On 8/14/2020 8:53 AM, Gary wrote:
> Bruce wrote:
>> I wonder how many Americans NEVER go to a restaurant.
>
> I will guess that most smart Americans don't go to a
> restaurant currently. Not eat-in or even take-out.
>
> Before the virus mess, I would never eat in a restaurant
> by myself. That was a bit weird to me.
>
I've never had a problem dining out by myself. Sometimes the
establishment thought it was odd. I remember one time on a lunch break
I went to a small bistro. I'd been there before with co-workers but
this time I was alone. The hostess saw a couple standing behind me and
assumed we were together. "Three?" "No, one." ONE? Yes. A table for
one. Got a problem with that?

I brought a book with me. They had a wonderful lunch special that day:
beef tournedos/tenderolin with a magnificent sauce. That beef was fork
tender and delicious.

I never did understand why she thought my dining alone was odd.

> I did do many takeouts...and not just fast food, but I
> won't for the foreseeable future.
>
> Safer to cook at home even with my "crappy RevereWare."
>
LOL My Revereware isn't crappy, either. Guess we're just lucky that way.

Jill

On 8/14/2020 11:00 AM, wrote:
> On Friday, August 14, 2020 at 7:53:25 AM UTC-5, Gary wrote:
>>
>> Before the virus mess, I would never eat in a restaurant
>> by myself. That was a bit weird to me.
>>
> Why would you never eat in a restaurant by yourself? What's weird about
> eating alone? Are you afraid people will point and talk about you if you
> don't have a dining partner?
>
There's nothing weird about eating in a restaurant alone. I've eaten in
many restaurants without anyone else. I've always gotten excellent food
and excellent service. Only in one instance did anyone in the
restaurant point out I was by myself and she was young and clueless.

Jill

On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 11:10:47 AM UTC-5, jmcquown wrote:
>
> On 8/14/2020 11:00 AM, wrote:
> >
> > Why would you never eat in a restaurant by yourself? What's weird about
> > eating alone? Are you afraid people will point and talk about you if you
> > don't have a dining partner?
> >
> There's nothing weird about eating in a restaurant alone. I've eaten in
> many restaurants without anyone else. I've always gotten excellent food
> and excellent service. Only in one instance did anyone in the
> restaurant point out I was by myself and she was young and clueless.
>
> Jill
>
I've never had anyone stare at me either for dining alone. So what if they
did? What're the chances I'll ever see that person again? With the population
of Nashville, that would be 1 in a million. 90% of the other single diners
have their heads stuck in their cell phones so they don't even know I'm in
the restaurant to know that I'm eating alone.

On 2020-08-15 10:01 a.m., jmcquown wrote:
> On 8/14/2020 8:53 AM, Gary wrote:
>> Bruce wrote:
>>> I wonder how many Americans NEVER go to a restaurant.
>>
>> I will guess that most smart Americans don't go to a
>> restaurant currently. Not eat-in or even take-out.
>>
>> Before the virus mess, I would never eat in a restaurant
>> by myself. That was a bit weird to me.
>>
> I've never had a problem dining out by myself.Â* Sometimes the
> establishment thought it was odd.Â* I remember one time on a lunch break
> I went to a small bistro.Â* I'd been there before with co-workers but
> this time I was alone.Â* The hostess saw a couple standing behind me and
> assumed we were together. "Three?" "No, one."Â* ONE?Â* Yes.Â* A table for
> one.Â* Got a problem with that?
>
I wanted to try a new restaurant one evening but was refused even though
it was barely half full.
I never went there after that.

On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 12:35:20 PM UTC-5, graham wrote:
>
> I wanted to try a new restaurant one evening but was refused even though
> it was barely half full.
> I never went there after that.
>
Because you were dining alone???????

On 2020-08-15 11:38 a.m., wrote:
> On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 12:35:20 PM UTC-5, graham wrote:
>>
>> I wanted to try a new restaurant one evening but was refused even though
>> it was barely half full.
>> I never went there after that.
>>
> Because you were dining alone???????
>
There was no other obvious reason! I'd have taken a table meant for 2
even though it almost certainly remained empty for the rest of the evening.

On 2020-08-15 1:35 p.m., graham wrote:
> On 2020-08-15 10:01 a.m., jmcquown wrote:


>> I've never had a problem dining out by myself.Â* Sometimes the
>> establishment thought it was odd.Â* I remember one time on a lunch
>> break I went to a small bistro.Â* I'd been there before with co-workers
>> but this time I was alone.Â* The hostess saw a couple standing behind
>> me and assumed we were together. "Three?" "No, one."Â* ONE?Â* Yes.Â* A
>> table for one.Â* Got a problem with that?
>>
> I wanted to try a new restaurant one evening but was refused even though
> it was barely half full.
> I never went there after that.


I once made the mistake of being insistent at a place that did not want
to let me it. It was in Sudbury Ont. I was up there to deliver some
equipment. The shop loaned me a pickup to get back and forth to my
hotel and out for dinner. I drove around and didn't see any place worth
going to so I went to the restaurant in the hotel across the street. I
was dress in clean blue jeans and a flannel shirt and did not comply
with their dress code. I talked my way it, telling them that I was
staying across the street, did not have a change of clothes and it's
early, just wanted some supper and go back to the motel to sleep.

The let me in. I wished they had not. My filet was just OK. It was
served with tasteless overmashed potatoes frozen mixed vegetables and a
commercially made roll. I was the only one there. It wasn't like some
other diners had come and then decided not to eat they because someone
has admitted the riffraff. They had tried to turn away the only customer
of the evening.
>

On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 12:43:29 PM UTC-5, graham wrote:
>
> On 2020-08-15 11:38 a.m., wrote:
>
> > On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 12:35:20 PM UTC-5, graham wrote:
> >>
> >> I wanted to try a new restaurant one evening but was refused even though
> >> it was barely half full.
> >> I never went there after that.
> >>
> > Because you were dining alone???????
> >
> There was no other obvious reason! I'd have taken a table meant for 2
> even though it almost certainly remained empty for the rest of the evening.
>
Well, that's stupid. They passed up on a paying customer because there
were not two diners using the table; dumb, dumb, dumb. I guess they didn't
realize if the food and service were good you would have been a repeat
customer; thus more money in the till.

