Profile

GreenBee

You know you've got a problem when...

When I planned our trip to Spain last year, I painstakingly researched and mapped out our daily itinerary. 95% of the plans consisted of breakfast, lunch and dinner, with room for snacks (or "culinary discoveries" in between.) The other 5% was "whatever museum happened to be near the restaurant."

What Do You Grab for a Midnight Snack?

Anything cold, especially leftover pizza or Chinese food.

Poll: Do You Ask Before Eating Off Your Friend's Plate?

The Boyfriend and I usually "divide and conquer" when we order, so it's basically understood that we'll be eating off each other's plates. That said, if we don't go that route and my fork makes it over to his plate sans invitation...well...lets just say that someone missed "what to do when sharing isn't your biggest priority" day in kindergarten.

What's the Weirdest Sandwich You Make?

My father's signature sandwich: toasted raisin bagel, peanut butter and a slice of American cheese.

The boyfriend is partial to bagels with cream cheese with a huge portion of dried oregano and dried onion flakes, with salt and pepper. I've heard of people raiding the pantry to eat, but never the spice rack!

Do You Hate Popcorn?

This brings a tear to my eye - just knowing that there are more like me out there! @tonisan9 - I totally feel your pain! I used to work at a movie theater as well, and the very smell of the stuff brings me back to the glory days of chiseling encrusted "butter" grease with a screwdriver off of the popcorn maker. While the occasional piece of caramel corn isn't so bad, for the most part I consider popcorn dead to me.

What's The Worst Restaurant Name You've Ever Heard?

I'm adding my vote to the Ruth's Chris' complaint. Along the same vein, there's a place that opened up in Center City, Philadelphia called "Square 1682" which doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. Maybe I'm just being picky.

How Do You Eat Messy Foods?

People, people! Spread all the slander you want about Guy, but leave the Cheez Whiz out of it. That gunk is the nectar of the gods here in Philly, where eating messy cheesesteaks is an art form. Grab a ton of napkins, and take smaller bites, always leaving a bit of bread under-hang. Also, having a bunch of people around you eating the same messy food sort of takes down the embarrassment factor a bit.

What's your favorite food when drunk?

Do drink garnishes count? :-P

How Do You Slip the Waiter Extra Tip Money?

Also, another concept that I cannot wrap my head around is picking-and-choosing what you do and do not "tip on" from the check. It's tallied up at the end with taxes added on. My tips are based on the last number on the check, which includes alcohol, parts of the meal served slower than others, "that one entree that tasted not as great as I was hoping" and tax. I'm no Rockefeller, but fair is fair.

How Do You Slip the Waiter Extra Tip Money?

My mother and grandmother (mom's mom) are painfully bad tippers (it's a symptom of a larger issue, where the tip is perceived as "extra" or more of their hard-earned money). I used to try and and state my case as passionately and eloquently as possible, but I just got annoyed stares and accusations of throwing my money around needlessly. Since neither of them are big on eating at expensive restaurants ("such a waste!") I'll either offer to cover the bill as a way around the issue, or at least offer to cover the tip, as my way of contribution.

@rhinny - there's just no explaining to some people. It is what it is.

Dinner Tonight: Sweet Potato Pancakes

Compund butter with brown sugar, cinnamon and chili powder!

Cold Pizza

I always tell the nice man behind the counter to skip the oven - I love love love room temp or cold pizza. Come to think of it, I prefer most food that way.

Cook the Book: 'Bite-Size Desserts'

The mini-smores ice cream cones that were served at Steven Starr's Continental Midtown in Philadelphia. Some of the desserts there don't quite hit the sweet spot (so to speak) but these were heavenly. Three miniature waffle cones filled with milk chocolate ganache, and topped with a perfectly charred marshmallow top. Sadly (and much to my tummy's chagrin) they no longer offer the morsels, but they will always have a fond place in my heart - and by extension, no place on my hips :-)

For the laddies- Hottest Food Network Dude?

@parvax - How could I forget the nice Jewish boy that my mother would love me to take home and do morally questionable things with? My bad!

@hungrychristel - I'm pretty this forum transcends most or all gender, orientation, height, age and culinary skillz-related issues/questions/concerns ;-)

For the laddies- Hottest Food Network Dude?

I wonder if Mario Batali actually removes the ubiquitous orange crocs under those special circumstances....

For the laddies- Hottest Food Network Dude?

Also, I have this fantasy of tying up Guy Fieri...and leaving the room. For 3 days. "Oh man, that is MONEY!"

For the laddies- Hottest Food Network Dude?

While Anthony Bourdain will always be my dream man....Any (or all) of the Dean boys will do ;-)

When Is It Socially Acceptable to Share Food?

I love sharing food at restaurants that serve larger portions, especially if I'm with a group of my friends. That said, stay the heck away from my dessert. Seriously. The question "do you want to split ____?" is usually countered with "do you want to get a clue?" Unless I'm bursting-at-the-seams-full-and-can-really-only-manage-one-bite-of-something-sweet, please...spare yourself the pain and months of physical therapy and steer clear of my tiramisu.

Get In My Belly Now: Doughnut Ice Cream Sandwich from Peter Pan Bakery

*One single, solitary tear* It's so...beautiful.

To seat or not to seat?

Thanks everyone! While I don't feel right mentioning the restaurant name, I will agree that they did not handle the situation correctly. Even though the hostess was very apologetic, they should have offered something by way of apology. The place was so packed and busy, passing around some apps to the waiting parties or comping our appetizers would not have affected their margins; they did neither. The weather happened to be really nice, so we waited outside with plenty of other tables that weren't being seated on time, as well. Someone came by and brought out glasses for a large group of ladies to start their wine, but did not offer to do the same to anyone else. I think we'll take our business elsewhere next time.

Would you bring your dog to a restaurant?

Most restaurants with outdoor seating in Philly are dog-friendly, and will even bring your pampered pooch a water bowl. I'm personally a "huge fan" of the waiter carrying that AND a plate of food at the same time. Mmm-mmm sanitary!

Omitting Soda Pop

Both my current job and former job have the kitchens stocked with free cans of soda - I've seen the massive quantities restocked several times per week, due to people consuming 2-3 cans per day. I wonder what would happen if they replaced them with fruit juices and seltzer?

What are you? Recipe Follower or Recipe Deviant

I can never seem to "leave well enough alone." Ah well, one must learn from one's mistakes, no?

Video: Whole Chicken in a Can

Rubik's Cube Sandwich

How charming would this be with multi-colored pieces of cake? A la the Mondrian cake? http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/06/whats-the-prettiest-dessert-youve-ever-seen.html

To seat or not to seat?

Over the weekend, the boy and I went to dinner at a small but well-established BYO in downtown Philadelphia. We'd had a reservation on the books for at least a week, and arrived with wine in hand, and ready to consume some life-changing-delicious pasta and proteins. 45 minutes after our confirmed reservation time, we had still not yet been seated, as the couple at "our" table had been sitting with their check and drinking and talking. Granted, it was a Friday night, no one wants to feel rushed, and no one on staff had made them aware of the situation. On the flip side, I've also been to BYO's in the city that are notorious for kicking patrons out when the next table comes in, even if they're still eating, and will refuse dessert/coffee, etc - even going so far as to mentioning at the beginning of the meal that another seating is due in at a certain time. So...I have to ask...what is the lesser of the two evils? What is the polite way to handle this?

GreenBee hasn't favorited a post yet.