Archive for life

A Little Footnote or Two: Updates

June 17, 2009 at 1:47 am · Filed under grocer, health, life, news, shopping ·Tagged , , , ,

carrots-vitamina-lgIt seems no one wants to be ignored on the antioxidant bandwagon. Look at this latest product that should add to the confusion: Kraft Foods has decided to up the ante in the sugar-free Jello department. Health writers are all over this, and I appreciate the detail and the absurdity of the concept. Are we all that gullible? Now, carrots…

On the Ciao Bella front, I found the product at Target. Sorry for the omission, but the Mango Sorbet should not be omitted.

On the grocery smart scanner input, not all is as it seems. Yes, it is definitely fun to get a free item when the price comes up incorrect on the scanner. It is just  a little confusing when the scanner offers you savings on products that do not match your profile. Let me say do not even approximate a match. Some of the offers today were so not for me that I hope whomever is typing in my card number is having fun. So kinks still need to be worked out, but as for fun, I’m still loving the scan and bag approach.

One final note on the grocers. It seems that tracking is so powerful that your absence from the aisles is actually a positive. I just received a survey questionnaire and 4 separate $5 off coupons from Harris Teeter. They miss me. That’s sweet. They wonder why I haven’t been there in a while. No problem. For the coupon savings, they have me at least 4 more visits. I love being loved; especially with a $20 savings.

Life goes on.

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What’s Good for the Goose

June 16, 2009 at 5:53 am · Filed under Advertisers, Environment, grocer, health, life ·Tagged , , ,

..may not really work for everyone. Trends are like that–they come; they go. No matter how many superfoods, aka, miracle ingredients or products that get special label marketing can survive the reality test. There is no cure-all for life’s realities: Aging and all its precursor cousins. Sure some fruits and vegetables are particularly healthy in and of themselves, but we cannot live on them alone. No matter what. It’s becoming a challenge to separate the wheat from the chaff. Ok enough of that.

Realistically, confusion centers around the importance of antioxidants. It seems if you write high in antioxidants on the label, that almost guarantees high sales! How do these claims get tested? Who monitors reality? My favorite antioxidant claims are on products that are well known antioxidant fighters–fruits already high in antioxidants now jump out of the bins and off the shelves if they have the antioxidant banner.sunsweetantioxidant

What are these antioxidants and can we really get enough or the right amount from food? The foods that are naturally high in antioxidants are the easiest to take. If you’re going to concentrate on antioxidants and its benefits, summer is a wonderful season for you with its own natural bounty of antioxidants: BERRIES. Eat up, enjoy, skip the hype; it’s a natural occurrence. On the vegetable side, gardens are just beginning to produce the ultimate summer joy: TOMATOES. Sure there are numerous other foods high in antioxidants, and many antioxidant health claims may actually bear fruit.

Then there’s the whole beta carotene discussion. The old universe said eat your carrots. Limited explanation followed other than the statement: They’re good for you.  Now they are not just carrots but a food high in the all-important, necessary beta carotene, an important antioxidant. Don’t forget when you visit the farm markets, there are other easy choices: beets, cabbage, and kale, for example.

Then there is the new wonder product, the acai berry.  It seems to be touted everywhere. Unclear what it really does for you. It’s possible that no one knows the real answer, but when a product gets so heavily promoted so quickly, it moves into my suspect category.

Foods that promise can only promise more than they can deliver. Great skin, perfect eyesight, immune boosters, anti-aging, diet loss are just some of the claims that are part of the promise universe. We are looking for too many cure-alls.

What works is the same thing that has always worked: Smart eating. Not overeating.

That I am sure of.

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No Shock; Just Comfort

June 15, 2009 at 6:41 am · Filed under Economy, FDA, food, grocer, life, news ·Tagged , ,

Even though there are some signs that indicate we may slowly be emerging from under the dark economic cloud that has reshaped so much of our country, the reality is that consumers have changed their buying habits. We are different, and the hope is we will have learned something that has stickiness.

There is nothing surprising to hear that comfort foods are still the rage. Why not? Well, maybe a little salmonella scare here and there, but peanut butter and  jelly top many lists. There’s protein and multiple beneficial ingredients, and the price is right. It does not mean we deviate from our brand purchasing, but that in some instances we are more careful. Some studies indicate that in cautious times we are less likely to experiment with a new brand, even a much less costly alternative, and stay with an old friend. M&M’s plain chocolate candy was one strong, popular purchasing indicator from this survey of almost 25,000 consumers.