On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 09:06:40 -0400, jmcquown >
wrote:

>On 8/13/2020 2:55 PM, U.S. Janet B. wrote:
>> On Thu, 13 Aug 2020 11:48:41 -0400, Sheldon Martin >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On Wed, 12 Aug 2020 21:17:07 -0500, Sqwertz >
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Wed, 12 Aug 2020 12:24:42 -0400, Sheldon Martin wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Quality restaurants bring dressing for the diners to apply themselves,
>>>>
>>>> Quality restaurants dress and toss the salad for you. Denny's and
>>>> Bobs Big Boy put it on the side.
>>>>
>>>>> even so-so restaurnats bring the dressing asked for or bring assorted
>>>>> packets of dressings... you're obviously used to dinning in grade
>>>>> school lunchrooms.
>>>>
>>>> Heh. Packets of dressings are reserved for FAST FOOD ONLY.
>>>>
>>>> -sw
>>>
>>> So says the Fast Food maven. Most high end restaurants offer a
>>> selection of packets... actually packets are far more sanitary than a
>>> crowd dipping out dressings from tubs... same is true for all
>>> condiments, including butter pats, coffee creamer, jams, syrups, etc.
>>> Also costs less as there's far less waste/spoilage.
>>
>> Never, never, never. That's no high end restaurant.
>> Janet US
>>
>I'd love to know Sheldon's definition of a "high end restaurant".
>
>Jill

That's easy, when the check arrives it averages over $100 per person
because you're paying more for the furnishings and overhead (rent +
utilities, ins., laundry, etc) than for the food... most of any
restaurant bill is for their profit. When I want a good steak I'll
buy it at the local butcher and cook it myself... I've never in my
life gotten a decent steak at any restaurant. No defrosted steak is
good for anything besides stewp.

On 2020-08-15 2:27 p.m., wrote:
> On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 12:43:29 PM UTC-5, graham wrote:

>> There was no other obvious reason! I'd have taken a table meant for 2
>> even though it almost certainly remained empty for the rest of the evening.
>>
> Well, that's stupid. They passed up on a paying customer because there
> were not two diners using the table; dumb, dumb, dumb. I guess they didn't
> realize if the food and service were good you would have been a repeat
> customer; thus more money in the till.

There is an almost local place that is extremely popular. I am surprised
that they have no expanded. Every summer that city has a festival in
early August and there is a huge line up to get in. We were waiting
for a table for two an were expecting a long wait. because they only
have two two seat tables. There was a couple with two teenage kids
waiting for a table for four. All that was available was a table for 6.
They asked us if we wanted to join them so we could get that table right
away. It worked out They were really nice people.

On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 09:41:36 -0400, jmcquown >
wrote:

>On 8/14/2020 10:02 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>> On Friday, August 14, 2020 at 9:31:44 AM UTC-4, graham wrote:
>>> On 2020-08-14 6:54 a.m., Dave Smith wrote:
>>>> On 2020-08-14 12:02 a.m., graham wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>> I do not diss Denny's BTW.* If you just wanted a simple fast fix, they
>>>>>> worked. Don likes their cheeseburger plate.* I like the simple
>>>>>> breaskfast plates.* Not Haute cuisine, but then you do not go to
>>>>>> Denny's for that.
>>>>>>
>>>>> You won't find S&P on the table at a high-end restaurant!
>>>>
>>>> They seem to prefer to have a server come around with a huge spectacle
>>>> of a pepper grinder.
>>>
>>> Not in a high end restaurant!!
>>
>> We're probably starting to tie our shoelaces together over what a high-end
>> restaurant is. Some of us are probably thinking "expensive" while others
>> are thinking "Classic French, four- or five-star". The two sets are
>> not identical. You can spend a stupid amount of money at one of those
>> American steakhouses where everything is a la carte and the food is
>> no better than you could have at home (if you had a source for Prime beef).
>>
>> Cindy Hamilton
>>
>Don't get me started on a la carte. Once upon a time I won a $100 gift
>certificate for Ruth's Chris Steak House. (Sorry, $10 is waaaay too much
>for a baked potato, I don't care what you "load it" with. Ditto $11 for
>shoestring fries to go with the ridiculously priced petite filet.) As
>to Sheldon's ill-informed notion of "packets" of salad dressing, of
>course not.
>
>Jill

I'll bet if you opened your fridge there'd be a bowl of packets you
lifted from some fast food joint.

On 8/15/2020 10:00 AM, Dave Smith wrote:
> On 2020-08-15 9:41 a.m., jmcquown wrote:
>> On 8/14/2020 10:02 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>
>>> We're probably starting to tie our shoelaces together over what a
>>> high-end
>> Don't get me started on a la carte.Â* Once upon a time I won a $100
>> gift certificate for Ruth's Chris Steak House. (Sorry, $10 is waaaay
>> too much for a baked potato, I don't care what you "load it" with.
>> Ditto $11 for shoestring fries to go with the ridiculously priced
>> petite filet.)Â* As to Sheldon's ill-informed notion of "packets" of
>> salad dressing, of course not.
>>
>
> I never did appreciate the concept. Sure, it is nice to have your choice
> of sides sometimes rather than having the kitchen send out a formulated
> meal that might have things you don't like. The problem is the way they
> nickel and dime you, and there needs to be a similar way of saying that
> involving super inflation.Â*Â* I have been in a couple places where they
> do that.Â* You order a steak and pay as much or more for that steak than
> you would for a steak anywhere else, but then the potato, and vegetable
> sides add up to almost as much as the steak. No thanks.
>
>
IIRC it was a $50 steak I could have bought (even Prime grade) for $20
and I'd never pay that much for potato sides or salads or dessert. No
salad dressing in "packets", that's for sure.

Jill

"dsi1" wrote in message
...

On Friday, August 14, 2020 at 3:31:44 AM UTC-10, graham wrote:
> On 2020-08-14 6:54 a.m., Dave Smith wrote:
> > On 2020-08-14 12:02 a.m., graham wrote:
> >
> >>> I do not diss Denny's BTW. If you just wanted a simple fast fix, they
> >>> worked. Don likes their cheeseburger plate. I like the simple
> >>> breaskfast plates. Not Haute cuisine, but then you do not go to
> >>> Denny's for that.
> >>>
> >> You won't find S&P on the table at a high-end restaurant!
> >
> > They seem to prefer to have a server come around with a huge spectacle
> > of a pepper grinder.
>
> Not in a high end restaurant!!

The locals here love to go to restaurants. A lot of people don't have time
to cook and it's great being able to get out of our tiny grass shack and sit
with the clan. We don't often to go to fancy restaurants. Mostly, that's for
tourists. We took our dad for his birthday at a fancy Waikiki restaurant.
That was a pretty good idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbVPliErGi8

=====

Have you tried that beer??

