Black Eyed Susan

Last week I traveled to one of my employer’s computing centers in Martinsburg WV for a major installation for one of my projects. When I travel for work, I take enough food to sustain me in a pinch. In this case, it turned out my hotel was right across the street from a grocery store, which was convenient. (I always stay in hotels with microwaves and refrigerators.) It was a good chance to meet some of the people with whom I’ve worked for a decade or more in person. They also wanted to have a dinner out with my coworker and me one night. (That’s fairly normal on our business trips, especially the first time people meet in person. Since I was diagnosed, I’ve noticed that a lot of interactions between people revolve around meals and food.) Since I have celiac disease and my coworker is vegan, that presented more of challenge than usual.

The restaurant they found was called Black Eyed Susan. The atmosphere was great and the food was safe and delicious. I tried the shrimp and grits and the steak salad. They were both excellent. Even more than the food, I appreciated the extra effort my Martinsburg coworkers made to include me. I so often have to either decline or go somewhere and just get something to drink that I deeply appreciate it when people make an additional effort to consider my needs.

You can’t mistake true hospitality.