Lupinus

It may be the system in some parts of the US, but not in most of the civilised world. A polite notice of explanation would make the system a lot more legitimate Strictly that notice should be displayed with the menu outside so that it forms part of the contract. All of the US. And every country has their own way of doing things, in the US, tipping is an understood part of dining out anywhere but some place that is counter service. If you don't like the system by all means open your own place, pay your servers what you consider a fair wage, and encourage customers not to leave tips. Until then remember the fact it is part of the price of dining out.

I somehow think she will see less business in the near future

If I leave a poor tip, it was for a reason. I may choose to express that reason, I may not think it worth my time. That is my prerogative. So if a restaurant employee ever followed me out to the parking lot asking about the tip, I would then most certainly express it to the manager as well as the fact I don't like being bitched at by their wait staff. That said, if you can't afford to tip, you can't afford to go out. 15-18% is customary for OK/good but not above and beyond service, 20% for good service, more if you are a pain in the ass and know it. Is it voluntary? Yes. However, one must keep in mind that it is also customary and expected for you to do so. Lots of things in life are this way from being quite at the theatre to having and displaying good manners. It's understood, it's expected, and you should expect to be thought an ass if you vary to far from it for no good reason. Those of you wishing to be a jerk because it's not mandatory should have your next meal out served in your lap. You probably also wonder why you get shift service on return trips when you tip poorly for no reason or leave no tip. As to foreign customers, an unobtrusive but obvious reminder on the menu is a better idea then verbally pointing it out.

I use a big jug from Sams Club. It's not the best out there, and it's a "From here and there" blend, but it tastes well enough.

That's why I don't give to people. I give to charities, not individuals though. The charities have the time and manpower to turn the money into what such folks need. Far to many will simply take the ten bucks and go buy booze with it. I've even had an honest one once or twice that told me thats what they wanted the money for.

makes sense. Unfortunately when I did the brine/steam/over pan roast on ducks they were always quartered and never whole. Defiantly sounds like it should work though

11.99-13.99 a pound here in SC

Nifty idea Peter, I've done that with a quartered and brined duck before and it was awesome. What sort of time would I be looking at per pound if steaming? I always use a probe thermometer for the final determination but like to know roughly how long it'll take.

One word...ketchup. Some embarrassing ones- We are out to a late lunch with my grandmother at a TGI Fridays. She orders a turkey club, doesn't like what the menu says is on it, so tells the waitress plain, just some mayo. What does she get? A turkey sandwich with mayo. Server checks in twice over the course of the meal and not a complaint. Check comes and grandma wants to know why shes being charged full price for the worst club shes ever had, nothing on it!. I wanted to crawl away. Far to many run of the mill rule breakers from people who just didn't know better. When I was younger I gave my mother one she still likes to embarrass me with. I was 8 and we were at a Red Lobster. I order, naturally, a lobster. As I'm eating I loudly proclaim that "This lobster sucks". Yes, I was 8 years old and could cook a better lobster. Did I have to let the whole place know? Probably not. Yes, I've learned better table manners since then.

If you can continue doing it, I would give them to the charity. Good karma and all that. Plus if you do it and word gets around you will have a surprisingly large pick up after they go half price. Perhaps to make it easier you could attempt to freeze them and only make a charity run every couple days?

I've been seeing more deconstructed salads. At a new Indian place a few weeks ago they served a vegetable (korma or masala, forget which....something vegetable and looked already digested) in what looked like a hubcap. Seriously, beat to hell metal with strait up sides, looked like a water dish my dog used to have. I somehow don't think it will catch on though.

My fiancee likes ketchup on just any egg you can imagine. You can imagine my horror when she doused perfectly poached eggs atop lightly toasted sour dough all drizzled with a good olive oil in, you guessed it, ketchup. She giggled, I nearly wept. However, if she dumped ketchup on fine proscuitto and melon I'd be hard pressed to control myself. Luckily, she loves the proscuitto enough just as it is.

My favorite Vietnamese place has "Sexy goat meat" on the menu. Was the goat sexy? Will it turn me into a buck? Is the idea sexy? I have no idea.

So this year I will be preparing an early Christmas dinner next weekend. As we'll be having Turkey on Christmas day at the future grandparents in law, I wanted to do something a little different. Something I haven't done before. A roasted goose. What could be the problem you ask? I have never in my life cooked a goose. I have cooked chickens of course, and make a mean duck (though it's been a while). Never, ever, laid knife on a goose though. I've looked around for some recipes online and think I found enough to get me started. Wanted to see if you fine folk had any recipes of your own? Tips and tricks? Will my duck skills translate to ye ol Christmas Goose?

There are a lot of service type jobs where tipping is prohibited, though aside from fast food I've never seen a restaurant ban it. That said, I much prefer our system. Good service gets a good tip, poor service a bad one. I hate when I see on a menu that service will be included.

Tony does a lot of new territory. Sure he does Greece, and Italy, but a lot is already known or done on these places. A lot of the places Tony does lately while maybe not unknown is more uncharted.

So does athletes foot

I could to the roasted camel....the hump looked a bit rich for my carnivorous taste though lol

Yeah was the Old stone mill one, next week is the pizza guy that had the asinine menu. Was hoping for new, but still worth watching.

I liked it. It's kind of sad in a way, I really liked Irvine on the show.

I'm so glad it's back. Love this show.

Would have been the same reason one hangs beef. Hanging removes excess water moisture making the flavors less diluted. It also allows enzymes to go to work tenderizing and flavoring the meat. Lamb, pork, etc is generally regarded as not needing to be hung and aged like beef. Some people do like to give it a day or two though, which is just enough for slight effect on a small animal.

As to being dead the lamb was probably out like a light within a few seconds, and technically dead in under a half minute when the throat is sliced correctly. Butchering is actually a fairly simple thing to do well enough for at home use, just takes practice. If you can bone out a leg you can do an entire animal with practice (and depending on the animal, space). Check local small farms, most wont sell off their whole stock but many will sell off an animal here and there, though slaughtering and butchering for you might be a bit harder to come by....can always check local butchers if they will do the deed for you. Doc- In the future you might want to consider saving the blood. Lots of stews and sausages use the stuff. Is pretty good when done right.

First choice is Dukes, second (and perfectly acceptable but far from preferred) is Helmans. Kraft is a distant 3rd if I don't have the other two available.

I've had five guys several times (Anderson, SC for reference) and each time has been very good. Never saw a gray burger in the lot, and the fries are fresh and good. Like any chain it probably has it's bad apples though. My only gripe is, yes, the price. They are a good burger but for what they are? "upscale fast food"? To expensive.