oooh. going to be in SD in august, i'm totally going. hillcrest is cool.
@elangomatt - it seems arizona's minimum wage is $7.80/hr, while the min. for tipped employees is $4.80/hr. where i work, we get $5.75/hr. that's fine i guess, for good busy days, but then there are days where i leave with $30 in tips for my shift.
@gargupie - we have this semi-regular customer who i believe is from italy. younger guy. he rarely tips, and once, he paid with a card and actually had the nerve to write 11 cents in the tip line, bringing the total to a round number. thanks, dude.
@missmochi - it really is a weird set up. i hear we're switching over to full service at some future date, but i'll probably have moved away by then. i'd be curious how it would impact the tip percentage (which on average is around the 10-12% mark, there).
it seems that some people are confused by it, those who've not been there before, and they often stop by the counter and drop some cash in the jar on their way out, or leave it on the table. those who know the drill leave money in the jar or tip on their payment card, but i'd bet if we were legit full service, the tip amounts would go up.
that happens to me a lot. the restaurant where i work is a strange hybrid of counter service/full service... there's no host, people come in and order at the counter, where we give them their drinks and a table marker, and they go sit where they'd like. when the food comes up, likely the same person who took the order runs the food (at most, we have 2 or 3 servers working at a time), refills drinks, takes further drink or dessert orders at the table, and busses the table, too. we have a tip jar, where cash tips go, as well as where we put the card tips after we adjust the total and take the cash amount from the register. i think the fact that we have a jar and don't necessarily take orders at the table misleads people into thinking they need not tip. in reality, i and my fellow servers at the restaurant do quite a bit of work, as we don't have separate food runners or bussers as a lot of places do. so when a party orders food/drinks in the $50-$60 range and leave $5 or less, it's really discouraging.
of course, i remember the regular customers who tip well and are pleasant, and treat them accordingly. several of whom, i remember their usual orders to such a degree that if i see them walking up to the restaurant, i'll place their iced tea/coffee/soda, etc. on the counter as they're just walking up to it.
being a server can be very frustrating.
i wish that someone would make a good bottled iced coffee/rice or almond milk drink that tasted more like coffee instead of just "milk" and sugar. these sound okay, but i don't know that i'd buy one if i saw it.
ooh, sesame tofu with gf soy as part of the sauce, and a cold rice noodle salad with lots of veggies :)
@FlavorCountry - people don't always have to be nice.
vegan cheese is just gross. great pizza doesn't need to have cheese or "cheese" on it to be great.
@illinijojo - chicken nuggets with honey were totally something i'd do as a kid, in the rare instances i'd go to mcdonalds. (do they still offer honey as a dipping sauce?) recently i made fried tofu and dipped it in honey and it was GREAT.
@kenji - i remember seeing the recipe for that salad ant thinking it sounded good. next picnic for sure :)
you guys are so helpful, thank you! i was looking at a fattoush recipe yesterday, thinking it looked great. also love the tabbouleh idea, AND the summer rolls (i have lots of rice wrappers already that i never use) and the fried tofu with peanut sauce. so many directions to go in! i'm thinking falafel balls, tabbouleh, and maybe fattoush... or, those summer rolls, tofu with peanut sauce, and perhaps a cold sesame rice noodle salad.
man, i'm hungry now!
that sounds good! keep 'em coming, everyone :)
i keep remembering so many things! when i was younger than 6 years old i remember eating bread and butter with a thick layer of sugar sprinkled on it, also with milk with sugar in it, so much there was a sugar sludge on the bottom. i'm still amazed that at 29 years old i don't have any cavities.
ooh, that matthiasson one sounds goooooood.
*stick OF butter
also i remembered my mom used to make a side dish of canned green beans mixed with ranch dressing, served chilled. sick. no wonder i dislike both, now!
when i was 3 or 4 my mom said i used to take swipes of the stick butter from the fridge with my finger. (thinking back on it now, i'm pretty sure it was margarine, because my mom rarely bought butter back then.)
marshmallows, pancake syrup, and butter. mixed in a cup in the microwave and eaten. only did that once. gross.
cold fish sticks with ketchup
breakfast sandwiches of scrambled eggs, velveeta, and ketchup on white bread
as a kid, i really didn't like peas or green beans. when i grew up and started cooking for myself, i realized how good fresh/frozen peas are, and also fresh green beans. my mom only served canned versions of each of those. the only good vegetable to come out of a can is corn, and only sometimes.
@thingstea @JoliD -- AGREED!!!
lightlife brand vegan sausage makes for good breakfast sausage. the tofurky breakfast links are kinda gross. on the other hand, i really like most of the tofurky regular sausages. tempeh bacon for blt's... tofurky lunchmeat for sandwiches... (just not the smoked flavor, it's weird. peppered ftw.)
i don't often eat fake meat stuff, but at times it's pretty good.
veggie cheese is gross.
is anyone else tired of the use of the phrase "a foil for"?
in slide #3, it should be 'forty,' not 'fourty'.
arizona seemed to have a very short spring, it seems we're on our way to summer alreaady... high 80s/low 90s already. grr.
hey everyone... on thursday i'm going on a picnic with my boyfriend. i'm vegan, and while he isn't, he's completely open to eating vegan food. i'm looking for recipes, aside from the typical veggies and hummus/hummus sandwiches/etc. i saw a recipe for a bbq tofu and corn salad that sounds pretty good to me, but, i'm trying to think of good and interesting things to make, as it's our first picnic. let me know your ideas! :)
this is my standard drink when i go out. i know g&t is usually garnished with lime, but i'm not a fan in that instance and instead always request lemon to squeeze into the drink -- i think it's much better. (ideally i'd have a splash of fresh grapefruit juice, but most places seem only to have it from a can.)
does anyone else have a favorite drink that's a bit of a twist on the usual?
has anyone else tried and/or loved these chips? they're made in laguna beach ca, and the company that makes them doesn't even seem to have a website. the co-op near my work sells them, and i've only started buying them as of recently, but i think they may be my favorite tortilla chip. they're interesting because instead of having salt as an ingredient, they have soy sauce, which gives them a really good savory flavor. super good!
...in regards to kitchen tasks.
my first try making hummus with dried chickpeas instead of canned. did the quick soak method, and when i drained the water to replace it and cook them, i decided to rub the skins off of the beans so my hummus will be extra smooth and awesome.
most tedious endeavor i could ever imagine. especially since it was probably close to 2lbs of chickpeas. it took a long time and a lot of rinsing, but i got probably 90% of the skins off. argh!
on what occasions have you all set out to do something in the kitchen that ended up being more than you bargained for?
what would you do with them?
i bought a few recently, on a whim, but i'm not sure how to use them, as i rarely cook fresh beets. other than cooking them as a side vegetable, in what recipes could they work? what are your favorites?
i made kenji's Andalusian Gazpacho recipe today, and, wow.
so, i'm looking for other great recipes for cold soups, as it's already getting really hot here in arizona. it's going to be a loooong summer and i need some good ideas -- vegan recipes would be ideal, but for the sake of the other readers, any recipes are encouraged!
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i have a great recipe for cornmeal sugar cookies. they have a really neat sandy texture from the cornmeal, and they're super good with some lemon juice/zest and fresh thyme added!