No, it's not everywhere, just here. Parts Unknown, Kentucky,
population 15,000, about two hours from NowhereAtAll, Tennessee.

I love Mexican, it's my first choice when we go out. Used to go to a
little hole-in-the-wall place in town, El Tequila. Wonderful food
(excellent chiles rellenos, my yardstick for Mexican) and you could
order a beer with the meal.

Sadly, that place went downhill over a fairly short time, couple of
months or so. The last straw was a burrito with chewy beef and
dried-up bits of unrecognizable pork. Served lukewarm.

So we've been going to El Mariachi Loco, pretty good chiles rellenos
and a wide variety of food...at least, on the menu.

Went there a few weeks ago, ordered a Michelob. They don't have it.
"But it's on the menu!" Well, no one was ordering it so they stopped
carrying it. (Seems that all anyone wants now is light beer, which is
fine for people who drink to pee. Me, I drink beer because I like
beer. Or a reasonable approximation thereof.)

Went there again last night. Loud, very bad Hispanic music. Had a
burrito with chewy beef. Lukewarm. A pattern, perhaps? We rarely
order dessert but they had eight desserts on the menu and several
looked interesting---mango cheesecake and a tres leche cake. So wife
and elder daughter each ordered one to go. Share 'em around, everyone
gets a taste that way.

"No, we only have this one dessert." (and neither mango cheesecake nor
tres leche cake.)

Anyone else run into this problem of an extensive menu where a lot of
the stuff isn't available? I mean, jeez, all they have to do was
print new menus once in a while. Or even cross off the items no
longer available.

I guess it's time to switch restaurants again. There's a
hole-in-the-wall Mexican place about ten miles south of here; it's not
bad. Sigh...

Terry
(just wanted to bitch about food, sorry bout that)

Terry > wrote:

>Anyone else run into this problem of an extensive menu where a lot of
>the stuff isn't available?

Yes. In a recession, restaurants run out of ingredients more
often. Because of lower demand the wholesalers do fewer truck rolls
to the customers. Both store shelves and restaraunts are likely
to be missing items.

Happens every recession, particularly when gas prices are also high.

Steve

On Jun 13, 2:01*pm, Terry > wrote:
> No, it's not everywhere, just here. *Parts Unknown, Kentucky,
> population 15,000, about two hours from NowhereAtAll, Tennessee.
>
> I love Mexican, it's my first choice when we go out. *Used to go to a
> little hole-in-the-wall place in town, El Tequila. *Wonderful food
> (excellent chiles rellenos, my yardstick for Mexican) and you could
> order a beer with the meal.
>
> Sadly, that place went downhill over a fairly short time, couple of
> months or so. *The last straw was a burrito with chewy beef and
> dried-up bits of unrecognizable pork. *Served lukewarm.
>
> So we've been going to El Mariachi Loco, pretty good chiles rellenos
> and a wide variety of food...at least, on the menu.
>
> Went there a few weeks ago, ordered a Michelob. *They don't have it.
> "But it's on the menu!" *Well, no one was ordering it so they stopped
> carrying it. *(Seems that all anyone wants now is light beer, which is
> fine for people who drink to pee. *Me, I drink beer because I like
> beer. *Or a reasonable approximation thereof.)
>

They didn't have Negra Modelo?
>
> Terry
>
--Bryan

Steve Pope wrote:
> Terry > wrote:
>
>> Anyone else run into this problem of an extensive menu where a lot of
>> the stuff isn't available?
>
> Yes. In a recession, restaurants run out of ingredients more
> often. Because of lower demand the wholesalers do fewer truck rolls
> to the customers. Both store shelves and restaurants are likely
> to be missing items.
>
> Happens every recession, particularly when gas prices are also high.
>


It's not just restaurants. Have you walked through a mall lately?
No matter how they try to disguise it with pretty murals, a LOT of
stores have closed and the ones remaining have less and less merchandise
to sell. The prices don't seem to have dropped, however.

Recession is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. You can't buy what
they don't have in stock to sell. Restaurants are in tougher shape
because their merchandise is so subject to spoilage.

gloria p

gloria.p > wrote:

>> In a recession, restaurants run out of ingredients more
>> often. Because of lower demand the wholesalers do fewer truck rolls
>> to the customers. Both store shelves and restaurants are likely
>> to be missing items.

>> Happens every recession, particularly when gas prices are also high.

>It's not just restaurants. Have you walked through a mall lately?

