Tag: restaurants

Three of Two

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Some selected news chum linkage, organized in three groups of two links each, covering animal science, pet peeves, and “are they still needed?”:

  • Animal Science. Under this heading, we have two stories, both concerning household pets and water. The first asked the question: How does a cat drink water? The question isn’t as easy as you think, because cats and dogs can’t create suction with their mouths, and can’t pour water in. It turns out that whereas dogs are crude, cats are clever. The second link asked the question: How do dogs spin dry? The answer is: very fast and very efficient. In fact, they are so efficient that the approach may show up in your washing machines.
  • Pet Peeves. Two stories related to pet peeves. The first is one that always seems to rile people: grammatical pet peeves. The second I found more interesting: The Pet Peeves of Waitrets. This had some things I didn’t know, such as: “When your server has brought the check to the table and the guests decide to split the tab there is always one or two people who insist on paying cash and the rest will use their cards. This is not a problem by any means. What IS a problem is that guests don’t seem to understand one major, basic thing. The cash that is presented to the server is applied TOWARDS THE BILL. Then the cards split the remainder. At this point, those who have paid with cards will only tip on what they have had charged to their cards. This results in the server receiving a 10% or less tip which actually winds up costing the server money.”
  • Are They Still Needed? Two stories in this category. First, according to Catholic Bishops, more exorcists are needed. Who woulda thunk that demonic possession was on the increase, except perhaps in the newly elected Congress? What may not be needed are the printed White Pages—Verizon is filing a request to drop them. My favorite quote in the article: “Anybody who doesn’t have access to some kind of online way to look things up now is probably too old to be able to read the print in the white pages anyway”
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Chicken on the Mind

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Yesterday, I had chicken on the mind (in addition to a migraine on the mind). During the day, I kept trying to find the disc jockey version (i.e., the approximately 3 minute mix) of Robert Preston’s Chicken Fat (you can listen to the 6+ minute version here), which is the version I remember from camp.

Then, over a dinner of soup, I began musing on my favorite chicken soups. For the record, and in no particular order, they are:

  • Mexican: Azteca Tortilla Soup (Don Cucos in Newhall): Fresh chicken pieces, spices, sour cream, sliced avocado and tortilla strips. This is a family favorite because it is so tasty.
  • Columbian: Sancocho de Pollo (Cafe Columbia, Burbank): Quarter chicken leg served with chunks of plátano, yuca and potatoes. This has become my standard meal, with a salad, whenever we visit here.
  • Thai: Tom Yom Kai (Lum Ka Naad, Northridge): Spicy soup with chicken, lemongrass, fresh galangal and Kaffir lime leaves, fresh mint leaves, straw mushrooms, and lime juice. Come in with a cold; leave breathing. I’ve liked this soup ever since my days at UCLA.
  • Greek: Avgolomono (Alexis Greek/Portugese Restaurant, Northrdge): chicken broth, fresh lemon juice, egg and orzo pasta.
  • Chinese: Wonton Soup (Chi’s Chinese, Northridge): Shrimp, white meat chicken, mixed vegetables, and chicken dumplings in broth… although their Chicken Corn soup (chopped chicken and sweet corn in a creamy egg-base soup) or Chicken vegetable soup (white meat chicken mixed with mixed vegetables) are close runner-ups.
  • “Jewish”: Chicken in the Pot (Weiler’s Deli or Brent’s Deli, but homemade is best): Chicken soup with a ½ chicken, served with 1 Kreplach, 1 Matzo Ball, Noodles, Broth, and Veggies.
  • Indian: Mulligatawney Soup (Taj Mahal, Encino): Delicately spiced soup made with lentil chicken stock & rice.
  • Japanese: Chicken Udon Soup. Haven’t found an exemplar of this yet, although the Udon at Sacha Sushi in Pasadena or Fuji in Arleta are both pretty good.
  • Persian: Barley Soup (Ali Baba, Granada Hills): Chicken broth soup with barley, carrots and sweet peas. Note that I haven’t tried this one yet, but nothing on their menu is bad.

In fact, the only cuisines that tend not to have strong chicken soups are Italian, for Minestrone is typically a vegetarian base; French, for Onion Soup is a beef-base. I’m not sure about German, Russian, or Polish soups.

So, have I made you hungry for soup yet? Do you have favorites not on this list?

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Dining Out in Honolulu

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

I went out to dinner tonight with the always delightful shutterbug93 and her husband — this time on their turf — Honolulu. We went to an interesting restaurant called Angelo Pietro that had an interesting menu. Our appetizer was something called Raw Potato Salad, which was just what it says: finely shredded raw russet potatos, treated to stay white. You pour various dressings over these: there was a sesame-miso, shoyu, ginger, and a ume dressing. Quite tasty. They serve pasta there, but not quite Italian style. Yes, you can get tomato sauce, but I tried it with a shoyu sauce. So my pasta was spaghetti with chicken and tuna, topped with fried onions and a light shoyu sauce. Tasty and interesting. Dessert was a Macadamia nut pie ala mode: like a pecan pie, but with macadamia nuts.

