Now this has the potential to be distasteful.
Pardon the pun.
A woman on vacation with her husband at an unnamed hotel said that her allegedly luxurious mule might have been something that you can purchase at the frozen food aisle at Trader Joe’s. It was a meal that was supposedly prepared by the hotel chef and cost $20 – a significant markup from the $3.79 it cost to purchase at the store.
The woman thought it was funny and documented the experience on social media, but it blew up and became a point of outrage.
The woman ordered an Italian meal from room service called cacio e pepe. Later, when searching for creamer for his coffee, the husband stumbled upon what he thought was a community refrigerator. He found frozen boxes of the meal.
It suddenly became an online argument over whether the hotel should be embarrassed or Trader Joe’s should be flattered that their meal was used.
Maybe both.
The woman said the hotel boasted on its website that it has "a private chef who makes culinary meals that cater to dietary needs." She said that her husband was not snooping and had no reason to believe he hadn’t stumbled onto a community refrigerator.
He found stacks of frozen and premade meals, including the Trader Joe's cacio e pepe.
"If you have had pasta in Italy, you might agree that the pasta tastes simpler and less salty there than in America. So when I tasted this one, I thought the slight blandness was possibly due to being authentic," she said.
As for the markup, well, hotels are notorious for charging heavy prices on room service.
The woman said the hotel claimed they "have food that nourishes the body and soul, which is so funny to us now." The woman added that she found the whole experience humorous and said, "We do think a business should be able to charge and serve whatever they want."
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