ulterior epicure

i second that.

gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous... i just might have to pony up for your camera!! u.e.

In K.C., there's also Jason's Deli (I think that's the name?)

I know that Bruneau lost a star this past year - I believe it is now a ONE starred restaurant. Have never been, so can't speak to the quality. U.E.

never been to a carraba's - is that the one with vegetation on the roof? me too - although i must admit, not usually a "sub" person - i prefer the (locally started) chain mr. goodcents... although their prices have started to veer upward (although i haven't eaten there in over five years...)... i suppose i'm not a very appropriate person to be commenting on chains... [edited to add]: i have to admit my absolute favorite subs (it's in the bread) is the #12 (beach club) at jimmy johns - light on the mayo and heavy on the manufactured mushy avocado puree. i used to down one of those yummy subs every morning at 2am in college... u.e.

Alright, be nice No real disasters to speak of (although I did give myself food poisoning once at my own BBQ, but I blame the meat more than my cooking), but certainly no successes. At this point my theory is that I can't produce food as tasty as where I like to eat, so I might as well let them do the cooking for me. I'm happy to pay a premium for my inneptitude/laziness. ← not that this digression hasn't been fun, but getting a little more back on topic: any favorite chains? per ronnie's request, i posted some of mine here. as well, i posted an pertinent article excerpt above that i fear might have gotten overlook amidst the storm of comments and activity on this forum this afternoon. cheers. u.e.

Scary how things reference each other in life... I don't know if anyone has mentioned this article in this thread, but I thought I might include it in this discussion. I happened to read this article last night in Holly Hughes' latest, "Best Food Writing of 2005" and immediately thought of this forum! This is taken from an article entitled "Two Americas, Two Restaurants, One Town" by Rebecca Skloot that was published in the New York Times Magazine. For those of you who have not read the article, in brief, it is about two restaurants in a tiny town called New Martinsville, W.V. - one, a locally-owned independent establishment named Baristas, the other, the chain restaurant Bob Evans. When asked why they are regulars at Bob Evans yet have never tried Baristas, a New Martinsville couple: Thought you might enjoy that excerpt.... I would highly encourage you all to read the rest of the article, if you can get your hands on a copy. Ulterior Epicure.

wendy. great to know! can you recommend any good dessert places in/around chicago? the only dessert specialty establishment i've visited is hot chocolate. (sorry, i don't have pictures). as for speciatly dessert bars, which seem like "the new rage" in many areas, i've been wanting to get to chikalicious in n.y. as well, i want to kick myself for not having visited espai sucre while i was in barcelona a couple of months ago. u.e.

My recent dinner with company at Aixois in Brookside (Kansas City) on my flickr account.

"smart casual" is definitely an appropriate description/recommendation. i even saw some trendy (hipster) jeans-wearers... sorry, don't drink

but, isn't sous vides all the rage now in the u.s.? actually, i had a friend who worked at an olive garden. he took me back into the kitchen, where microwaves were an integral part of their preparation process... (that was quite a few years ago). u.e.

Of course Moto is one of Chicago's finest, innovative chefs. If you haven't figured this out, you are not tasting nor noticing. Homaro is a unique talent that has comparisons with the best talents in Spain today. We are both enduring supporters. Moto excites the palate and offers an unusual dining experience. Judith Gebhart ← i second judith's opinion. u.e.

this is one very large incentive for me to eschew the chains in lieu of cooking at home - not to mention that cooking at home is a sheer delight for me. unfortunately, i know that's not the case with everyone. [edited to add:] one being constantly on the move, i find it hard to find a place with a kitchen. travelling does take the options out of cooking and/or upmarket dining everyday. even if one does have the expense account/personal resources to support that kind of habit, one's cholesterol, blood pressure, spare tire, and health, etc... are other things to consider. however, on the health point: higher-end establishments, or even locally owned regionally conscious chefs tend to have a stronger emphasis on organic/natural foods and resource wholesome products which are not laden with preservatives/hormone-injections/genetically engineered mutant trains/out-of-season unripeness than chains... i have got to stop living out of a suitcase! u.e.

agreed, jgm. however, i must admit that i too have tried wolfgang's food (at another airport - l.a.x.) and it wasn't necessarily any higher quality than any of the other "no-name" food stores in the terminal. the advantage of w.p.'s was the name recognition and the somewhat nicer decor (sit-down airport "resto"). well, i wouldn't personally say no to all marketing. for me, it's a matter of picking and choosing what type of marketing really is sincere and can offer better products/services. u.e.