On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 07:09:09 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
> wrote:

>On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 9:41:42 AM UTC-4, jmcquown wrote:
>> On 8/14/2020 10:02 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>> > On Friday, August 14, 2020 at 9:31:44 AM UTC-4, graham wrote:
>> >> On 2020-08-14 6:54 a.m., Dave Smith wrote:
>> >>> On 2020-08-14 12:02 a.m., graham wrote:
>> >>>
>> >>>>> I do not diss Denny's BTW.* If you just wanted a simple fast fix, they
>> >>>>> worked. Don likes their cheeseburger plate.* I like the simple
>> >>>>> breaskfast plates.* Not Haute cuisine, but then you do not go to
>> >>>>> Denny's for that.
>> >>>>>
>> >>>> You won't find S&P on the table at a high-end restaurant!
>> >>>
>> >>> They seem to prefer to have a server come around with a huge spectacle
>> >>> of a pepper grinder.
>> >>
>> >> Not in a high end restaurant!!
>> >
>> > We're probably starting to tie our shoelaces together over what a high-end
>> > restaurant is. Some of us are probably thinking "expensive" while others
>> > are thinking "Classic French, four- or five-star". The two sets are
>> > not identical. You can spend a stupid amount of money at one of those
>> > American steakhouses where everything is a la carte and the food is
>> > no better than you could have at home (if you had a source for Prime beef).
>> >
>> > Cindy Hamilton
>> >
>> Don't get me started on a la carte. Once upon a time I won a $100 gift
>> certificate for Ruth's Chris Steak House. (Sorry, $10 is waaaay too much
>> for a baked potato, I don't care what you "load it" with. Ditto $11 for
>> shoestring fries to go with the ridiculously priced petite filet.) As
>> to Sheldon's ill-informed notion of "packets" of salad dressing, of
>> course not.
>>
>> Jill
>
>What's their other famous side dish? Creamed spinach? Anybody
>can make that.
>
>Cindy Hamilton

My favorite creamed spinach was from Horn And Hardart... now I make my
own from home grown Swiss chard or from frozen spinach. Actually I
considered Horn And Hardart a top drawer restaurant. At one time
there were several cafeteria style eateries in NYC that put any of
todays high priced eateries to shame; Garfields served fantastic food
at reasonable cost.

On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 11:21:46 -0400, jmcquown >
wrote:

>On 8/14/2020 5:47 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>> On Thursday, August 13, 2020 at 11:06:02 PM UTC-4, cshenk wrote:
>>> Taxed and Spent wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 8/13/2020 11:55 AM, U.S. Janet B. wrote:
>>>>> On Thu, 13 Aug 2020 11:48:41 -0400, Sheldon Martin
>>>>> > wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On Wed, 12 Aug 2020 21:17:07 -0500, Sqwertz
>>>>>> > wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Wed, 12 Aug 2020 12:24:42 -0400, Sheldon Martin wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Quality restaurants bring dressing for the diners to apply
>>>>>>>> themselves,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Quality restaurants dress and toss the salad for you. Denny's
>>>>>>> and Bobs Big Boy put it on the side.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> even so-so restaurnats bring the dressing asked for or bring
>>>>>>>> assorted packets of dressings... you're obviously used to
>>>>>>>> dinning in grade school lunchrooms.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Heh. Packets of dressings are reserved for FAST FOOD ONLY.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> -sw
>>>>>>
>>>>>> So says the Fast Food maven. Most high end restaurants offer a
>>>>>> selection of packets... actually packets are far more sanitary
>>>>>> than a crowd dipping out dressings from tubs... same is true for
>>>>>> all condiments, including butter pats, coffee creamer, jams,
>>>>>> syrups, etc. Also costs less as there's far less waste/spoilage.
>>>>>
>>>>> Never, never, never. That's no high end restaurant.
>>>>> Janet US
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Janet, you are wrong. Sheldon knows because his Uncle Jed told him
>>>> all about those fancy-eatin places.
>>>
>>> LOL!
>>>
>>> I am not really sure if Sheldon ever ate at a true high end place.
>>> Pre-Covid, even Denny's didn't use packets except for sweet-n-low type
>>> stuff and jelly. NOT for salad dressings. They are not high-end,
>>> being just one level above fastfood McDonalds types.
>>
>> Denny's gets their salad dressing out of a gallon jar from the
>> food service supplier, even if it arrives at the table in one
>> of those little plastic cups.
>>
>> Cindy Hamilton
>>
>I've only ever been to one Denny's and that was in Memphis. The service
>was horrific. We didn't stay long enough to get our meal.
>
>Jill

Consider yourself fortunate, Dennys is an outhouse.

"songbird" wrote in message ...

wrote:
....
> I don't get this squeamishness for eating alone in a restaurant. Are
> y'all
> terrified someone is going to look at you? Or embarrassed to be alone
> at a restaurant? Do you think the world will view you as losers since you
> don't have a dining partner?

you should see the entire restaurant applaud when i
lift the soup bowl and slurp the last drops. then i
stand up and take a bow.

actually, no, i don't eat out often at all, let alone,
err, well, alone...


songbird

===

lol

On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 14:30:44 -0400, Sheldon Martin >
wrote:

>On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 09:06:40 -0400, jmcquown >
>wrote:
>
>>On 8/13/2020 2:55 PM, U.S. Janet B. wrote:
>>> On Thu, 13 Aug 2020 11:48:41 -0400, Sheldon Martin >
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Wed, 12 Aug 2020 21:17:07 -0500, Sqwertz >
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, 12 Aug 2020 12:24:42 -0400, Sheldon Martin wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Quality restaurants bring dressing for the diners to apply themselves,
>>>>>
>>>>> Quality restaurants dress and toss the salad for you. Denny's and
>>>>> Bobs Big Boy put it on the side.
>>>>>
>>>>>> even so-so restaurnats bring the dressing asked for or bring assorted
>>>>>> packets of dressings... you're obviously used to dinning in grade
>>>>>> school lunchrooms.
>>>>>
>>>>> Heh. Packets of dressings are reserved for FAST FOOD ONLY.
>>>>>
>>>>> -sw
>>>>
>>>> So says the Fast Food maven. Most high end restaurants offer a
>>>> selection of packets... actually packets are far more sanitary than a
>>>> crowd dipping out dressings from tubs... same is true for all
>>>> condiments, including butter pats, coffee creamer, jams, syrups, etc.
>>>> Also costs less as there's far less waste/spoilage.
>>>
>>> Never, never, never. That's no high end restaurant.
>>> Janet US
>>>
>>I'd love to know Sheldon's definition of a "high end restaurant".
>>
>>Jill
>
>That's easy, when the check arrives it averages over $100 per person
>because you're paying more for the furnishings and overhead (rent +
>utilities, ins., laundry, etc) than for the food... most of any
>restaurant bill is for their profit. When I want a good steak I'll
>buy it at the local butcher and cook it myself... I've never in my
>life gotten a decent steak at any restaurant. No defrosted steak is
>good for anything besides stewp.

