pollymerase's Profile
Romance in KC
I also find Julian to be that nice mix of romantic, but not trying too hard to be so. Soft lighting and tealights, but it's kind of modern so it isn't over the top, cliche romantic. Probably my favorite date spot in KC.
Updated KC suggestions
In general, I would say the Brookside neighborhood is more yuppie/professional and 39th Street is a more diverse neighborhood and more alternative/hipster-ish. I think it mostly comes down to what you like and what makes you feel more comfortable.
KC breakfast joints
If you want a full service, sit down at a nice restaurant type of meal, Room 39 does a very nice breakfast. The biscuits they make, while not traditional flaky buttery biscuits, are my favorite in the city.
My favorite breakfast spot right now is You Say Tomato. The decor is quirky, lots of different kitchen tables and chairs. You order at the counter and runners bring you your food. Everything I have had on the menu is fantastic, but my favorites are the corned beef and hash or egg casserole. They also have delicious baked goods.
Similar to You Say Tomato is Happy Gillis in the Columbus Park area. You order at the counter, grab a seat and they bring out your food. I've only had the bacon, egg, lettuce, and roasted tomato sandwich for breakfast, but it was fantastic.
How to "split" a check equitably?
Yes, jules, I'm in the basic sciences and molecular biology is a large part of what we do. Lingua, I find it really depends on the person. Most (but not all) faculty members will either pick up all or most of the check or in the least be mindful of where we are dining/drinking. This was the first time I had experienced such a situation and I was rather surprised by the whole thing. I was actually so worked up about it that when I met up with my adviser immediately after leaving the restaurant, the first thing he did was buy me two beers.
How to "split" a check equitably?
Sometimes it's a work situation and you can't help dining with people. Last year I was away for a workshop and we were typically expected to eat together. One of the faculty members decided on eating at the nicest restaurant in town (not horribly expensive, but still much more than I felt comfortable spending as a grad student). I and a few others ordered very conservatively, while several of the more financially comfortable ordered several glasses of wine, apps, desserts, etc. We asked for separate checks, but were told that they could not do it. The faculty member that wanted to go to the restaurant then decided we would just split it equally.
A very long and uncomfortable situation followed where we tried to throw in only what we owed plus extra in cash, but things just could not get resolved. Finally one of the faculty members got fed up, grabbed all the cash off the table, threw down her credit card and said she'd put it all on her card but that she wasn't going to leave a tip because the whole situation was ridiculous and had ruined her meal and wasted her time. Her logic was that if we had received separate checks, this would not have happened. We protested and said that 1) that wasn't fair to the server and 2) we all had left very large tips that were going to go in her pocket if she took all the cash but didn't leave a tip. She didn't seem to comprehend this, or was simply too stubborn. I was out of cash because I had kept putting more and more in the pot when things couldn't get settled so I have no idea if the server got stiffed. It was a terrible, terrible situation.
How to "split" a check equitably?
I work with a woman who is the epitome of being a cheap stiff. She nearly always leaves early and is notorious for either leaving nothing while later claiming that she thought a higher up was picking up the whole tab, or only leaving a few bucks. She's the type that will pass on ordering her own apps or dessert but then oggle the food when it appears waiting for an invitation to try some. When a group app or dessert is discussed and ordered she'll typically say she's not interested, but then will eat more than anyone else and not chip in as she didn't order it.
At an international conference last year she arranged a dinner at a fairly nice restaurant for a former boss of hers who was one of the invited speakers. The check came as one bill and many people had left and not thrown in enough money so she ended up being stuck paying the few hundred dollar difference. She's whined about it numerous times and every time I can't help but think of the karmic justice.
Bringing your own food to a dinner party
I agree with HarryHarry and think that holiday meals like thanksgiving and Christmas fall into a category other than 'dinner party'. People, especially family, have special associations with certain dishes on these holidays and want to be able to bring their contribution. I find holidays to be more about gathering and sharing time with family and friends than about making the perfect meal.
If she decided to bring ham to a dinner party you were having in February, even after being told not to, that's a different story.
Sourpuss new Top Chef judge
I'd rather have Gail, but I'm fine with him. I actually find that he grows on me a bit.
How many times is it ok for a restaurant to get it wrong?
I don't think you necessarily have to cut them out completely, but maybe take a break from them for awhile? Don't go for a couple of months, and then go back in. Perhaps the service will have changed? Perhaps you will have realized that you either really miss it and are willing to put up with their issues, or you will realize that you really don't miss it. Hopefully the manager/owner will notice that one of their regulars has stopped coming in and will comment on how they haven't seen you for awhile. That would be a perfect opportunity to say, I got tired of having my order incorrect 40% of the time and have been frequenting places that get it right. Hopefully at some point (probably not at that exact moment, as based on your previous interaction) they will see how it is losing them business and decide to make more of an effort to get things right. Wait a few more weeks/months, go back again and see if things have changed.
