So I took my son and we headed to the new Vietnamese restaurant on West Chester Pike in Havertown. Overall, It was pretty good. The staff were accommodating and very nice. We started with the grilled squid which was delicious. Then seafood noodle soup which they kindly split in the kitchen for us, since we were sharing. I had a spicy sizzling shrimp dish and my son had a fried rice. We enjoyed ours so much, I decided to get take out for my husband, who was stuck at home. We chose curry chicken for him, and he loved it.

The portions were a nice size, the prices were reasonable, and we'll definitely be going back.

How did he take money from our pockets? Even if he lied on his resume to get the job, he had to perform well to keep it. You don't get an endorsement deal based on a resume. You get an endorsement deal once you've proven yourself, otherwise no one would care which products you use.

What he did was pretty stupid. Maybe he did think no one would check - but he certainly paid for it. I think the public humiliation about covers it. So he was dishonest once, got slapped for it, and moved on. Does that mean he has to carry the label forever?

I hear ya. It seems every time I walk into a grocery store I spend more than I expected. Even if I just go in for one thing, I come out scratching my head, thinking, "We could have eaten out for less."

No outage here, but we had dry wood ready for the fireplace, and charcoal for the grill.
Thankfully, the lights (and heat) stayed on. During the last storm, I tried to cook baked apples in the fireplace. Let's just say it didn't go well.

It was fun trick-or-treating in the snow. No arguments from little goblins this year about wearing a jacket!

What's going on over at Chopped? I just watched the show from last night. First, they chopped my Aussie eye candy Kayne. His dish may not have been the best, but it wasn't the worst, either. Would it have hurt them to do me a favor and let him stay a little longer?

Ok, I get that it's a food competition not a beauty pageant. But then, in the entree round, the two girls served raw chicken. One more than the other - but still - raw chicken. The guy served a pasta dish. Marc Murphy said there was "nothing wrong" with it, but it was kinda safe, without much creativity. So, who gets chopped? The girls who served raw poultry or the guy who maybe played it safe, but served an edible dish?

Of course, the guy gets it. It seemed to me that the "fix" was in for the winner. She's a food stylist for The Today Show, and has worked with many of the Food Network chefs when they've appeared on the show. I don't know, just sayn'...

Money for me as well. When I was a kid we lived in a high rise apartment building with a lot of senior citizens. Many had trouble getting around, and never had candy for the few kids who came around for trick or treat. They opened the door though, made a big fuss, and gave us dollar bills.

That was the best building ever.

I've never seen the cookie dough flavor. I was thinking of trying the chocolate whipped cream, but felt silly enough buying the gummy. I'm a grown woman for goodness sakes!

Hi, my name is Whinerdiner and my addiction du jour is Swedish Fish flavored vodka.

I've never been one to loose my appetite. I never understand when people say, "How can you eat at a time like this?" I can always eat. I have no problem slurping spaghetti through tears, or a fever of 104. When I'm stressed, sad, nervous, whatever - the more I eat. Comfort food really is medicinal to me.

I tend to diet when I'm happy. I actually crave healthy food when I'm feeling good. The gym is my friend once again.

So my breakup diet would be a self - medicating cycle of carbs and alcohol. Immediately followed (hopefully) by a new love, feel good endorphins, and salad. Lots of salad.

Well, at least you're svelte, sexy, and off the booze! Take the money you would have spent cooking for him and treat your new bod to some cute new clothes.

When you look good and feel good, you become a magnet for all the good things around you. Enjoy!

I'd like to offer another side to this story. Several years ago, I had a food concession in an airport. The homeless were a huge problem. Where I was located it was climate controlled, dry, there were bathrooms, a seating area, etc. Security for the most part left them alone. In the beginning I truly felt bad for them. Some clearly had mental issues. Others just seemed lost.

Without fail, I gave them my day old goods at the start of the day, and my leftover burgers and dogs at the end. I couldn't sell it, and thought they should have the good of it. I was nothing but nice. Then, they started getting pushy. They'd appear when I had customers, look sad, look at the food, get closer, get closer still, until someone bought them a hot dog.

I am not heartless. I fed them repeatedly. I'd watch the other vendors throwing away their leftovers and I'd think how inhumane it was to put food in the trash when people were hungry. But I learned.

One day I absolutely had to go to the bathroom before my husband came to cover the stand. I locked up what I could and made a dash. It was between flights, the only people in the area were the homeless and assorted employees. I was gone maybe 5 minutes tops. When I got back, the majority of the inventory was stolen - they were eating it in front of me!

That was it. From that day forward, I discouraged customers from buying them anything, and I started throwing my leftovers in the trash, as well.

Yuck - no. I don't get the whole cookie dough ice cream thing. It's my husband's favorite, though. So his ice cream is always safe from me!

Another PA reply. Growing up, my grandmother made "dried beef gravy". Man, was it good! She also made "tomato gravy" the same way, substituting fresh tomatoes for the dried chipped beef. She was of English, German, and Pennsylvania Dutch descent.

Sorry for the delay.

This was in PA and NJ. The most recent place was about six years ago. I believe several of the servers called the labor board to complain. As far as I know, nothing came of it, and I was there for many years.

