Toliver

Alberto's on Mission Gorge in Santee has "Grand Opening" signage outside so I'm assuming they're now open. Also, Cazadores definitely was demolished but has re-opened in the new Henry's shopping center. They have some tables and chairs in front of the restuarant for outside dining. We saw a "Coming Soon" sign for a pasta place in the same shopping center but I can't recall the name on the sign. There's a relatively new chinese buffet in El Cajon that we've been going to recently that's pretty good. It's called the New East Buffet. They're pricey for dinner (about $10 a person) but I think they're worth it. It's housed in the old Marie Callender's site just off of East I-8 & N. Magnolia. The lunch is much cheaper but they don't offer as wide as variety as they do for dinner. They have some sushi, as well, and offer a sort of Mongolian barbecue (using a regular grill instead of the domed grill). Unlike most Mongolian BBQ places, you have access to the meats they offer, as well as the rest of the ingredients so you really control what goes into your BBQ. They also offer garlic and a chili sauce if you like things spicy. Has anyone else been?

I just saw a Snapple commercial that touted that they were jumping on the sugar throwback bandwagon for their entire line. Could the anti-HFCS revolution be at hand?

We did hot dogs, brats, and homemade hamburgers with potato salad, gussied up baked beans and fresh white corn on the cob (some boiled, some grilled). For dessert it was Clara's Brownies (aka Texas Brownies) and homemade chocolate ice cream (which everyone seemed to enjoy...they came back for seconds).

It's not really a question of banning something that's hazardous to our health. I just have this crazy idea and expectation that the food that's being sold to me shouldn't come pre-contaminated. And if it is contaminated, why is the US government allowing them to continue selling knowingly contaminated products in the marketplace? What I find most unbelievable about ConAgra is that they said "We can't trace the contamination." As a quick aside, the state of California may be trying to come up with a method of tracking produce due to the past incidents of contaminated spinach grown in the state. So why not give every farmer a unique UPC bar code? Whenever produce/livestock are moved off that farm and into the food supply, that UPC bar code goes with the product. When that produce/livestock is processed with other produce/livestock, the UPC bar code goes with it on up the food prep chain all the way until it reaches the consumer. Is this doable? I think it can be. It's beats the hell out of ConAgra just shrugging their corporate shoulders.

I spent my formative years in San Diego, a part of Southern California, and it's always been considered a side dish by my family. Adding meat to it would raise it to the level of a main dish. Then, of course, it wouldn't just be a main dish but would be considered a casserole and most casseroles are considered mains.

There's more to vegetable consumption than antioxidants. What about vitamins that may be broken down by the cooking process? Ideally we should eat a wide range of foods, cooked and/or raw. ← It's true that cooking some vegetables makes them nutritionally better for us, but we also lose some benefit due to the cooking process itself. This makes for a sound argument for consuming a variety of vegetables, cooked and uncooked.

Since you were saucing the plates, couldn't you have sauced your finger (assuming it wasn't too hot) and tasted that, as opposed to dipping your finger into the sauce? Just a thought...

I read this same article last week and was shocked that the government is doing nothing about this lack-of-food safety situation. It's a ridiculous and absurd idea that these companies are allowed to completely give up on the goal of selling a non-contaminated food product and telling the customer that it's their fault if they get sick from it. CYA? They can kiss my A. We're in this amazing age where technology is growing in leaps and bounds and yet they're allowed to say "Uh, we can't find the source of contamination but we're still going to continue to sell the contaminated product". This is completely insane and inane. They just don't want to admit that the manufacturing model they're using is broken and more immportantly, they don't want to spend the money to correct the situation.

Diva, I agree with what you've said. I have no problem if the government wants to require restaurants to show the amount of sodium in the food they serve. I also like that I can pick up a box or can of something in the grocery store and quickly locate and read the sodium content. But I don't think it should go any further. Besides, the pendulum swings. Granted, most processed food companies and (usually chain) restaurants have a heavy hand when it comes to salting their products/food. But as consumer sodium awareness grows, I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing a well advertised sodium reduction in these foods and dishes.

wow! and I have trouble finding space for my cookbooks...in bookcases, stacked on the floor and stacked on half my bed ← She's giving the running total for this discussion.