Forced to Rush Through Dinner at Pomegranate (moved from Ontario board)
Yes, I've been told at the time of booking a reservation or if walking in without a reservation that the table will be needed for another reservation at 8. It never struck me as odd or rude, nor did I feel like I was being rushed.
I've never been asked to vacate a table, however like many others have said, I didn't stick around until the point of being asked. I do think the server handled it poorly in the OP and could have said something with a bit more tact.
Charging for cakes
But most restaurants don't forget it, as they come out with smiles on their faces and make you believe that it is the highlight of their night to be singing to you. That's what a good restaurant and its staff does--tries to make sure you have a great meal/night even if it is a hassle or difficult for them.
Charging for cakes
I'll chime in that I've worked in the business for 15 years and had numerous friends/family that have worked in restaurants of various types in various regions of the country, and never once have any of them said they enjoyed having to go and sing happy birthday to a customer. It's quite the opposite in fact. However, it is the hospitality industry, so everyone sucks it up, puts a smile on their face (if they are good at their job), sings, kisses your tush, and acts like they are so excited it's your birthday. I'm sure somewhere, someplace a restaurant exists that truly is happy it's your birthday, but I think for the vast majority it's fair to assume it's just a part of their job that they dislike. I think most of us have that in our job regardless of profession.
Top Chef Texas - Ep. #3 - 11/16/11 (Spoilers)
Yeah, even if the thought process wasn't, 'we are sending him home because he bought cooked shrimp' it had to have played into their overall opinion of him and his dish. I can't imagine it didn't influence their position, even if it was just sub-consciously. Maybe Tom could separate the two since he's been doing this for several seasons, but based on Hugh's reaction and subsequent blog post I have to believe it definitely added to the perception of Keith's failure.
Top Chef Texas - Ep. #3 - 11/16/11 (Spoilers)
Yeah, I kind of thought she was on the other team.
Top Chef Texas - Ep. #3 - 11/16/11 (Spoilers)
I think Beverly gets an easy pass because 1) she must have made a dish that didn't suck and 2) it was clearly a fusion dish. She didn't attempt to make something authentic. Instead, she took the cuisine she knew best and put a spin on what the challenge was. Quite smart, in my opinion.
Keith and Lindsey (even more so) seemed to have set out to make authentic dishes. When they apparently didn't do a good job at it, they got called out.
Pay v. Not Pay: Based on Generation a/o Region?
I think it all depends on what you mean by guests. If you mean it in the actual sense of, 'please be my guest for dinner,' then yes, I would pay.
However, I'm rarely in that situation and it is more of a 'what are you doing thursday night? want to go get something eat?' type of thing. In that case we generally split based upon what one eats (as opposed to equally splitting the entire check). There are exceptions of course, including taking someone out for a birthday, other celebratory meal, or thanking/returning a favor of some type. With my very closest friends there is usually a fight over who gets to pay, but it seems to all equal out with time and doesn't have anything to do with whose idea it was to go out to eat. If someone puts together a larger group gathering, I've never expected/anticipated them paying for me.
31/female
USA, various places in the midwest
how should I respond to microwaved restaurant food?
Chalk it up to experience and don't go back. I personally don't feel that restaurants have to give away food because they used a microwave (which is what it seems you are wanting). However, I do believe that people don't have to eat there in the future.
Asking people to join you for dinner
As R&R says below, I think the word join is what makes me think it is hosted. Also the request essentially for an RSVP.
Personally, I'd show up ready to pay and wouldn't be upset in the least, however since the OP is worried about the implication of the verbiage, it makes me think that the people she wants to dine with might expect not to pay.
Asking people to join you for dinner
I've always found this topic so fascinating. I'm honestly curious to know if you ever just make an off-hand comment to a friend like, 'want to go grab a bite to eat tonight?' and not mean it as 'I'm inviting you out for dinner?' I mean that quite honestly. I'm starting to wonder if whenever I have proposed getting together to eat somewhere if people were always expecting me to pay. I've certainly never expected someone else to pay for me in those situations in which they proposed getting together to eat/drink.
Asking people to join you for dinner
Phrasing it that way would make me think you were paying, and that's something I don't usually think people mean.
Angry man not only stiffs on tip but steals tip jar.
No, I didn't miss that point, but I did read where it said that it was never verified that he did that. I'm just not buying anything from anyone in this story.
Angry man not only stiffs on tip but steals tip jar.
