Hopefully Christmas was great for everyone...

For those who worked, I hope that went fast. But not fast enough that life feels like it's going to fast.. Or just somewhat fast. New Years next. The first biggest night for restaurants of the year.

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Did I create a new drink?

Orange juice, Sierra Mist (natural?), and Amaretto?

I'll call it "The Soup on the Fly"

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Finding the truth on food: A worthwhile mission. But don't expect to find anything

The United States Senate just passed S 510, a food safety bill, even though many including the Tea Party were against it..

Now I try not to be political on this blog -- food shouldn't be, right? You can debate religion and politics over dinner, that's fine.. but food should be a little distant from political distractions.. No?

Although NEWSWEEK magazine last week featured a tale of two plates: On side part of the cover story was an image of a slice of pepperoni pizza, and on the other portion was salmon and lettuce, along with one carrot. The moral of the article: The poor are overweight because they eat bad food and the wealthy are snobby about good produce, hence: Liberals vs conservatives.. Republicans vs. Democrats. Red state vs blue state. And we all zone out.. Because, even if we are interested, we are all a little tired of constant political news being forced into our heads 24/7.
But I digress.
Back to the food bill.

Why did some hate it? Why did some farmers think it went too far? Why did progressive institutions think it will save the lives of millions?

This is the problem with our programmed reality. News organizations report what people say about something. That's fine. But shouldn't there be context? Shouldn't someone actually go to Thomas.loc.gov? Look the bill up? Read it.. report what is in it? Add CONTEXT to the subtext.. add real information to the sound bites. Give us juicy information--ON WHAT IS REALLY IN THE BILL!!

There is at least one article that sums up what the bill will do if signed into law by President Obama.
1) (and no big shock) Higher food prices.

2) While roadside stands and people selling food from gardens will not have their farms banned, they will apparently have to comply with state and local food rules. As currently worded, they will not have to register with the FDA.

3) FDA will have the power to order recalls and not ask companies to voluntarily do them. That is a major change.. massive and major. And it would altogether change the FDA's direction and jurisdiction.

There is real information out there. I challenge you to, as I am trying to do, find real actual and true information on the bill.. It's difficult. Sounds bites are ruling our lives...

I do have one concern, and perhaps this would be shared by both opponents of the food safety and modernization act and proponents as well: What about imports of food from other countries that don't share our same safety standards? Have we kept up on this.. What about genetic splicing? Is this really the best idea, even if it would hurt Monsanto's wallet to truly study it? ...chemicals in our food...good idea or bad?

There are real choices we, as consumers, must make. It's my hope that any law Congress moves through will help consumers have safer choices. And while we are searching for the truth, don't forget to eat. Even if it's from a garden.

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Hopefully everyone made it through Thanksgiving weekend

I actually had no work at all this weekend, no parties or weddings or anything else booked. Which was fine. A few days off from both jobs was in order..

And despite our intelligence, my wife and I did go to eat at Olive Garden. The server told us on Thanksgiving Eve he walked out of the restaurant with nearly $200 .. Not bad. Hopefully anyone else out there that did work made boat loads of cash.

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Maybe I'm just getting old..

Two funerals and a wedding--all running together, with only minutes to spare while cleaning up a funeral dinner with an angry bride waiting for her wedding to begin in the same room..

It was a tough one.. And as funerals go, the estimate of 72 was way under the 130 that showed up. Ironically funeral 2 was estimated at 80 but only had 72.. funny how things work out..

But as the funeral dinner plates clanged away in the kitchen, another bride and groom started their life--on time thanks to an overworked and tired staff that just wanted to go home..

I began wearing a pedometer at work a few weeks back. Today I walked 12.6 miles.. Not bad for a 10:30am to 10:00pm shift I'd suppose..

But now at the age of 30..with a child on the way..and weekends lost every week I am starting to truly believe I'm getting too old for this gig..
But I love it.
Why?
Why do people who work in the food business hate it, but yet love it? Why do they complain constantly about people and their sore feet.. but yet they are on time for work every week? Even when the tips are bad, they laugh and complain, and put in a day's work..

I left tonight probably not making as much money as one would think after so many things in one day, but it's alright. Because I also felt like I put in an honest day of work..
And I was really glad I wasn't working in the downstairs club for the Saturday night crowd.

I'm just too old for that......

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When drunk women attack

Let me begin by saying, without question, if I was propositioned by a woman or man, I would deny them the chance to be with me.. I have a wife and child on the way.. I am not about to ruin that with a one night stand on the whim with a customer in the restaurant I work in.. But that's not saying being hit on isn't a character builder.

Not that I would really know. The female wait staff doesn't seem to have any issues.. Any given wedding, and 4 hours of an open bar later, and they can hardly walk by the customers without a whistle or a sweaty-toothed-madman asking a waitress to go home with him..

