Something very strange has been happening to me when I visit doctors lately. On two separate occasions when I saw different doctors, each doctor seemed far more interested in recommending restaurants and particular food dishes than addressing the medical condition which brought me to their offices in the first place.
Take my regular doctor, for instance. He has been practicing medicine at a top Los Angeles hospital for decades and has a stellar reputation.
“Doctor,” I said, “I have been experiencing mild headaches for the past week or so.”
His response was not exactly on point.
“Have you been to Nate & Al’s?” he asked. Before I could answer or begin to figure out what he was thinking, he added, “The chopped liver is out of this world, and the matzo ball soup is without equal.”
I was starting to get hungry. He was apparently starved.
He then proceeded to go through a directory of every Jewish deli in the LA area, taking note of which dishes were especially delicious at each one. I have never seen him more animated.
“Yes doctor, but about those headaches,” I ventured.
Again he interrupted me, “Make sure you ask for lean pastrami and you won’t be disappointed.” After talking with him for 15 minutes about what he might want to order at Zabar’s when in New York City, we finally got away from our stomachs and back to my head.
I thought little of this encounter until I saw a top orthopedic surgeon about a slight pain in my left knee. It was easier getting into Harvard than getting an appointment to see this doctor. After a long wait and an X-ray, he bounded into the exam room, moved my knee around for a minute and then, detecting my New York accent, asked if I was new to the area.
As soon as I acknowledged my Jersey pedigree, he was off and running at the races.
“Do you like Chinese egg rolls?” he asked me. Before I could respond, he told me where to buy the best in the world and then volunteered the best place to buy pizza, and on and on.
When he finished, I ventured, “But doctor, how is my knee?”
“Your knee,” he said a bit surprised that I was interested in part of my anatomy, “is fine.”
Well, I guess both doctors were right. My head doesn’t hurt and my knee seems fine, but now I know where to go for food recommendations – the doctor’s office.