Candy, of course, is about the reward. Why take a chance on something you’re not certain will provide the boost you need? Hershey’s Kisses, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars all scored high. Wonder what this says for all the new Dark Chocolates which every company seems to be touting?

Across the aisles in the packaged meat case, bologna is a major winner. Some attribute its recent and continual spike in sales to a return to the foods of our childhood. They worked then and seem to be playing a similar comfort role. Definitely will need to talk healthy foods. Don’t even want to know how to make bologna!product_logo_reeses

If Mom served what we considered old-fashioned foods such as peanut butter and jelly or bologna sandwiches, we hear the message. It worked then; it works now.

Grocers clearly recognize the new patterns. We see it everywhere. The Wegman family just discussed how shoppers have changed than they were a year ago. The company’s direct price-cutting actions, which greatly impacted their already slim profit margins, earned them new customers and a different approach to marketing their stores. It seems to be working.

Will we return to the shoppers of yesteryear, as in last year?

I hope not. I hope we are smarter now.

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He Said That!

June 11, 2009 at 4:16 pm · Filed under dining out, life ·Tagged ,

Sometimes restaurant experiences are surreal. Like the other night when an appetizer arrived at our table, and we politely said, “that’s not what we ordered.”

Silence. Complete silence, and then the response that still has us shaking our heads: So?

That was what he actually said. So as in so what. Then, the clincher, what do you want me to do?

After I thought maybe he should just do a jig or something, I figured he would guess that he should apologize and excuse himself until he could return with the correct appetizer.

Nope. Didn’t happen. He shuffled. Looked at the floor. Seemed to believe his response was appropriate and looked at us.

Two things could have happened then. We could have admonished him and sent him back to the kitchen for the correct, as in what we ordered, appetizer, or we could just stare back and wait until he came to that conclusion. We’d probably still be at the appetizer course. We opted for keeping the appetizer, as it was something we like, and the other option might have been painful. We wanted to eat, to begin our dinner and to have limited discussions with him.

By the way red pepper dip and tzatziki do not look, sound, or taste the same. We are happy that we like this restaurant’s version of both. We opted for taste over correction!

The shock of his response still resonates. Was it worth discussing with the manager? Not really. That kind of response from a server at a well-known mid-tier restaurant is not something you can take out of him. It’s like a genetic flaw. A reprimand from the manager would, as they say, fall on deaf ears. Maybe he had seen The Absent-Minded Waiter one too many times. (If you haven’t seen it, enjoy the You Tube clip)IMG00418.

We had a good dinner and a clueless waiter. Fortunately since it is a Mediterranean restaurant, courses come out as they are ready, so we saw little more of him which probably saved the evening. 

He definitely needs training, but I’m not convinced his response is that easy to change. When someone doesn’t get it, he doesn’t get it.

I do.

So?

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The Numbers Are In

June 10, 2009 at 5:51 am · Filed under coffee, food, life, news, restaurants, Uncategorized ·Tagged ,

Those Zagat people, Nina, Tim, and their army of contributors, are at it again! Instead of an eponymous city guidebook, they asked over 6,000 people to rate their favorite fast food establishments: The Survey ranked 103 chains from surveyors who order fast food at least 11 times a month! Wendy’s was the overall Mega-Chain winner, and the West Coast’s popular In-N-Out Burger took top honors for a food chain with fewer than 5,000 outlets. Trust me, when you grab a burger at one of its locations in 4 states (CA, NV, UT, or AZ), you’ll understand what the fuss is about! They earned top honors for Best Burger, too.

Maybe Starbucks is the real winner of the survey as it grabbed top honors in the Quick Refreshment Category as the most popular spot, and the company earned major bragging rights for Best Coffee even though they have been attacked by every barista and quick coffee shop within its sights.

McDonald’s, which is working hard to earn a coffee title, managed top numbers for Best French Fries, Best breakfast, Best Drive-Thru, and Best Value. The latter category is doubly important this year at all levels of food purchasing–everyone is looking for value.

Were there surprises? Not necessarily, but in the full-service category, I love the fact that the International House of Pancakes, IHOP, top_store_1won Best Breakfast and Chuck E. Cheese still wins the Most Child-Friendly category.

The more things change; the more they stay the same!

