It all started with a silly idea on a slow Sunday afternoon. The sun was high, the fridge was empty, and our creativity was running wild. As we sat in the car, parked just outside our favorite coffee drive-thru, my best friend Lily turned to me with that mischievous glint in her eyes—the one that always meant trouble, or at least a very questionable life decision.
“I dare you,” she grinned, “to order whatever the person in front of us orders.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What if they order, like, five drinks and three bagels?”
“Then we’re having a FEAST,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows. “Come on, it’ll be fun. Let’s do it at every place we go today.”
And just like that, the challenge was on: a full day of eating and drinking whatever the person in front of us ordered. No customizing, no asking what’s in it. Just pure, random trust in strangers’ taste buds.
STOP #1: Coffee Mayhem
Our first target: a trendy little café known for its overly complicated menu and quirky seasonal drinks. We pulled in behind a white SUV. I watched nervously as the woman inside leaned out her window to place her order.
“Hi, can I get a large oat milk lavender matcha with two pumps of honey, one pump vanilla, and an extra shot of espresso? And a spinach feta wrap, please.”
My jaw dropped.
“What even is that?!” I whispered.
“No questions,” Lily said smugly. “You committed.”
We pulled up to the speaker.
“Hi there, what can I get for you today?”
“I… uh… can I just order exactly what the person ahead of me just got?”
A pause.
“Oh, uh… sure! That was a lavender matcha espresso thing and a spinach feta wrap. Coming right up.”
When I took the first sip of the green, foamy mystery drink, I was ready to hate it. But shockingly, it kind of slapped. Sweet, floral, slightly nutty, and way more energy than I needed at 9 a.m. Lily took a sip and made a face.
“Tastes like grandma’s soap.”
I ate the spinach wrap in victory.
STOP #2: Fast Food Frenzy
Next, we headed to a fast-food joint for lunch. This time, we pulled in behind a minivan. I could see the silhouettes of at least four people. “This is gonna be a wallet killer,” I muttered.
Lily cackled. “That’s the spirit!”
The order was long. Like, very long.
We rolled up, repeated the “we’ll take what they had” line, and drove away with two chicken sandwiches, a cheeseburger, three large fries, one fish sandwich, two chocolate milkshakes, and a kids’ meal with apple slices and a toy.
“We’re basically feeding a soccer team,” I said.
We parked and set up a mini picnic in the back of the car. To our surprise, every bite was actually pretty decent. Even the fish sandwich, which I always avoided, turned out to be tasty—crispy, tangy, and oddly comforting.
We split the milkshakes and left the kids’ toy on a nearby bench for someone to find.
STOP #3: Bubble Tea Roulette
By mid-afternoon, our stomachs were full, but we weren’t done yet. Next up was a bubble tea shop. I was hoping for something classic, like brown sugar milk tea.
But no. Of course not.
The person ahead of us ordered a taro milk tea with aloe jelly, 25% sugar, and extra basil seeds.
I blinked. “Are we drinking a garden?”
Lily laughed so hard she nearly spilled the drink. But to our surprise (again), it was… interesting. The texture was bizarre, but the flavors grew on us. By the last few sips, we were fighting over it.
STOP #4: A Twist at the Diner
For dinner, we went old-school and hit up a local diner. We followed a man in a suit who looked like he was coming straight from the office.
We sat down and told the waitress, “We’d like whatever he just ordered.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Really?”
“Yes. No substitutions.”
She smiled and walked away.
Ten minutes later, she brought us meatloaf with mashed potatoes, a side of coleslaw, and a cup of black coffee.
Lily stared at the meatloaf. “We’re really living dangerously now.”
But it turned out to be the most comforting thing we had all day. Warm, savory, perfectly seasoned. We toasted with our bitter black coffee and laughed.
STOP #5: The Grand Dessert Finale
By now, we were full, happy, and slightly jittery from all the drinks. But there was one more stop: dessert.
We drove to a small bakery, known for surprise cakes and rotating pastries. We waited behind a teenage couple.
“Can we get one slice of the ube cheesecake and a pecan tart?” they asked.
Perfect.
We followed suit, and the slice of purple ube cheesecake turned out to be magical—sweet, nutty, and velvety. The pecan tart? Buttery and rich.
As we sat on a park bench, the sky turning golden with the setting sun, Lily turned to me.
“So… what did we learn?”
I stretched out and sighed. “That some people have excellent taste. And that sometimes, doing something completely random ends up being the best kind of day.”
Final Thoughts
Trying what the person in front of you orders sounds like a recipe for chaos—and in many ways, it is. But it’s also a fun reminder that there’s a whole world of flavors and experiences outside our usual routines. It forces you to let go of control, trust strangers (at least their taste in food), and maybe, just maybe, find a new favorite dish.
Would we do it again?
Absolutely. But maybe… not for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
