silence9's Profile
Seperate Checks?
Hi... I believe I understand your view... My own view, per the 'conflict', could be illustrated in the following scenario: guest A receives their own separate check, and calls the server over to explain that it was the cup of lobster bisque that they ordered, yet were charged for the bowl. Server then has to explain that the Lobster bisque is the only soup that is not available in 'cup' size, and has to go bring back a copy of the menu. Guest A is certain that they used the term 'cup' when ordering (they probably did). And on and on and on.... And all that matters to me is that guest A enjoyed their bisque; I'm fine covering the extra 3 bucks for the 'bowl that masqueraded as a cup'. Maybe that makes me a chump, but I don't get that knot in my stomach that comes with the above scenario, because guest A never had to know of it at all...
Seperate Checks?
Hi... I generally never go to lunch with a large group of _strangers_ ; which is to say, if I am lunching with 6 or 8 or more folks, they are either good friends or work associates or family members. As it is lunch we're discussing (and not pricier dinners), and as no one is really knocking back multiple bottles or cocktails (1or 2 per person at the most during mid-day, often none), a single check can hover anywhere between $150 and $300 for 6 or 8 guests (pre-tax/pre-tip).
I always offer to cover the entire single check.. And inevitably, someone (or two or three) will offer to do the same the next time we're all out together. Like I said, these are friends or family or business acquaintences, who are generally sincere in their offer. And if, the next time, someone else didn't come through as promised, I wouldn't consider myself ill-used. But that has never, ever occurred. Someone always remembers the previous gesture to keep things light and simple, and they cover the entire check exactly as I did. This has been the case, perhaps, 20+ times.
I won't get into issues of age or gender of guests, as I have no desire to be publically wrestled into rubber innertubes and set ablaze... And I am not well-to-do, particularly. I just don't care for the intense focus on numbers-crunching that comes with multiple checks. I like to sit back and feel content after a nice lunch, and not worry about everyone becoming an accountant.
I realize my secondary gain here is avoiding conflict. If others are fine with many checks and modes of payment, that's fine too...
Diners, Drive-ins, Dives, and Disgusting
Last night a segment showcased a joint's 'Level 6' hotwings. Guy and his posse each grabbed a wing (they were literally red like the color of molten lava), and Guy was so uncomfortable that he started guzzling the ramekin of bleu chees dressing, most of which coated his facial hair. A second later, he was given a big glass of milk, into which he dunked his lips, tongue and said facial hair/chin. It was very entertaining and disgusting at the same time, and not at all shocking. What continues to shock me, though, are apologists who insist that his sense of decorum in such instances is above the level of a rowdy teen.Guy is who he is, I have come to terms with that... By the way, I recently saw an old episode of his Guy's Big Bite, and thought he related to the camera/audience like a fairly cool adult...
Diners, Drive-ins, Dives, and Disgusting
I think the 'm' in sammies comes from the child pronunciation of sandwich as sammich. young kids may not be able to enunciate the 'ndw' sound in sandwich. So, sandwich to sammich to sammy...
Finger lickin' good? [moved from General topics]
"..almost lovingly" Haha...
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I think the one exception is watching little toddlers discover their plump little digits with amazement and proceed to 'eat' their own hands and everything that clings to them. Very cute, and endlessly entertaining...
Finger lickin' good? [moved from General topics]
In the matter of technique: I've seen folks lick the _tips_ of their fingers employing the _tip_ of their tongue. And then I've seen folks seriously suck their fingers up to the second joint like they were pulling tapioca balls up a thick Boba straw. OP states the first technique. Definitely less disconcerting...
Finger lickin' good? [moved from General topics]
Hi... I usually know well before entering an establishment's door whether it is a BBQ joint, and also whether it is likely that I will order BBQ. Armed with that knowledge, I've never found it difficult, when the server is taking our order, to ask for extra paper napkins prior to the arrival of the chow ( I am not visiting from Mars, and therefore know beforehand that BBQ sauce is sticky and messy by default ). Takes no more cognitive effort than remembering to ask for a wedge of lemon for my ice water ( which is my preference ).
That said, I am OK with finger licking if the eating is occuring outside, at a joint's picnic tables, a car hop-style drive-in, etc.. Same goes for shellfish-boil -type newspapers-on-the-picnic table al fresco hootenannies...
Issues with truffle oil on Chopped?!?
And one ice cream machine for up to four contestants... They should also have to wrassel each other for access to running water.