Woo-Hoo! I saw them yesterday. Some, not all, of the sandwich type of cookies were there. While I did see the larger bags of iced animal cookies, chocolate chip cookies, iced oatmeal, etc, I didn't see the mixed bag, either. I also didn't see the iced raisin cookies. So now I am wondering if they're only bringing back certain kinds/flavors but not all of them. Still, I guess am happy with what I found. Has anyone found Archway cookies? Target used to carry that brand and I will be there on Sunday so I can look for myself. Just curious if that line has been resurrected...

Possibly more the former instead of the latter. The longer it stays in the refrigerator/freezer, the more the moisture will be sucked out so the change in texture will become more obvious. A good illustration of this drying-out process in the freezer is to freeze a block of cheese, as I am sure many of us have done. Freeze a block of cheese for a decent length of time then remove it and let it thaw. Try grating the cheese on a hand grater and watch as it crumbles instead of shreds. Most of the time, this crumbly cheese won't be an issue since it will be used in dishes that will be baked/heated. But if you expect to be able to make pretty slices or nice shreds for your taco bar condiments, it's likely you won't be happy with the results.

In case this isn't a rhetorical question, yes, they do need signs like that. File it under legalese CYA in case someone is foolish enough to actually drink it.

Hand her a toothpick or some floss and keep using it.

Freezing and even refrigerating bread dries it out/removes its moisture. I agree with CaliPoutine...refrigerated or frozen bread is great for toasting but not that great for using in a non-toasted sandwich.

I have a garbage disposal but don't really use it to grind up anything. I toss all all major garbage (peeling, rinds, etc) into the trash can and use the garbage disposal to grind up any little bits rinsed off plates, pots and pans. This has been said in previous discussions but never put oil/grease down your disposal/sink. Put it in a jar and dispose of it in your garbage can.

Thanks for being the bearer of good news! I will stop by the grocery store this evening to see if they've found their way here.

Oprah gave away to her viewers (via KFC) an online coupon for a free 2 piece Grilled Chicken combo with two sides and a biscuit. KFC actually ran out of Grilled chicken at some of their restaurants, thanks to what is now known as "the Oprah Effect". The new KFC Grilled chicken seems to be a hit: KFC offers rain checks on coupon

The Santee site that used to be Scootz BBQ (and was Boll Weevil's before that) is becoming an Alberto's. You can see Alberto's banners from the street but I didn't see any signage as to when it would be open. The problem with this location is that this shopping center is not very easy to get in and out of. The backed-up traffic from the traffic signal at Mission Gorge and Town Centre Parkway (leading to Costco/WalMart) makes it difficult to get onto Mission Gorge Road. Of course, it's goes without saying that there's no drive-thru for this restaurant location either. There used to be a Roberto's just up the street in the old Taco Bell building near Carlton Hills Boulevard and Mission Gorge Road. That building was razed and is supposed to be the site of a Walgreen's. So the new Alberto's will fill the gap left by Roberto's exit from Santee. I think Cazadores (which is next to where Jack-in-the-Box was) is still there across from the Kohl's though I am not sure. The Henry's shopping center is mostly open including the new Jack-in-the-box and a Starbucks (with drive-thru). Google Street View doesn't show the new Henry's shopping center, yet, so I couldn't recall if the Cazadores survived the demolition for the Henry's shopping center.

As a generic customer I can say that knowing it's a Tuesday and if it's Tuesday you will alwaysl have your Tomato Basil soup, for example, can help me make up my mind whether I will be eating at your restaurant or not on Tuesday. I know it's boring for you and probably constraining to your chefly talents but if at least one of the soups you offer is always the same on the same day each week, it might lead to customers becoming regulars on specific days.

Chik-Fil-A opened a restaurant here and had a giveaway promotion so I was able to try their comparable sandwich. The Chik-Fil-A sandwich was huge in comparison to McDonald's southern style chicken sandwich. It was also quite a bit saltier. I couldn't detect any sort of pickle flavor that you get with the McDonald's version. I'll have to give them another try because I didn't think it was as ground moving as some have made it out to be and perhaps I didn't get a proper sampling.

