Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I've had Bear Naked, Galaxy, and Artisanal granolas. Bear Naked is my chief brand, can't help it, the stuff's GOOD lol! But, I'm also atrracted to the Galaxy brand because I love it calorie and fat content, are great. Artisanal is good too and has alittle more nutrients&minerals in it than the other 2, yet all 3 are very healthy. Though BN is my main brand, I occassionaly switch between these 3 brands, due to their fat, calorie, carb and sugar contents are in the range that I like, unlike some other brands which are, let's say, a wee bit too much in those areas. :-)

We grow our own sprouts, and he's picking the first of 2009 today. I will definitely try this recipe tonight. I usually just steam then, squeeze fresh lemon juice over, season with butter and S&P.

I'd recommend my granola too:
http://alteredplates.blogspot.com/2008/10/spicy-nutty-seedy-agave-sweetened.html

It depends on where I'm eating. If I'm at a diner, I don't mind the plates getting removed as people finish their meals. It's a diner, and along with not having cloth tablecloths and napkins, I get it. They work on high turnover, it's fine.

At a good restaurant, it infuriates me. I'm not spending $100 so you can rush me out of the place.

It should be said that I eat really quickly. Not so much due to gluttony as to the fact that I want hot food HOT. Leisurely dining ends up with room temperature vegetables because diner/lower end restaurants (and even some high end one's) do not serve hot food on hot plates as they should.

To me, a far more annoying restaurant thing is not having the food brought out at the same time. It sucks sitting there while everyone else at the table is enjoying their whatever as I sit there waiting for my food.

This is by far, the best burger joint I have been to. Watching them put the burger together was simply an art.

Bear Naked is the best, definitely my favorite granola. I pretty much love all their flavors, but my very favorite might be the Mango Agave Almond from the Native line.

Who exactly told you the Native line wasn't being produced anymore? I work at Whole Foods and we sell three different Native flavors: the Mango Agave Almond, Maple Hemp Walnut, and Yumberry Gogi Currant. It's actually still a relatively new product, at least in my store. I haven't heard anything about it being discontinued.

Feed is another one of my favorite brands, I hope they come out with more flavors. I really like the Kashi Mountain Medley granola too.

I've made my own granola a few times, and it came out great, and it really is much more economical to make your own. For some reason though I still buy it much more often than I make it, convenience I guess, plus Bear Naked is as good as homemade in my opinion. And since a lot of their flavors get most of their sweetness from unrefined sugars, and the fat is mostly all good fat from nuts and seeds, I see no reason to feel bad about buying to my granola-loving heart's content :)

If you're in a high end restuarant, don't pre-bus. Just put your silverware on your plate. Oftentimes, if a manager sees plates stacked, they will assume the server isn't doing their job or hasn't been by to check often/quickly enough.

If you're at a medium priced chain (TGIF and the like) stack and pre-bus all you like. It always annoyed me when customers did that, but as a server I didn't get into trouble. It just made me feel like I had missed something.

And I wanted to add to the person who commented about blowing nose in the napkin: I also hate when people leave their gum in the napkin. NASTY! Why should I want to even come close to having contact with THAT!? And if we really want to be nit-picky, unless you have a paper napkin, please, PLEASE don't put it on top of the plate. It's very difficult to get oils, butter, and such out of the cloth napkins.

Yes Cassaendra! I always think that people who act as if the waitstaff are 'invisible' are supremely rude! I appreciate the fact that they try to remain unobtrusive, but I don't want them to feel invisible! I want them to know that I appreciate their efforts to make my dining experience a pleasurable one! And I often find that a pleasurable and enthusiastic countenance often results in the waitstaff trying even harder to please our table vs. the others around us! God knows they see enough grouches in a day!

Former server, frequent diner. Crossed silverware means that you're still dining; parallel silverware means that you're finished, regardless of the part of the clock you place it. The napkin-in-the-chair signal should work, but etiquette is eroding, and the napkin and silver methods are often meaningless, even in high-end establishments. Separate note: I'm a thanker. Whether it's bread, water, iced tea, or bringing me my cocktail, entree, or check, we always thank the server. That's two thank-you's per trip for the bus boy and the server. How annoying for the person on their feet to navigate through, "You're welcome," "My pleasure," or heaven forbid, "No problem!" We're both working hard to minimize the verbal appreciation, and let our gratuity be monetary. It's difficult!

As a former server, it was always my intent to be as unabtrusive as possible, but still be responsive to my customer's needs. Since we all have different ways of signaling that we're finished, I would make it a habit to study peoples' body language and stay alert to any perceived need. I find it offensive when a server charges over to my table and interrupts a conversation to inquire about dessert or anything else for that matter. I am appalled when people blow their nose in a napkin, be it paper or linen, and leave it on the table for the server to dispose of. Gross! And my final pet peeve which also relates to the thread on table manners is to please push your chair in when leaving the table for any reason. It's the polite thing to do, and it also allows other diners and servers to move about the dining room with ease.

@Brittj8585: She was at a buffet, so that's pretty tough situation. Different places do different things.

The most appropriate thing was done. The napkin was on the seat, signifying she was not done but stepped away.

As far as what one could do in a buffet setting when you have to walk away, that's a tough call.

I would have suggested that leaving the utensils on your plate, which was done as well. As she and I have experienced, some restaurants take your plate and either take the silverware off your plate and place it back on the table or get a fresh set. When this has happened to me, there was no food on my plate.

If the food was left untouched, what I had assumed when I read Madelyn's post, clearing the plate is a bit weird.

I'd be really annoyed if my Belgian waffle was taken. Return to the back of the line, wait for 10-15 minutes, then wait another 3 minutes for it to be cooked. Forget something else, zip to the buffet. Bah, waffles are gone again! :P

I really like the bear naked chocolate granola, and the almond. I was shocked at the fat content on some of their other varieties, especially the banana nut.

I sooo feel your pain. My problem is that I rarely finish my meal since I get full quickly. I end up sitting there talking and the waitstaff wants to take my plate, so I've learned to ask for a container right when I see them start to "hover."