But then I saw the congo creepin' through the black..
Cutting through the forest with a golden track.

I was hit on last night. First time ever (that I know of) besides the occasional priest that always seems to have his eye on the only male wait staffperson. But I digress.

The 'hit on' wasn't nearly what I would have wanted it to be.

The woman looked like a wild wolf, with black puffy hair standing up and bouncing around. Giant thick glasses. She was pale white..whiter than me in January.. and she was celebrating a class reunion from the early 1980s.

The moment came right before that magic drunken moment when the room begins to spin.. She looked at me, caressed my chin, and said "you have the most beautiful eyes. You're beautiful. I'm sorry. I'm drunk."

That was it.. Years of working, and this is the one hit on moment that comes my way..

Later she had some fun dancing to the band, spinning around ferociously to the music.
I'm sure when the night was finished, if she made it home without falling asleep in the parking lot. From the appearance, she was caressing a porcelain god only a little later..

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Is it time?

I love working in the food business--there are times we all complain of course..
But for the most part, it's me. It's what I like..

But I think I just don't like working for other people's food businesses..

I would love the chance to have my own restaurant..

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Cut our budget? Take this

Budget hit NASA cooperates with China despite Congressional opposition

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I want a steak.

That's all.

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What not to eat all in one day

1) Friendly's for breakfast.. chocolate, unhealthy pancakes along with lackluster eggs and toast.

2) KFC for lunch. Even if it's grilled.

3) Buttery dinner.

4) Ending it with raw radishes.

I pity da fool that does this. Me. I pity my stomach.

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Another weekend, another wedding

Something was wrong with the air tonight, my face was redder than an apple..

But the best was the last cork screw becoming lost and the owner and bartender making a contraption out of a hammer and a screw to open wine bottles.

That's ingenuity at its finest.

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How depressing it is to see my favorite restaurant near death

I remember ordering pizzas from this little (I'll keep it unnamed, I don't want to be accused of slander) Italian eatery in my hometown of Ashland, PA .. I recall how the taste was different from other places.. it was a bustling little restaurant that was converted into one from a former movie theater. The building has a lot of history ..

And now, it's nearly dead.

It's been slowly going downhill for a few years.. There were ups and downs.. former owners wanted out. But the new owners, who I think wanted in, aren't really concerned about the demise!

I went there tonight.. I ordered a large pizza with sweet sauce and mushrooms. I got called back within minutes. They were out of mushrooms.. I still went ahead with the order.

I walk into the establishment, once busy now empty, and the soda machine was out of order.. TVs were turned off.. credit machine was "out of order" .. cooler was empty besides good old Coal Region Guers Iced Tea.. and my pizza was the only order waiting to be picked up.

It made me sad.. but angry, too!
Give me the restaurant!
Let me go "hell's kitchen" on it!
Let me go "Kitchen Nightmares" on it!
Give me a few weeks.. Something has to bring this place back.

Even if they lie and say "under new management" maybe it would at least make someone come back in..

I don't want my little former favorite pizza place to die away. I long for the taste of the traditional sauce.. Long for the days when they delivered it.. long for the days when people went in there.

It's a lonely world when you own an empty restaurant. But for God's sake! do something to get people back in! Don't just let your pride and joy slip and slide away into the black hole of tasteless memory..

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Dinner before Gaga

I went to see Lady Gaga the Tuesday night in Philadelphia with my wife, her sister, and a friend. Before the sexual show, we were striving to eat somewhere else besides the former Wachovia arena, now Wells Fargo Center. I am just not happy paying $7 for a hot dog, or pizza, and $8 for a beer..

We ended up at Popi's Restaurant in South Philly.. and it wasn't bad at all.

I was worried.. I was decked out in a white T-shirt along with cammo shorts.. The others in my party were a bit better dressed than the casual me. But it was all fine.. they accepted us, and actually the staff was quite happy that they met some folks going to see the Lady Gaga show.

I had the chicken marsala, my wife and her sister had crab cakes, and our friend had some chicken dish (name escapes me) .. The food was very reasonably priced for South Philly and it was quite good for a quick meal .. Drinks? .. ehhh a little higher priced--but $5 for a beer instead of $8 is fine with me for city standards.

So .. I guess the bottom line: If you're going to see anything at the Wells Fargo arena, give yourself some extra time and Mapquest Popi's to eat a nicer dinner that will be good and reasonable as opposed to expensive and sloppy ..

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A bad lunch...

Chicken that tastes like rubber but it's still pink.. coffee burned with a tinge of pepper.. and salad with brown spots.. It's a diner, baby, it's a dive.

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IN LABOR for labor day

Work tomorrow.. three parties. Work Sunday .. two parties. Ugh...

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A strange meal...

...shrimp over pasta with .. spaghetti sauce on top. I don't care how fancy a restaurant it may be, you can call it whatever you want, but it's still shrimp with spaghetti sauce. That's it.