"stewp
not quite stew but not quite soup either.
A watery stew
When we were camping the beef stew was more like a stewp than a stew."
<https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=stewp>

"S Viemeister" wrote in message ...

On 14/08/2020 19:35, Bruce wrote:
> On Fri, 14 Aug 2020 12:30:46 -0600, graham > wrote:
>> On 2020-08-14 12:08 p.m., U.S. Janet B. wrote:
>>> I hate that word, 'curated.' There is no limit these days as to what
>>> is called curated.
>>> Sheldon, look it up.
>> I hate that too! It has been taken up by the restaurant industry after
>> one of the members must have visited a museum.
>
> It has nothing to do with food, but I hate "moving forward".
>
If I hear one more politician or newsperson use the phrase 'in terms
of', steam will come out of my ears. Oh - perhaps that's why there's
condensation on my windows...

===

lol

"U.S. Janet B." wrote in message
...

On Fri, 14 Aug 2020 09:41:48 -0500, Sqwertz >
wrote:

>On Thu, 13 Aug 2020 22:02:55 -0600, graham wrote:
>
>> You won't find S&P on the table at a high-end restaurant!
>
>It's all fancy 'curated' salts now. They now have separate salt
>menus that you order from like a wine list, some as much as $120 a
>gram. And a 'Salmelier' to help you chose the salts that are most
>compatible with your dishes. Then they weigh out your salts on a
>triple beam scale table-side.
>
>-sw

I hate that word, 'curated.' There is no limit these days as to what
is called curated.
Sheldon, look it up.
Janet US

====

LOL I was a Museum Curator and I can't get my head about using 'curator' in
such strange ways

On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 14:54:57 -0400, Sheldon Martin >
wrote:

>On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 07:09:09 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
> wrote:
>
>>On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 9:41:42 AM UTC-4, jmcquown wrote:

>>> Don't get me started on a la carte. Once upon a time I won a $100 gift
>>> certificate for Ruth's Chris Steak House. (Sorry, $10 is waaaay too much
>>> for a baked potato, I don't care what you "load it" with. Ditto $11 for
>>> shoestring fries to go with the ridiculously priced petite filet.) As
>>> to Sheldon's ill-informed notion of "packets" of salad dressing, of
>>> course not.
>>>
>>> Jill
>>
>>What's their other famous side dish? Creamed spinach? Anybody
>>can make that.
>>
>>Cindy Hamilton
>
>My favorite creamed spinach was from Horn And Hardart... now I make my
>own from home grown Swiss chard or from frozen spinach. Actually I
>considered Horn And Hardart a top drawer restaurant.

So they exist after all? The only possible explanation could be that
they were Jewish.

On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 14:58:16 -0400, Sheldon Martin >
wrote:

>On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 11:21:46 -0400, jmcquown >
>wrote:
>
>>On 8/14/2020 5:47 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>>> On Thursday, August 13, 2020 at 11:06:02 PM UTC-4, cshenk wrote:
>>>> Taxed and Spent wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On 8/13/2020 11:55 AM, U.S. Janet B. wrote:
>>>>>> On Thu, 13 Aug 2020 11:48:41 -0400, Sheldon Martin
>>>>>> > wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Wed, 12 Aug 2020 21:17:07 -0500, Sqwertz
>>>>>>> > wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Wed, 12 Aug 2020 12:24:42 -0400, Sheldon Martin wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Quality restaurants bring dressing for the diners to apply
>>>>>>>>> themselves,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Quality restaurants dress and toss the salad for you. Denny's
>>>>>>>> and Bobs Big Boy put it on the side.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> even so-so restaurnats bring the dressing asked for or bring
>>>>>>>>> assorted packets of dressings... you're obviously used to
>>>>>>>>> dinning in grade school lunchrooms.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Heh. Packets of dressings are reserved for FAST FOOD ONLY.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> -sw
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> So says the Fast Food maven. Most high end restaurants offer a
>>>>>>> selection of packets... actually packets are far more sanitary
>>>>>>> than a crowd dipping out dressings from tubs... same is true for
>>>>>>> all condiments, including butter pats, coffee creamer, jams,
>>>>>>> syrups, etc. Also costs less as there's far less waste/spoilage.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Never, never, never. That's no high end restaurant.
>>>>>> Janet US
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Janet, you are wrong. Sheldon knows because his Uncle Jed told him
>>>>> all about those fancy-eatin places.
>>>>
>>>> LOL!
>>>>
>>>> I am not really sure if Sheldon ever ate at a true high end place.
>>>> Pre-Covid, even Denny's didn't use packets except for sweet-n-low type
>>>> stuff and jelly. NOT for salad dressings. They are not high-end,
>>>> being just one level above fastfood McDonalds types.
>>>
>>> Denny's gets their salad dressing out of a gallon jar from the
>>> food service supplier, even if it arrives at the table in one
>>> of those little plastic cups.
>>>
>>> Cindy Hamilton
>>>
>>I've only ever been to one Denny's and that was in Memphis. The service
>>was horrific. We didn't stay long enough to get our meal.
>>
>>Jill
>
>Consider yourself fortunate, Dennys is an outhouse.

Don't say that in front of dsi1. It's very popular with Hawaiians.

On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 2:39:35 PM UTC-4, wrote:
> On 8/15/2020 10:00 AM, Dave Smith wrote:
> > On 2020-08-15 9:41 a.m., jmcquown wrote:
> >> On 8/14/2020 10:02 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> >
> >>> We're probably starting to tie our shoelaces together over what a
> >>> high-end
> >> Don't get me started on a la carte. Once upon a time I won a $100
> >> gift certificate for Ruth's Chris Steak House. (Sorry, $10 is waaaay
> >> too much for a baked potato, I don't care what you "load it" with.
> >> Ditto $11 for shoestring fries to go with the ridiculously priced
> >> petite filet.) As to Sheldon's ill-informed notion of "packets" of
> >> salad dressing, of course not.
> >>
> >
> > I never did appreciate the concept. Sure, it is nice to have your choice
> > of sides sometimes rather than having the kitchen send out a formulated
> > meal that might have things you don't like. The problem is the way they
> > nickel and dime you, and there needs to be a similar way of saying that
> > involving super inflation. I have been in a couple places where they
> > do that. You order a steak and pay as much or more for that steak than
> > you would for a steak anywhere else, but then the potato, and vegetable
> > sides add up to almost as much as the steak. No thanks.
> >
> >
> IIRC it was a $50 steak I could have bought (even Prime grade) for $20
> and I'd never pay that much for potato sides or salads or dessert. No
> salad dressing in "packets", that's for sure.
>
> Jill

Generally, the markup on restaurant meals is 300% (over their wholesale costs) to cover
all the incidentals the come with the meal, from the maitre d' to the dish detergent.
Of course at places where you're paying for the name or the ambience, the markup
is more. At places without either (your local diner), it might be a little less.

