jhlurie

Okay, with a transplanted FOH/BOH conflict... this topic is now officially fun!

Well, the list is far from complete. Where, for instance, is "Checkers" on that list? (It's elsewhere on epinions but misfiled is where it is--I checked). Checkers is HUGE in Florida, isn't it? Still thinking that tommy may have snuck down to Arkansas for that Sonic report. Not just the Burger/Bun ratio thing, but some of the sarcasm: {note that its obvious from the REST of the review and the bottom-drawer rating that this is sarcasm and not true} Of course it was far too many words long to be tommy. I just liked the thought of him having a long-lost cousin who writes the same way as him down there.

Uh-oh. He's calling people in California "yanks". The "shite" will start to fly... In truth, most regions of the U.S. comparable in size to the U.K. don't have any more than 3 or 4 major burger chains, I'd bet. They are just scattered all across a huge country--its not like we can all get to all of them.

See THAT would have made great drama. The high-energy search and pressuring to get the liquor license, and the compromise they had to make with the catering permit. Assuming that the catering permit WAS a compromise, and the fix wasn't in all along just for things to look good for TV. Anyone know how long a place can get away with using a catering permit in place of a liquor license?

Not you Matthew, I was referring to the line cook. I should have been specific. Also, I guess since this cook was talking about the line cooks all quitting... I suppose my actor rave will have to stop for now. Nothing wrong with actors, mind you, I just think that the actors did indeed all vacate the moment the cameras went bye-bye.

It's funny, I read on some TV review site some guy yelling and screaming in their "talkbacks" about how all top New York restaurants hire actors as waiters and how most of this bunch were still working at Rocco's. People lie so easily on the Internet, but I'm thinking you could be the truthful one here.

Want: "Neapolitan" Shake = strawberry, vanilla and chocolate blended together. Never want to even ever hear about again: "4-by-4" = four meat patties and four slices of cheese. Yuck.

Okay, Jason insisted I post this 'cause we were IMing each other and I found tommy's long lost cousin in Arkansas commenting sarcastically on one of the burger chains. He talks about "Burger to bun ratios" just like tommy does.

I'm not so sure of that. On the other hand, he went into this with eyes open, presumably. Could you watch one reality show for more than five minutes and be convinced that most people come out looking good? I have to hope Rocco signed the dotted line knowing this. And his gambit has probably worked--haven't most of the TV critics claimed to have loved this thing? Me, I'm not sure if these critics have seen "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy"--a show I was fully prepared to hate, but didn't. But "The Restaurant"? I'm just not interested in what they are showing so far, and I'm not loving the way its setup, the in-your-face product placement, the people its showing us, and the show-biz-ification of the whole restauranting process. Cutting on Rocco's hat is just a side benefit, for fun.

We always referred to Little Tavern burgers as "Gut Grenades." Only edible at 3AM after a long night of doing whatever it was that we were doing... I lived for four and a half years in DC in those years and never once actually ATE a Tavern burger. The places scared me. I used to sit in the car. White Castle at least somehow had the illusion of being clean. I guess my standards have slipped. I mean White Mana in Hackensack NJ is not exactly sparkling clean.

Hey look... He's on "The Restaurant" and stuff, but you can still call his agent! Wheeeeee!

I guess he won't be overseeing the kitchen that night, eh? (no you don't have to reply back with the fact that he rarely does anyway... we've covered that...)

