annabelle
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Posts posted by annabelle
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I'm with Mitch: When in doubt, throw it out.
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Oh, settle down. I waited tables more than 25 years ago in Southern California. I was giving an example, not making it all about me.
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Kids, and I mean high school and college kids, are demanding, messy, complaining, like to pull pranks on staff, and are generally a PITA. Add to it, as you yourself have stated previously, the fact that they don't tip well while running you ragged on top of it, most waiters won't knock themselves out for you.
I really hate this sort of behavior. I don't care if I'm statistically undesirable; if I pay the same money, I should in turn receive the same product. While my tab is generally not large, the percentage is equal if not greater than that of the people around me.
Another factor to consider: I've noticed that many of the more offensive eateries were those issuing the most coupons and discounts. I'm not nor have ever been a restauranteur, but this smacks of either poor business sense or desperation.
Two days ago, I visited a gastro-pub and enjoyed a soda and some snacks. The total tab for two was roughly $11, and I left a $3.50 tip. I was a bit underdressed and a traffic incident meant I waited some time before my friend arrived, but received nothing but smiles despite two free refills. Honestly, I'm surprised I received the service I did - and I'm definitely going back!
As far as I'm concerned, this is how things should be done. I get nice service despite a small order, and I leave a 27% gratuity. Fail to complete this arrangement, and I'll never return; do it consistently, and I'll come back again and again.
The behavior of your peers or the waitstaff? As far as being statistically undesirable, get over it. Life isn't fair. I was in the least desirable demographic for ages when I was traveling a lot for work. Single white female dining alone. My advice? Eat at the bar.
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This, in turn, leads to the poorly dressed schmuck at the next table recommending to all he knows to stay away unless wearing Armani.
"Sizing up" a customer by the way that they are dressed is a practice known as "cherry picking" and is to be discouraged by managment. That said, most experienced waitstaff do not like to wait on youngsters in an upscale place if they are not regular customers or known to staff because they have been coming there with their families since they were tots. Kids, and I mean high school and college kids, are demanding, messy, complaining, like to pull pranks on staff, and are generally a PITA. Add to it, as you yourself have stated previously, the fact that they don't tip well while running you ragged on top of it, most waiters won't knock themselves out for you.
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You misunderstand me, EdwardJ. I refused to work places where the servers pooled tips. I had no problem tipping out to the bartender and busboys.
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Thank you so much for the lovely trip through your week, Kate!
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Many moons ago when I worked as a waitress, I refused to work at places that pooled tips. I was a fantastic waitress. Attentive, not intrusive, had a great memory for special requests and frequent customers, in short, the customer was my guest and I treated him like a guest. I made a fortune. Pooling tips encourages slackers to do the bare minimum since they'll end up making the same money as everyone else while handicapping those who end up resenting the snot out of them for stealing a portion of their wages.
Of course, I love jobs that work on commission. I put myself through college selling cars and the customer service that I learned as a waitress/bartender transferred to big ticket sales like a charm. Just as there are many terrible sales people out there, there are many terrible waitstaff. It's my opinion that training is everything, but it is also true that some people won't learn and are better off with jobs where they interact as little as possible with the customer.
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I appreciate this topic being brought up as we also do not drink alcohol. Way too many drinks that are offered are much too sweet or fall back on being a glass of tomato juice or are so heavy that they feel like a meal. I end up drinking a lot of unsweetened iced tea. Since we are on day 25 of it being over 100 degree, I need to break out my beverage books and see what I can come up with.
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Just egg yolks and no whole eggs will also yeild a denser cheesecake. It all depends on the texture you are aiming for.
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I don't chew gum since it makes my jaw hurt. I also don't like to watch others chew gum (too many years of teaching high school, I guess). That said, my children like gum and so does my mother. The boys like 5 and Mom likes Doublemint. She only chews half a stick at a time and only in the car.
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I'm not picking on you, Will. I appreciate your taking the time and trouble to explain your postion and to provide citations. Agenda driven citations, but citations, none the less. And, frankly, a citation can always be found to fit one's agenda be it pro or con. (Debate team was good for something.) It is good to see that yours is a true advocation of vegetarianism and not that of fashion. That is the way that I see the Meatless Monday trend, as a faddish bit of fashion. As I stated on the last page, Catholics ate fish on Fridays for hundreds of years with no "atta-boys."
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I guess all of my relatives who are ranch and dairy farmers are cruel bastards who mistreat their animals, except that they are not.
