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Tex Mex lasagna. Basically black beans, cheese, a little rice, salsa and corn layered in between the noodles. I also love eggplant macaroni and cheese. Really, I love eggplant anything.

This has been a staple dish of part of the South Beach diet cookbook for at least five years now.

And my husband just informed me that his name was Chad, not Adam. Adam was another server we had recommended to us at the restaurant. Oops!

It just depends on what that restaurant carries. It's always going to be a mid to upper shelf though, b/c it is a finer made vodka.

@joan: Back away from the GG!! ;) I love that stuff. However, I liked it BEFORE it was such a big name. The sweet little kick at the end does me in everytime. I can actually sip that one just chilled in a glass.

I do agree on the Absolute Peppar though. I love making Bloody Mary's with it. It has just the right amount of spice.

Tah, that is actually one thing we have under control. Start with putting her in a "lay position". Put a treat in front of her and say "Leave it." If she tries to take it, cover it with your hand and put her back into lay down position. When she is calm and paying attention to you about leaving the treat alone, you can tell her "Take it" and let her have it. Work with her for longer times of "Leave it."

If we drop something on the floor now, we're just quick to say, "Leave it." Our beagle will leave it alone. We always make sure to follow up with a treat for him afterwards though.

Ooo, cm just started off a new train of thought that might be easier.

I DID find lollypop molds of barrels. Maybe a tiered cake with the barrels instead of cupcakes? That'd be fun too.

The menu is NOT a suggestion, it's what the restaurant has to eat that day.

Minor changes are not a big deal. Different dressing, a different sauce that would already be made, fine. What I hate is when people special order and than get peeved about the cost change.

For example, from something posted: a pesto sauce is FAR more pricey than a simple red or alfredo sauce. Yes, it's a simple change to make, however it is not an even pick across. If you request a change to a more expensive option, you are going to have to pay for it. Period. Pricing is a MAJOR reason to keep from special ordering, b/c entrees are broken down and priced according to their ingredients. That means the server/chef has to figure out how to charge you appropriately. No one is really writing down by hand costs and such. It's all done by computer, so you've just messed up the books too.

Okay, well the payscale I found for EMTs was ranging from 24K to 50K.

I'm not sure about all states, but in most states, servers don't make minimum wage. They have a "special" category for careers that are expected to make tips. In Missouri, that minimum wage is $3.30/hour. Which doesn't break $10K per year at 40 hours a week, which is nearly unheard of in the serving world. God forbid we be treated like salaried workers and be given benefits. And no server ever always gets premium nights (Friday and Saturday nights, preferably the first/last weekends of the month b/c that's when people get paid). Most restaurants have a "must work X number of lunch shifts". Lunch shift means you're usually lucky to break a true minimum wage per hour.

As far as hours go, most restaurants don't stop serving food until anywhere from 9-11 at night. Depending on the logistics of the evening, you might be able to get out in a hour. I've had many a Friday/Saturday night that started at 4pm and lasted until 1am. And I've had to throw a drunk out of a downtown restaurant, cut off someone else from drinking, and deal with a few bums.

I don't think servers serve a "public" duty like EMTs do or compare in level of importance. But to somehow say that servers don't deserve tips b/c you seem to hate your chosen career is just a leap of logic that defies any sort of reasoning.

I guess I could tip my doctors. But I think their salaries of anywhere from $250K to millions/year depending on specialty is good enough for me to think they're well off. And really, if tipping does depend on quick, friendly, efficient service with active listening to ensure that correct orders are taken and served to you promptly...how many doctors would really deserve their 10%-20%?

Oh come on...get a better job? I worked my way through college serving and DID get a better job, but that's just an asnine statement.

BTW, a high end server can clear 50K plus a year. So, how's your job compare to that.

Good service deserves a good tip. Bottom line. If I peeved at a server, I still leave 10%. And if I'm exceptionally happy with one, I've been known to leave 50%. If they server makes your meal more enjoyable by paying good attention to you or even leaving you alone when you want to be left alone, doesn't that deserve some thanks? You came in, had a good meal and didn't have to do dishes or cook.

As for not paying attention to the non-alcohol consuming patrons, unfortunately, it does happen. I always considered it foolish but when teh server is concerned about their bottom line as much as a non-tipping customer is, it's a bad combo.

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.

Please. I can't cry a tear for Starbucks, when they helped to force most of the local college hangouts/coffee shops out in my city. Try going to a local restaurant or coffee shop for once. Why bother with a nationalized chain of crappy service and product yet again?

Monkeycat -- At a number of the scotch tastings I've been to, they've talked about the reasons to add a bit of water to your scotch. I'll be honest, I don't quite remember the how of it happening, but somehow in the process of creating scotch, the cells are leached of water and close down, trapping the flavor and the scent in them.

Dropping a few drops of room temperature water, will "rehydrate" them and allow their true flavor and scent to be released. It does work. Try having a bit of scotch without doing it and then add a few drops of water and taste it. I usually use a straw and do about half a strawful, while my husband will actually pour probably a tablespoon or so of water into his scotch.