My co-workers and I have made a habit over the last few months of making a regular circuit of the restaurants and fast-food places up and down York Road around the Cockeysville area for lunch.
We're not particularly picky people, but certain foods aren't particularly conductive to a post-lunch work experience. Of the local restaurants, Taco Hell, Mamma Lardass, and Booger Fling are the absolute worst.
When one person in our group discovers that restaurant or other eatery that doesn't quite meet the expectations of our department, that place of business is announced to be "off the list." That's typically met with a unanimous agreement, until someone finds a redeeming quality (or we run out of other places to go) and someone else will say, "Okay, they're back on the list." Then we all go on the next lunch break, with the typical results.
A typical exchange might go something like:
Paco: "Jesus, those Sliders are going to send me to the third stall for the rest of the week. They are so off the list."
Big Brother (clutching stomach): "Yeah, totally off the list."
Sometimes if the burgers aren't up to their spectacular standards, we even say that Half a Cow's Ass and Sqeegenos are off the list. But we don't ever really mean it.
The list, of course, is merely a figurative expression of our group preferences and doesn't represent an actual document.
Also, it's important to note that the list has recently expanded to include local electronic stores, other co-workers, acquaintances, life partners and topics of discussion. It's unknown whether this trend will continue in the future.
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