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The soup is cold..

...and the flies are gray.. The leaves are turning a shade of orange in the bright lights of early September. And I am 30.
Yes, I passed through the teens.. I am done with the 20s. How fast they flew by.. I'm on to a new decade, one that a show was made about years ago called '30 SOMETHING.' That show was absolutely boring.. So that doesn't give me much hope. And anyway, all those people who starred on it are in their 50s now, right? So much for hope of eternal youth..

While it's not outright hopeless to keep composure, the fact I am going to be a father on or around the time of February 26, 2011, and now entering the dreaded '30s,' it's a big disconcerning. Where did all that time go? All those scenes .. all the dread.. all the nervousness of things that came and went.

All those other songs and words we have to say.. that's the story of our lives.

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Everyone plays their part

I don't like class reunions. They are the worst type of party, as I've written on here before (search the archives) ..
I also don't much appreciate snobby restaurant attitudes.
But what is the snobbiest party of them all?

I think bridal showers--much more than baby showers. Baby showers are the little reminder: "You're going to have a baby soon and your life as you know it is over." But bridal showers are when people get the tingle of the fairy tale feeling. The notion that the best days are yet to come. And I hope they are! I think they are.. Maybe?

Perhaps restaurants, along with catering wedding events, should start having divorce parties. They'd at least get returning customers up to 60% of the time, right?

The part that I dislike most strongly about the wedding shower: Everyone plays the role they are "supposed to."

Let me give you a step by step rundown of how things go (and this rule is everyone. Very few exceptions)

1) Bride's mother comes in. She demands thumb tacks to hang "Fairy tales come true" banners. She has helpers, most likely including at least one girl under the age of 10, that places the favors on the tables. Normally the 'friends' are in charge of games and place a paper on top of every dinner plate, even though we tell them not to since we are going to serve salads before dinner....

2) Bride enters. She looks a little annoyed. It's fun for her, yes.. but tiring. I have to admit, the bridal shower is the day I feel the worst for the bride. She has to sit in a big chair and open gifts in front of everyone.. even gifts that don't fit her character.

3) Guests arrive. And guests talk.. and chit-chat.. and laugh.. and make fun of men. It's like a fiesta of men bashing. They hate the x and y chromosomes of the male gender. And yes, they compliment each other on outfit choices, and then whisper behind backs on how ugly everyone else is.

4) Food service. Bla bla bla..

5) Dessert service. "Could I have a piece of vanilla?" "Could I have chocolate?" "Is that decaf?" ..bla bla bla..

6) Gift time. The roles really get amplified now. Now is when the female gender takes on a "what did she get" face, frantically looks at each gift, watches each tear of wrapping paper, and expects excitement from the bride.

7) gifts...

8) more gifts.. oh, a coffee maker. Great.. Oh a blow up mattress for camping trips.. nice.. thanks for the tongs! .. oh wow, utensils. and more .. and more..

9) Leftover gifts everyone forgot were there because they were hidden under the table of giant gifts.

and finally.. drumroll where I am the most annoyed of all:

10) The men arrive.

The arrival of the male at a bridal shower is always interesting. They crowd in a separate room and nervously wait and watch through the window in the door wondering how the hell long it takes for 125 gifts to be opened.. but really, all they want to do is fulfill their "role." That role, in this situation, is to carefully place themselves into the keyhole personality type they think they should be in. So they increase their immaturity level, put on their uber male persona, and ask for a beer. And another beer.. and another beer. Normally grandpa asks for a glass of red wine. And he happily drinks it while his younger UBER MALES surround him with empty bottles of clanging beer.

By the end of the female cleanup, each gender has now sufficiently fulfilled their purpose at the bridal shower: To neatly act their part, like placing the right sized pieces onto a puzzle. Nevermind the whole thing of being independent. There is no independence when it comes to the bridal shower.. there is no deviation of the pattern.

And then, step 11.. the cleanup. The headache...

The end.

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The absolute worst day at a wedding. Ever.

Ran out of green beans halfway through dinner service.. Ran out of potatoes a little after that.. Didn't run out of meat, chicken, or fish, but by the time the kitchen regrouped from the elementary mistake, it was took late: Food was ice cold.. gravy was coagulated.. But there were some really hot vegetables!

I can't quite figure out how professionals were able to misjudge and make food for 150 when a wedding was 250?

It was a disaster of a night.. Dinner service should have been an hour, it ended up being nearly two hours. Embarrassed servers didn't even want to leave the kitchen.. at one point people were hiding in shame near the entrance doors, trying not to be seen by the guests.. The first 10 or so tables were fine. Enough food.. nice and hot.. tasted great.. But that was only the beginning..