Cindy Hamilton

On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 3:29:02 PM UTC-4, Bruce wrote:
> On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 14:54:57 -0400, Sheldon Martin >
> wrote:
> >On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 07:09:09 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
> > wrote:
> >
> >>On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 9:41:42 AM UTC-4, jmcquown wrote:
>
> >>> Don't get me started on a la carte. Once upon a time I won a $100 gift
> >>> certificate for Ruth's Chris Steak House. (Sorry, $10 is waaaay too much
> >>> for a baked potato, I don't care what you "load it" with. Ditto $11 for
> >>> shoestring fries to go with the ridiculously priced petite filet.) As
> >>> to Sheldon's ill-informed notion of "packets" of salad dressing, of
> >>> course not.
> >>>
> >>> Jill
> >>
> >>What's their other famous side dish? Creamed spinach? Anybody
> >>can make that.
> >>
> >>Cindy Hamilton
> >
> >My favorite creamed spinach was from Horn And Hardart... now I make my
> >own from home grown Swiss chard or from frozen spinach. Actually I
> >considered Horn And Hardart a top drawer restaurant.
> So they exist after all? The only possible explanation could be that
> they were Jewish.

Now we have the information we've been looking for. Sheldon considers top drawer
to be a restaurant where the food is behind small glass doors and you put coins in the
slot to get the door to open.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horn_%26_Hardart>

Cindy Hamilton

On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 8:51:34 AM UTC-10, Ophelia wrote:
> "dsi1" wrote in message
> ...
>
> On Friday, August 14, 2020 at 3:31:44 AM UTC-10, graham wrote:
> > On 2020-08-14 6:54 a.m., Dave Smith wrote:
> > > On 2020-08-14 12:02 a.m., graham wrote:
> > >
> > >>> I do not diss Denny's BTW. If you just wanted a simple fast fix, they
> > >>> worked. Don likes their cheeseburger plate. I like the simple
> > >>> breaskfast plates. Not Haute cuisine, but then you do not go to
> > >>> Denny's for that.
> > >>>
> > >> You won't find S&P on the table at a high-end restaurant!
> > >
> > > They seem to prefer to have a server come around with a huge spectacle
> > > of a pepper grinder.
> >
> > Not in a high end restaurant!!
>
> The locals here love to go to restaurants. A lot of people don't have time
> to cook and it's great being able to get out of our tiny grass shack and sit
> with the clan. We don't often to go to fancy restaurants. Mostly, that's for
> tourists. We took our dad for his birthday at a fancy Waikiki restaurant.
> That was a pretty good idea.
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbVPliErGi8
>
> =====
>
> Have you tried that beer??

I did not try it but it seems like of silly to me. I suppose it's a lot of fun though. It's the opposite of your beer - light and really cold.

We've been watching some Brit TV and in a couple of them, the home owner says "would you like a cup of coffee?" What the heck is that about?

In some of the programs, people will speak Welsh. That's like Hawaii where the young people are taking to speaking Hawaiian. That's interesting.

On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 12:43:03 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
> wrote:

>On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 3:29:02 PM UTC-4, Bruce wrote:
>> On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 14:54:57 -0400, Sheldon Martin >
>> wrote:
>> >On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 07:09:09 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> >>On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 9:41:42 AM UTC-4, jmcquown wrote:
>>
>> >>> Don't get me started on a la carte. Once upon a time I won a $100 gift
>> >>> certificate for Ruth's Chris Steak House. (Sorry, $10 is waaaay too much
>> >>> for a baked potato, I don't care what you "load it" with. Ditto $11 for
>> >>> shoestring fries to go with the ridiculously priced petite filet.) As
>> >>> to Sheldon's ill-informed notion of "packets" of salad dressing, of
>> >>> course not.
>> >>>
>> >>> Jill
>> >>
>> >>What's their other famous side dish? Creamed spinach? Anybody
>> >>can make that.
>> >>
>> >>Cindy Hamilton
>> >
>> >My favorite creamed spinach was from Horn And Hardart... now I make my
>> >own from home grown Swiss chard or from frozen spinach. Actually I
>> >considered Horn And Hardart a top drawer restaurant.
>> So they exist after all? The only possible explanation could be that
>> they were Jewish.
>
>Now we have the information we've been looking for. Sheldon considers top drawer
>to be a restaurant where the food is behind small glass doors and you put coins in the
>slot to get the door to open.
>
><https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horn_%26_Hardart>

LOL

Here's the Dutch version, "eating from the wall":
<https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ff/9e/9b/ff9e9bad2eb3e16fbd5330cdd11dd521.jpg>

Dave Smith wrote:
> On 2020-08-15 1:35 p.m., graham wrote:
>> On 2020-08-15 10:01 a.m., jmcquown wrote:
>
>
>>> I've never had a problem dining out by myself.Â* Sometimes the
>>> establishment thought it was odd.Â* I remember one time on a
>>> lunch break I went to a small bistro.Â* I'd been there before
>>> with co-workers but this time I was alone.Â* The hostess saw a
>>> couple standing behind me and assumed we were together. "Three?"
>>> "No, one."Â* ONE?Â* Yes.Â* A table for one.Â* Got a problem with
>>> that?
>>>
>> I wanted to try a new restaurant one evening but was refused even
>> though it was barely half full.
>> I never went there after that.
>
>
> I once made the mistake of being insistent at a place that did not
> want to let me it. It was in Sudbury Ont. I was up there to deliver
> some equipment.* The shop loaned me a pickup to get back and forth
> to my hotel and out for dinner. I drove around and didn't see any
> place worth going to so I went to the restaurant in the hotel
> across the street.* I was dress in clean blue jeans and a flannel
> shirt and did not comply with their dress code. I talked my way it,
> telling them that I was staying across the street, did not have a
> change of clothes and it's early, just wanted some supper and go
> back to the motel to sleep.
>
> The let me in.

They saw your pickup truck and were afraid you'd shoot up the
place. They mistook you for a degenerate evil american.

Then, they cooked up the worst possible grub for you.

Just ask Popeye, he gets treated like that at every restaurant.

"dsi1" wrote in message
...

