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Daniel Craig Popsicle
@finsbigfan - It DOES look like he has his hands down his pants. It also looks like he's, um, happy to see....someone.
Organic Foods.
I have grown and bought organic fruits and veggies for years, but only started buying organic eggs a couple of years ago. What sold me on it was when I borrowed a couple from a neighbor after starting to cook and discovering that Mr. Runr had eaten the last two for breakfast. The first thing I noticed was that the shells of organic eggs are much thicker than the conventional ones I was buying. It's like your hair and fingernails - if you aren't healthy or something is off in your diet, it will show in the hair and nails. They taste better too. Healthy chickens = good tasty eggs.
Grass fed beef has a better taste to me as well. More hearty and beefy. I've done blind tastings with it on friends too. They always pick the grass fed beef as better tasting, so it's not just me and my hippie ways.
Spare Ribs help
Alton Brown's recipe "Who Loves Ya, Baby Back". Although it's obviously for baby back ribs, I prefer the chewiness of spare ribs and find that it works great on those too. It's a bit of a hassle, you have to make a dry rub, an aluminum foil bag and a marinade, but it's delicious. I guess you could buy some of those new fangled pre-made foil or baking bags as well.
Costco has really good meats. Also, have you noticed the nice selection of cheeses? Of course, you have to buy mass quantities, but that's what a freezer is for! Good luck!
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Served: Your Waitress Gets Reprimanded
First, yes, I have waited tables for years, so I know it's not easy. But, before you rain a shytstorm on me, here are the simple facts:
She sat down to do her paperwork and wasn't paying attention to her customers. She admits that. Whether the customer stood up, sat down, or danced on the bar is irrelevant. He didn't have a spoon or water when he needed it. He's "rude" and a "pushy customer" because he stood up? He was probably just trying to get her attention so he could ask her for the items she failed to provide for him.
Whether another server was nearby or not is irrelevant. She was this customer's server and he had every right to expect her attention. He shouldn't have to hijack another server to get a spoon to eat with.
What her boss was doing is irrelevant. He's the boss, she's the server. It's her job to make sure her customers are happy. It's his job to make sure she's doing her job. That's what he did. He wasn't "overreacting" - she states "It sounded like he had been trying to get my attention for a while." He had every right to be annoyed.
"My boss, of course, was not all wrong." She's correct. Her boss was completely in the right.
If you are going to ignore your customers so that you can do your paperwork at your convenience, you're going to get yelled at. But blaming it on your boss's "mood", a "pushy" customer and some phantom version of ADD is pretty lame. You seem to understand that you should have done better, but you don't seem to see that you, and you alone, are entirely to blame here. You didn't do your job. You got in trouble for it. Quit making excuses.
Daniel Craig Popsicle
@finsbigfan - It DOES look like he has his hands down his pants. It also looks like he's, um, happy to see....someone.
Organic Foods.
I have grown and bought organic fruits and veggies for years, but only started buying organic eggs a couple of years ago. What sold me on it was when I borrowed a couple from a neighbor after starting to cook and discovering that Mr. Runr had eaten the last two for breakfast. The first thing I noticed was that the shells of organic eggs are much thicker than the conventional ones I was buying. It's like your hair and fingernails - if you aren't healthy or something is off in your diet, it will show in the hair and nails. They taste better too. Healthy chickens = good tasty eggs.
Grass fed beef has a better taste to me as well. More hearty and beefy. I've done blind tastings with it on friends too. They always pick the grass fed beef as better tasting, so it's not just me and my hippie ways.
Spare Ribs help
Alton Brown's recipe "Who Loves Ya, Baby Back". Although it's obviously for baby back ribs, I prefer the chewiness of spare ribs and find that it works great on those too. It's a bit of a hassle, you have to make a dry rub, an aluminum foil bag and a marinade, but it's delicious. I guess you could buy some of those new fangled pre-made foil or baking bags as well.
Costco has really good meats. Also, have you noticed the nice selection of cheeses? Of course, you have to buy mass quantities, but that's what a freezer is for! Good luck!
Serious Cheese: All About Cheese Knives
I recently got a gift set of Chicago cheese knives and some teeny spreaders, also a gift. They will soon see the Goodwill box. I prefer to use my regular knives too. Most of the specialty cheese knives are either so small that they're awkward for the men to use, like a tiny demitasse with one of those precious little handles, or they cost a fortune. I also live by AB's no unitaskers rule. It's great for simplifying your kitchen, and who couldn't use more room in the cabinets?