People began to get angry. But you know what's funny? They didn't get angry at the lack of food being served. No sir ree bobby.. they got angry at the bar being closed until after dinner was served. Which is understandable.. the lengthening dinner hour problem surely are into their getting drunk time.. Which is inevitably going to cause a group of people that get soothed by cold beer to get angry ..

Oh it was awful.. so very awful.. So bad. So very very bad...

But by 11pm, when the crowd left the building--leaving behind a very large mess and quite an odor in both restrooms-- it was over. All gone.. only memories to further pave the path of life. But this is one night of memories that will turn into a dreaded 'server dream' at some point soon...

Maybe it will be like INCEPTION and all of the servers I work with will be back in the same situation again in a dream together..

So very bad..

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So who's looking forward to Gordon Ramsay's newest show?

Hopefully he won't yell and scream too much..

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I'm still alive..

I found out recently I'm going to be a father..

I'm still at Schmuckraker.com..

I also can be found on Coalspeaker.com

And yes, I'm still around Soup on my Fly.. More work on weekends coming up, more blog postings in the pipeline.

Stay tuned.

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...Coal fired pizza..

..not all that it's cracked up to be. I expected more...

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One of those days...

...Found out that an event of some type is occuring next Saturday, which (if I end up working) will be the 5th consecutive Fourth of July weekend I worked in a row.. It's my favorite holiday, too.. oddly enough, and I get confused faces when I tell people, it is really my favorite holiday, followed by Thanksgiving, Halloween, and Christmas.. There is something magical about the celebration of our country.. seeing fireworks bursting in the air over a nation of peace (....well... I guess, but that's a whole other blog posting..).. However this year, again if I don't call in sick, I'll be working. Inside. No fresh air.. no sunlight. No fireworks and adult beverages..

I always wondered why people would choose the inside of a restaurant for a family reunion on a major holiday in which most people cook out. Why would people opt for stuffed chicken breast and heavy mashed potatoes and gravy as opposed to hot dogs, hamburgers, and watermelon..? Why would someone pick cake over ice cream..? Or soup over salad..? On the hottest holiday of the year with fireworks over skies at night. . .

...I think I've decided: I'll be watching fireworks this year.

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Experienced hands..

Stopped for a six pack of Labatt Blue after a long day of work and a night of school.. while in the bar, the cashier was prepping wings. Ok, I get it. It's a bar.. it's not going to be clean, it won't be nice.. it won't be proper, and far be it from me to judge... my wife is in London right now and the shape of the house is less than perfect. I'd say the house of more bachelor. I love my wife, though, so it will be spotless in time for her arrival home next week.
That being said... the cashier was prepping some jalapeno fries while I waited to get checked out. He proceeded to put his hand directly into a jar of spicy toppings--glove less--and then came over without hesitation and took my money, bagged my beer, and went back to creating his meal .. If only the patrons knew where that hand was.. but would the patrons care?

Before I left I was going to order wings. After I saw this I walked out and bought a frozen dinner at the store next door.......

And even the Labatt Blue is going down less than smooth..

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...THE FIRST WEEKEND OF SUMMER.. AT WORK

I had a sneaking suspicion in the back of my mind that people would come in for the Sunday buffet.. Head waitress said, "nah," no worries.. she thought she'd be out of the job by 2pm.. easy money.. Who wants a brunch buffet when the sun is shining and the weather is warm!? Who wants to be stuck inside a restaurant with outdated decor when there is a world to eat up outside!? ... about 100 people, that's who..

Regardless of whether or not it's the first weekend of summer, or winter for that matter, the simple restaurant rule to adhere to: Never assume. Never think no one will show, so only set half the tables instead of all of them.. never make half a bowl of salad instead of a full bowl.. never just skimp on the plates on the buffet because, who in their right minds will come in..? And cooks: Never assume you only have to make half the food you have in stock just because it's sunny and warm.

In the restaurant world, the thing you are the most unprepared for will happen first. Don't have shrimp left in the house? You'll get half the house ordering shrimp scampi.. Out of rare prime rib?? The very next table you wait on will have 5 people that want rare prime rib. In the world of the food business, the customer is always right.. And the server never is.

So .. next Memorial Day, safe yourself the agony of an insane rush to set tables, get more salads, cut more dessert, and make more food.

And last, but now least *and maybe the most important* .. Owners: Don't call the dishwasher and tell him not to come simply because families will be enjoying picnics and families........ it's brunch. There's plenty of time for a picnic later. But during brunch, chances are they'll be at your buffet..

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MOTHER'S DAY WENT GREAT..

NO COMPLAINTS. I can't believe it. It was smooth as could be.. And I really don't know why.

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....THE CALENDER DOESN'T LIE..

It's almost Mother's Day..

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A restaurant review.....

...I tend to leave the names of the places I eat that I review nameless. I almost named the one tonight because of how disappointing it was.. For a few months, I wanted to eat there.. Heard some good about it, some bad too.