On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 8:51:34 AM UTC-10, Ophelia wrote:
> "dsi1" wrote in message
> ...
>
> On Friday, August 14, 2020 at 3:31:44 AM UTC-10, graham wrote:
> > On 2020-08-14 6:54 a.m., Dave Smith wrote:
> > > On 2020-08-14 12:02 a.m., graham wrote:
> > >
> > >>> I do not diss Denny's BTW. If you just wanted a simple fast fix,
> > >>> they
> > >>> worked. Don likes their cheeseburger plate. I like the simple
> > >>> breaskfast plates. Not Haute cuisine, but then you do not go to
> > >>> Denny's for that.
> > >>>
> > >> You won't find S&P on the table at a high-end restaurant!
> > >
> > > They seem to prefer to have a server come around with a huge spectacle
> > > of a pepper grinder.
> >
> > Not in a high end restaurant!!
>
> The locals here love to go to restaurants. A lot of people don't have time
> to cook and it's great being able to get out of our tiny grass shack and
> sit
> with the clan. We don't often to go to fancy restaurants. Mostly, that's
> for
> tourists. We took our dad for his birthday at a fancy Waikiki restaurant.
> That was a pretty good idea.
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbVPliErGi8
>
> =====
>
> Have you tried that beer??

I did not try it but it seems like of silly to me. I suppose it's a lot of
fun though. It's the opposite of your beer - light and really cold.

We've been watching some Brit TV and in a couple of them, the home owner
says "would you like a cup of coffee?" What the heck is that about?

In some of the programs, people will speak Welsh. That's like Hawaii where
the young people are taking to speaking Hawaiian. That's interesting.

===

What is strange about asking a visitor if they would like a cup of
coffee??

On Sat, Aug 15 2020 12:43 p.m., -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
> wrote:
>On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 3:29:02 PM UTC-4, Bruce wrote:
>> On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 14:54:57 -0400, Sheldon Martin >
>> wrote:
>> >On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 07:09:09 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> >>On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 9:41:42 AM UTC-4, jmcquown wrote:
>>
>> >>> Don't get me started on a la carte. Once upon a time I won a $100 gift
>> >>> certificate for Ruth's Chris Steak House. (Sorry, $10 is waaaay too much
>> >>> for a baked potato, I don't care what you "load it" with. Ditto $11 for
>> >>> shoestring fries to go with the ridiculously priced petite filet.) As
>> >>> to Sheldon's ill-informed notion of "packets" of salad dressing, of
>> >>> course not.
>> >>>
>> >>> Jill
>> >>
>> >>What's their other famous side dish? Creamed spinach? Anybody
>> >>can make that.
>> >>
>> >>Cindy Hamilton
>> >
>> >My favorite creamed spinach was from Horn And Hardart... now I make my
>> >own from home grown Swiss chard or from frozen spinach. Actually I
>> >considered Horn And Hardart a top drawer restaurant.
>> So they exist after all? The only possible explanation could be that
>> they were Jewish.
>
>Now we have the information we've been looking for. Sheldon considers top drawer
>to be a restaurant where the food is behind small glass doors and you put coins in the
>slot to get the door to open.
>
><https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horn_%26_Hardart>

Top drawer is a private club in Monaco, Davos or Lichtenstein. Or some other ancient principality that you or I will probably never get to see... if that.

Sheldon Martin wrote:
> On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 09:06:40 -0400, jmcquown >
> wrote:
>
>> On 8/13/2020 2:55 PM, U.S. Janet B. wrote:
>>> On Thu, 13 Aug 2020 11:48:41 -0400, Sheldon Martin >
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Wed, 12 Aug 2020 21:17:07 -0500, Sqwertz >
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, 12 Aug 2020 12:24:42 -0400, Sheldon Martin wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Quality restaurants bring dressing for the diners to apply themselves,
>>>>>
>>>>> Quality restaurants dress and toss the salad for you. Denny's and
>>>>> Bobs Big Boy put it on the side.
>>>>>
>>>>>> even so-so restaurnats bring the dressing asked for or bring assorted
>>>>>> packets of dressings... you're obviously used to dinning in grade
>>>>>> school lunchrooms.
>>>>>
>>>>> Heh. Packets of dressings are reserved for FAST FOOD ONLY.
>>>>>
>>>>> -sw
>>>>
>>>> So says the Fast Food maven. Most high end restaurants offer a
>>>> selection of packets... actually packets are far more sanitary than a
>>>> crowd dipping out dressings from tubs... same is true for all
>>>> condiments, including butter pats, coffee creamer, jams, syrups, etc.
>>>> Also costs less as there's far less waste/spoilage.
>>>
>>> Never, never, never. That's no high end restaurant.
>>> Janet US
>>>
>> I'd love to know Sheldon's definition of a "high end restaurant".
>>
>> Jill
>
> That's easy, when the check arrives it averages over $100 per person
> because you're paying more for the furnishings and overhead (rent +
> utilities, ins., laundry, etc) than for the food... most of any
> restaurant bill is for their profit. When I want a good steak I'll
> buy it at the local butcher and cook it myself... I've never in my
> life gotten a decent steak at any restaurant. No defrosted steak is
> good for anything besides stewp.
>

Amen Popeye! But what the hell is stewp? Must be a jew new york
thing? Maybe only old sailors eat stewp?

Maybe some kind of kosher weenie?

Sheldon Martin wrote:
> On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 09:41:36 -0400, jmcquown >
> wrote:
>
>> On 8/14/2020 10:02 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>>> On Friday, August 14, 2020 at 9:31:44 AM UTC-4, graham wrote:
>>>> On 2020-08-14 6:54 a.m., Dave Smith wrote:
>>>>> On 2020-08-14 12:02 a.m., graham wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>> I do not diss Denny's BTW.* If you just wanted a simple fast fix, they
>>>>>>> worked. Don likes their cheeseburger plate.* I like the simple
>>>>>>> breaskfast plates.* Not Haute cuisine, but then you do not go to
>>>>>>> Denny's for that.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> You won't find S&P on the table at a high-end restaurant!
>>>>>
>>>>> They seem to prefer to have a server come around with a huge spectacle
>>>>> of a pepper grinder.
>>>>
>>>> Not in a high end restaurant!!
>>>
>>> We're probably starting to tie our shoelaces together over what a high-end
>>> restaurant is. Some of us are probably thinking "expensive" while others
>>> are thinking "Classic French, four- or five-star". The two sets are
>>> not identical. You can spend a stupid amount of money at one of those
>>> American steakhouses where everything is a la carte and the food is
>>> no better than you could have at home (if you had a source for Prime beef).
>>>
>>> Cindy Hamilton
>>>
>> Don't get me started on a la carte. Once upon a time I won a $100 gift
>> certificate for Ruth's Chris Steak House. (Sorry, $10 is waaaay too much
>> for a baked potato, I don't care what you "load it" with. Ditto $11 for
>> shoestring fries to go with the ridiculously priced petite filet.) As
>> to Sheldon's ill-informed notion of "packets" of salad dressing, of
>> course not.
>>
>> Jill
>
> I'll bet if you opened your fridge there'd be a bowl of packets you
> lifted from some fast food joint.
>
>

She doesn't dine at the gold coin Popeye!