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Victory for This War

June 9, 2009 at 8:40 am · Filed under coffee, food, grocer, life, wine ·Tagged , , , ,

clubPackThe concept has come full circle, and a Mighty Circle it is! Remember when grocers scoffed at big box retailers/markets and said who needs a case of this or 15 rolls of toilet paper? Well, take a look around you, the case mentality has come to the grocer’s aisles and seems to have found a permanent home.

Grocers are saying “two can play this game.” Their logic is quite simple: Eliminate the big box discounters by playing their game of offering case value. Whatever it gets called, and commonly it seems to be “club pack/pak”, the consumer benefits handsomely from this type of turnaround. For those who want to limit their shopping trips (yes, gas is climbing way up there, again), they can postpone trips to the big discounters and use the same mentality to stock up at the grocers. At least that’s what grocers believe!

Most of the national brands have entered the coupon fray-field by doubling and tripling cents off, something not available at big boxers. The big guys like Costco understand the value of coupons and send out whole books of discounts, good for an approximate 4-week period. Some, like Sam’s Club, publish welcome ads in the newspapers (assuming people still buy newspapers) in the hopes of welcoming new members. 

Grocers, on the other hand, combine all the concepts to demonstrate the modern definition of one-stop shopping. The competition is good for all of us. Look at Wegmans, as you recall my favorite grocer. They now aggressively market savings with club packs, a sizable list of wines under $10, and price-cutting that does the math for you. (As in, if a two-pound bag of onions costs $1.69, that’s .85 a pound. Then the calorie info: 60 calories a cup and a large onion is 3 cups). Maybe they’ll find someone to accompany you down the aisles, and then you won’t have to think at all! 

They have large comparison shopping boards at the entrance and throughout the store that list 4-5 products and show how Wegmans beats the competition. Their newest strategy is the $6 meal–one entree and two sides–as in bbq chicken breast with roasted red potatoes and harvest vegetables, or…many options.

Some of the local farmers are starting to bring their product to market, and Wegmans has inked a number of deals. Locavores unite: It’s a shopping possibility.

All of this to convince us that we can live at one store; one that has morphed into a combo: Great retailer, smart discounter, great service and product, and a big boxer.

This is a match we win.

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Kindness Wins

June 8, 2009 at 6:05 am · Filed under cooking, dining out, life, news ·Tagged ,

Maybe the most exciting news I read this week in the food world is that the world’s crabbiest Washington, DC chef has left town and left the two restaurants she was micro-managing. This is not the first flare up for Carole Greenwood, and I suspect it will not be the last!

After all this is a woman who was notorious for storming out of the kitchen and saying to a customer who wanted something altered in the presentation of a menu item, “If I had wanted it that way, I would have made it that way.” Servers were literally afraid of her and knew they could not even meekly slink into the kitchen to ask for a menu alteration. The question would lead to an explosion.

That makes great television or theatre but does not work on my nickel or personal dining dollars. I want more. I want to know someone cares enough to speak civilly and not believe that customers are without opinions or dietary needs. This is a restaurant, not a place to be bullied. Your tantrum does not make my dining out experience Comet_simpledelicious. 

This female DC area chef rivaled the tirades of  the legendary European chef and television star Gordon Ramsay. You know how over the years chefs have become rock stars. Well, her special blend of talent had some obvious flaws. Even with her background and finicky ways, she could cook. That is if she didn’t run out of specials or have so little menu food left to have guests question if was there anything in the house?

She was riding on a reputation she had garnered from her earliest roots as a hard-working female chef/caterer who managed to have a loyal following of customers. Some became friends and some eventually investors. She personified what it meant to be a poor businesswoman who was working hard  but without the finesse necessary to run a restaurant. Ask the investors who learned how risky an investment in a restaurant can be!

Running a restaurant as a chef and part owner has certain inherent demands. Customers, for instance, expect a certain level of attention and some kindness along the way. She lost that part of the business equation a long time ago. No matter how often she reinvented herself, the scenario always had the same ending: A tirade of some sort. 

In this more cautious economic environment, a lot of skills are necessary to keep one’s customers. Having good food at affordable prices is certainly a part of that equation. Her leaving town opens up two neighborhood restaurants to all the people who refused to go back. People who had given up on her a long time ago. 