Dear Whole Foods,
@twoojoe - I agree with you - some people do seem to want it all, and they want it cheap and NOW. Although, I'm a hippie (a real one from the 60's - not one of those faux hippies in $250 artfully shredded jeans and $80 designer tee shirts) and I don't see too many people like me shopping at WF. I do see a lot of well-to-do soccer moms and spoiled trust fund kids. Then they get into their Hummers and drive off to their McMansions. They're all about fair trade, organic and green, as long as it doesn't cost them anything or inconvenience them. They also don't have a clue about the economics of organic farming.
I do all of my shopping at Trader Joe's, Henry's Market (a San Diego chain) and local farmer's markets. I'll gladly buy most of my clothes at Target and wear them practically forever so that I can afford the higher prices that the farmers need to charge for their efforts. I only shop at WF for a couple of things. One is apple pectin powder for pate de fruits, which no other store in my area stocks. The other is for cheese, if I'm planning a special dinner. But I go in knowing that I'll pay a small fortune for it. Fortunately, the farmer's markets in the San Diego area are starting to carry locally made cheeses too so I won't have to go to WF for anything but my biannual apple pectin powder purchase.
Cook the Book: Apple Cobbler with Cheddar Biscuits
Oh my, this sounds heavenly. I need to make it for dessert tonight. Oh hell, who am I kidding. I'll probably eat it for lunch.
Served: Night from Hell
Okay, I've criticized this blog more than once (and have gotten flamed for it, but not by the author) but I have to come to her defense on this one. She didn't say it wasn't part of the job. In fact, she doesn't say anything negative about splitting the check. She just said that on that particular night, it was extremely busy, the technology wasn't cooperating, and what should have been an easy task turned into a major problem. And as sometimes happens, one issue led to another, resulting in an exhausting, frustrating night. Yes, bad nights are part of the job, we all have them, but she seems to suck it up and move along pretty well.
Hannah, I hope that you have a much smoother night tonight. And that no one gives you a Visa gift card.
Trader Joe's Frozen Avocado Halves = Fail
I'm so glad you posted this today. I do my food shopping on Wednesdays, and was planning to pick these up. I try everything new at TJ's and am rarely disappointed, but now I know that I can skip these entirely.
mocha-walnut marbled bundt cake
I love the shape of that cake!
Cook the Book: 'Rustic Fruit Desserts'
I second it.....mango with sticky rice!
Dear Whole Foods,
Please stock every food item that exists. Put a store on every block in every city everywhere in the world. Make tuna salad with onions, without onions, with mayo, without mayo, with celery, without celery, with pickles, without pickles, with tuna, without tuna and every combination of the above. Do this for every item you carry. Charge $.01 for everything. Don't let anyone into the store unless they sign a contract that they will buy something. I hate it when they look at something but don't buy it. Have a time limit on how long someone can look at an item so that they stay out of my way. Only carry food from producers that hand massage every item before it's packaged. Make sure that each and every item in the store has a price tag on it ($.01 of course). Make sure that every employee knows every price ($.01, remember) of every item and please have one of them meet me at the door and walk around the store with me in case I have a question or can't figure out the price of something ($.01, but I might forget). Only carry seafood that doesn't smell like seafood. Make sure it smells like flowers. Provide free babysitting, free delivery, free chef services and please pick me up and drop me off at home. Use one bag per item, but be sure to only use one bag for my entire order. And for heaven's sake, hire some people who are mind readers so I don't have to tell them what I want. Thank you.
Daniel Craig Popsicle
I just wish they had made it full frontal.
Forget Iowa, Heaven Is the All Candy Expo in Chicago
Are those chocolate mousse reindeer Peeps in the first picture?? Now I can't wait for Christmas/Hanukah/Kwanzaa!
Dinner Tonight: Beet, Avocado, and Goat Cheese Salad
Now I have to go to the store and get an avocado! This looks so good, and it'll go perfectly with the bean soup I've got slow-cooking.
Cook the Book: Eugenia Bone's 'Well-Preserved'
Sweet and hot mustard, pickled cauliflower and tomatoes, tomatoes tomatoes!
Served: New York Is Not the Only Place for a Restaurant
@hungry
And no one's forcing you to read the comments.
I'd probably hate having you serve me.
Served: New York Is Not the Only Place for a Restaurant
I agree with oosujioo - it is a phoned in post. This IS a comments section, and nowhere is it stated that only posts that throw compliments at the writers are allowed. If I find it, or any blog on SE boring, annoying, pompous or content-deficient, I have every right to say so without being told to go away. Such is the nature of a comments area, so get used to it.
As for the actual blog content, well, la-de-effin-da. New York City isn't the only place that has decent restaurants? Really? How magnanimous of you to say so. I feel so much better now.
