superjuggler.com » Food

Does this ad make me look fat?

Scott Sorensen — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 02:31:42 +0000

So I go to the fridge to pour myself a glass of milk and I notice and advertisement on the top of the milk container. Seriously, an ad for another product seemingly unrelated in any way to milk. The irony is that the ad is for cinnabon, and it’s stuck to a container of skim milk. Skim people. Non-fat. ie: don’t advertise fried dough drowning in sugar on top of non-fat products. I think there’s a class on that very thing in first year deception, I mean, advertising school.

I know the ad is deliberately targeting milk, because its curved to fit nicely on top of the jug. Perhaps I’ll feel so good about my non fat choices that my mind will start wondering about how I might reward myself. I’ll head to the kitchen and gaze into the fridge. Then it will hit me. I must have a cinnabon. I won’t know why really, just a feeling.

Maybe its the fact that a single roll will replace all that fat I missed out on from the gallon of milk. 24 grams to be exact! One can only dream…

What’s the deal with Luby’s?

Scott Sorensen — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:36:44 +0000

For the uninitiated, Luby’s is a cafeteria style restaurant in the southern United States. Basically the drill is: you grab your tray, pass up the salads because they’re nasty, slide down to the entree window and see what looks edible, slide down to the sides and pick 2 that look the freshest, grab a roll, drink, piece of pie if you’re so inclined, then find your own table.

Its all very no-frills. The best part is you get to eat right away if you’re hungry and you’re in and out in much less time than a regular restaurant. Plus, they have a better selection of vegetables than most places, since elsewhere you’re pretty much stuck with the “side of the day”.

Then something bad happened…

It started slowly, by introducing a waitstaff who would walk around and basically offer you whatever you forgot to get yourself when you went through the line the first time. This was entirely useless and management probably found that out fairly quickly by looking at their tips. (non-existent) Would you leave a tip for someone who didn’t take your order, didn’t bring you your food, didn’t fill your drinks, didn’t even set your table? I didn’t think so.

So, to add value to this waitstaff, management removed items that you used to conveniently acquire yourself. Items such as a sharp knife for steak, butter for the rolls, cream for the coffee, take out containers for the leftovers, and so on. Its to the point now that when you sit down with your meal you need to flag this person over to gather all these necessities before you can commence with the consumption.

Therein lies the rub…

Now you feel obligated to tip this person, for something you would have happily done for yourself. That’s the whole point of a cafeteria. To pour salt onto the wound, consider that the price of the meal went through the roof. It happened almost immediately, since we would eat there almost weekly. We’re talking 30% here. What place can raise their prices 30% and expect people to come back? A meal there (adults and kids) would come to $22, provided I bought a coke. The same meal now costs $31, plus tip.

Not that $31 is a lot, but I could go down the street and get a made to order steak for the whole family for that.

Sorry, Luby’s, you are officially off my menu!

I (don’t) Like Ike

Scott Sorensen — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:44:24 +0000

Hurricane Ike came and left his trail of tears behind. Neighborhoods look like bombs were dropped on them, hitting only the trees and fences, leaving the buildings intact. Fortunately I don’t need power to juggle, as long as the sun is up. The down side to no power, besides throwing all your food away because you can’t keep it cold, is the oppressive Texas heat. For that reason, juggling is at a minimum, since there’s no convenient way to cool off from physical activity. There were a scant few businesses open yesterday, and I found an IHOP open on the far outside edge of the ‘burbs. They had a limited Ike menu of eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, cheeseburgers, fries, and onion rings. We ate all of the above. That’s the one time I can say I’ve gone to IHOP and eaten everything on the menu!