It's all about the service

Good Morning and the Phillies should still move Ryan Howard.

You know, there are a lot of restaurants out there begging for my money. There are those big chains who want to 'See me Tomorrow.' There are others which offer great deals (really, two meals for $20) or e-mail clubs for free stuff.
So, if you want to go out to dinner, there are so many choices you could literally throw darts at a map and hit one.
Most of the places make really good stuff. I can count on one hand the number of times the food was awful. I'd pretty much take my credit card to any place I've tried before.
It really comes down to service.
For instance, a local sandwich place (actually it's a regional chain a certain announcer uses a lot during the broadcast of games), gave me such bad service a few years ago, I vowed to never go back. I ordered a sandwich, then stood there and listened to the workers fight over who was going to make it. Finally, I had to step in and ask about the problem. I mean really, there are plenty of sandwich places. If it's ordered, make it.
So, last night, I tried out a relatively new place in town. I've wanted to for awhile and it seemed like the right time.
The food and the beer selection was great. The service? Uh, let's just say it was below standards.
Look, I won't mention the place because it might have been a bad night, but if I go back and experience the same, well, there are plenty of places.

It's not even summer and it's a long one

Good Morning and welcome to the last week of Spring!

I'm one of those Phillies fans that looks at (seemingly) bright spots before the start of a new season.
This year, I was talking about health. Ryan Howard was finally healthy. Chase Utley would be back in true form. Jimmy Rollins was playing so well at the end of last season, this one could only get better.
You know, with a fast start and some luck, the Phillies will be right in the playoff hunt. I mean, the Braves lost Brian McCann (to the Yankees no less), so they will be a little short.
The rest of the division has had injuries. Sure, the Nationals would be better than last year, but, I mean, come on, the Mets? The Marlins?
I almost felt young again. It felt like I was talking about how Ricky Otero could be our answer in centerfield (1996. He was not). Ken Howell is healthy and will anchor a great rotation (1990. Somehow, that rotation of Howell, Pat Combs, Jose de Jesus and Jason Grimsley didn't bring a division title). Signing Lance Parrish is going to put the Phillies over the top (1987. Don't remember a parade that year either).
So, this year, bringing in Marlon Byrd will anchor the outfield. Dom Brown and Ben Revere looked like players last year.
We are back, baby.
Yeah, back to those days when it's more entertaining to watch the 100th rerun of "Man vs. Food" than anything the Phillies are doing on the field.

Great, now get out of the aisle

Good Morning and how about that winter!

So, I don't mind doing my food shopping. Sometimes, it's fun to walk down the aisles and check things out.
It's just that I don't understand people.
Case in point: Last Thursday evening, I was in the Giant in Havertown. I had my cart and my list.
Now, the store wasn't packed with people, but there were enough around.
In aisle 4, somebody left their cart in the middle while they checked out the chips. I enjoy looking for new things as much as the next person, but, come on, you have to leave the cart in the middle of the aisle? You couldn't move it off to the side? It was too much work?
Two aisles later, a couple of customers who hadn't seen each other in a day or so (my guess) decided it was a good time to chat while they blocked the way with their carts. It's not like they couldn't move to the end where there was enough room. It's not like they couldn't have put both their carts on one side while they chatted about cats.
No, they had to stand side-by-side.
I said, "Excuse me, I'm trying to get through."
As I squeezed past, I heard one shopper say to another: "Gee, some people are always in a hurry."
I think I'm going to start shopping at 2 in the morning.

Rise and Shine: The Lure of the Snack Bar

Good Morning and welcome to summer!!

Maybe it's the smell of the fries coming out the window or maybe it's just a right of spring, but the youth baseball/softball snack bar seems to have a pull.
On Saturday, before heading off to the first game of the day, I made sure everybody had a full belly. We ate a big breakfast and had a couple of snacks before leaving.
When we got to the fields, it took about a minute before the first plead.
"Can I get something from the snack bar?"
What. You just ate. In fact, you just told me you were so full you couldn't eat another bite.
"Yeah, but now I'm hungry."
What could you possibly want.
"Ice Cream."
We have ice cream at home. You can wait.
"Cheese Fries?"
How could you eat cheese fries. You just had pancakes, eggs, a piece of cake, some fruit, some Easter candy. You can't possibly be hungry.
"How about a hot dog?"
Did you bring any money? No? Well, we can wait until we get home.
You know, sometimes I give in. Everybody does, but, while the prices aren't bad, you could lose a small fortune hitting the snack bar every day.
Mabye I should use the old doughnut shop lesson. Let them get whatever they want one time, then they'll be satisfied.
Somehow, though, I don't think that would work here.