The first restaurant will be reconfigured to more of a friendly camping environment (Buck’s Summer Camp) while they plan for the future. The more casual, but cleverly designed, next door sister pizza place (Comet Ping Pong) will remain the fun, welcoming place that serves affordable foods.

I wish her no harm, but I do wonder if her style has become permanently unacceptable in this more careful dining universe.

Watch out New York; she’s coming your way.

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The Shrieking Garden of Delight

June 6, 2009 at 9:10 am · Filed under gardening, life ·Tagged ,

IMG00405earlygardenearlycucNo matter how hard we try to be good garden waterers, we fail miserably in comparison to what occurs after a significant downpour. We even installed one of those do-it-yourself drip irrigation systems from Lowe’s and credited it with the record heirloom crop of tomatoes we had last year.

This year is already different. Here we are 3 weeks from our traditional Mother’s Day planting exercise, and the zucchini and cucumbers (and even a few tomatoes) look as if they’ve been in the ground for a good 60 days! It has a lot to do with the fact that it has rained almost endlessly on the East Coast for the better part of the past two months. Washington’s reputation as a swamp is no longer limited to the early years of the city’s growth, but a modern reality with daily flash flooding and standing water alerts. This weekend is supposed to be sunny, but by Monday, the rain promises again to be in the scary thunderstorm category.

Farmers everywhere are rejoicing; even those of us in the city that define locale as our front or back yards–we are the true locavores, even though we need deer netting to get any crop to survive!

I personally am amazed by the speed of garden growth. Yes, I admit I am tired of grabbing my raincoat and any additional covering, but my garden is truly smiling. the plants are the earliest, the biggest, and the crops of the future, giving new meaning to “Early Girls.”

Look at these photos.

Amazing.

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Now We’re Talking Good News

June 5, 2009 at 5:23 am · Filed under coffee, life, news ·Tagged , , , , ,

ciaobella_flash3Seems like the sweets are on the top of my radar. Yesterday it was donuts; today gelato. In my book, not just any gelato but Ciao Bella. The New York treat has made its way across the country and onto restaurant menus and in freezer aisles (Costco, Harris Teeter, Safeway, and Whole Foods). YES.

What makes the gelatos and sorbets so delicious is the process (hand-made) and the intensity of  flavors. If it says espresso (triple), you’re talking about my favorite drink transformed into my favorite flavor. This is the real McCoy. Since a trip to Italy is off most agendas for this summer, we can just follow the Ciao Bella sampling tour where their Discover-Savor-Share 2009 travel mobile plans to hand out one million free samples of their favorite desserts. 
As long as you are on the East or West Coast, you may get a chance for this mouth-exploding taste sample. They started the tour-scoop promotion concept last year on the East Coast and managed to hand out 100,000 free scoops of gelato and sorbet. The cool part about their sample logic is customers get an individual serving in a fitted cup with the spoon tucked right under the lid. Saves time and demonstrates a practical approach to scooping.

Check the website for locations. The month of June has them moving North from North Carolina into southern Virginia. Plan ahead  as the promotion continues through September. If you can’t wait to greet the truck, then try out the pints or gelato bars at grocers or free-standing locations in New York City or California.

Let’s help them reach their one million scoop goal!

Ciao.

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Coffee And…Why Not Doughnuts?

June 4, 2009 at 11:09 am · Filed under coffee, life, news, Pairings ·Tagged

I’m clueless. There’s little wrong with the coffee+doughnut equation (no matter how you spell the treat). On a regular day, especially a rainy one, the combo of hot coffee and a circle sweet bring an instant smile. On sunnier, warmer days, an iced coffee and a doughnut–you get the picture.

Now, regardless of weather, and this is no cruel calendar joke, tomorrow, Friday, the 5th of June is a calendar keeper–it’s National Doughnut Day.  This is no made-up holiday but one that traces its roots back to 1938. If you’re more interested in the food possibilities, plan ahead and do your own personal best taste test. The options are not limited to the national brands, check with your local bakery and entice them to join in on the fun. In the meantime, consider these two specials:

–Dunkin’ Donuts (see the spelling) will let the customer choose any donut with the purchase of any beverage. 

–Krispy Kreme thinks you might want to get a drink, but they are enticing with free doughnuts, no purchase necessary.

Hmm, imagine those will be some impressive lines! 

What a perfect combo: A Friday and a free treat. Sweet.

Walk to the doughnut store; there’s less guilt.

Enjoy.promoSmallDoughnutDay09

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