So why not try it out. And after a particularly bad day at the full time job, a steak and a beer sounded nice in the city of Pottsville, PA..

So off to the eatery my wife Tara and I went..

First off, the Coors light draft I had was supposed to be cooled to the perfect temperature. Instead, it was watery.. My wife wanted Blue Moon. And though "the bartender just changed" to a new keg, the Blue Moon was suddenly sold out. Things happen. So Labatt Blue it was for the both of us..

Next up, the bread was sorta... fingered? ..it was overly cooked rolls (or maybe just buns from a bag) with overly sugary butter. Salad next, that was ok.. Soup was a little bland. So why not salt to spice it up!

Unfortunately, the salt shaker was awfully sweet. As a matter of fact, careful inspection only later proved that the salt shaker was filled with sugar.. The waitress kindly thanked us for laughing it off, and also mentioned it was the second time this week that it happened.

Then the dinner.. Oh, how I waited for a good steak.. and how my wife waited for a nicely seared crab cake. And what we got looked like a bad attempt at homeless shelter food.

When my wife cut into her crab cake, it sort of collapsed on itself. My steak was a rare half inch thick..no flavoring..no garlic salt.. Nadda.

Isn't it a shame when months of waiting goes by only have the place fall flat? Isn't it a shame..

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Bubbles vs confetti: Which is more annoying to clean after a wedding?

Soapy carpet.. slippery floors. That is from bubbles..
But the confetti, littering table clothes the morning after a big wedding.. now that is a problem.

Forgive me for being judgemental, but there is just something tacky about both bubbles and confetti.. I had leaves at my own wedding, I will admit. It was October 20, 2007.. The fall leaves theme looked good--and really easy to clean for the servers. But confetti? No.. not easy.

So for that reason, I pick the most annoying cleanup to be due to confetti..

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...what better for a Sunday...

...than a lunch buffet 100 boy scouts for dinner.. It's going to be a long day.

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Turning Japaneseo I really think so

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...Finger fried good?

Last week, I choked on a KFC grilled chicken breast.. While it was my own fault, it would also be my fault if I were to eat the new Double Down.. And perhaps, health wise, both would have the same effect on me: The emergency room.

Luckily for my human form, I'm still alive. Instead of getting lodged in my throat or going into my lungs, the broke just cut me up before it was passed in some form...

However, on a danger level, it could be argued that the danger of the Double Down is much more extreme. But I still secretly want to try it.. If I do, and don't end up in the emergency room, I'll let you know how it was...

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The tables are set but I don't want to go in.. Easter 2010-- good luck everyone

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Cracked up: A follow up on the Outback story

I didn't want to leave people hanging.. I wanted to explain one of the weirdest dining experiences of my life. The Outback steakhouse--my first time at an Outback, and I like Texas Roadhouse, so I figured I'd like Outback, plus I had a gift card--that my wife and I went to was weird. Our bartender was nice while we waited for a table.. She said to us, "what would you like?" and we answered in kind. It was the way it should be.

Then came the table.. and "Nick" the waiter. He had a nervous twitch, tried to finish our statements before we said them, attempted to explain dinners we didn't ask about, and nervously wrote down our order with a wide-eyed gaze at us and his tablet. He ran away with a frightened look telling us he'd bring our bread. When he did, he shook his head and hands frantically and told us to enjoy. I have to say, though, Nick was a hell of a nice guy. He got our order right, got it out quick enough (a little too quick) and we left a decent tip.

The coke-head serving tables next to us, though, was a different story. He forgot something at everyone's table. He spilled things on people. He bumped his head off of the lights above their table. He was sweating profusely, and running around like a rabbit in traffic. He was dodging back and forth between other servers... And he even tried to take someone's plate while the guy was still cutting his steak!

I think the problem as I posted to this site while I was there was the fact that they were either nervous with the large Saturday night crowd, or there were on cocaine. I think either is a possibility. And also, it seemed that management was trying to use excessive speed to get tables turned. Which I understand. But management's decision to do that can really mess with the head of a nervous person, or for that matter a crackhead.

Would I go back to Outback again? .. maybe. But I won't want to.

As I said before, I like the Texas Roadhouse. For being a chain-type restaurant, the steak is exceptional, even better than some independently owned steakhouses. But it's not as great as a Mexican restaurant in Minersville, PA named Casa de Tellez.. If you're in the area, you have to try the steak.. It will be a little expensive at market price, and it will take some time for you to get your dinner, but it may very well be the greatest steak that is served on earth, and blows any steak from the Final Cut steakhouse or Ruth's Chris out of the water.

As for Outback, my wife and I left the scene of what appeared to be a future crime. One of those crackheads is gonna blow. From blow.

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Outbacked..

Too many people to be nervousness.. Crack is the only logical explanation.