All new tastes. All quite delightful. I’ll have to try some of these at home.

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Wednesday Link Chum: Delis, Shamu, Universal Studios, Helen Keller, Fresh & Easy, and other Nonsense

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

It’s been a busy day, but not so busy that I haven’t got some chum for you, my, umm, chums….

  • From the “Do Not Make a Stingy Sandwich, Pile The Cold Cuts High” Department: The NY Times has an interesting article about a dying breed of restaurant: the Kosher-Style/Kosher Deli. They have fewer customers, especially as folks become more health conscious. I should note that even the NY Times mentions our local deli, Brents, in the article. Anyway, I have noticed the clientele becoming leaner at our local faves… and I hope this is an institution that doesn’t fade away. So what’s your favorite deli?
  • From the “Shamu and Beer” Department: St. Louis Today is reporting that Busch Entertainment has been sold by AB In-Bev to Blackstone Group. If this doesn’t mean anything to you, let me translate: the corporate parent of Seaworld and Busch Gardens is no longer owned by the beer company. To me, Busch Gardens will always be the one that used to exist in Van Nuys.
  • From the “Valley Theme Park” Department: Speaking of San Fernando Valley themeparks, the Daily News is reporting that Universal Studios is getting a makeover. It doesn’t look like it will touch the themepark, but will touch most of the area around the studio, including some new roads between Burbank and US 101.
  • From the “But Could She See It” Department: CNN is reporting that Alabama is replacing one of their two statues in the senate with a statue of Helen Keller. Keller’s statue will replace one depicting Jabez Curry in the Capitol Gallery. Curry was a Georgia native who served as president of Howard College, which later became Samford University in Birmingham. They are keeping the statue of Joseph “Fightin’ Joe” Wheeler, a Confederate general during the Civil War who, three decades later, volunteered to serve in the Spanish-American War at age 62 and attained the same rank in the U.S. Army. He was the only one of 425 Confederate generals to do so.
  • From the “Fresh and Easy” Department: One market that we have grown to like is Fresh and Easy, which has a nice selection of gluten-free foods. Alas, the LA Times is reporting that they are still losing money, to the tune of $259M in the last fiscal year. Ouch!
  • From the “Be A Clown” Department: Lastly, for you silly folks out there, the NY Times is reporting that nonsense can sharpen the intellect. So do something nonsensical every day. Narf.
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Unrelated Items and Thoughts For The Day

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

  • From the “Now We Know Who To Blame” Department: The news today brought word of the death of Norman Brinker. Never heard of him? Let me jog your memory. Ever gone to a restaurant and been greeted with “Hi, my name is Babs, and I’ll be your waiteress tonight.” Blame Norman. Ever visited a salad bar? Blame Norman. Ever dined at Chili’s, Macaroni Grill, Steak & Ale, On the Border, Maggiano’s Little Italy, or Bennigans? Blame Norman. Of course, all these restaurant ideas are in trouble in this economy.
  • From the “Now What” Department: As we all know by now, GM has filed for bankruptcy, and its old shares are worthless. Well, not to some. And we all know who owns a lot of the newer shares: we (that is, the US Govt) does. Some think this is good, and some think it is bad. M’self, its done and I can’t change it, but I don’t think we should hold on to them for long. So I’ve got an idea: Next year, the IRS should offer these shares to taxpayers (as well as shares in other government owned things, like banks and insurance companies) in lieu of cash for their refunds. The shares could be valued as of the refund date, and would be distributed, commission free. This would allow the government to keep their cash, and would make everyone investors in the equity market (just like the Republican’s wanted with Social Security). Those with the shares would have a vested interest in the companies doing better, and might even earn a tidy nest egg (hell, for these special shares we could eliminate the capital gains on the first sale). It would also get the government out of the ownership game, which would likely be a good thing.
  • From the “California, Here I Come” Department: We’re all hearing about the draconian cuts California is making… or not making. Yesterday, in a friends-only post, I explained why, but wanted to say something publically as well. A few days ago, I received our property tax reassessment for 2009-2010. The value of our house dropped again, per the assessor, over $118,000. This means lower property taxes for us, but now multiply our lower property taxes by hundreds of thousands of residents of the County of Los Angeles. The county, and the city by extension, have significantly lower revenues. Consider all the workers in the state who have lost their jobs, and now think of the lower income tax revenues… and the lower sales taxes as they cut back on expenditures. Now think about the financial problems of California: not only is there too much legislatively-mandated spending, but there has been a dramatic cut in income, just as if the state had lost its primary job. Just as homeowners faced with a sudden drop in income quickly face foreclosure and credit problems when the bills subsequently come due, the state is facing major credit problems that are coming due thanks to a spending pattern established when times were good, and the income was growing. In the face of all this, you can see why the leaders in Sacramento are having to make such dramatic cuts. They’re trying to save the house (state) by slashing expenditures, no matter how much it hurts the inhabitants, because the occupants of the house were unwilling to take additional measures to bring in income. They’re living in the mini-mansion they built when times were good, paying the inflated mortgage and HELOC bills, and praying. It is true we can’t grow our income enough to keep going as we were going (something many homeowners are learning). However, also as these homeowners have learned, just cutting your bills won’t pay the mortgage if enough isn’t coming in. One LA Times columnist has gone so far as to suggest cutting in a way that hurts the folks in Bel Air/Brentwood more than the folks in the lower income areas.
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Marketing Fast Food