Best Place for High Tea in LA
Besides the aforementioned Peninsula in Bev Hills, I have always enjoyed the quaint and affordable Tudor House on 2nd St. in Santa Monica. Plus they have an authentic food and gift shop on the premises...
Best Place for High Tea in LA
Is it actually High Tea your inquiring about (steak/kidney pie, cold meats, etc)? Or traditional Afternoon Tea (dainty finger sandwiches, scones w/clotted cream, petit fours), such as is served at The Peninsula in Beverly Hills? If it is in fact the former and not the latter, then those are indeed some robust ladies in your acquaintence...
Issues with truffle oil on Chopped?!?
At least once, but likely more often, I've witnessed a collective and dramatic groan from the Chppoed judges when a contestant 'ruins' their creation by a last minute addition of truffle oil. Which begs the question: why stock truffle oil _at all_ if it's considered a newbie's faux-pas? Essentially, its' presence on the shelf is a challenge to fail. What's next, wormwood and fugu?
I don't expect this topic thread to have much legs, but merely pointing out something that bugged me.
Pioneer Woman
That PBS show 'Alone in the Wilderness' documenting pioneer Dick Proenneke is absolutely mesmerising. The guy made his own hand tools, then built his own cabin, food locker, boat, clothes, and hunts, fishes, and drags a primitive movie camera through the snow to film it all. I wish he were my pappy! I have never seen such hard work depicted so gracefully. God bless him...
Diners, Drive-ins, Dives, and Disgusting
While I strongly agree with you that an intriguing aspect of DDD is looking into the lives and kitchens of nice, hard working and quirky cooks (young and old, alike) who know how to run a business and put out some serious diner chow for loyal patrons -- I don't see the wit on display by the show's host at all
. It _is_ largely fratboy humor, which is OK the first half dozen times, but then one will begin to see it coming yet again from a mile away. On a recent episode, Guy wanted to snag a taste of a braised roast piping hot from the oven. So he looks into the camera, then back at the sweet grandma who just made the roast and he points behind her a says ( I kid you not) "look over there, is that your wallet?" I cannot imagine what was going on in her brain in that incomprehensible moment, but she humors him and look behind her to see what he the heck he was pointing at. In that moment, Guy pinches off (with his grubby fingers) shreds of the roast and pops them in his mouth, and again mugs for the camera. The only thing missing is for him to get up in her face and shout "Psyche ! "...I've looked on and seen over a dozen versions of this 'witty tactic', to the point of dread where I actually must turn my head away from the screen.
But I do keep watching, because its' those adorable bubbies and quirky OCD cooks who continue to entertain (and educate) with their years of experience. So in the end, DDD (Guy) wins, because I keep watching. But the dude's a hugely successful fratboy with a knack for guessing the secret components in a spice rub. Which is obviously enough...
No, it's not your imagination. The Quaker Oats dude (aka Larry Quaker) has gone on a diet.
I always assumed 'Larry' was real life Quaker dude William Penn...
Server leaving a pitcher of water at your table without your asking...
" If they know you well enough to know you like water, they also know you are a good tipper "...
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Who chose to leave a 38 cent tip on her last visit...
Server leaving a pitcher of water at your table without your asking...
At sit-down BBQ restaurants, it is not uncommon for the server to bring by extra napkins, because the last thing a customer wants to do when they are 'sauced-up' and sticky is to wave sauce-laden hands in the air to motion the server over with more napkins. I appreciate the foresight on the server's part, for the potential conundrum - and I never stop to think "well, she must think I'm a pig-in-slop' if I need more napkins while eating 'cue. And I don't think I've ever surveyed the dining landscape to compare my own soiled napkin output with that of other diners. In your OP, you state " leave me to decide what is enough water to drink ". I would think that providing you with an entire pitcher is the ultimate opportunity for you to 'control' your water intake. Not only can you control how much you are drinking, but you can control precisely _when_ you need the refill. If you are eating something spicy at that asian buffet or something that is a bit dry going down, you don't have to flag down the server and be at the mercy of their busy comings-and-goings - with the pitcher resting harmlessly on the table, you can alleviate your thrist immediately. You have ultimate control. lastly, perhaps the reason a number of other tables had no pitchers on their tables, was due to multiple diners at thse tables all vying for plate space. As a solo diner, your table was otherwise unencumbered by the glasses, silverware and plates of others. Right?
'Healthy Indian' food in sf valley or westside?