White Castle started in Kansas: http://www.kshs.org/cool3/fastfood.htm It's now apparently based in Columbus, Ohio, which I didn't know until I read this: http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/s...31/daily30.html Oddly enough the chain--which was a big success in Kansas City for years--went out of business there a few years back. It actually wasn't necessarily due to the presense of much better burgers, people I know local to KC tell me that apparently the regional manager was an idiot and they were virtually the only Castle locations in the country regularly losing money. A somewhat White-washed version of the story is here: http://www.joplinglobe.com/archives/2001/0...ess/story4.html

I'm in the minority (hopefully growing) who absolutely LOATHED this show. I'd be nice about it if Rocco did a Q&A or something, but I'll vent here. It stank. {WARNING: I'm about to be intentionally sarcastic about a few things. Plug your eyes if you are sensitive.} The loss of the first location seemed like a good start plotwise, although it also emphasized the slip-shod fly-by-night-for-reality-TV-only nature of the restaurant. Even this early in the show I constantly found myself wondering how much was staged, or at least re-shot for dramatics though, even at this early point. The lame session with the Z-100 radio crew (a real bunch of lame-asses if I've ever heard some) was real enough--crap like this does obviously happen all of the time on shows like this, but that didn't make it any more pleasant to watch. The staff "auditions" alternately cracked me up and made me cringe. Honestly, my first thought was "hey, look... there are some more fame-whores looking for their fifteen minutes. Its a bunch of out of work actors who want to get on TV! Yay!" I also notice that Rocco wore some outright weird-ass getups for a guy who is supposed to be so all-fire sexy and stuff. That ugly-ass shirt under that ugly-ass sweater at the auditions was the worst, but not the only. And the funny red and blue hat I mentioned in an earlier post with the big "G" on it. It was like... ghetto fabulous. If the ghetto had Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids in it, I mean. The "screw people persons" line during one of those interviews was pretty funny though. I'll give ol' Rock that one. I also refuse to believe that camera crews are so cheap that several people of the waitstaff could take them around Manhattan with them until Rocco called and offered them the job. Yeah, I imagine they were REAL surprised to get that call from Rock with those crews around. The "how to teach a bunch of actors how to act like waiters" montage was funny, if revealing. I'm not saying that training sessions like this don't necessarily happen for real non-Reality-TV restaurants, but could they possibly have edited it more to make these folks look total and completely unprofessional asses? Thus setting up lots of bitch and gripe sessions and attitude between the Front and Back people. Lovely... its like our "Restaurant" version of "Gosford Park" or something. But with stupider people. Another moment I approved of was the slimy guy from upstairs coming down and complaining about "Pizza & hamburgers smell in the middle of the night." But then again, it wouldn't surprise me if he was some actor, and even if he's real I'll bet he smelled cameras or something. I mean to come and say that the day before the place opens? Rocco's Mama, I think, may be played up quite a bit on this show. The fake-seeming little bit with the whiny guy who hated that the Italian girl was singing and snuggling up to Mama seems to support that. The fake sweat on Rocco at the end of the episode was cheesy enough for the guy afraid of Pizza and hamburger smell. Sure, I'd bet that Rock would be sweating if things went that badly on Opening night, but man... would he really do it so on cue? In rivers and rivers? Next week: So Fran Drescher and the Hilton sisters are considered "stars" these days? Umm... o-kay. Also, could Rocco possibly appear in MORE Amex commercials? But he CAN be proud of reviving the classic "Do you know me?" line. Ain't he special? One other bad sign for this show? The local NBC affiliate's newscast didn't tease any lame "related" news stories--you know... the "you just saw how tough it is to open a restaurant in New York, well on Newschannel 4 {blah blah blah, etc.} That means they didn't think it was worth trying to grab an audience from it.

Poor Rocco. He was ashamed of being Italian. No, not poor Rocco. He inked a big TV deal on it. Why does he have a dopey red and blue cap with a big "G" on it?

Isn't that a job for the Sneaky "FatGuyDigPenCam then? Discretely while its poking out of a shirt pocket and you look like you are scratching an itch on your neck or something?

