LaNiña

John hates Steve. Steve hates John. Various people fall into one camp or another. Or so it would appear. They air their distaste for one another in public. We watch. Sometimes we participate. The threads are well attended. It's theatre. If anyone doesn't want to read those threads, just don't. Post about what you want to discuss. Read what interests you. Ignore what doesn't. It is that simple.

Thank you, Cabrales.

Wilfrid, try the marinated goose intestines at Funky Broome sometime. I like them the best there.

You bet I do. Mei muatterl war a Wienerin.

Nockerl, what a great nickname...

Has anybody been to Il Gelatone on 3rd Ave. between 28th/29th? I know some serious gelato eaters who adore it. Keep meaning to try.

Nina: Do you have any examples? I know this was experimented with for a while, but I'm under the impression that the airlines were not happy with the results and quickly reversed course. Even the government, which long had one of the strictest policies regarding the use of miles, has recently relented and now allows employees to make use of miles for personal business. It's been about a year since I was involved specifically in this issue, but I'll see what I can find out.

This is pretty much non-negotiable from the airlines' perspective. They want your loyalty to last longer than your job. Actually, several airlines have programs now that give the mileage right back to the employer. The times they are a'changin' .

Wanted to add that the employees kept the mileage itself for themselves, meaning the mileage from the flights from the airlines. It was the AmEx points that the company used.

Tommy, your brilliant, expository, insightful comments are a delight When's your company paying for my dinner?

can you say the best, fully paid benefits money could buy? can you say all the personal long distance people called? i mean really, where's the line?

can you say profit margin? can you say stay in business? can you say put them up in top hotels and paid their fancy food bills when half the time you *know* it ain't business meals? can you say first class travel? can you say airport lounges?

The company paid for the program fee. Most companies do. I realize that many companies just let the employees have the miles for their personal use, but that doesn't make it "cheap" when a company doesn't do it. We provided extremely generous company paid benefits. We did not say, upon hiring someone, "oh we'll buy you and your family air tickets for your leisure travel." Not to mention all the other things those points can buy...

Why is that "cheap" of a company? They're paying for the flights, why should it automatically become a personal perk to the employees? When a person left the company, they kept the miles they accumulated. Not much to be done about that. It seemed like a fair compromise. By the way, I was the COO. It was my policy.

I'm gunning for no such thing. Just remember this next time you decide it's your responsibility to correct someone else's grammar.

TROLL ALERT.

How nice of you to choose the incorrect and ungrammatical so us plain folks can jive on your "slangy alternative." Please quote a legitimate, respected source which gives "was" as a correct, grammatical alternative to "were" in the conditional. And don't tell me that the use of "was" is slang. It's simply bad grammar. Note: my grammar may not be consistently perfect, but I'm not the one who generally feels it's my responsibility to correct other people's grammar. No, that's you.

I used to work for a company where the mileage points on the corporate Amex cards were always used for business travel.

"The membership numbers among its company an elite of big spenders with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the world’s most expensive restaurants, to which they return with a regularity no mere food writer could afford unless his name was Jeffrey Steingarten." Since this is a "professional" piece of writing, I feel free to point out that the correct grammar here is "...unless his name WERE Jeffrey Steingarden." It's conditional.

Oh my. Where in Mexico did this happen?

Pineau des Charentes.

Store cherries? I eat 'em all up before it becomes an issue...(or bake 'em in a clafouti)

I had some good grilled beef hearts last night at a Peruvian place in my 'hood. Marinated in something very garlicky, on wooden skewers, and charred nicely on the outside, tender inside. Served with a spicy cilantro-based dipping sauce. Muy bien.

I tried the '97 too, just as good as the '98. I'm talking Cinq Cepages. Never had the '96. But I love the wine.

1998 Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon Cinq Cepages Sonoma County Terrific.