very nice. I hate vinegar, and this thing had both ketchup and mayo in it (I mean, why?). The patty itself was all right - you rarely find an actually bad vegan burger these days; but I could have seriously done without several of the accoutrements. Salad, fine, but what were those weird little things that looked like slices cut from the very tops of tiny courgettes (so you got the slightly wrinkled edges) but didn't taste like any vegetable I was familiar with? So I went up to the counter and asked politely if there was any way customisation could be included on that touch-screen thing in future, which was when I found out it actually was there, but not immediately obvious. The lady asked me if I'd like a replacement burger. I said, no, I'd already struggled through the one I'd got, but thank you, I appreciate the thought.
I got something sweet to take the taste away, and we proceeded on our way. After a little while, I started to feel very tired, so I semi-dozed (I find it very hard to fall asleep sitting up, especially in a moving vehicle, but I did get quite close); and it gradually started to filter through to me that I was also not feeling very well. By the time we were nearly home, I decided it would be a very good idea to check Sibyl... and I was right. Her bag was as flat as a pancake. She was blocked.
It is, as I have probably mentioned before, quite amazing how ill one feels with a blocked stoma. Somehow I managed to get self, wheelchair, and assorted luggage back into the flat, unpack the minimum I could get away with for the moment, and then go and crash out on the bed. After a while I dragged myself through to set up the laptop so I could let my sister know I'd arrived home safely, managed maybe ten or fifteen minutes on there e-mailing her and catching up on stuff, then had to go and crash again. I took my pills with the intention of eating later, but the eating part never actually happened; Sibyl did, however, start unblocking herself shortly after I'd taken the pills, so that was hopeful. Normally when that happens I start to feel better quite quickly.
I didn't. I wondered why. I crashed some more. Then I moved and thought "oh no, I'm going to be sick". I had to go and get the bucket, which, fortunately, lives in the bathroom, which is next to my bedroom. And indeed I was sick; not a great deal, but since I'm on ondansetron it shouldn't really have happened at all. I did finally start to feel a bit better after that, but I kept the bucket next to my bed overnight just in case (fortunately it wasn't needed). This morning I'm basically fine but still a bit washed out.
And now you all know what not to have at Burger King.
I prefer to have my main meal in the middle of the day, and the most substantial option looked like Burger King. I seemed to recall they used to do a vegan burger, so presumably they still did.
Well, they did; in fact there was a choice of two, both somewhat more substantial than I actually wanted, and you had to order them using what they called a "kiosk". It wasn't really a kiosk. It was a large touch screen with a card reader at the bottom, and it was not massively intuitive (to the point that neither of us found any customisation options, though I was informed later that they were there). So I ordered a Plant-Based Whopper, and the friend I was travelling with ordered something chicken-related, I think.
It was, honestly, not very nice. I hate vinegar, and this thing had both ketchup and mayo in it (I mean, why?). The patty itself was all right - you rarely find an actually bad vegan burger these days; but I could have seriously done without several of the accoutrements. Salad, fine, but what were those weird little things that looked like slices cut from the very tops of tiny courgettes (so you got the slightly wrinkled edges) but didn't taste like any vegetable I was familiar with? So I went up to the counter and asked politely if there was any way customisation could be included on that touch-screen thing in future, which was when I found out it actually was there, but not immediately obvious. The lady asked me if I'd like a replacement burger. I said, no, I'd already struggled through the one I'd got, but thank you, I appreciate the thought.
I got something sweet to take the taste away, and we proceeded on our way. After a little while, I started to feel very tired, so I semi-dozed (I find it very hard to fall asleep sitting up, especially in a moving vehicle, but I did get quite close); and it gradually started to filter through to me that I was also not feeling very well. By the time we were nearly home, I decided it would be a very good idea to check Sibyl... and I was right. Her bag was as flat as a pancake. She was blocked.
It is, as I have probably mentioned before, quite amazing how ill one feels with a blocked stoma. Somehow I managed to get self, wheelchair, and assorted luggage back into the flat, unpack the minimum I could get away with for the moment, and then go and crash out on the bed. After a while I dragged myself through to set up the laptop so I could let my sister know I'd arrived home safely, managed maybe ten or fifteen minutes on there e-mailing her and catching up on stuff, then had to go and crash again. I took my pills with the intention of eating later, but the eating part never actually happened; Sibyl did, however, start unblocking herself shortly after I'd taken the pills, so that was hopeful. Normally when that happens I start to feel better quite quickly.
I didn't. I wondered why. I crashed some more. Then I moved and thought "oh no, I'm going to be sick". I had to go and get the bucket, which, fortunately, lives in the bathroom, which is next to my bedroom. And indeed I was sick; not a great deal, but since I'm on ondansetron it shouldn't really have happened at all. I did finally start to feel a bit better after that, but I kept the bucket next to my bed overnight just in case (fortunately it wasn't needed). This morning I'm basically fine but still a bit washed out.
And now you all know what not to have at Burger King.