katie: have seen emeril on lettuces; martha stewart on dishtowels to handmixers; rachel ray on pots and pans; and paul newman on, well - everything! i steered clear of the "wolfgang puck to go" -which were all pre-packaged sandwiches/drinks/etc... would be interested to hear from those who have tried this pit-stop. u.e.

i was in kci (kansas city international airport) recently and happened upon this.

another one bites the dust...this just in from my lastest (January) issue of "Mnpls/St. Paul" magazine: "Despite its efforts in setting an urban vibe, the downtown Minneapolis Olive Garden shut its doors (following Copeland's and T.G.I. Fridays, which closed in the summer), suggesting that certain concepts just don't travel well downtown..." (pg. 363). Perhaps Minneapolisites are resisting the chain gang in favor of independently owned/established/run restaurants? U.E.

bunk. welcome to egullet... glad you're enjoying my flickr account. happy "fooding." u.e.

ahhhh... the good ol' malnatis... i used to attend their church and would often have sunday pizza brunches... but, ronnie, they didn't start out as a chain - they've managed to expand without losing that family quality or appeal... ulterior epicure.

one who tries to avoid, but will eat at if nothing better/comparable is available, chain restaurants, i will be the first venture down this path. fast food i have to admit that i haven't eaten a hamburger, taco or burrito (or anything else) at a mcdonalds, burger king, wendys, kfc (okay, so i broke down once, out of convenience, when i was working in hong kong about 10 years ago), sonic, taco bell, arby's or popeye's in over ten years (i'm not kidding). so, we're working with a very limited opinion. i think i'm the only person who has lived in los angeles (2 years) without eating an in-n-out burger or a chick-fil-a sandwich. however, i will say that of the fast food restaurants that i would consider myself to be familiar with, i would readily put chipotle at the top of my fast food list. in the burrito category, i find baja fresh too heavy and greasy (and sloppy). qdoba run second to chipotle, but somehow misses on flavor... wahoos was a favorite when i lived on the west coast. i found their menu items fresh and good - and with decent value. as noted on this thread before, i find taco john's irresistable (although i've managed to resist for a good 15 years - so i don't know if they're still dishing out the same yummy stuff). hardee's did have the best curly fries (about 15 years ago)... and i love(d) arby's roast beef sandwich with horseradish was a favorite (about 15 years ago)... wendy's $.99 chili is an excellent value - and not half bad - with cheese and fresh chopped onions and crackers. filling and cheap - and tasty. oh, and give me a greasy fish n' chips with a bottle of malt vinegar from long john silver and i could be happy for a week. (no, i haven't been in the past 10 years, but i love malt vinegar on anything fried enough to know that i'd eat at long john silver) "sit-down" chains i may draw a lot of shock - but i think my favorite sit-down chain (only out of reliability and service) is the cheesecake factory. yep, i always know that i can get good service, pretty good value and decent, predictable food. a salad freak - i know that i can have a small meal on their simple and straightforward appetizer "traditional tossed salad" alone. although it's probably farm raised, their miso salmon is a tried and true fallback... i hate cheesecake, so i know i can always walk out of "the factoroy" without feeling stuffed and broke. otherwise, i don't have much to say on sit-down chains (partly because i'm drawing a blank. i'm sure i will think of places later (and i will post if/when i do). i prefer chili's to applebee's (i still can't figure out its success). ulterior epicure. [edited: for grammar]

dare we also forget that thirty-some years before (heartlander) ray croc started flippin' burgers out in california, the oldest fast food burger chain started up in the midwest - the humble white castle of wichita... yes, when it comes to food, there is a "cattle-call" mentality here. u.e.

... i think that earlier comments about "predictability" speaks to this...

Looking forward to seeing the new space when I get back... I hope I get to try your chocolates soon, as I'm leaving the town for a few months. Cheers - best of luck on the move and can't wait to keep up on your business! Ulterior Epicure.

If you look at it again, it's from 01.29.06 until 02.06.06 so I wouldn't worry, they are probably actually going on holiday. They'll have closed the books from '05 and can plan to close (i.e. taking care of inventories, etc.) would be my guess. ← mmm... good point - sorry, overreaction...

...not i... who does that? u.e.