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Fast Food Advertising seems to be the subject of a number of news articles today. The LA Times Business section kicks it off with an interesting piece about how Carls Jr. has “sexed” up their advertising. The talk about a recent spot (YouTube link) that features the former Mrs. Salman Rushdie (better known as Padma Lakshmi) sitting on a brownstone stoop in a clingy sundress hiked up mid-thigh, cramming a giant burger into her educated maw and sucking barbecue sauce from her fingers and wrists. These come from the same agency that created the 2005 commercial with a nearly naked Paris Hilton lathering up a Bentley, and who directed the 2007 campaign for Carl’s Jr. flat-bun burgers, featuring a hip-hop duo serenading their high school teacher’s flat butt.

Speaking of butts, Burger King has brought out the creepy King to sell kids meals with ads aimed at adults. In an ad called “Spongebob Burger King” (YouTube link), the music is all about how the King likes square butts. Avert your eyes — it’s as bad as the Burger King Cologne. Burger King has also insulted Mexico with their ad, running in Europe, that uses the image of a small wrestler dressed in a Mexican flag (YouTube link). The wrestler teams up with a lanky American cowboy almost twice his height to illustrate the cross-border blend of flavors. Mexico’s ambassador to Spain said Monday he has written a letter to Burger King’s offices in that nation objecting to the ad and asking that it be removed. Jorge Zermeno told Radio Formula that the ads “improperly use the stereotyped image of a Mexican,” the Associated Press reports.

It really makes one appreciate the cleverness of Jack in the Box (which has a new logo). They’ve always had clever commercials (and yes, I remember Rodney Allen Rippy), and their latest, with the little cowboys, is quite cute (YouTube link).

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Chum for your Friday Lunch

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Some more lunchtime news observations, skimmed from the lunchtime perusal of the paper:

  • From the “One Step Over The Line” Department: Global warming is having numerous effects on society. One that peaked piqued (no pun intended) my interest as a Diplomacy player is the fact that Italy and Switzerland are being forced to redraw their borders. The previous border was the ridge crest of the glaciers, and as they shrink and move, that’s no longer viable. As a result, a new criterion has been proposed so that the new border coincides with the rock. The border between Italy and Switzerland was fixed in 1861, when Italy became a nation, but it has been occasionally modified, most recently in the 1970s when the Switzerland-Italy highway was built at the Brogeda crossing. The border change only affects uninhabited mountaintop terrain. No families should have to change citizenship.
  • From the “Not Only Do They Clog the Arteries” Department: KFC (the chain formerly known as “Kentucky Fried Chicken”) is standing up for their civic duty. They are offering to fill potholes in a number of cities, if they can plaster their logo on the street afterwards. Some cities don’t like the idea, but I think it is a great way to fill civic coffers. After all, it is not as if we don’t have advertising almost everywhere else that we ignore.
  • From the “Chop Chop” Department: Earlier, I wrote how an increasing number of airplanes are being mothballed. That’s not economical for some: some are just chopped and recycled. This article profiles one of the companies that does it. I’ve always found this process interesting, since I first read about it in Airliners.
  • From the “Looking Good at 48” Department: There are certain actresses of my youth (and possibly your youth) who were just your personal model of beauty and cuteness. Dawn Wells. Valerie Bertinelli. Danielle Fischel. Karen Valentine. Susan Dey. I mention this solely because the Chicago Tribune has an article about Valerie Bertinelli appearing on the cover of People in a bikini, looking quite good at 48 (only a year younger than me).
  • From the “The Teflon Market” Department: I’ve often made fun of Whole Paycheck. But TJs seems to be below scorn (or is that above?). But is it? Here’s an article that questions TJ’s green credentials. Yes, they use a lot of packaging, but they also use compostable trays and really encourage the use of bags. Is the problem as bad as they state?
  • From the “Social Networking” Department: More and more boomers seem to be finding social networks. Even Kirk Douglas has a MySpace page. I wonder if this means it isn’t cool any more. I don’t know, but I still find it freaky to get friend requests from folks I went to camp with in 7th and 8th grade (not that I mind reconnecting). But given all this, why is it so hard to reconnect with the people you actually want to reconnect with?
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Fast-Food Joints of Your Youth

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

The LA Times Daily Dish blog has just reported the closing of the original Pioneer Chicken in Echo Park. I remember Pioneer Chicken: there used to be one on Western that I would pass every time I drove to Wilshire Blvd Temple. Thinking about that made me think of other possibly-defunct fast-food joints of my youth: the All-American Burgers in Westwood and West Los Angeles (at Barrington and San Vicente); the Pup N’ Taco on Western and Sixth (and the Piece O’ Pizza across the street).

Ah, the memories.

Ah, the indigestion.

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