I try to avoid it. :-)

>No matter how they try to disguise it with pretty murals, a LOT of
>stores have closed and the ones remaining have less and less merchandise
>to sell. The prices don't seem to have dropped, however.

>Recession is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. You can't buy what
>they don't have in stock to sell. Restaurants are in tougher shape
>because their merchandise is so subject to spoilage.

Yes, completely true.

You'll know it's bad if hardware store start looking poorly-stocked.
Those places are very dependent upon giving the appearance that
they have on hand any item you might conceivably want.

Steve

Terry > writes:


> Sadly, that place went downhill.....

Heh heh.... and with most Mexican restos, that's not a long trip!
Hard to fudge refritos. What? Sub salad oil for lard? LOL

You want my opinion of bottom-of-the-hill? Jack-in-the-Box tacos.
You'll never get me to believe the filler isn't dog food.

nb

Much better to work up a few healthy Mexican dishes at home and lean
heavily on 'em. I do a mushroom, black bean, spinach, jalapeno
cheese, chicken burrito in a fairly light sauce, make my own saltless
salsa and enchilada sauce - every bit as good as what the average Mex
resto is serving. This is stuff you can always have on hand, too.

Kalmia wrote on Sat, 13 Jun 2009 16:29:14 -0700 (PDT):


> Much better to work up a few healthy Mexican dishes at home
> and lean heavily on 'em. I do a mushroom, black bean,
> spinach, jalapeno cheese, chicken burrito in a fairly light
> sauce, make my own saltless salsa and enchilada sauce - every
> bit as good as what the average Mex resto is serving. This is
> stuff you can always have on hand, too.

A lot of Mexican (even Tex-Mex) dishes can be healthy but chain
retaurants seem to pile on the grease. I'd reiterate that Tex-Mex (or
Sonoran) is not the only Mexican cuisine.
--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

On 6/13/09 3:02 PM, in article ,
" > wrote:

> You want my opinion of bottom-of-the-hill? Jack-in-the-Box tacos.
> You'll never get me to believe the filler isn't dog food.

Oh come on!! The tortillas are excellent! Corn tortillas, fried in
oil, soft inner diameter, and crispy edges. Nothing compares in the
fast food industry. Not even Taco John's with their green sauce.

I could eat a dozen or more of those for lunch after 4 hours of
cutting cedar. Polish them off with a large order of
Jalapeño poppers and a couple orders of egg rolls. 64 oz
Dr. Pepper, of course.

On the drive home, I stop by Arby's for two Big Montana's,
a couple of large curly fries, and two large orders of jalapeno
poppers to eat while I watch O'Reilly.

Ten or fifteen gin and tonics later, I'm ready to crash, wake
up, and take on another day at the saw mill.

It's a vicious cycle!!!

On Jun 13, 3:02*pm, wrote:
> Terry > writes:
> > Sadly, that place went downhill.....
>
> Heh heh.... and with most Mexican restos, that's not a long trip!
> Hard to fudge refritos. *What? *Sub salad oil for lard? *LOL
>
> You want my opinion of bottom-of-the-hill? *Jack-in-the-Box tacos.
> You'll never get me to believe the filler isn't dog food.
>
> nb

no, it's not dog food, it's tvp. four legged carnivores would not
touch this stuff. worked at the chain for 2 months, eons ago & looked
at the contents on the side of the boxes of the alleged tacos were
shipped.

wrote:
> Terry > writes:
>
>
>> Sadly, that place went downhill.....
>
> Heh heh.... and with most Mexican restos, that's not a long trip!
> Hard to fudge refritos. What? Sub salad oil for lard? LOL
>
> You want my opinion of bottom-of-the-hill? Jack-in-the-Box tacos.
> You'll never get me to believe the filler isn't dog food.

You might be right about being bottom-of-the-hill but it's a brilliant
concept - a integrated taco shell and "meat" package that can be
processed in a couple of minutes. Some folks actually like those things.
I'll eat one sometimes. They're OK under certain conditions. Mostly
conditions of not much money.

JITB has a new item. Something called Taco Nachos. These are taco units
that are deep fried and chopped up and boxed. The amount of grease on
these things is truly remarkable. Too bad I have an aversion to the stuff.


