OUTBACK Disturbance

[Scooter2112]

...

 

[Tone deaf]

Since we are on this tangent, in my book the deciding factor on whether food is good or not is the same as my rule of thumb for wine [beer, cigars, and lots of other shit], is "do you like it?" If the answer is "Yes" it is good. Price plays no role in my methodology.

I have had dried pasta primavera out of a foil pack, on the banks of a river in the Alaskan wilderness and it was better than a filet mignon at the Palm. The best drink I ever had was a glass of Tia Maria (coffee flavored liquor)

I had with my dad, after we had dragged our canoe though a long bog and over a huge rock formation into a remote beaver pond...and then the skies opened up and pissed on us for 48 hours as we hung out in a dilapidated 150 year old cabin.

 

[JTM45]

It’s crazy that we can go from an unruly handicap child in an outback to talking about pasta

 

[Bill Hicklin]

Jake or Elwood Blues?

Did they order dry white toast, 4 whole fried chickens, and a Coke?

It was "How much for ze leetle girl" that crossed the line....

 

[Fiat Lux]

Since we are on this tangent, in my book the deciding factor on whether food is good or not is the same as my rule of thumb for wine [beer, cigars, and lots of other shit], is "do you like it?" If the answer is "Yes" it is good. Price plays no role in my methodology.

I have had dried pasta primavera out of a foil pack, on the banks of a river in the Alaskan wilderness and it was better than a filet mignon at the Palm. The best drink I ever had was a glass of Tia Maria (coffee flavored liquor)

I had with my dad, after we had dragged our canoe though a long bog and over a huge rock formation into a remote beaver pond...and then the skies opened up and pissed on us for 48 hours as we hung out in a dilapidated 150 year old cabin.

Wisdom, right there...

That's my response to which wine goes best with which food. In my world, the best wine match for the food you ar eating is the wine you have on hand.

cheers

 

[Tone deaf]

As for the best past you've ever had, make your own, toss it with some chopped tomatoes, garlic and olive oil (maybe a sprig of basil) and enjoy. A little old lady in Florence taught me this, when I was 17. She'd hang it over the kitchen chairs to let it dry. I have yet to find better pasta.

 

[smk506]

This thread is making me realize what a Philistine I am!

You’re my hero of the day today.

 

[Tone deaf]

I just had chili for dinner. Outback disturbance is expected, imminently.

 

[MSB]

That’s like saying “brand of beer” makes a difference. They start and end by being beer. From best to worst, they are still beer.

A so called great tomato sauce can only be marginally different than Little Caesar’s Crazy Bread sauce.

Unless you’re a corksniffer. And we all know how they get treated around here.



This thread is making me realize what a Philistine I am!

I'm not sure Philistines would look into water filtration systems.

 

[TheX]

Can one truly rape one’s self?

If one has a good enough imagination.

 

[LtDave32]

I used to work at an Olive Garden and there were people who believed they were eating fine, Italian cooking. I wanted to take them to the kitchen where it got about as creative as opening a jar of Ragu and microwaving frozen 'entrees'.

Wait.... Olive Garden isn’t fine dining?

But they have wine bottles as decoration. And drinks come in a glass with no logo. I thought for sure it was fine dining.

Now this, I've got me a gripe. Olive Garden.

I've been there a total of three times, all three different locations. Two in CA, one in Houston, TX.

Never, ever again.

I'm trying to have dinner with family, and in TX, dinner with friends. Both places, we were BLITZKRIEGED with interrupting sales jockeys trying to up our bill with extras. They just blurted their pitch, regardless if we were on a punchline of a joke, a pivot point in a story or any of it. We couldn't even start a conversation without it being destroyed by some jello-haired muppet shoving a bottle of wine in our faces. "Would you like a nice Chianti ? How about a white Zinfandel to go with that salad? " Then literally ten seconds or less later, " Helllllooooo, who's up for some sauteed mushrooms??!!? " They would NOT SHUT UP. They would not stop coming. They would not stop SELLING.

Finally, I had enough. At the last one, I let them have it both barrels. I said to the last hard-sell buttbreath to interrupt us, "I've been to the Olive Garden three times now. Every damn time, we cannot even begin a conversation without your staff butting in to our good time to sell us something we didn't ask for. And you never quit. You don't care that you're stepping on our good time. You just want to pad the bill up with every extra on the menu. Now you will leave us alone and not bother us again, except to bring us the bill for what we ordered, and we want that bill pronto. Then you will not bother us again. Am I clear?"