Isn't it stretching a little far to assume he is wreaking havoc on other people's lives? Sure, he sounds like an ahole, but I'm not ready to assume he is a despicable person. Especially since we haven't heard the whole story. Just because the server says her service was good and that she was 'nice' to him, doesn't mean that it was. I'm also suspect to completely believe her since she was so willing to go and post his info on facebook. That's not something that the normal person goes and does--so her story loses quite a bit of credibility right away with me. Just because someone harms/hurts/insults you doesn't make it right to act equally ugly.
After reading the interview linked in the article linked in the OP (http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2011/10/10/victoria-liss-vs-the-receipt-creep-capitol-hill-debacle), it sounds to me that she was overly friendly/flirtatious to the guy. This either bothered/offended him or most likely his girlfriend, so to prove a point, he left no tip and threw in an insult about her looks to make it clear her advances were not wanted. I'm by no means advocating that leaving no tip and insulting her were the right things to do, they weren't, but I'm simply saying that there is likely more to the story than, great service = no tip + insult.
I'm actually surprised we haven't seen a thread from a woman about how her boyfriend/husband was at a Mexican restaurant waiting for her and the boisterous, obnoxious, scantily clad waitress was hitting on him. Should he have left a tip?? She wasn't even that attractive! How dare she try to upsell him!!
KC BBQ Sauce question.
Cowtown is the sauce from OK Joe's. I have a lot of friends who have moved away that request it when I visit. I like Gate's as well for a general, all purpose sauce.
Newport, RI--Half Marathon
Fellow runner here. I don't want to threadjack, but thought I'd post here instead of making another post for the same topic.
Any good recommendations for casual places with good beer? We're running the full and coming down from Providence, so if we decide to stick around Newport for a bit we'll need a place that isn't too nice, as I'm sure we won't be looking our finest.
Would Pour Judgment be a good option? Any other suggestions?
Discontinued at Trader Joe's (started 6/19/2011) [old]
Has anyone seen the crunchy salted almond butter w/flax seed? It was in the shorter, plastic jar with the black lids (as opposed to the glass jars). I've not see it my last couple of trips. I asked about it on Monday and was told by an employee that there would be 3 cases in the next day. I stopped in tonight on my way home and saw none on the shelf and the sign where it had been was gone. Such a bummer, loved that stuff. Any recs on which almond butter variety I should try to replace it?
american royal bbq festival, KC
Everyone I know in KC that goes, goes on Friday night because to my understanding, it's the only time that competition teams (not really vendors) can serve food to the public. It's before the actual competition starts and it's basically a huge camp-ground of parties. However, as chileheadmike said, you really have to know someone who is competing or sponsoring. Lots of big corporate parties or larger sponsored teams with their own bands or DJs and then lots of the smaller teams that are just sitting around eating, drinking, and chilling with their families and friends. I can't think of any tents/parties that are just open to the public. As the night gets later and things wind down you can probably crash parties, but usually the food and beer is long gone. There is a stage close to the front gates that has bands playing on it, but I feel like I rarely remember too many people actually there. There are some food/beer vendors near the stage, but they are more the type who travel around the country to these sorts of things, so it's usually overpriced and lower quality compared to other que you can get in KC. There are also a couple of fair style vendors who sell hotdogs, cheesecurds, and that sort of thing. It's certainly fun to walk around, look at the enormity of the event, people watch, and check out all the different teams, but I think it'd be a lot less fun if I didn't have parties to go back to as a 'homebase'.
I've never gone on Saturday or Sunday, but that's because I've always been told it was kind of pointless unless your direct family member/friend was competing and you are their for help/support or if just want to walk around and look at stuff. The actual competition is going on those days so people are focused on that and they also can't give out food anyway.
Basically, my experience has been that you need to know someone competing. If you are expecting to wander around and find plates of BBQ set out at each competitor's tent for you to try, you'll be sorely disappointed. It's a big place and you could easily spend a few hours wandering around and looking at all the different set-ups people have. Keep in mind you have to pay admission to get into the event (maybe 8 or 10 dollars, I think) and that doesn't get you any food or drink. Parking/getting there is also kind of a pain. The best thing to do is take a shuttle, but that adds on a good 30 mins at the least, more so if you go at busy times.
If you go into it with the expectation of walking around, looking at crazy BBQ rigs, people watching, and experiencing the atmosphere it's a pretty cool experience and probably a pretty fun afternoon/evening. If you are expecting to gorge yourself while sampling a dozen different teams, you probably will leave disappointed.
Great Food Truck Race 9/11 - SPOILERS
I don't really have a problem with the producers not taking the cash boxes every night, especially if they have a means for making sure they weren't cheating (i.e. comparing receipts/cash). If someone wants to attempt to cheat, let them get caught.
