"Paying it Forward" in a Restaurant: Sucks To Be the Server!

Categories: Rants
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I don't know about you, but I have been hearing about a lot of people "paying it forward" lately. This comes in response to a widespread fear that morally, this country is going down the toilet, and that in order to collectively restore our karmic good graces, that we should show more genuine acts of random kindness toward strangers.

Earlier last week came an emotional tale from a Dunkin Donuts (probably not in South Florida) drive-thru cashier who was astounded when a customer paid for the car behind them, and they in turn paid for the following car, and so on and so forth, triggering an all day snuggle fest of love, Kleenex, and tear-drenched maple logs.

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The State of Food and Beverage at Sun Life Stadium (Leaves Lots of Room for Improvement)

Categories: Rants

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Let's talk about beer and grub at Humid Life Stadium (where the Miami Dolphins play) for a sec.

In recent years, the trend in American sports stadiums has been a shift away from the "foodservice" grade staples of my youth, such as stale pretzels and dirty water hot dogs whose only function is as sponges to soak up massive amounts of booze. Drunken sports fans, we have come to understand, have a more refined palate than we ever could have dreamed, and more and more venues are serving up local and regional specialties accompanied by good beers to wash it all down.


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Five Ways to Piss Off Your Server

Categories: Rants
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Of course, you think you're the perfect restaurant patron. You try to be polite. You tip according to set standards. What else is there to ask for?

Well, we've got news for you: There's a good chance you are still getting on your server's last nerve.

We spoke to one server at a local pub to find out what irks her the most. And quite honestly, it could be you.

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Is Peanut Butter Racist?

Categories: Rants
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Frugal Mom.com
Peanut butter. Global, not racist.
The Portland Tribune recently wrote about a program in Portland public schools called "courageous conversations", where educators attend training sessions and meetings designed to understand their own 'white privilege' so that they can "change their teaching practices to boost minority students' performance".

The assumption that educators in the public school system are "privileged and white" was irksome, but what really killed me is the quote from Verenice Gutierrez, who inferred that a peanut butter sandwich is racist, after one of her teachers used the lunchroom staple in a school lesson last semester.

"What about Somali or Hispanic students, who might not eat sandwiches?" says Gutierrez, a principal at Harvey Scott K-8 School in Northeast Portland. "Another way would be to say: 'Americans eat peanut butter and jelly, do you have anything like that?' Let them tell you. Maybe they eat torta. Or pita."

Really?  Peanut butter is racist? 



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California Pizza Kitchen Will Unveil Revamp in Florida

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This pizza is just wrong.
Chief executive of California Pizza Kitchen G.J. Hart told attendees at a California restaurant conference that the chain will open only one new U.S. restaurant -- a prototype -- this year. And the location happens to be in Florida, reports Nation's Restaurant News. No word yet as to which city.

The prototype will apparently allow California Pizza Kitchen to "reclaim its position as the California pizza authority," said Hart. Sustainability, new media, and customer service are among the priorities for said prototype.

Alice Waters and Wolfgang Puck introduced California-style pizza to the nation in the 1980s, back when people watched Miami Vice and listened to "We Are the World." The style was characterized by an individual-sized crust with ingredients less traditional than New York or Neapolitan-styles, such as a Greek pizza with goat cheese or the Jewish pizza with salmon, crème fraîche, capers, and dill. 

This style was well and good until California Pizza Kitchen bastardized the concept, introducing chicken as the primary pizza topping on pies featuring barbecue flavor, chipotle, and the California club.


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