Contrary to popular belief, I am a really nice and gentle fellow when I'm off the job here on MLP. The nicest guy you'd ever meet. Just ask those here who have met me IRL. But I do have an eccentricity. I will not take crap from people. Not when I'm paying for it. And if something gets ridiculous, I usually have the patience to steel it through. But when something goes way beyond ridiculous into unbelievable territory, I nut-up. I hear a lot of ex-service folks are like that. We are just not geared to tolerate a stupid situation.

 

[Crotch]

Since we are on this tangent, in my book the deciding factor on whether food is good or not is the same as my rule of thumb for wine [beer, cigars, and lots of other shit], is "do you like it?" If the answer is "Yes" it is good. Price plays no role in my methodology.

I have had dried pasta primavera out of a foil pack, on the banks of a river in the Alaskan wilderness and it was better than a filet mignon at the Palm. The best drink I ever had was a glass of Tia Maria (coffee flavored liquor)

I had with my dad, after we had dragged our canoe though a long bog and over a huge rock formation into a remote beaver pond...and then the skies opened up and pissed on us for 48 hours as we hung out in a dilapidated 150 year old cabin.

 

[LtDave32]

Hold on, let me ask me...

Good Son, this is no time for an experiment in physics..

 

[LtDave32]

You don’t rinse pasta. Unless you don’t like sauce sticking to it.

Well, at least somebody knows how to eat.

Shred's right. Don't rinse pasta.

 

[smk506]

Now this, I've got me a gripe. Olive Garden.

I've been there a total of three times, all three different locations. Two in CA, one in Houston, TX.

Never, ever again.

I'm trying to have dinner with family, and in TX, dinner with friends. Both places, we were BLITZKRIEGED with interrupting sales jockeys trying to up our bill with extras. They just blurted their pitch, regardless if we were on a punchline of a joke, a pivot point in a story or any of it. We couldn't even start a conversation without it being destroyed by some jello-haired muppet shoving a bottle of wine in our faces. "Would you like a nice Chianti ? How about a white Zinfandel to go with that salad? " Then literally ten seconds or less later, " Helllllooooo, who's up for some sauteed mushrooms??!!? " They would NOT SHUT UP. They would not stop coming. They would not stop SELLING.

Finally, I had enough. At the last one, I let them have it both barrels. I said to the last hard-sell buttbreath to interrupt us, "I've been to the Olive Garden three times now. Every damn time, we cannot even begin a conversation without your staff butting in to our good time to sell us something we didn't ask for. And you never quit. You don't care that you're stepping on our good time. You just want to pad the bill up with every extra on the menu. Now you will leave us alone and not bother us again, except to bring us the bill for what we ordered, and we want that bill pronto. Then you will not bother us again. Am I clear?"

Contrary to popular belief, I am a really nice and gentle fellow when I'm off the job here on MLP. The nicest guy you'd ever meet. Just ask those here who have met me IRL. But I do have an eccentricity. I will not take crap from people. Not when I'm paying for it. And if something gets ridiculous, I usually have the patience to steel it through. But when something goes way beyond ridiculous into unbelievable territory, I nut-up. I hear a lot of ex-service folks are like that. We are just not geared to tolerate a stupid situation.

I maintain a carefully cultivated image that can be summed up as ‘just this side of destitute’ that does wonders for keeping wait staff and salespeople at bay.

In fact, I had to modify it a bit early this year after finally cutting my hair after 13-14 years. I even mentioned to Rob that after I did that it was alarming how people in those positions treated me as if I were the next guy to buy a big screen tv off them or as in your example, turn a simple meal out into a 4 course affair complete with wine and after dinner brandy.

I didn’t like it. It took a while but an acceptable level of shaggyness finally took back over and I’m off the hook again.

 

[LtDave32]

Far as the OP topic goes, I like my peace and quiet like the next guy.

But I'm willing to compromise a bit to ensure my sanity.

I go later. Maybe 7PM or so. That way, most of the families with small children have already left.

See, I don't want to bitch on and on about noisy, out-of-control brats ruining my meal, I just want to eat in peace. So I do something about it.

I'm sympathetic to both. Everyone needs to eat, and everyone needs to have that night out to break up the monotony of home. So I carefully choose the time, and the place. I tend to go to better places that are more "date" places. I'd rather save up and go to a great restaurant than corporate places who's policy is to cater to families.

