scobens

In mid-high school I worked at at restaurant adjacent to a mall. Every so often, after our shifts, my friends and I would go to this chinese restaurant (also adjacent to the mall) that had been around since the 50's (bear in mind that malls were very different then than now). We would get food, but the main attraction was that they would serve us booze, no questions asked. We would walk in and look at the wall full of crazy glassware in which they served the booze and would order by the glass we preferred, as we really didn't know the names of drinks. It would really involve us just pointing and then being handed something, whatever. After going there a bunch of times, my friend pointed to this brown ceramic bowl with monkeys all around it. We all pointed to it and then this magical bowl was carried to our table with 4 straws in it. We were wide eyed. Despite it being sickeningly sweet, it became our drink of choice, mainly for the sense of bondedness, we were all drinking from the same bowl (ok maybe a little gross, but high school girls are physically close, borrow clothes, et al). In fact, we even asked what the drink was called. "Scoben", replied our waiter. So we continued to frequent the place and frquently order "scobens". Then, I'm in college, freshman year and new friends decide to go to a chinese restaurant. I say, "let's order a scoben". Um, ok. Waiter comes, "a scoben please?" In perfect english he corrects me. "I think what you might want is a scorpion bowl?" I sheepishly say yes, and wish that I was back drinking 'scobens' with my real friends.