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Blogging live

Eating at an Outback steakhouse where it appears the servers are either 1) nervous  or 2) crackheads

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Work cafeteria shocked no one wants to pay $7 bucks for lunch

..and I ask why..

While I don't want to give names, places.. faces.. spaces, I want to simply put a quick mention that the cafeteria at my day job is a little surprised that a recent price hike scared people away. $7 for a lunch special consisting of a meat, canned vegetable, and typically instant mashed potatoes.. $2.50 for soup that is nothing tastier than Campbell's.. $5 for a tuna sandwich that tastes like it was sitting outside in the sun for days..

And they are shocked..

I did however achieve a recent victory. I was able to convince a cook that include romaine lettuce with the mounds of watered down iceberg they typically offer. When I go there now, though, I feel that unsaid pressure to pick up the salad and get a little bit just to keep the guy happy. I do, too.. Never mess with a cafeteria cook!

But it just makes me shake my head .. I have so many ideas to make this place run better. But hence, by day I'm an office worker, pushing paper without a cape! On weekends I wait tables and fight with cooks. I may as well leave the fighting with food service professionals to weekends, even if I see their business falling through their fingers like sand on a beach..

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..when the trays go falling down..

A rather sad moment occurred this weekend, when a veteran waitress, carrying a tray of desserts, left the kitchen only to lose her balance and drop the entire tray in front of a large group of people. It was cherry pie, too.. and it was tough to clean, even off of industrial carpeting.

The saddest part was that she cried after it happened. She told me privately, "I never dropped a tray before."

I wonder if, for a server, that is a big instance.. a huge event..?

At least for her, it was. It was her Waterloo..

And I felt legitimately bad for her as she cleaned up the crumb..

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When the food police come knocking..

It's bad timing that a food inspector says you have to clean a kitchen, put new drywall up, and fix chips in a floor or the place gets a violation--within a week--the same week you have 6 different parties booked. This happened.. the kitchen was a mess with food and randomly placed pieces of new drywall and floor covering.. It led to a bad environment in the kitchen.

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Ireland's food..

I'm half Irish, but I wouldn't eat the muttin.

Potatos? A ok.

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I've always hated taxes on food...

...but a ban on salt in New York City being proposed (*and fines for using it*) is desperate and ridiculous.. Common sense MUST prevail! Food freedom in '10!

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FRESH SQUEEZED MILK

Chef in New York City using his wife's breast milk to make cheese.. ..

Chef Daniel Angerer told the New York POST: "It tastes like cow's-milk cheese, kind of sweet"..

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...avoid arena beef sandwiches

Went to a Celtic/Sixers game last night.. my team won. But my stomach didn't. I had a roast beef sandwich with horseradish sauce.. Some of the worst, most expensive food I ever ate. The beer was cold but near $10 .. Why did I do it? Why..

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On the menu with the fries and burger: A health charge!?

No joke.. the Chicago TRIBUNE reporting that a new bill is popping up, and is sure to spread throughout the nation. The TRIBUNE reports,

The rationale for this one is to cover the employers' mandatory contribution to the City's "Healthy San Francisco" health-coverage system. The charge actually is levied on employers, but at least some restaurants are adding a few dollars or percentage points to each customer's bill to cover this charge.

The restaurants' excuse for assessing this charge separately is to let customers know how much they're paying for employees' health coverage. That's the same excuse hotels use when they add "resort" or "housekeeping" fees to unsuspecting guests' room bills. It's the same excuse airlines would use to exclude fuel surcharges from their advertised fares if the Department of Transportation would allow them. And it's sheer nonsense. Employees' health insurance is no less of a cost of doing business than rent, property taxes, food costs, security services and all the other inputs businesses require to operate. To single out health care for a separate surcharge is unwarranted.

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...the only hitch this weekend..

...was a frozen water line and a coffee machine not working. A trip to the dollar store, and a cheap coffee pot later (and 25 minutes to brew a single pot) and we were in business...

Oh the joys of what the customer does not see.

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Romantic dinners...

Some people think the lights being so low is downright funny.. other tables right next to them are happy and find the romance.. and finally the older couples have a conversation about how many bladder surgeries they made it through in life, making the youngest couple squirm like the shrimp they're eating..

But, ok.. I have to admit it, even with my mocking and scorning attempts to deride mass produced holidays like Mother's Day or Valentine's Day: There is something romantic and special about seeing couples of all ages and creeds come out to dine .. spend a night together and eat lobster and steak.. and look at each other and get a little fire back in their eyes again.

Sure, plenty of men are doing it because they have no other ideas.. they are in a cold panic that they forget flowers, chocolate, and diamonds. Why not, then, take someone for a $100 dinner.

And the server's role is magical in this instance.. the server has to know when too much friendly banter is too much, has to be knowledgeable about the dinner selection.. and then get out of the way of the couple who just seemingly want to share a little time either away from the kids, or just away from life.