I'm still waiting to see a mathmatical formula for the oft cited carbon footprint, as well. Honestly, all of the existential problems caused by a trip to the market are enough to cause one to leap into traffic, refrain from having children and live in a cold damp cave. Except that would probably be imposing on the Earth in some yet to be determined way. /rant
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How is dairy farming "cruel"?
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Amen, Jaymes. It's the same attitude as "eh, a little food poisoning never hurt anybody."
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It's not so common now but smoking while cooking is one of the worst offenses. I used to work with a chef who always had a cigarette stuck in the corner of his mouth. Loved him but hated his habit.
I worked with that guy, too!
My pet peeve is women (and men) who wear their hair long and do not tie it back. There is nothing like enjoying your meal until you gag on a hair.Elizabeth, your dad must be related to my mother. She can dust the entire kitchen with flour just making a batch of biscuits.
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I kind of doubt that Mario Batali actually uses the 11-inch tasting spoon that bears his name, but it strikes me as an amusing non-solution to the problem of avoiding the temptation to taste with the cooking spoon. It reminds me of a plastic spork that our elementary school cafeteria tried in the 1970s, where the handle was serrated to be used as a knife.
I've watched Mario cut his hand and bleed like a stuck pig into a bowl of tomatoes he was tossing with his bloody hands on an old show of his. I don't taste things with spoons since I hate using up all of my spoons and don't like burning my tongue. I learned to spoon out the sauce onto a saucer and give it shake to spread it out and then taste it. It cools enought to taste without burning and you get a chance to check the consistancy/spreading on the plate before service. Rinse the saucer off and use it again or grab a new saucer if you love to do dishes.
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I watched the Aussie series last summer. How cool that they shot some of it around your neck of the woods!
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Cupcakes can be awesome, but as you say, are vastly outweighed by the ones that are garbage. Even worse are the expen$ive cupcakes that taste like sawdust iced with shortening. Bleech. Me, I make a mean pie and am totally onboard with some kind of quality hand-sized pies being available. I would skip lunch to eat a great fresh little pie!
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We've seen whoopie pies emerge and fizzle out, too.
Pie, yes, but it will be pie on a stick. As soon as they perfect it. The ones I've seen so far are gravitationally unstable.
Theresa
I never understood the fascination with whoopie pies. I lived in PA Dutch country for many years and whoopie pies were everywhere. And, well, they are awful, in my opinion. Gross even, like those Devil Dogs that Hostess used to sell. They even have the same icky shortening based "cream" filling. Whoopie pies and all things cupcake are a fad that will die an unlamented death, as far as I'm concerned.
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What a lovely peak at Oz, Kate! I only know it from "Underbelly" and this is certainly much, much nicer.
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See? You're a trend setter.
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I'd put them in the same glass and then insist it was on the cutting edge.
Too hot to eat? No. Too hot to cook? Yes
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You can grill them, Roberta. Cut them in half from stem to stern, crosshatch them and salt heavily. Drain in a colander for 45 min to an hour. Rinse off the salt and pat dry. Paint them with olive oil and grill them cut side down for 10-20 min depending on how large them are. Turn them over and baste some more. Cook them until they are softened and shrunken a bit. Scrape the flesh into a bowl, and season to taste. They are a nice side with grilled meats and can be a component of grilled ratatouille.
Or, we like these: Peeled, sliced, salted and drained as above. Dust with seasoned flour, dip in beaten egg, then in cracker crumbs. Fry gently in oil until golden and keep warm on a rack over a sheet pan as you work in batches. These are a lot like fried green tomatoes.
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I don't feel the least bit of guilt about eating meat. Of course, I live in cattle country and we enjoy hunting, as well as fishing. I've read all of the aforementioned articles and books arguing for humane treatment of food animals and I have come to the conclusion that it is rather a conceit of the author(s) that somehow, a "happy" beeve or chicken meal is purer than a factory-raised animal. It's still dead and it's still on my plate.
As anyone who lives in the country or the 'burbs knows, Bambi is an antlered rat who likes to wreck cars and destroy ornamental vegetation. Get in the freezer!
Horrific habits from excellent cooks
in Cooking
Posted
At the risk of taking a lot of arrows from pet lovers: People who let their cats walk on their countertops and dining tables. I have dogs and a cat and I washwashwash my hands anytime I touch the big and little darlings when I am cooking. I have had pets all of my life and love them dearly. I do not love the pests and parasites that they carry and I don't want them in or near the food. I shudder when I see people feed their animals from their eating utensils or kiss their pets on the muzzle, give them a scratch behind the ears and then turn back to the stove. Yuck.