Thanks to you, I am now channeling my inner Homer Simpson and making "Mmmm...Lasagna Sandwich" noises while drooling at work.

I read about a recipe for French Onion Soup Bread Pudding (obviously, a savory recipe) somewhere on eGullet. I couldn't find it in RecipeGullet. The Food Network has a similar recipe posted on their site, too. Bacon or ham sounds like a great addition to your recipe. I'm wondering if you couldn't dice up some skinless chicken breasts for the protein.

It depends on whether the tomato plant will flower all the way through autumn. Usually, there's a burst of flowers at the beginning and then they trickle off or the plant will start withering. Yes, you can still get tomatoes in October but not in as large a number as you did from the first 60 to 90 days of life for each plant. By planting in stages you should get a continual crop harvested throughout the growing months. Of course, the harvest point and amount harvested will vary with each type of tomato. My brother always starts with something easy like Early Girls since they bear fruit within 60 days and are pretty dependable. The problem with tomatoes like Early Girls is that they're bred to produce fruit quickly but they don't always have the best flavor so he has slowly moved into heirlooms and has had mixed results with them. Some heirlooms produce beautifully, others end up as disappointing runts. He uses large planter pots for his tomatoes that he places on the side of his house where they get a lot of sun. He has about 16 pots but not all are for tomatoes (some are used for his chile pepper crop). He mentioned that plucking off the "suckers" on a tomato is very important and he's pretty vigilant about it. And of course, the dreaded "May Gray/June Gloom" in San Diego always presents a challenge to tomato gardeners (or gardeners in general). This is when the marine layer comes in and doesn't go out again for about 30 days. This will sometimes delay tomato production as the plant will seem to stall during these sun-less days.

You must have upscale Fuddruckers in your area. The Fuddruckers I've dined at call out your name on a loudspeaker when your order is ready (as an aside, we always gave unusual names when we ordered. "Keanu, your order is ready" ) Sure it does. Subway & Quizno: They deal in high-volume. The ingredients are pre-assembled. The sandwiches are made to the customer's order while you are standing there and the completed sandwich is then, in a relatively short time, given to the customer who then pays for it. Fast Food. Not in my Pizza Huts. The pizza may be delivered to my table, just as my food would be delievered to my table in a Carl's Jr restaurant by a staff member, but the staff member doesn't get my drinks, doesn't refill my drinks, doesn't come back to ask how everything is and doesn't get a tip since they're not waitstaff. See "There will be exceptions, of course." Hence, the point of this discussion...to determine what makes a Fast Food burger or restaurant just that. Not getting your point. Pizza is either carried out in a box or when dining in, brought to the table on a serving platter (substitute "tray") by an employee. The original poster in this discussion who brought this up gave the example of taking the Fast Food meal 5 blocks from the Fast Food restaurant back to the workplace. This is a lot more reasonable than stating "...try an hour-old...meal". Perhaps customer intention should be brought into this discussion, then. We don't go to a Fast Food restaurant and buy food that won't be eaten until an hour later. We go there specifically to quickly buy quickly made food and eat it quickly. And if it can't be eaten until you get 5 blocks away, then it is still quite edible at that time. Again, your Pizza Hut experiences are quite different from mine. At my Pizza Huts, you pay up front when you order from the counter. And my buffet experiences are also quite different from yours. About 99% of the buffets I've dined at require payment at the end of the meal, not up front. Of course, there are always exceptions. I've already agreed on this point. It's already been mentioned that when Fast Food restaurants originally came into existence, you didn't special order Fast Food. You got what you got and that was it. "Having it your way" is a more recent Fast Food phenomenon and is exactly what FF restaurants like Subway & Quizno's are all about. And this "Having it your way" trend is also why we now have salads and non-buger-ish Fast Food items on FF menus. The pendulum swings both ways these days. My listing of the defining characteristics of Fast Food was just a courtesy to board members following this discussion to summarize what had been discussed here so far. It wasn't meant to suggest that these are the Fifteen Commandments to determine what is or isn't Fast Food. I thought they'd be easier to discuss being grouped into one post. You're welcome.