It's easy to mock Hooters--they kind of invite it. I used to have a college friend who lived in Clearwater, Florida, so I first visited a Hooters many years ago (this is at least fifteen years back). The original location is actually a bit of a dump, but no more or less than most Bar & Grill type places in Florida (or anywhere for that matter) and that's what it was meant to compete with--the "Strip joint" and "regular restaurant" comparisons are just plain weird given that they aren't shooting for either of those audiences. Remember, at this point in history the Clearwater location, along with a few other ones in Florida I think, were the entire chain. Nobody outside of Florida had ever heard of it. So the name and apparent positioning of the place kind of appalled me. I asked my friend why we were heading there. Partly it was to relieve the hosting burden on his parents, who were putting us up, and partly because they (who were pretty much gourmets) thought it was "quaint" and edible if you stuck to the chicken wings or sandwiches and ordered the hotest sauces. So off we went. Even then, that far back in the chain's history, the place was PACKED with families--kids and women, married guys, single guys, people obviously on very cheap dates, etc. A bit surprising. According to my friend the atmosphere was a bit different at weekday lunch--the waitresses would bend at the waist a bit over the single guys a bit more or sit down at the table and flirt, but they were content with a family crowd most nights, and the sports-bar type of crowds on game days. Years pass and I'm never near a Hooters. Then, it must be ten years ago at this point, a location opens in Paramus NJ of all places--very near where my Dad used to live. Eventually I get talked into visiting Hooters and really, as far as I could tell (and from what other people told me) they'd again tried to cultivate the same Sports Bar With Breasts atmosphere. This time I was eating lunch--actually on a weekend--and I did see (heck, receive, from an enthusiastic waitress, the "royal" treatment) and having no real hangups about it, gave her a nice tip when we left. Did I feel it was akin to going to a strip bar? Not really, I saw considerably less than I'd see at the Beach. Whether or not the woman was degrading herself or simply sensibly using her assets to increase tips was not a burning issue for me, but then again I'm not a female or struggling with gender issues of exploitation from that side of the coin. I've probably been back to that location in Paramus maybe... three times since then. Enough to see that the crowd in other hours was similarly family oriented and/or like any normal Sports bar during other hours, just as I'd observed in Florida years past. And I visited the Clearwater Florida location as kind of a nostalgia thing when I was in Florida about 2 years ago and saw the same thing (its acutally kind of a tourist trap now). I've even been to the Manhattan location once when I had a strange urge for a Buffalo Chicken Sandwich (possibly the best thing they make at Hooters, if you get the sauce the HOTTEST). Am I a Hooters regular? No way. Do I have any urge to avoid the place? Nope. Am I in a position to say if women will be uncomfortable? Well, I'd say your WORST time to go would be the business lunch period, otherwise... probably not. Should women feel the place is sleazy? Heck, I haven't a clue. One more... is the food worth it, or perhaps maybe just not repulsive? Well, it depends on what you think of Bar food, cause that's all it is. Not a bad implementation of it, and its got the consistency and quality of mass production and a tested formula behind it. No magic to the food, not a hint of excellence, but better than the McDonalds and Wendys of the world, and probably better than most of the Olive Garden/TGIFridays type of places. At least for a Chicken sandwich or chicken wings. BTW: The Original Hooters, in Clearwater, Fl. used to have competition called "Melons".

Gee, thanks for the relevance and all.