Alright, that's the only bit of sentimental thought you're going to get about Valentine's Day. Back to the nonsense: Prime rib and seafood buffet today .. this should be outright painful..

Good luck restaurant world..

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Hold that table! The (first) dreaded holiday of the year...

AND ..this time it's on a weekend. A full flavor of events for Valentine's Day 2010 ..

Perhaps it's worth telling your table, as you serve them, that the original Valentine's Day involved young men would stripping naked and using whips to spank the buttocks of young women in order to improve their fertility.. Maybe it worked.. we're here today. Perhaps the pagans were on to something. Or maybe past popes were on to something by saying Saint Valentine did great things.. or maybe Hallmark and others for marketing the holiday with skill.

Either way, lobsters are about to be boiled, steaks are about to be seared, and men are about to look at bills with eyes wide.

It's Valentine's Day weekend..

If you're so inclined, or just want to plug yourself or you own website, send me a few thoughts, stories, or tales of battle scars from the weekend service.. In the mean time good luck. Look for some thoughts this weekend on the events..

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In case the sky bar is too far...a tootsie is closer than you think

A friend of a friend tells me that I can find one near home. At least within the United States..

If you're a regular reader of the Soup on my Fly blog, and I hope you are, you'll know I wrote a few weeks back about my interest and ogling of the Bangkok skybar in Thailand..

But now, if I want to find a bar similar (minus the sky) closer to home, at a VIP room of a adult club in Miama Florida at a place called Tootsie's (Not safe for work link)

While the Tootsies that features this interest room of character doesn't star Estelle Getty, God rest her soul, it does have the appearance of the Bangkok skybar of my dining desires..

I doubt an Estelle Getty character at Tootsie's.. Other types of characters, sordid and sultry, would only appear.

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How much Should it Cost

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A little angry at lunch choices.. Shut downs keep happening at my favorite places

Recently the city of Harrisburg PA, you know, it's been in the news for a new mayor and it's just about bankrupt, had some trouble with eateries.. my lunch choices have been severely halted due to the Capitol cafeteria being shut down for a few weeks due to rat droppings and mouse houses within the establishment. It's open now, that's fine.. haven't gone back yet.

Another favorite of mine just got shut down by officials on Thursday (the same day I ate a glorious piece of chicken and a baked potato from the Amish stand).. The Harrisburg Broad Street market was closed after evidence showed possible rodent contamination and bad temperatures on food.. Oy vey..

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that it shouldn't be closed, cleaned, and reopened (hopefully) ... I'm just saying that I already miss the Curry in a Hurry soup for $2.25.. I miss the vegetable Chinese dishes for $4.50 .. I am suddenly craving the desserts from Sinfully Delicious.. I am missing the heaping pieces of chicken from the Amish.. the fresh fruit from the stands where few people speak English but they know the exact change amount to give you.. And for Harrisburg residents (*I'm a commuter) they will no doubt miss the fresh steaks, chicken, and fish that still had eyes on them..

But these things occur.. But it's ever so interesting when they don't occur, but should. Take for instance Gordon Ramsay's upcoming KITCHEN NIGHTMARES show. I saw the preview after last night's show *the cook was nuts last night by the way* .. the preview for the next is a Mexican restaurant that appears overwhelmed by roaches--on dinner plates--sour and spoiled foods.. and yet somehow the health department in that particular state never shut down the place? It had to take a Fox TV show and Chef Ramsay to find it? Maybe Chef Ramsay could find a contract with states ... each state can employ him for a few weeks to find places and close them down.. of course with his standards the only remaining restaurants would be diners that line their entire kitchen with tin foil. That's safe, right?

I am also beginning to worry, what place is next? There is a wonderful restaurant I got engaged at.. I hope it never happens there..

That's my thoughts for now.. off to shovel the driveway -- enjoy the blizzard if you live in the state where it's happening.. If you don't, I bet you're envious.. Well maybe not.

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There are some nights...

...when I wish I could be pumped full of foods due to my laziness and exhaustion.. I can't even get the energy to chew tonight.

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..nights like this...

I wish I lived in New York City... I don't know why. Just feel like I'm missing out on something..

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The Bangkok skybar: Yea, I'd get on a plane for that

Those who know me know I'm not much one for airports, airplanes, or even long drives.. People joke that I rarely get out of the county I work in, (though I travel through three counties a day to get to work while they typically stay in one, so who's the homer now, holmies) ..

But last night while waiting for my wife to get her eyebrows done at the mall, a hair cutting place of course not just a store ripping eyebrow hairs off, I was pursuing the latest GQ magazine when I saw an ad for the Lebua Skybar in Bangkok. Actually, it was an ad for Bombay Sapphire, but it could have well been a better ad for the skybar..