>
> nb

RWW > writes:


> Oh come on!! The tortillas are excellent! Corn tortillas, fried in
> oil, soft inner diameter, and crispy edges.
[...]
> I could eat a dozen or more of those for lunch....

heh heh... Don't tell no one, but I never said I didn't like 'em.
Best dog food I ever et.

nb

On Sat, 13 Jun 2009 21:52:30 +0000 (UTC),
(Steve Pope) wrote:

>>Recession is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. You can't buy what
>>they don't have in stock to sell. Restaurants are in tougher shape
>>because their merchandise is so subject to spoilage.
>
>Yes, completely true.

That Hope and Change ain't workin' real good for me.

Terry wrote:
> No, it's not everywhere, just here. Parts Unknown, Kentucky,
> population 15,000, about two hours from NowhereAtAll, Tennessee.
>
> I love Mexican, it's my first choice when we go out. Used to go to a
> little hole-in-the-wall place in town, El Tequila. Wonderful food
> (excellent chiles rellenos, my yardstick for Mexican) and you could
> order a beer with the meal.
>
> Sadly, that place went downhill over a fairly short time, couple of
> months or so. The last straw was a burrito with chewy beef and
> dried-up bits of unrecognizable pork. Served lukewarm.
>

Mexican restaurants in this area have never been very good. They offer
basically Tex Mex food like tacos, burittos, nachos and variations.
Their prices tend to be steep IMO, considering that they use basically
cheap ingredients. Our neighbours have some Mexican friends who own a
restaurant and claim to be higher end. They often bring all kinds fo
foods to the neighbour's party, but I remain unimpressed.

On Jun 13, 1:01*pm, Terry > wrote:
> No, it's not everywhere, just here. *Parts Unknown, Kentucky,
> population 15,000, about two hours from NowhereAtAll, Tennessee.

I'm not a particular fan of Mexican food but do recall two out-of-the-
way eateries from my school days back in California with fondness.
One had a cheap but tasty and fulfilling tostada dish made out of a
large, fried bowl-shaped pastry container where you can heap in all
the goodies they provide on the side (meat, cheese, tomatoes, salsa,
pepper, etc.); the other I only stopped in once with my cousins but it
was truly authentic -- the owner or chef came up to our table and
chatted with us whereby I learned that there was so much more to
Mexican food than just tacos and fajitas. I guess you have to be
where there is a large hispanic population.

Here now in Snohomish County, WA, it also looks to be a Mexican
culinary wasteland. The only Mexican restaurants that are really
crowded around here are loud and pricy pick-up joints set in a high-
end shopping centers where the only hispanics you will see are the
servers.

> I love Mexican, it's my first choice when we go out. *Used to go to a
> little hole-in-the-wall place in town, El Tequila. *Wonderful food
> (excellent chiles rellenos, my yardstick for Mexican) and you could
> order a beer with the meal.
>
> Sadly, that place went downhill over a fairly short time, couple of
> months or so. *The last straw was a burrito with chewy beef and
> dried-up bits of unrecognizable pork. *Served lukewarm.
>
> So we've been going to El Mariachi Loco, pretty good chiles rellenos
> and a wide variety of food...at least, on the menu.
>
> Went there a few weeks ago, ordered a Michelob. *They don't have it.
> "But it's on the menu!" *Well, no one was ordering it so they stopped
> carrying it. *(Seems that all anyone wants now is light beer, which is
> fine for people who drink to pee. *Me, I drink beer because I like
> beer. *Or a reasonable approximation thereof.)

Sorry, but I don't even consider Michelob weighty enough to be called
beer. Heineken is acceptable.

--
Ht

Kalmia wrote:
> Much better to work up a few healthy Mexican dishes at home and lean
> heavily on 'em. I do a mushroom, black bean, spinach, jalapeno
> cheese, chicken burrito in a fairly light sauce, make my own saltless
> salsa and enchilada sauce - every bit as good as what the average Mex
> resto is serving. This is stuff you can always have on hand, too.

I do our Mexican cooking at home, too, even though 96% of the
restaurants in our area are Mexican restaurants. I have a problem with
foods made with hot peppers, even the so-called milder ones. Neither DH
nor I can tolerate the amount of salt restaurants use in their cooking
and DH is diabetic, so we need to restrict carbohydrates, which is
almost impossible in a Mexican restaurant. I use low-carb tortillas,
which aren't as bad as you might think, and never any rice. Beans, in
controlled portions, are okay as long as I make them myself to keep down
the salt content.

I make my own enchilada sauce and do some interesting stuff with mole
sauces I prepare myself.

We do have a favorite local Mexican place that is more Mexican than
Tex-Mex where you can get a portion of steamed fresh veggies instead of
the ubiquitous red rice.