We have a lot of sleepovers at our house. I'm continually shocked at the poor table manners of my son's friends. Not all of them, but many. They don't know how to hold a knife and fork, chew with their mouth closed, not pick up ( or throw) dinner with their fingers, take off without being excused, or use anything but the "shovel method".

As a little treat, we used to take the kids to breakfast on the way home the next morning. It got embarrassing though. I'd be mortified that people would think these 11 year olds running around the restaurant were mine.

The parents seem so nice and normal. How could they not be teaching basic skills? We're not prudes by any stretch of the imagination. But really, how hard is it to teach kids to keep their bottom in the chair, the food in their mouth, and not to waive their knife like a sword?

Unfortunately, I can totally see the scenario the OP describes.

If you're looking for your restaurant, Restaurant Depot / Jetro has it. If they don't have all the flavors you're looking for, maybe the manufacturer has a website.

Generally, if the specials are in the same price range as the majority of the menu items, I don't need to hear the prices, if the server is reciting them. If there is a significant deviation, however, the price should be clearly stated.

When I was serving, I worked for several restaurants that would take 3% of my total credit card tips to offset the cost of processing the tip. So if I had $100.00 in tips from credit cards, I only took home $97.00 at the end of the night. I was expected to tip out the bus people on the full amount prior to the 3% adjustment. Their view was that the server should cover the cost of the credit card processing for my their own tip.

I was always happy to see cash.

Just a thought, but since this is a fund raiser for a youth sports team, maybe you could get a local pizza shop to donate some pizzas, or sell them to you at a reduced rate.

I'd definitely stick with the idea of assigning X number of salads, X number of main dishes, etc. Don't forget to assign people for rolls, condiments, plates, etc. The kids on the sports team could provide the clean up.

It's great that the parents are providing the food. Make your life easier by asking them to bring their dish ready to serve. Like meatballs in a crock pot, salad in a bowl, cold sandwiches on a tray, etc.

If it doesn't all have to be finger food, maybe you could put chili or baked ziti on the list. Good luck and have a great time.

I agree with Cathy. Are they all bringing something in the sense of a true potluck, or are you thinking of having a buffet?

If you're feeding them, you can't go wrong with sandwiches. Meatballs, roast beef, hot roast pork, sausage and peppers, etc. Or hoagie trays - get an assortment, ( Italian, turkey, roast beef, tuna) have them cut into thirds and put onto trays.

You can keep the prep to a minimum. Buy what you can from the store. Get disposable chafing dishes, disposable serving utensils, sterno, and someone to help you set up before the dinner break.

Embarrassed to say, this happened fairly recently. I was rushing to get dinner ready, and in an effort to save time, I decided to use a mandolin to slice the potatoes. I thought I was being so careful; They can be dangerous, and I know it.

Big mistake. I ended up slicing off the side of my thumb. There was blood everywhere, and it HURT! Whenever I see those chefs on Chopped pull out the mandolin, I have to turn away.

We were on a "make your own sushi at home" kick for a while. I bought our fish from Bywood. It was fresh and I never had any problems. Everyone there was nice and knowledgeable. When I explained what I was planning to do with it, they steered me toward some nice selections.

These days it's Harusame in Ardmore for sashimi, so I haven't been for a while. Nothing they did wrong, we just got lazy.

When I'm skrimping at the checkout, I tend to buy large, inexpensive cuts of meat that I can get several meals out of. Like a whole turkey - roasted the first night, open faced sandwiches the second, pot pie the third, then use the carcass and scraps for soup on the fourth. The same with a pork shoulder or picnic ham - first roasted, then fajitas, then hot roast pork sandwiches, then use the bone for split pea soup.

Loved the other ideas so far. I'd add bread pudding to go along with the eggs. You can make a great savory bread pudding for dinner using dairy items you probably already have on hand, like eggs, milk and butter. There must be a ton of recipes out there.

I hear you. I just wish they'd raise the prices if they need to and keep the package weight the same.

Berk's Fiesta Dogs!!!

Hot dogs filled with jalapeno peppers and cheese. So good, especially with a little hot sauce.

I always had a Diet Pepsi in the morning - much easier to handle in the car than hot coffee on the way to work. These days, however, I'm a (sugar free) Monster girl. I love the mega dose of B vitamins and energy. I've just discovered a Korean energy drink (Bacchus) which so far I like for about half the price.

We had pork as well - loved it. The venison tartare appetizer special was amazing. I seriously could have eaten at least two more.

Maybe it's just fresh in my mind, but I'd recommend Osteria. We went last night and had a great dinner. I actually snuck out of bed early this morning to beat my husband to the leftovers!

I suppose only eating what you brought would solve the problem nicely.

But I think that people do notice. I have friends who routinely bring their own "contribution" to every holiday get -together or event, eat only that, then barely touch (if at all) what the hostess has spent days preparing. Not just one host or one household in particular, but every time - every event. When it's their turn to host, they don't seem to have any dietary restrictions. The first time it happened to me, I was vaguely insulted. When it happened to everyone else, I didn't feel so bad.

I realize this is not a potluck scenario, but I think people who have put time and effort into a dish, check to see if everyone is enjoying their offering.