Friends, Countrymen (and also all of you Foreigners!), lend me your ears, I have a confession to make. I had that hamburger today. I want to say that I did it because I was at a business meeting and didn't want to look like a big pussy by eating nothing but a small side salad. But it makes almost as little sense to lie to you as it would to lie to myself. You are my sounding board. I wanted the damn burger. I just wanted it. I had bacon, cheese, onions... the works. Even fries. I loved it and it loved me. We fit together beautifully... IN... MY... PANTS! (everything is funnier if you add "IN MY PANTS" to the end, right?) In contrast, I don't want the Carborite "At Last" Chocolate Almond Bar. The last "At Last" bar--the Chocolate Truffle--really terrified me. Apparently, like Phoebe on "Friends" (good lord... am I referencing "Friends"?), I have tasted evil... and while its package may have "Best By 07 04" stamped on the back, that's not very reassuring. I try to imagine how bad it will taste in July of 2005, but my imagination fails me. Anyway, I approach the Almond version of this bar with extreme trepidation. I know, at this point, that even in the BEST case it will never measure up to even the cheapest, worst sugared chocolate. Hershey and Nestle are safe, because as we all now know, sugar has TEXTURE as well as taste, and the fact that Sucralose is chemically similar to Sucrose means very little, since it isn't used in the same quantities. Your tongue, your cheeks, the roof of your mouth... they won't feel it. I rip open the crappy cellophane wrapper and nip in. It's not as bad as the Chocolate Truffle. It takes some discipline to say that, actually. It tastes like plastic. But its almondy-chocolatey plastic, so at least it will stay down. I've got a bit of the Z-Carb Almond bar left from yesterday, so I compare. Again... its better. Not apples vs. oranges--its not in a league by itself--but it smells better, melts in your mouth a bit quicker and I think there may be more almonds. This is the end of the road for me, but I'm following up on a few things some others have said. EJRothman has mentioned "Strive" Low-carb bars. A bit of the Google magic reveals that they DO indeed utilize Sucralose, but they also include Malitol (then again... so did one of the four I've tried over the past four days--the At Last Chocolate Truffle had it). Also, a Rice Krispie bar doesn't quite seem to be the same thing, but hey... I'm not going to knock it without trying it. EJ also tells us about the NITRO-Tech Bars - Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, and I have indeed seen them in any number of health/vitamin stores. It's really one of those meal replacement/performance snack/protein bar type of things, and if I'm ever on a crazy mission to compare those (Who knows? Maybe if I start working out and don't want steak ) I'll be sure to seek these out. coastcat mentioned Carb Solutions bars, and again... they seem to be more "Protein Bar" than "Snack" (and they also have both Malitol and a smidge of Sucralose). I think its MORE than fair to carry on further discussion in this thread about weighlifting/protein bars, but I won't be worrying much about them here and now. Pure De-lite sounds like the "snack" niche. But its definitely Malitol city. It's either the first or second ingredient in every bar. So be assured that a certain percentage of its fans might have to support their Pure De-lite habit with Depends Protective Underwear and Super Absorbent Protective Underwear. Or not. Not everyone responds to Malitol that way. As I sit here washing the taste of the last of this experiment out of mouth with some Dannon Spring Water (its bottled in Mirabel, Quebec, ay?), I still wonder if the Seratonin from the Z-Carb bar will make me sleepy, stop my hunger pangs, stop my OCD, or what? I want to know! I'm hoping for the hunger-stopping thing, since that Burger put me so off the diet. My odyssey is over. My mock-chocolate, and The Days of Ass and Roses are behind me. I wish peace, love and burgers... to you all.

Indeed it is. Yes, I forgot they speak spanish in Brasil. They speak Portuguese in Brasil. Spanish and Portuguese share a lot of words or they are spelled only slightly different. Uh... Jason. I think she knows that. Sarcasm alert. For that matter, so did I. I just forgot they were a Brasilian item.

Isn't "Pan" spanish for bread?

Actually the best boat (besides the tourist ones) is the Port Imperial Ferry which goes downtown. You get BOTH the midtown and downtown views. Of course, it ain't free. Also, I read somewhere that a neighborhood committee in Battery Park City is apparently trying to get it closed down. Apparently its a smaller fish to go after than the Staten Island Ferry, and they don't like the extra exhaust. Like the extra downtown buses they'd have to trade it for wouldn't have exhaust.

True. But the view from midtown is a bit better, I think. Ha. "As though I was there."

Glad you took that Ferry. Its one of the least talked about highlights of New York. Upper-deck, by the back railing as you head to New Jersey. I suppose the Circle Line is a longer and more elaborate view, but the Ferry is cheaper and gives you enough of a view for your money.

Aquitaine, I think those are exactly the rules. They own the words, not the concepts. I'm pretty sure it can even be inputted into RecipeGullet with that understanding, paraphrasing and attribution.