Rise and Shine --- Taking a tour

Good Morning and welcome to the beginning of another long week!

As the minutes ticked away while not being able to fall asleep last night, I kept thinking "I could have gone to bed at 10 and it wouldn't have made any difference."
That's what happens when you stick through a Phillies playoff game that stretches past midnight and is one of those frustrating games the Phillies always seem to play.
Well, at least the rest of the weekend (despite trying to battle through an early-Fall cold) was busy but fun.
It all started Friday morning when I was invited by one of the Delcotimes.com bloggers, Chef Jacquie (CHECK OUT her web site here), to take her culinary tour of the Italian Market.
Now, I've been to South Philly's Italian Market. I like to get down there maybe once a month or so to pick up some fresh fruits and vegetables.
This tour was a little more, though. There was history (one of the businesses had been there since the early 1900s), there were stories (one shop was opened in the 1930s when a competing shop wouldn't let workers take a day off Jan. 1) and there was food. Lots and lots of food.
We started out with a caramel and chocolate covered apple, followed with a couple of different cheeses, a cheesesteak, a hoagie, pizza and finished with cannolis.
Now, I have to figure out when I can get back.

Rise and Shine --- Lunch dilemma

Good Morning and if just one of my tomatoes would turn red, the world would be right!!!

So, for the first part of the summer, I was using the old stand-by for lunch: peanut butter and jelly. OK, sometimes I would mix it up and add some marshmallow.
Anyway, it seemed to be working out OK. It was quick, everybody was satisfied, time to move on to the rest of the day.
Well, a few weeks ago, I thought it would be better to mix it up a bit. I mean, PB&J is good and all, but it was time to get some vegetables into the diet.
So, one day I made some vegetable dumplings. Took a little more time and I heard the cries while I cut up the veggies and got the wonton wrappers ready.
When they were cooked, though, it was pretty tasty.
That lasted one week. Then, I went to salad. My crowd wasn't as happy about that. In fact, they boycotted.
OK, how about some spinach raviolis? Seems simple enough, especially with frozen ones.
Two liked it, one didn't. Chili? About 1/3 successful. Vegetable po-boys? About the same.
I'll keep trying, but the peanut butter is right there on the counter.

Rise and Shine --- Fun in the sun

Good Morning and welcome to a brand, spanking new week!

Can't you just feel the excitement about Rick Santorum announcing he's going to run for president. Oh, wait, it's just a little indigestion from the heavy sauce on the pasta.
So, we were out at the Italian Heritage Festival (or the Italian Food Festival or the Delco's Meeting Place) at Rose Tree Park yesterday. Met a lot of nice people and, luckily, had to be there early enough to get a parking spot right near our tent.
Anyway, seemed like everybody was having fun, despite the long food lines.
It was one of those days where it looked like we were going to get rained on, but, when the sun finally broke through, it got very warm.
One thing I came away with is people still rely on the Daily Times to get the information about their community. They are invested in the product (even if the product is on the Internet). We welcomed people of all ages and backgrounds who get their news right here.
So, in the immortal words of Carl Spackler, "So, I have that going for me."

Rise and Shine --- Lions, Tigers and Bears

Good Morning and welcome to the outdoors!

Well, there's supposed to be a warm-up over the next couple of days, but, judging by the cold out there this morning, somebody forgot to tell Mother Nature.
Speaking of nature, there have been television shows about people living on their own in the forest for years, eating baked tree bark and surviving among a pack (or den) of bears.
None of them, though, have ever been questioned by bears. Well, maybe in some animation world, but not in the real world. Then again, if you've seen any movies recently, the animation world can be a lot nicer than the 'real' world. Or something like that.
Until you've tried to question bears, or been questioned by bears, though, you can't be a true survivor.
Now, truth be told, there was a bear living in our house last year. He is a quiet bear, though. You can usually placate him with a plate of cookies. His brother, well, it takes cookies and them some. Once again, though, that's another story.
These bears wanted to know all I could tell them about the newspaper business. Being young bears, none had ever really read a newspaper. That's the time we live in. Bears may live in the woods, but they don't take newspapers out there during 'break' time.
So, while trying to protect my picnic basket (dated), I tried to give them a quick overall view of what putting out a daily newspaper is really like.
They asked. I answered. They like the comics page.
Hey, maybe there's hope yet.


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