--
Janet Wilder
Way-the-heck-south Texas
Spelling doesn't count. Cooking does.

On Sat, 13 Jun 2009 17:07:16 -0700, RWW > fired up random
neurons and synapses to opine:

>On 6/13/09 3:02 PM, in article ,
" > wrote:
>
>> You want my opinion of bottom-of-the-hill? Jack-in-the-Box tacos.
>> You'll never get me to believe the filler isn't dog food.
>
>Oh come on!! The tortillas are excellent! Corn tortillas, fried in
>oil, soft inner diameter, and crispy edges. Nothing compares in the
>fast food industry. Not even Taco John's with their green sauce.

And to my stunned surprise, Del Taco was selected as having the
"finest" cheeseburgers in Orange County CA in the OC Register:

http://www.reuters.com/article/press...009+BW20090516

Not Tommy's, not Fat Burger, not In'n'Out...Del Taco??? The DH, who
was a huge FB fan is going to have to be the judge of this! (I said
"was," b/c recent experience has taught us why FB's is in Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection.)

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd

--

"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

- Duncan Hines

To reply, replace "meatloaf" with "cox"

On 15 Jun 2009 13:09:52 GMT, Michael "Dog3" wrote:

> Terry Pulliam Burd >
> : in rec.food.cooking
>
>> And to my stunned surprise, Del Taco was selected as having the
>> "finest" cheeseburgers in Orange County CA in the OC Register:
>>
>> http://www.reuters.com/article/press...May-2009+BW200
>> 90516
>>
>> Not Tommy's, not Fat Burger, not In'n'Out...Del Taco??? The DH, who
>> was a huge FB fan is going to have to be the judge of this! (I said
>> "was," b/c recent experience has taught us why FB's is in Chapter 11
>> bankruptcy protection.)
>
> I can't say I've ever had Del Taco. Kind of reminds me the first year I
> moved to St. Louis. Or close to the first year. The RFT vote for best
> deli in St. Louis was <gag> Subway.

dear god.

your pal,
blake

Michael "Dog3" > wrote in message
...
> [..] The RFT vote for best deli in St. Louis was
> <gag> Subway. Of course this was the general
> public voting. [..]

Those polls are never about "The Best" when the general public is involves;
it's only about what's the most familiar. We have several bakeries in my
little burg that outstanding but Safeway always seems to win that catagory.
"Best sandwich" is the catagory that Suckway and Quizbarf trade
back-and-forth. Cheesecake Fuctory and Sapplebee's also get kudos in this
paper's annual polls so these are immediately suspect.

The Ranger

"The Ranger" > writes:


> Those polls are never about "The Best" when the general public is involves;

......specially if a "best" choice ignores potential advertisers. Most
rags make sure the dreck producers get included by creating catagories
they can't lose in. I remember first seeing The Metro's (Southbay
entertainment rag) "Best..." survey. Looked pretty good. Later
years, started seeing catagories like, "Best Mexican Costing Under
$.79 and Served From Drive-Thru and Likely to Fail and Faux Adobe
Building Become a Cell Phone Store". Hard to lose that one.

Likewise, how can one have any faith in major food festivals. The
Great American Beer Festival in Denver has a rep for choosing only the
finest beers. Upon closer imspection, you see beers like Coors Light
wining the "Beer Most Like the Rocky Mountain Snow Melt Streaming Past
My Deck" catagory. Kinda ruins the creds.

nb

wrote:
>I figured then the food here was going to be worse than
>the Gawd awful city I had just moved from, which was Columbus, Ohio.

I hear great things about Schmidt's in Columbus. Did you ever go when you were
living there and was it great?

Orlando

"The Ranger" > wrote in message
>
> Those polls are never about "The Best" when the general public is
> involves; it's only about what's the most familiar. We have several
> bakeries in my little burg that outstanding but Safeway always seems to
> win that catagory. "Best sandwich" is the catagory that Suckway and
> Quizbarf trade back-and-forth. Cheesecake Fuctory and Sapplebee's also get
> kudos in this paper's annual polls so these are immediately suspect.

We were at a picnic one and a group was discussing food and travel and
someone said they were going to Maine. Another chimed in, "if you were
going to be in (name of now forgotten city) I know a really good Applebee's
there". How do you tell a good one from a bad one? Why would you suggest
one over a great local restaurant, especially in a state known for some
great seafood?

"Ed Pawlowski" > writes:


> there". How do you tell a good one from a bad one?