I wrote a thread over a year ago about a casino that was under siege by children and families. They were running through the casino floor, right around the blackjack tables, etc. It was a hot mess. That annoyed me. Casinos and their resorts used to be the "adult playground" where you could get away from the kids, cuss, drink, smoke and be a foul adult. Not anymore. It's like a friggin Ikea store anymore. Strolly-moms and dads who look Like Ross Geller from "Friends" wearing some sort of papoose-looking baby holder on their chest.

It ain't Frank Sinatra, booze and broads anymore. Nope. No sireee.

 

[LtDave32]

If the fancy places aren’t rinsing it, they must just not do a good job straining it.


I’ve never rinsed pasta. I figured the Italian restaurants cook a boatload of it all at once. Then, when I order my meal, they throw some in a colander, dump some hot water on it, and pretend it’s “fresh”.

I can hear Gordon Ramsay yelling "YOU DONKEY.. GET OUT!" from here..

 

[Roberteaux]

Contrary to popular belief, I am a really nice and gentle fellow when I'm off the job here on MLP. The nicest guy you'd ever meet. Just ask those here who have met me IRL.

I'll vouch for Dave, here.

I've sat a few feet away while the man was moderating-- and at such a time as an action needed to be taken.

Dave kind of shrugged, told me what was cookin' on-site when I asked, then calmly explained that he figured to just issue a warning right then.

We wondered aloud to one another why anybody would bother to flagrantly breach subjects that were off-limits, shrugged again, and chalked it up to the sort of stubborn stupidity of the ornery or the connivance of some member who didn't like the thread or the direction the conversation was going in.

So he typed some warning or other up, and in the meantime I was sitting there watching television again. No use watching Dave. He's not visibly excited by any of this shit-- he only raises his voice to laugh his ass off about something. Once in a while he sighs tiredly... but then he just chuckles and shakes his head.

Damn kids...

Five seconds after the warning was issued, he was somewhere else on the site.

Ten minutes later with no further drama ensuing? The incident was already in storage-- not truly a matter of immediacy any more. Kind of like the difference between the memory of a fart and a really fresh and stinky one.

Anybody looking for free crash space in that guy's head is gonna end up homeless.

--R

 

[LtDave32]

Ever been to Baltimore?

Why would I do that?

 

[LtDave32]

I'll vouch for Dave, here.

I've sat a few feet away while the man was moderating-- and at such a time as an action needed to be taken.

Dave kind of shrugged, told me what was cookin' on-site when I asked, then calmly explained that he figured to just issue a warning right then.

We wondered aloud to one another why anybody would bother to flagrantly breach subjects that were off-limits, shrugged again, and chalked it up to the sort of stubborn stupidity of the ornery or the connivance of some member who didn't like the thread or the direction the conversation was going in.

So he typed some warning or other up, and in the meantime I was sitting there watching television again. No use watching Dave. He's not visibly excited by any of this shit-- he only raises his voice to laugh his ass off about something. Once in a while he sighs tiredly... but then he just chuckles and shakes his head.

Damn kids...

Five seconds after the warning was issued, he was somewhere else on the site.

Ten minutes later with no further drama ensuing? The incident was already in storage-- not truly a matter of immediacy any more. Kind of like the difference between the memory of a fart and a really fresh and stinky one.

Anybody looking for free crash space in that guy's head is gonna end up homeless.

--R

I flew out to Florida and spent a week with Rob, just as a hurricane hit. I was due for a vacation, had just parted ways with an ex and needed a little change of venue for a spell.

There was like NOBODY on the plane out. Maybe two others. Nobody wanted to brave the hurricane, though it wasn't to hit Orlando for another day or so. I had the plane literally to myself, except for some sugar-britches mooning at me from First Class. No dice, sweet-buns. I don't swing that way.

So, after a good round of first-night hard drinking, we settled into a week of being mostly housebound, what with the hurricane on. But that was pretty fun too. We made the best of it, making fun of the drama on TV and those who scare the public and stir the frenzy up; the news people.

That didn't sit well with some of the MLP'ers as we goofed at the over-dramatic news reporters. Oh, well. What else you gonna do during a hurricane, wring your hands and weep?

if the friggin' roof tore off of Rob's house, then I'd be there another week helping him put a roof on. Whatever. I'm there to hang out, and that means whatever's in the cards we're dealt.

Rob got to see how we mod this place, firsthand. He got quite a hoot out of it.

-And Rob, it was an absolute pleasure, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Thank you for your hospitality, my good friend.

You're always welcome out here with Anna and I.. Anytime, buddy.