And BTW, I don't care how tired you are, it's extremely rude to "stifle a yawn" in front of your customers while you are serving or speaking to them.
Deep-Fried Peeps
@ sadiepix - I agree. What should have been a week of sugary, Peep-tastic fun was just a sad series of un-fun, unpleasant articles by an author who's heart wasn't in it. The daily reminder that she hates the key ingredient was a real turn-off. While I'm all for the Peeps haters doing their smash-and-burn with abandon (some of them are truly hilarious), this series was just meh.
@ Robyn - I enjoy your writing, but this was like reading recipes for ribeye written by a vegetarian. Nothing personal - I'm sure that you didn't exactly "relish" the assignment either.
Blogwatch: Cranberry Curd Pavlova
How pretty! I just got a basketful of passion fruits that will make a lovely curd for this. And Max, you're right, you could tweak this for Halloween very easily.
@jscarey, why the condescending attitude? It adds nothing to the discussion, except to make you sound like a tool.
Interview with a Grocery Store Shoplifter
If you only read the blurb and not the full article, I can see how you might jump to the conclusion that this piece doesn't belong here. But, the article is interesting and I fully support it. After all, it's not like Adam put up a story about Jeffrey Dahmer. It's relevant to the SE community because we all pay for shoplifting, whether it's taking place at WF or Food 4 Less. If you are offended by it, use it for something educational. Then the next time you see someone lurking in the fish section at WF, you can rat them out to management and save us all some dollars.
Best Destinations for Beer Lovers
Firestone...really?? Wow. That's sort of like sending someone to the Sam Adam's Brewery. It's decent, but CA has so many better ones. Stone Brewery, AleSmith, Ballast Point, all in San Diego - hell, even Karl Strauss is better than Firestone.
Awesome Edamame-Popping Keychain from Japan
@hungrychristel: lol, I thought those were noodles coming out of his eyes!
Making Your Own Cocktail Ingredients
I love making syrups, infusions and garnishes for cocktails. Most recently I've made Ian Knauer's homemade gin, serrano chili infused tequila and vodka, and a black pepper simple syrup. I enjoy using herbs and spices in unexpected ways for drinks. I always use fresh fruits, juices and vegetables in drinks - it makes all the difference in the world. I'm amazed by how many of my friends have never had a margarita made with lime juice instead of mix or fresh sangria. I mean, is it really all that hard to squeeze a couple of limes?
I get a lot of inspiration for cocktails from restaurants and bars. The Starlite Lounge in San Diego is a favorite. They take their drinks very seriously there.
It's really fun to tweak recipes and make something unique for dinner guests - it make them feel special!
Cocktails and Spirits with Paul Clarke: Old Tom Gin, Part of the Vintage Gin Rebirth
My very first adult cocktail was a Tom Collins (can it really be 35 years ago??), and I've loved gin ever since. Hendrick's is very good, as is Junipero from the Anchor Brewing Company and Cascade Mountain from Bendistillery, Inc.
Bevmo stores have a good selection of premium gins, including the Hayman's Old Tom and a couple of Genevers, and Trader Joe's has Hendrick's for ~$25 every so often.
I just hope that I don't start seeing grape, strawberry and green apple flavored gins like the industry did with vodka, rum and tequila. It's bad enough that when I order a martini in most bars, I have to specify that I want gin, not vodka. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?
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First, yes, I have waited tables for years, so I know it's not easy. But, before you rain a shytstorm on me, here are the simple facts:
She sat down to do her paperwork and wasn't paying attention to her customers. She admits that. Whether the customer stood up, sat down, or danced on the bar is irrelevant. He didn't have a spoon or water when he needed it. He's "rude" and a "pushy customer" because he stood up? He was probably just trying to get her attention so he could ask her for the items she failed to provide for him.
Whether another server was nearby or not is irrelevant. She was this customer's server and he had every right to expect her attention. He shouldn't have to hijack another server to get a spoon to eat with.
What her boss was doing is irrelevant. He's the boss, she's the server. It's her job to make sure her customers are happy. It's his job to make sure she's doing her job. That's what he did. He wasn't "overreacting" - she states "It sounded like he had been trying to get my attention for a while." He had every right to be annoyed.
"My boss, of course, was not all wrong." She's correct. Her boss was completely in the right.
If you are going to ignore your customers so that you can do your paperwork at your convenience, you're going to get yelled at. But blaming it on your boss's "mood", a "pushy" customer and some phantom version of ADD is pretty lame. You seem to understand that you should have done better, but you don't seem to see that you, and you alone, are entirely to blame here. You didn't do your job. You got in trouble for it. Quit making excuses.