The good one's are closed.

nb

The Ranger wrote:
>
> Those polls are never about "The Best" when the general public is involves;
> it's only about what's the most familiar. We have several bakeries in my
> little burg that outstanding but Safeway always seems to win that catagory.
> "Best sandwich" is the catagory that Suckway and Quizbarf trade
> back-and-forth. Cheesecake Fuctory and Sapplebee's also get kudos in this
> paper's annual polls so these are immediately suspect.

I guess you don't know very much about the newspaper
business. What makes you think any "poll" was involved?
Was it because that's what the newspaper said they did?

If there was a poll, I'd guess it was of the staff in
the sales department. The winners were the outfits which
buy advertising regularly. They'd be real popular among
the staff whose job is to sell them advertising.

This strategy worked back in the 20th century, when
newspapers had a virtual monopoly on "lifestyle" and
"living" news (what used to be called the "women's section").
TV had some participation in that, but not much because
of their limited air time. Newspapers had the bandwidth
to run long articles with mouth-watering descriptions of
what you can buy at popular chain restaurants and
supermarkets.

But now, the Internet has broken that monopoly. It was
always a racket, and now they must try to survive without
it. That's why newspapers are dying. I will not regret
their death. It is well-deserved, and none too soon.

blake murphy wrote:

> On 15 Jun 2009 13:09:52 GMT, Michael "Dog3" wrote:
>
>> Terry Pulliam Burd >
>> : in rec.food.cooking
>>
>>> And to my stunned surprise, Del Taco was selected as having the
>>> "finest" cheeseburgers in Orange County CA in the OC Register:
>>>
>>> http://www.reuters.com/article/press...May-2009+BW200
>>> 90516
>>>
>>> Not Tommy's, not Fat Burger, not In'n'Out...Del Taco??? The DH, who
>>> was a huge FB fan is going to have to be the judge of this! (I said
>>> "was," b/c recent experience has taught us why FB's is in Chapter 11
>>> bankruptcy protection.)
>>
>> I can't say I've ever had Del Taco. Kind of reminds me the first
>> year I moved to St. Louis. Or close to the first year. The RFT
>> vote for best deli in St. Louis was <gag> Subway.
>
> dear god.


It's the truth in _The Riverfront Times_, one year Chili's was voted "Best
Mexican" and IIRC Dominoe's was "Best Pizza"...etc....I guess all the
"Hoosiers" must have voted.

When I hung out in STL a lot in the 90's the vast majority of peeps I hung
with had APPALLING taste in food. And these were *** guys, with good jobs,
incomes, and they were pretty well-traveled...'tis a pity cuz STL has some
great food attractions, e.g. Soulard Market, etc...yet they were pretty much
goobers in their tastes.

Years ago there was a stl.food newsgroup, it was dying on the vine back
then, haven't checked to see if it's still extant...


--
Best
Greg

Michael "Dog3" wrote:

> Terry > news:3408359cpgptr5jvvqs249fjpqou98cqs0@
> 4ax.com: in rec.food.cooking
>
> <snip for space>
>
>>
>> I guess it's time to switch restaurants again. There's a
>> hole-in-the-wall Mexican place about ten miles south of here; it's
>> not bad. Sigh...
>>
>> Terry
>> (just wanted to bitch about food, sorry bout that)
>
> One of my fave Mex joints closed last year. I was sorry to see it go.


Was that the place in Soulard, Aurcelia's or whatever...???


--
Best
Greg

wrote:

> "The Ranger" > writes:
>
>
>> Those polls are never about "The Best" when the general public is
>> involves;
>
> .....specially if a "best" choice ignores potential advertisers. Most
> rags make sure the dreck producers get included by creating catagories
> they can't lose in. I remember first seeing The Metro's (Southbay
> entertainment rag) "Best..." survey. Looked pretty good. Later
> years, started seeing catagories like, "Best Mexican Costing Under
> $.79 and Served From Drive-Thru and Likely to Fail and Faux Adobe
> Building Become a Cell Phone Store". Hard to lose that one.
>
> Likewise, how can one have any faith in major food festivals. The
> Great American Beer Festival in Denver has a rep for choosing only the
> finest beers. Upon closer imspection, you see beers like Coors Light
> wining the "Beer Most Like the Rocky Mountain Snow Melt Streaming Past
> My Deck" catagory. Kinda ruins the creds.