Woodland (Pure), for vegetarian Indian. On Topanga a couple of blocks south of Devonshire. Good spicing. Delicate yet hearty dosas...
What to serve with bahn mi? [moved from San Francisco board]
Hi... Little thumb-sized Cha Gio are crispy vietnamese springrolls filled with pork and bean-thread noodles, and can be wrapped in leaves of lettuce to keep them intact. Easy to make, or you can buy 'em by the dozen at local pho shops.
Would you move?
Speaking as a male, I would've been more interested in job # 1 (stuffing my piehole), and therefore, if I looked up and saw four other dudes standing with trays in their hands, I would've wordlessly scooted over 12 whole inches without needing them to utter a request at all, and continued to focus on the more important task of filling up any remaining space in my gut.
In-N-Out Burger sucks (moved from L.A. board)
Just saying that I'm willing to reconsider my own dislike of something that I've had very limited exposure to, when I read that someone else had the opposite impression (based on a fan's much more frequent experience). That's it...
Dining-In vs Take-Out
Ambiance. I've spent many thousands of dollars creating an environment composed of warm woods, fine leather-bound books, musical technology and rare jazz and classical recordings, not to mention candle-lit restroom with soft towels and comforting amenities. Whereas the take-out joint spent a few hundred bucks at IKEA for chairs that stack well together, and if your lucky, a restroom equiped with toilet paper that hasn't been tossed on the ground or fallen into the unflushed bowl. I love my place, and my dining companions - as with my amenities - are there by dint of my own choosing. Makes even ho-hum take-out, that much better...
Would you move?
Someone up-thread mentioned highschool lunchrooms and cliques. To me, it always felt awful to be sitting alone at a large communal school lunch table, and not have _anyone_ deign to sit within close proximity to me. It was rough knowing that the entire room bore silent witness that one was some sort of untouchable outcast undeserving of a shared dining experience... So in the case of the OP, I would have felt that hey, I am not an exile alone on my isolated island like Tom Hanks with a face-painted soccer ball - other humans actually are comfortable sitting elbow-to-elbow with me, I smell fine, and I don't have the cooties...
In-N-Out Burger sucks (moved from L.A. board)
"Well the opinions of the die hard's doesn't pass the taste test for me."
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Wait, so the opinions of "diehard" In n Out fans who have eaten dozens upon dozens of their burgers couldn't possibly provide a more nuanced sense of what might make the burger really good and worthy of closer consideration? As opposed to the opinion of someone who tried it once or twice, and didn't see what all the fuss is about?? You know, I went to Hawaii for a few days 20 years ago as part of a crappy tour group, and couldn't see what all the fuss was about in regard to Hawaii's paradisical reputation. All well and good. But if someone tells me they been going to Hawaii twice a year for the last 20 years and have had some outstanding experiences there, I'm likely to reconsider my own brief miserable time there as an aberration, and would at least be willing to give the "diehard" fan of Hawaii a bit more weight in his expertise as to what makes going to Hawaii worthwhile. I believe thoughtful reconsideration of my limited exposure, when compared to an afficianado, might provide greater insight than simply stating "My opinion is as valid as yours"...
Why do foodies like the McD's Filet o' Fish?
And no lobster rolls for them, either! And no crab cakes benedict for them, either.
Who here really prefers the Double Filet-O-Fish over the regular Filet-O-Fish?
The Double FOF would have only made sense if they had extended the length of the squishy bun and put each fish filet _side by side_ next to each other, instead of stacked like pancakes. In essence, make the Double a 'stretch limo' of the FOF world - twice as long, with each filet having it's own cheese slice and dollops of tartar sauce. Like a martini or a milkshake with a 'sidecar'; just when you begin feeling lonely ennui that the sandwich (like love) is ending - behold, a second bit of afternoon delight still awaits you. Pimp that yummy ride and stretch it side-by-side...
Until they get it together, go 3 blocks west to The Counter
It has been my understanding that the 'animal-style sauce' is grilled onions cooked in mustard, and has nothing to do with Thousand Island or any other kind of dressing' The animal-style sauce does not come by default on the burger or fries.
Getting Flagged at a Bar
The more posh USA drinking establishments ostensibly make a profit by offering high-end cocktails ($22 langoustine martini, etc.). And by staying open long past midnight, instead of closing for part of the afternoon or by mid-evening.
And beginning to "slow up" after 6 drinks?? Yeah, I guess I was twenty-five once, for a year.
