Pay Dirt is Slate’s money advice column. Have a question? Send it to Kristin and Ilyce here . (It’s anonymous!)

Dear Pay Dirt,

My friend “Eva” is sweet, smart, and typically capable. Until, that is, she’s faced with a menu. Eating out with her is an ordeal. She has never taken less than 30 minutes to order, usually with so many substitutions that her dish contains none of the original ingredients. It’s so bad that we were recently asked to leave a very high-end restaurant, and pay an exorbitant booking fee as well as the price of our drinks,, because she dithered for more than an hour and 15 minutes over selecting one of four possible set menus and they didn’t feel they could serve us in the time available. I’ve tried gently encouraging her but she’s just gets hissy about b

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