Like the ubiquitous summer street festivals here in Chicawgo. You go to an
ethnic-y one thinking you'll get something different but each one has pretty
much the same krappy food 'n booze...


--
Best
Greg

"Gregory Morrow" > writes:


> ethnic-y one thinking you'll get something different but each one has pretty
> much the same krappy food 'n booze...

Heh heh.....

Yeah, like a $5 spiral-cut deep fried potato is pan-ethnic.

nb

Michael "Dog3" wrote:

>
> It sounds really familiar. I think it's the restaurant in German
> Village > isn't it? An old firehouse I think. Yes, their food was
> good. We hung out at Lindey's, in German Village, most of the time.
> Excellent food, service etc. Lindeys's was a dressy casual spot and I
> really enjoyed the food there.

'Dressy casual spot'? 'Splain, please!

> I also enjoyed the bartender. More than once.

<lol>
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

On Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:32:38 -0700, Mark Thorson wrote:

> The Ranger wrote:
>>
>> Those polls are never about "The Best" when the general public is involves;
>> it's only about what's the most familiar. We have several bakeries in my
>> little burg that outstanding but Safeway always seems to win that catagory.
>> "Best sandwich" is the catagory that Suckway and Quizbarf trade
>> back-and-forth. Cheesecake Fuctory and Sapplebee's also get kudos in this
>> paper's annual polls so these are immediately suspect.
>
> I guess you don't know very much about the newspaper
> business. What makes you think any "poll" was involved?
> Was it because that's what the newspaper said they did?
>
> If there was a poll, I'd guess it was of the staff in
> the sales department. The winners were the outfits which
> buy advertising regularly. They'd be real popular among
> the staff whose job is to sell them advertising.
>
> This strategy worked back in the 20th century, when
> newspapers had a virtual monopoly on "lifestyle" and
> "living" news (what used to be called the "women's section").
> TV had some participation in that, but not much because
> of their limited air time. Newspapers had the bandwidth
> to run long articles with mouth-watering descriptions of
> what you can buy at popular chain restaurants and
> supermarkets.
>
> But now, the Internet has broken that monopoly. It was
> always a racket, and now they must try to survive without
> it. That's why newspapers are dying. I will not regret
> their death. It is well-deserved, and none too soon.

this sounds like a pretty bizarre reason to cheer the death of newspapers.

your pal,
blake

On Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:58:41 -0500, Gregory Morrow wrote:

> blake murphy wrote:
>
>> On 15 Jun 2009 13:09:52 GMT, Michael "Dog3" wrote:
>>
>>> Terry Pulliam Burd >
>>> : in rec.food.cooking
>>>
>>>> And to my stunned surprise, Del Taco was selected as having the
>>>> "finest" cheeseburgers in Orange County CA in the OC Register:
>>>>
>>>> http://www.reuters.com/article/press...May-2009+BW200
>>>> 90516
>>>>
>>>> Not Tommy's, not Fat Burger, not In'n'Out...Del Taco??? The DH, who
>>>> was a huge FB fan is going to have to be the judge of this! (I said
>>>> "was," b/c recent experience has taught us why FB's is in Chapter 11
>>>> bankruptcy protection.)
>>>
>>> I can't say I've ever had Del Taco. Kind of reminds me the first
>>> year I moved to St. Louis. Or close to the first year. The RFT
>>> vote for best deli in St. Louis was <gag> Subway.
>>
>> dear god.
>
> It's the truth in _The Riverfront Times_, one year Chili's was voted "Best
> Mexican" and IIRC Dominoe's was "Best Pizza"...etc....I guess all the
> "Hoosiers" must have voted.
>

dear god also.

blake

Gregory Morrow wrote:

> It's the truth in _The Riverfront Times_, one year Chili's was voted
> "Best Mexican" and IIRC Dominoe's was "Best Pizza"...etc....I guess
> all the "Hoosiers" must have voted.

I went to Michigan to visit family one year, passed Dominoes
corporate all dressed up for Christmas. Dominoes as pizza is so
far out of my world that I thought it was Dominoes Sugar, why
would it be in Michigan? A little confusing for a moment.

