jhlurie

I've forgotten to post that I've had the Tamales here. Good. No, really really good. There are several varieties. I've had ones with mole and chicken inside, and at least one other variety with cheese and peppers. Good for a quick stop if you are shopping in Englewood.

We can start in Bergen County. There are at least two. El Paso Mexican Grocery Store/Taqueria in Englewood Mi Pueblo Grocery/Taqueria in Bergenfield. I noticed a distinct lack of interest here when these were posted. Other decent Mexican in Northern NJ has been somewhat covered in the long running North Jersey Mexican topic, although it looks like that topic has been dead for a while.

Well even parts of Bergen County have gotten MUCH better in terms of Mexican food/shopping lately. Jarritos is almost EASY to get these days.

I agree that the Stax are somewhat better. But they are SO much more expensive. And people buying fake chips probably care as much about that as they do convenience or taste.

Yes, but the Fat Guy Baguette would have Triple Helpings of Bacon, and the "sauce" would have enough calories to put most small children into a coma.

Ah, but think this through. If someone eats like that, they shop only when they have to, and buy only what they are sure they need. They don't plan. It's just easier to get/find food when they feel like eating it. So the real issue may be an avoidance of planning. Of course none of this dismisses the fact that even prepared food can be better tasting/less artificial/less icky than Burger King without necessarily being that much more expensive.

I'm not going to argue that it isn't WORTH the extra trouble--because I wouldn't argue very convincingly something I don't believe--but you are forgetting the same part of the equation everyone does. Things you cook yourself need to be bought, and the time it takes to do that should be figured into how "long" it takes. Spaghetti can be stored virtually forever, so that's not an issue. But meat, for meat sauce, needs to be either bought or de-frosted in close proximity to the time you make that spaghetti with meat sauce--and that also takes time. It's worth the trouble. But its inaccurate and a bit misleading to pretend that its just as "easy" as hopping on down to your local Burger King.

I like "If you are old or ugly, no flirting." Also: "We are not mind readers" and "No stupidity allowed."

Multimedia Bacon: Hey, now this bacon link is pretentious, isn't it? (requires Quicktime) Also: Only one thing smells like Bacon, that's Bacon. IT'S BACON! -- The dog from the original "Beggin' Strips" Commercial (click here to hear)

re: The convenience aspect Nah, we've had that discussion quite a bit. Ask tommy. Then again it's ALWAYS debatable that "getting out of the car is too much trouble". And as I've timed it, in reality its not often faster. Faster than a real sit-down restaurant sure, but not a counter-order. If the ideal is better quality with counter service, I think there is a three-way equation between waiting time, food quality and money spent.

Well, people at Zagat's had to feel pretty defensive around a guy named "Shaw". Some light reading... Some eG discussion of this light reading.

It was Crappy Baguette #2--the so-called "Savory Mustard" model. Then again it's Shaq. Does it matter what he's selling?

Not sure if this deserves it's own topic, but it sort of fits here: Fast-food restaurants put their menus on a diet Mentions the Bayless/BK thing, but also has some info on other current Fast Food efforts towards faux-healthy food. Hardees plan actually sounds like one of the more honest ones:

Oh no... not Shaq too! Yup, I just saw the commercial. By the way... Crappy Baguette #3 is on the way. According to the information I saw "The Smoky BBQ Chicken Baguette, available starting Oct. 27, is topped with peppers, onions and a barbecue sauce." Let's start guessing which food personality will advertise that one. EDIT - Okay, I posted this briefly in its own topic called "Shaq and Burger King", to make fun of the multiple threads of this nature, but management was not amused. But I really am wondering who the inevitable third Celeb chef person will be. Shaq's presense in the new commercial for Bag#2 seems to be independent of the other Celeb chef campaign.

Turns out my local BK is so unenthusiastic about the Baguettes that it doesn't bother to put up signs for them. When I went to try Baguette #1 last week, there was only a sign on one of the outer windows for it and no display inside. Not on the pricing board, nor even little cards over the registers. Today, looking for Baguette #2, they didn't even have the outside sign. In fact, the pimply faced teenager didn't know what I was talking about, so I wound up leaving without one.

Why then are you opposed to people being opposed to the shilling? And why should my decision to buy the product necessarily be affected by my opinion of the shillers? I'm a reasoning being and can seperate out my impressions of the product from the advertising. Why can't I dislike the ads independant of any other action or reaction? Heck, I'm one of the few who said that Baguette Sandwich #1 was "no worse than most other fast food sandwiches". Now if you'd said "if are so opposed to the schilling then don't watch the commercials" you might have had a point. Or even better "if are so opposed to the schilling then never buy a book written by Mr. Bayless or Ms. Ray". I actually have no objection to Burger King's role in this. I fully expect them to do whatever they need to in order to help their business, and they aren't pretending to represent anyone else's interest except their own. Pot kettle indeed.

Saw the Rachel Ray BK commercial last night. Somehow the fact that she uses almost the exact same scripted words as Bayless makes the whole thing even worse. If these shills wrote their own copy you might get a feeling that it was more than just a total money grubbing sell-out. I suppose at some point (maybe today) I'll risk my health and sanity to see if this sandwich is less offensive than the last one. I suppose its at least possible, since I DID sort of like that Caeser Chicken Salad thing they have, even if the "salad" part is a total lie.

If they insist on staying in Cliffside, this seems to be a fairly up-to-date list of restaurants. Kaname Restaurant, right on Palisade Ave., is extremely good Japanese. Right across the street from Kaname, Villa Amalfi is overpriced Italian, but decent if somewhat unambitious. Also, if the folks you are meeting are Meat and Potatoes types, River Palm Terrace, a better than average Steak house, is less than a mile away, in Edgewater. Also, there's really superior Indian food in Englewood at a place named Kinara, and decent Seafood/Italian at a place called Joe & Tess'.

I think it's a NY thing. The packers seem to think that if they pack each bag lightly it will be easier to carry -- ignoring the fact that the total weight of the groceries will remain the same, only redistibuted. I actually think double-bagging is the least wasteful. A single Plastic bag around a single paper bag, but with the bag packed to the top. Those million and one little plastic bags just wind up polluting some closet anyway. Then, after you build up a few hundred of them you wind up tossing them. Not so great for the environment. At least I can reuse the paper-in-plastic thing to line a small garbage can then tie it off.

Pretty much any kind of juice would do that too.

$2+ for a 12 oz. Snapple. $1.50 for an half-pint Tropicana Orange Juice $3.25 for a pint of Tropicana OJ

Mostly we've been through this before (look up-topic). However, I think the specific information that irradiation won't destroy the virus is new. The question remains... why isn't anyone else in the world worried? The U.S. is far from the only country with citrus crops.

Websters: Main Entry: tit·ter Pronunciation: 'ti-t&r Function: intransitive verb Etymology: imitative Date: circa 1619 : to laugh in a nervous, affected, or partly suppressed manner : GIGGLE, SNICKER - titter noun

I'm the one who noticed them in January 2003. They definitely looked ready to open, although I don't recall actually seeing anyone inside.

my thoughts on BK fries are similar. they don't taste like potato, but i find them enjoyable. McD's fries are often limp, greasy, and soggy. and when they get cold, they get nasty tasting. Can't really agree here. BK fries taste like styrofoam to me. The onion rings... maybe marginally better. McDonald's fries do kind of suck cold, but can still be pretty damn good when just out of the hopper. Of course the king of Fast Food fries is Nathan's, although in recent years I've had bad examples from some of their quickly declining franchises as well. Chick-Fil-A fries are a close second.