Sheldon Martin wrote:
> On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 07:09:09 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
> > wrote:
>
>> On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 9:41:42 AM UTC-4, jmcquown wrote:
>>> On 8/14/2020 10:02 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>>>> On Friday, August 14, 2020 at 9:31:44 AM UTC-4, graham wrote:
>>>>> On 2020-08-14 6:54 a.m., Dave Smith wrote:
>>>>>> On 2020-08-14 12:02 a.m., graham wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I do not diss Denny's BTW.* If you just wanted a simple fast fix, they
>>>>>>>> worked. Don likes their cheeseburger plate.* I like the simple
>>>>>>>> breaskfast plates.* Not Haute cuisine, but then you do not go to
>>>>>>>> Denny's for that.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> You won't find S&P on the table at a high-end restaurant!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> They seem to prefer to have a server come around with a huge spectacle
>>>>>> of a pepper grinder.
>>>>>
>>>>> Not in a high end restaurant!!
>>>>
>>>> We're probably starting to tie our shoelaces together over what a high-end
>>>> restaurant is. Some of us are probably thinking "expensive" while others
>>>> are thinking "Classic French, four- or five-star". The two sets are
>>>> not identical. You can spend a stupid amount of money at one of those
>>>> American steakhouses where everything is a la carte and the food is
>>>> no better than you could have at home (if you had a source for Prime beef).
>>>>
>>>> Cindy Hamilton
>>>>
>>> Don't get me started on a la carte. Once upon a time I won a $100 gift
>>> certificate for Ruth's Chris Steak House. (Sorry, $10 is waaaay too much
>>> for a baked potato, I don't care what you "load it" with. Ditto $11 for
>>> shoestring fries to go with the ridiculously priced petite filet.) As
>>> to Sheldon's ill-informed notion of "packets" of salad dressing, of
>>> course not.
>>>
>>> Jill
>>
>> What's their other famous side dish? Creamed spinach? Anybody
>> can make that.
>>
>> Cindy Hamilton
>
> My favorite creamed spinach was from Horn And Hardart... now I make my
> own from home grown Swiss chard or from frozen spinach. Actually I
> considered Horn And Hardart a top drawer restaurant. At one time
> there were several cafeteria style eateries in NYC that put any of
> todays high priced eateries to shame; Garfields served fantastic food
> at reasonable cost.
>

Popeye, it goes without saying ... EVERYTHING in NYC is top notch.

We know that.

THE FINEST SHIT IN THE UNIVERSE, We understand that.

Can you please give the NYC stuff a rest?

Maybe yoose could go back to the simple sex stories. Maybe some
navy stories? Maybe re-tell the story of ****ing your mother-in-law?

Or your aunt ... I always liked that story.

Bruce wrote:
> On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 14:54:57 -0400, Sheldon Martin >
> wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 07:09:09 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 9:41:42 AM UTC-4, jmcquown wrote:
>
>>>> Don't get me started on a la carte. Once upon a time I won a $100 gift
>>>> certificate for Ruth's Chris Steak House. (Sorry, $10 is waaaay too much
>>>> for a baked potato, I don't care what you "load it" with. Ditto $11 for
>>>> shoestring fries to go with the ridiculously priced petite filet.) As
>>>> to Sheldon's ill-informed notion of "packets" of salad dressing, of
>>>> course not.
>>>>
>>>> Jill
>>>
>>> What's their other famous side dish? Creamed spinach? Anybody
>>> can make that.
>>>
>>> Cindy Hamilton
>>
>> My favorite creamed spinach was from Horn And Hardart... now I make my
>> own from home grown Swiss chard or from frozen spinach. Actually I
>> considered Horn And Hardart a top drawer restaurant.
>
> So they exist after all? The only possible explanation could be that
> they were Jewish.
>

I wouldn't eat Popeye's creamed anything. Most jews wouldn't eat
anything the sorry ******* touched.

What he does is forbidden for all jews.

Ophelia wrote:
> "songbird"* wrote in message ...
>
> wrote:
> ...
>> I don't get this squeamishness for eating alone in a restaurant.
>> Are y'all
>> terrified someone is going to look at you?* Or embarrassed to be
>> alone
>> at a restaurant?* Do you think the world will view you as losers
>> since you
>> don't have a dining partner?
>
> *you should see the entire restaurant applaud when i
> lift the soup bowl and slurp the last drops.* then i
> stand up and take a bow.
>
> *actually, no, i don't eat out often at all, let alone,
> err, well, alone...
>
>
> *songbird
>
> ===
>
> lol
>
>

Nyuk nyuk nyuk!

LOL!

Ophelia wrote:
> "S Viemeister"* wrote in message
> ...
> On 14/08/2020 19:35, Bruce wrote:
>> On Fri, 14 Aug 2020 12:30:46 -0600, graham > wrote:
>>> On 2020-08-14 12:08 p.m., U.S. Janet B. wrote:
>>>> I hate that word, 'curated.'* There is no limit these days as
>>>> to what
>>>> is called curated.
>>>> Sheldon, look it up.
>>> I hate that too! It has been taken up by the restaurant industry
>>> after
>>> one of the members must have visited a museum.
>>
>> It has nothing to do with food, but I hate "moving forward".
>>
> If I hear one more politician or newsperson use the phrase 'in
> terms of', steam will come out of my ears. Oh - perhaps that's why
> there's condensation on my windows...
>
> ===
>
> lol
>
>

Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk!

Ophelia wrote:
> "U.S. Janet B."* wrote in message
> ...
>
> On Fri, 14 Aug 2020 09:41:48 -0500, Sqwertz >
> wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 13 Aug 2020 22:02:55 -0600, graham wrote:
>>
>>> You won't find S&P on the table at a high-end restaurant!
>>
>> It's all fancy 'curated' salts now. They now have separate salt
>> menus that you order from like a wine list, some as much as $120 a
>> gram. And a 'Salmelier' to help you chose the salts that are most
>> compatible with your dishes. Then they weigh out your salts on a
>> triple beam scale table-side.
>>
>> -sw
>
> I hate that word, 'curated.'* There is no limit these days as to what
> is called curated.
> Sheldon, look it up.
> Janet US
>
> ====
>
> LOL I was a Museum Curator and I can't get my head about using
> 'curator' in such strange ways
>
>
>
>
Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk!