I learned that Dominoes is *the* pizza in a lot of places. Yikes.

nancy

On Jun 16, 6:03*am, "Michael \"Dog3\"" > wrote:
> "The Ranger" >news:07qdnVK9ZY6vGKvXnZ2dnU :in
> rec.food.cooking
> > Those polls are never about "The Best" when the general public is
> > involves; it's only about what's the most familiar. We have several
> > bakeries in my little burg that outstanding but Safeway always seems
> > to win that catagory. "Best sandwich" is the catagory that Suckway and
> > Quizbarf trade back-and-forth. Cheesecake Fuctory and Sapplebee's also
> > get kudos in this paper's annual polls so these are immediately
> > suspect.
>
> Of course those polls are not scientific. *However, it showed me what the
> culinary tastes of the general populace of St. Louis was. *

Shocking isn't it? Welcome to Middle America.

I, OTOH, love finding new dining experiences. I laugh at my extended
family's take on "fine" and "dining." Granted, some of the places I've
been that looked interesting on the outside were dogs on the inside
with food that could only HOPE to reach chain-level quality but, by-
and-large, many have been excellent experiences.

One friend, who loves to lurk in ba.food, is very much a Cheesebeeday
gourmand. He can tell you which to visit and which to avoid along the
entire Left Coast [of the Western US]. He _will_ NOT try any
restaurant that doesn't pouch their food. He wants familiarity and
consistency. Worst "fight" we had was when I treated him to a local
Mediterranean place and he simply ordered a "side of rice" and then
complained that it came out yellow with red things (saffron rice with
sour cherries.) Go figure.

The Ranger

Mark Thorson wrote:
> The Ranger wrote:
>> Those polls are never about "The Best" when the general public is involves;
>> it's only about what's the most familiar. We have several bakeries in my
>> little burg that outstanding but Safeway always seems to win that catagory.
>> "Best sandwich" is the catagory that Suckway and Quizbarf trade
>> back-and-forth. Cheesecake Fuctory and Sapplebee's also get kudos in this
>> paper's annual polls so these are immediately suspect.
>
> I guess you don't know very much about the newspaper
> business. What makes you think any "poll" was involved?
> Was it because that's what the newspaper said they did?
>
> If there was a poll, I'd guess it was of the staff in
> the sales department. The winners were the outfits which
> buy advertising regularly. They'd be real popular among
> the staff whose job is to sell them advertising.
>
> This strategy worked back in the 20th century, when
> newspapers had a virtual monopoly on "lifestyle" and
> "living" news (what used to be called the "women's section").
> TV had some participation in that, but not much because
> of their limited air time. Newspapers had the bandwidth
> to run long articles with mouth-watering descriptions of
> what you can buy at popular chain restaurants and
> supermarkets.
>
> But now, the Internet has broken that monopoly. It was
> always a racket, and now they must try to survive without
> it. That's why newspapers are dying. I will not regret
> their death. It is well-deserved, and none too soon.

And to a large extent magazines are meeting the same fate for the same
reason. They would pimp stuff with various awards and glowing reviews
based solely on who bought the most adds.

Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> "The Ranger" > wrote in message
>> Those polls are never about "The Best" when the general public is
>> involves; it's only about what's the most familiar. We have several
>> bakeries in my little burg that outstanding but Safeway always seems to
>> win that catagory. "Best sandwich" is the catagory that Suckway and
>> Quizbarf trade back-and-forth. Cheesecake Fuctory and Sapplebee's also get
>> kudos in this paper's annual polls so these are immediately suspect.
>
> We were at a picnic one and a group was discussing food and travel and
> someone said they were going to Maine. Another chimed in, "if you were
> going to be in (name of now forgotten city) I know a really good Applebee's
> there". How do you tell a good one from a bad one? Why would you suggest
> one over a great local restaurant, especially in a state known for some
> great seafood?
>
>
I see the same thing with NYC. I go there a lot and know dozens of local
places to get great food. So conversation will drift to "we are going to
NYC this weekend can you recommend some places to eat" I ask where they
are going and give them some choices. With the exception of one person
when later asked they will say that aplebees or tjfridays called to them
*and* it was the best one they have ever been in.

Marketing is a powerful thing. For some reason lots of folks want to
hand the key to their brains to someone else. Big box has lots of money
to buy mind share.

wrote:
>It sounds really familiar. I think it's the restaurant in German Village
>isn't it? An old firehouse I think. Yes, their food was good. We hung
>out at Lindey's, in German Village, most of the time. Excellent food,
>service etc. Lindeys's was a dressy casual spot and I really enjoyed the
>food there. I also enjoyed the bartender. More than once.

Hey! *smile* Was the bar tender into the Village People too?

