This Person Wants To Know If They're Wrong For Leaving A Dinner Date To Buy Ranch, And Boy Do People Have Opinions

This seemingly harmless move has spawned a thousand hot takes.

If you're a midwesterner (or just have a taste for the finer things in life), then you probably know and love ranch dressing. It's a condiment with a true cult following, and it goes on everything from wings to pizza.

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But when an "Am I the Asshole" post on Reddit came out this week, people started wondering if one can go TOO far with one's love of ranch. In this story, the Reddit OP went out on a dinner date at a Polish/Hungarian restaurant, and found that the restaurant did not serve ranch. So, the OP actually left the restaurant, walked to a convenience store, bought a bottle of ranch, and brought it back.

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(We don't know if it was Hidden Valley or not, but it is the GOAT as far as ranch goes, so...safe bet.)

The server informed them that outside food is not allowed, so they put the bottle in their car and came back in to finish their meal. After dinner, their date said that it was "off-putting" that the OP couldn't just go one meal without ranch, and left him there while they went to go buy some. The OP argued that a "normal restaurant" should have ranch anyway. Here's a screenshot of the whole story, followed by a transcript:

katelynanne / Via reddit.com

"AITA because I brought a bottle of ranch into a restaurant?

Last night, I went to dinner with Michael. It was our third date, and he took me to one of his favorite restaurants. It was a hole-in-the-wall Polish/Hungarian place. We ordered our food, and he ordered a sampler plate so I could try different things. There's very few things I don't eat with ranch; I just like it and helps make some things easier to eat, so I always have it with my meals. When we got our food, I asked for some ranch. The waiter said they didn't have any and offered to bring out some kind of sour cream and dill sauces. I tried them, and they just weren't the same. I told Michael I'd be right back, took my wallet, and left the restaurant. I had seen a convenience store close by when arriving, so I went, bought a bottle of ranch, and came back."

katelynanne / Via reddit.com

"Michael looked shocked but didn't say anything and ate his food. The food was great, and we got some conversation going when the waiter came by and said outside food wasn't allowed. I said dressing isn't outside food, and they didn't have what I needed to enjoy my meal. I didn't want to ruin the evening, so I took it out to my car and returned. When we finished and left, Michael thanked me for coming out with him but said it was really off-putting that I had to leave and go buy a bottle of dressing instead of just going one meal without it. I told him I wouldn't have to do that if they had had ranch or any dressings like a normal restaurant. He didn't walk me to my car or anything and just left. I went home and told my roommate about my date and his attitude, and she asked me if I was being serious. She thinks I had bad etiquette and embarrassed Michael to the point he was probably going to stop talking to me. I don't think what I did was really all that bad; it was a condiment, not an entire meal from someplace. Was I wrong for what I did?"

Most of the top-upvoted comments on the post think that OP was in the wrong for their ranch-foraging excursion.

One redditor pointed out that loving ranch is fine, but ideally, you should be able to get through a meal without it.

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Others pointed out that referring to a restaurant that serves uniquely American foods as "normal" is at best a bad choice of words.

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Like, does this person need ranch when they eat at a Thai restaurant? Or a sushi place? 

Several comments also sympathized with poor Michael, who specifically picked this restaurant because it's one of his favorites, and the server, who probably isn't paid enough to deal with this crap.

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Something interesting happened when the post went viral on Twitter, however... many of the tweets were the opposite of the Reddit comments and supported the OP. One person mentioned that they're neurodivergent and therefore somewhat picky about food, suggesting that OP may have some of the same issues.

Twitter: @katelynanne

Others compared it to carrying hot sauce with you, which is generally pretty well accepted (though also much more discreet, IMO).

Twitter: @katelynanne

And then, there were the midwesterners who were just like, "Ranch at all costs, IDC."

Twitter: @katelynanne

So, what do you think? Leave your opinion in the comments!