Forgive me, but maybe it's because I am 'stuck' in the county of my residence, but I never heard of the skybar. Until I did a bit of research on it, of course.. It's ranked as one of the world's best bars .. It sits over top of the city of Bangkok .. It's beautifully blue-hued and immediately has a presence..The city of Bangkok, pollution and all, is able to be viewed from high atop at the bar while sipping your Bombay Sapphire, or cocktail of your choice..

And yes, this, my friends, is something I would take a plane to go an see..

American restaurants and bars are not nearly as creative as our world neighbors.. we think plywood floors and filthy beer nozzles, along with dollar drafts, bring in the consumers. Yes, this is true.. But how much more I'd prefer the air night looking over the city I live in.. though the city I live in has few lights at night and few attractions besides Yuengling Brewery (And not to slam Yuengling, I drink Lager often).. But my point is, unlike Thailand, or Japan, or other nations on earth, our country rarely thinks about dining as an experience, but instead just something to do to go eat quickly.

I'd much rather go to a place where you don't just drink, or eat, but instead spend a night out.

There's an Italian restaurant near me called Mattucci's Italian Restaurant.. Haven't been there for some time now, but maybe it's time to go back. It's the type of place that you're at for a few hours -- the food is cooked from scratch and it's truly authentic Italian cuisine. Some people I hear talking about it get agitated that the wait for food is as long as it is.. But that's not the point of the wait. The point is, that the dining is an experience that you enjoy talking and having the company of others while you wait for dinner to be served. You have a 'night out' not just a quick dinner. Americans forget the glorious parts of dining or drinking.. Having a drink above a cityscape would be a wonderful pleasure compared to the obnoxious crowds at any given local tavern on a Saturday night..

And while I may never get to Bangkok to sip a beer above the city, I can perhaps recreate the scene in the restaurant I eventually own in my future (yep, still a dream).. I may just have to use wallpaper of a city.. or maybe I'll own a skybox way up high... Dreaming, dreaming..

In the mean time, I'll simply envy the bartender, who even on dull nights get to see the view of Bangkok like no others ..

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NYTimes reports: A Newly Frugal Generation Revives Discount Dining

From The New York Times:

"A Newly Frugal Generation Revives Discount Dining;
Several restaurants in Florida have introduced early bird specials
since the recession started, and younger people are arriving in larger
numbers."

http://s.nyt.com/u/AHO

Not just for senior citizens anymore.

Nothing wrong with a person saving money..especially when said person
is broke!

Eating habits are changing.. Restaurants that survive 2010 will have
to change their habits too..

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PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM: NEW FOOD RULES

Chain restaurants, convenience stores and other eating establishments in Philadelphia are now required to list nutritional information on their menus

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Winter doledrums setting in..

The holidays are over. Bank accounts are drained.. stomachs widened.. A few tips from Refreshing News blog on how to avoid getting winter fat..

The best tip, especially when "blue Monday" sets in a few weeks from now: "Lay off the booze"

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JUST WONDERING..

Just because a steak house charges $45 tp to $65 for a small steak, I'm supposed to think it should be perfect, right. And when it's not...?

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2009.. THE FINAL WEDDING.. AND THE PHANTASM UNDERTAKER HELPS USHER IN 2010

Here, yes.. And happy new year to everyone that is still checking back here for updates. Sorry for the lack of those recently..

Finished the final wedding of the year last night--New Year's Eve.. Instead of 200 people showing up, a mere 75 did.. The bride looked like she was in a clear "I don't want to get married" panic before she went to the dance floor and kissed her husband, donned in full white tuxedo from head to toe ..

The lack of enthusiasm about their new life together may have been due to unexecpted snow that hit New Year's Eve night in the Northeast.. Or just because they invited people at the last minute. Either way, I cannot judge..

It was after all, a pretty easy night. Sure I didn't spend New Year's Eve with my wife or anynone else.. instead, I left for work in 2009 and came home in 2010, getting a shower and making a frozen pizza and watching the Twilight Zone marathon the SyFy channel..

But the whole new year thing is a little overrated anyway, isn't it? The big moment of time turning at 12:01 am.. By 12:02 am most people are beginning to feel the deep buzz of liquor and the urge to sleep.. Calling it a night would be better than staying out until 2am when the crowds really get lit. Rough faces are all around you by that point.

But yes, there is also something special about a new year. It's a new day.. turning over a new leaf.. all that stuff.

And as 2009 ended, so did the wedding season at my secondary place of employment..And as it went out, I stood in the back of the restaurant peering at the hall, looking at the faces.. one stood out. A man that looked like a dead on appearance as the undertaker from PHANTASM.. I learned a little later that he even hit on a fellow server..Scary, but somehow fitting end to insanity in 09.

Happy 2010.. I'll try for more updates. Really I will.

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