Orlando

Michael "Dog3" wrote:

> ChattyCathy > news:w6NZl.49707$jT6.24937
> @newsfe17.iad: in rec.food.cooking

>> 'Dressy casual spot'? 'Splain, please!
>
> A lot of suit and ties, evening dresses along with a lot of dress
> slacks,
> Polo shirts etc. A mix of dressy people but not formal. I even saw
> some
> jeans now and then but Lindey's isn't what I'd call "informal". No
> coat and tie was required though.

Ah. OK, gottit. Thanks.

--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Nancy Young wrote:

> Gregory Morrow wrote:
>
>> It's the truth in _The Riverfront Times_, one year Chili's was voted
>> "Best Mexican" and IIRC Dominoe's was "Best Pizza"...etc....I guess
>> all the "Hoosiers" must have voted.
>
> I went to Michigan to visit family one year, passed Dominoes
> corporate all dressed up for Christmas. Dominoes as pizza is so
> far out of my world that I thought it was Dominoes Sugar, why
> would it be in Michigan? A little confusing for a moment.
>


<chuckle>


> I learned that Dominoes is *the* pizza in a lot of places. Yikes.
>


Yep, and even when there's a choice in some places it's the best option
available...

BTW a friend went and got one of those ready-to-bake pizzas from the
Homemade Pizza place down the street. For a medium/large it was like *$23.00
plus tax*. It was decent pizza, but YIKES...now there is a real racket.
Thing is, they do a great business, there are peeps carrying those pizzas
home all over the 'hood...I don't begrudge them, I guess it's helping the
economy, lol.


--
Best
Greg

Ed Pawlowski wrote:

> "The Ranger" > wrote in message
>>
>> Those polls are never about "The Best" when the general public is
>> involves; it's only about what's the most familiar. We have several
>> bakeries in my little burg that outstanding but Safeway always seems
>> to win that catagory. "Best sandwich" is the catagory that Suckway
>> and Quizbarf trade back-and-forth. Cheesecake Fuctory and
>> Sapplebee's also get kudos in this paper's annual polls so these are
>> immediately suspect.
>
> We were at a picnic one and a group was discussing food and travel and
> someone said they were going to Maine. Another chimed in, "if you
> were going to be in (name of now forgotten city) I know a really good
> Applebee's there". How do you tell a good one from a bad one? Why
> would you suggest one over a great local restaurant, especially in a
> state known for some great seafood?


Reminds me of some of my afore-mentioned friends in St. Louis. When they
visited here they wanted to eat TGIF's or Subway or Bennigan's or some other
krap place. Chicawgo is a great food town, there are thousands of cheaper
and better alternatives to the chain places. Lotsa people come here to
visit and end up at the Red Lobster or Rainforest Cafe or whatevers that are
now in downtown Chicago...those places make a lotta dough catering to the
tourist trade.


--
Best
Greg

Gregory Morrow wrote:

> Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>
>
>>"The Ranger" > wrote in message
>>
>>>Those polls are never about "The Best" when the general public is
>>>involves; it's only about what's the most familiar. We have several
>>>bakeries in my little burg that outstanding but Safeway always seems
>>>to win that catagory. "Best sandwich" is the catagory that Suckway
>>>and Quizbarf trade back-and-forth. Cheesecake Fuctory and
>>>Sapplebee's also get kudos in this paper's annual polls so these are
>>>immediately suspect.
>>
>>We were at a picnic one and a group was discussing food and travel and
>>someone said they were going to Maine. Another chimed in, "if you
>>were going to be in (name of now forgotten city) I know a really good
>>Applebee's there". How do you tell a good one from a bad one? Why
>>would you suggest one over a great local restaurant, especially in a
>>state known for some great seafood?
>
>
>
> Reminds me of some of my afore-mentioned friends in St. Louis. When they
> visited here they wanted to eat TGIF's or Subway or Bennigan's or some other
> krap place. Chicawgo is a great food town, there are thousands of cheaper
> and better alternatives to the chain places. Lotsa people come here to
> visit and end up at the Red Lobster or Rainforest Cafe or whatevers that are
> now in downtown Chicago...those places make a lotta dough catering to the
> tourist trade.

The best sandwiches locally come from Great Harvest Bread Company. My
personal favorite is fresh baked Dakota bread (9 grain plus sunflower
seeds), rare roast beef, swiss cheese, mayo, spicy mustard, red onions,
sprouts, tomatoes and more sunflower seeds sprinkled on top. Under
$6.00 and plenty big enough to split with a friend.

They do an awesome veggie sandwich with hummus, too.