Bruce wrote:
....
> I guess it has to stay warm.

it actually did stay warm all the way home.
we helped that by buying enough to give it
all plenty of thermal mass.

one thing i was glad of was that the plastics
were changed to recycleable vs. what they used
to use (styrofoam). it made the trip worth it.


songbird

On 8/15/2020 3:43 PM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 3:29:02 PM UTC-4, Bruce wrote:
>> On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 14:54:57 -0400, Sheldon Martin >
>> wrote:
>>> On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 07:09:09 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 9:41:42 AM UTC-4, jmcquown wrote:
>>
>>>>> Don't get me started on a la carte. Once upon a time I won a $100 gift
>>>>> certificate for Ruth's Chris Steak House. (Sorry, $10 is waaaay too much
>>>>> for a baked potato, I don't care what you "load it" with. Ditto $11 for
>>>>> shoestring fries to go with the ridiculously priced petite filet.) As
>>>>> to Sheldon's ill-informed notion of "packets" of salad dressing, of
>>>>> course not.
>>>>>
>>>>> Jill
>>>>
>>>> What's their other famous side dish? Creamed spinach? Anybody
>>>> can make that.
>>>>
>>>> Cindy Hamilton
>>>
>>> My favorite creamed spinach was from Horn And Hardart... now I make my
>>> own from home grown Swiss chard or from frozen spinach. Actually I
>>> considered Horn And Hardart a top drawer restaurant.
>> So they exist after all? The only possible explanation could be that
>> they were Jewish.
>
> Now we have the information we've been looking for. Sheldon considers top drawer
> to be a restaurant where the food is behind small glass doors and you put coins in the
> slot to get the door to open.
>
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horn_%26_Hardart>
>
> Cindy Hamilton
>
An automat! No wonder he expects salad dressing to be served in packets.

Jill

On 8/15/2020 2:36 PM, Sheldon Martin wrote:
> On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 09:41:36 -0400, jmcquown >
> wrote:
>
>> On 8/14/2020 10:02 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>>> On Friday, August 14, 2020 at 9:31:44 AM UTC-4, graham wrote:
>>>> On 2020-08-14 6:54 a.m., Dave Smith wrote:
>>>>> On 2020-08-14 12:02 a.m., graham wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>> I do not diss Denny's BTW.Â* If you just wanted a simple fast fix, they
>>>>>>> worked. Don likes their cheeseburger plate.Â* I like the simple
>>>>>>> breaskfast plates.Â* Not Haute cuisine, but then you do not go to
>>>>>>> Denny's for that.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> You won't find S&P on the table at a high-end restaurant!
>>>>>
>>>>> They seem to prefer to have a server come around with a huge spectacle
>>>>> of a pepper grinder.
>>>>
>>>> Not in a high end restaurant!!
>>>
>>> We're probably starting to tie our shoelaces together over what a high-end
>>> restaurant is. Some of us are probably thinking "expensive" while others
>>> are thinking "Classic French, four- or five-star". The two sets are
>>> not identical. You can spend a stupid amount of money at one of those
>>> American steakhouses where everything is a la carte and the food is
>>> no better than you could have at home (if you had a source for Prime beef).
>>>
>>> Cindy Hamilton
>>>
>> Don't get me started on a la carte. Once upon a time I won a $100 gift
>> certificate for Ruth's Chris Steak House. (Sorry, $10 is waaaay too much
>> for a baked potato, I don't care what you "load it" with. Ditto $11 for
>> shoestring fries to go with the ridiculously priced petite filet.) As
>> to Sheldon's ill-informed notion of "packets" of salad dressing, of
>> course not.
>>
>> Jill
>
> I'll bet if you opened your fridge there'd be a bowl of packets you
> lifted from some fast food joint.
>
>
Oh so sorry, Sheldon. I haven't been to a fast food joint in at least
12 years, maybe longer. I sure as heck never brought home any "packets"
of anything.

Jill

On 8/15/2020 1:35 PM, graham wrote:
> On 2020-08-15 10:01 a.m., jmcquown wrote:
>> On 8/14/2020 8:53 AM, Gary wrote:
>>> Bruce wrote:
>>>> I wonder how many Americans NEVER go to a restaurant.
>>>
>>> I will guess that most smart Americans don't go to a
>>> restaurant currently. Not eat-in or even take-out.
>>>
>>> Before the virus mess, I would never eat in a restaurant
>>> by myself. That was a bit weird to me.
>>>
>> I've never had a problem dining out by myself.Â* Sometimes the
>> establishment thought it was odd.Â* I remember one time on a lunch
>> break I went to a small bistro.Â* I'd been there before with co-workers
>> but this time I was alone.Â* The hostess saw a couple standing behind
>> me and assumed we were together. "Three?" "No, one."Â* ONE?Â* Yes.Â* A
>> table for one.Â* Got a problem with that?
>>
> I wanted to try a new restaurant one evening but was refused even though
> it was barely half full.
> I never went there after that.
>
Did the restaurant stay in business? Seating a single person at a
deuce/two top shouldn't have been a problem.

Jill

On Sat, 15 Aug 2020 14:39:30 -0400, jmcquown >
wrote:

>On 8/15/2020 10:00 AM, Dave Smith wrote:
>> On 2020-08-15 9:41 a.m., jmcquown wrote:
>>> On 8/14/2020 10:02 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>>
>>>> We're probably starting to tie our shoelaces together over what a
>>>> high-end
>>> Don't get me started on a la carte.* Once upon a time I won a $100
>>> gift certificate for Ruth's Chris Steak House. (Sorry, $10 is waaaay
>>> too much for a baked potato, I don't care what you "load it" with.
>>> Ditto $11 for shoestring fries to go with the ridiculously priced
>>> petite filet.)* As to Sheldon's ill-informed notion of "packets" of
>>> salad dressing, of course not.
>>>
>>
>> I never did appreciate the concept. Sure, it is nice to have your choice
>> of sides sometimes rather than having the kitchen send out a formulated
>> meal that might have things you don't like. The problem is the way they
>> nickel and dime you, and there needs to be a similar way of saying that
>> involving super inflation.** I have been in a couple places where they
>> do that.* You order a steak and pay as much or more for that steak than
>> you would for a steak anywhere else, but then the potato, and vegetable
>> sides add up to almost as much as the steak. No thanks.
>>
>>
>IIRC it was a $50 steak I could have bought (even Prime grade) for $20
>and I'd never pay that much for potato sides or salads or dessert. No
>salad dressing in "packets", that's for sure.
>
>Jill

Packet dressing is exactly the same as bottled dressing, either from
the same dressing companies. Only it takes longer to get all the
dressing out of plastic bottles, unless like me you use a knife to
sllce the plastic bottle in half and use a rubber spatula to scrape
out the last dregs, I do that with plastic mustard bottles too... I
get enough for two or three more sandwiches. Mustard is thick so
won't run down when the plastic squeeze bottle is turned upside down
like ketchup does. Glass jars once had wide mouths so it was easy to
scrape out the last bit but now most all containers are plastic
bottles with narrow necks.