McDonalds Files Patent for Sandwiches

Ok, the title may be a over-generalization, but today McDonalds did file a patent application for what they call the "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING A SANDWICH". I kid you not. They're even covering "cocktail sandwiches", i.e. burger bites etc.

Who knows exactly who McDonalds plans to go after with this one, as my understanding of patents is that if even one thing is different, it isn't actionable. So if Burger King decides to "apply appropriate condiments to [the] appropriate compartment" before they "assemble sandwich fillings and hot garnishes in [the] tool", they'd be fine. Mickey D's lawyers can't be that stupid - there has to be some kind of terminology in there that they think is bulletproof; there's too much prior art to make this thing fly.

I just love looking at the flowchart.

Too Much D&D Coffee?

Ah, coffee - I love it, and I drink what is probably an unhealthy amount of it daily. But which brand is best? Some might say Starbucks, others Honey Dew. For me, I'll drink almost any kind, but my hands down favorite is, and has been for years, good ol' Dunkin' Donuts. I remember half-kiddingly going online to investigate how to get a franchise, just so I could feed my addiction a little easier (as if having a D&D on practically every corner wasn't enough).

My days of buying medium regulars are now over (ok, slight exaggeration) thanks to a member of my family landing a job at D&D corporate. Now I can bring home a FIVE POUND bag of coffee for a fourth of what it costs me for a fill up at the gas station. Too much? Maybe, though I can pretty much guarantee none will go wasted here. It's all about pacing myself...

Sweet Lemons Thai Restaurant

Every Friday night TLM and I make it a point to go out together..."date night" if you will. This week we ate at a restaurant she had heard of but neither of us had been to called Sweet Lemons Thai Restaurant. It's a Thai food place (duh) in Weymouth which apparently has received good reviews and just become a chain (um, the other location is in Weymouth too).

I and my stomach were a little tentative at first, as I'd had a buffet lunch at an Indian food place earlier, but I was immediately put at ease by the establishment's decor and arrangement. The service was very polite and attentive, and merely the fact that the paper on the ends of the straws of our drinks were folded into little flowers serve as testament to their careful consideration of diner experience.

Though I should have probably started with some kind of Pad Thai dish as it was the first time we were eating there, I opted for the Drunken Noodle with chicken instead, and was not disappointed. It wasn't overly spicy nor overly veggie, and there was no shortage of well seasoned chicken to be had. All in all, it did not disappoint.

TLM had the Rad Na with chicken. I'd never actually seen Rad Na before, and it looked good, albeit very green, in the gravy-type broth in which it's served. She said it was tasty, though there was one small incident where she hit something that can only be described as a concentrated hot spice something, prompting her to polish off her drink, her water, and some of mine before her throat started opening up again. Yikes...sounds like my kind of spicy.

The meals were of average cost - $9-10 dollars a meal, though the restaurant did employ one of my biggest pet peeves when eating out: no free refills on sodas. Unless you ask, you find this out only after getting the bill. This was, however, the only negative critique I have of what is sure to become one of our favorite Weymouth spots: the Sweet Lemons Thai Restaurant. After one visit: 3 stars.

A Capital Evening

Thanks to "s" from TMT, The Lovely Mary and I were able to enjoy a four-course meal at the new Capital Grille in Burlington as part of a preview dinner benefit for Neurofibromatosis, Inc. and the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism. There were a lot of Patriots players there last night, including Ellis Hobbs (who TLM claims is "tiny" and smaller than I am), and I heard the night before featured all-time Red Sox player Dwight Evans and former Patriots Russ Francis and Ronnie Lippett. There was a silent auction in another room with various types of sports memorabilia (the starting bids for which were extremely high) raising I hope a large amount of money for the foundations.

The atmosphere and people (and open bar) were not the only stories of the night, however, for never is there a trip to a Capital Grille that doesn't involve incredibly well-prepared food.

We started the night off at the bar with some fried calamari and a couple of Ciroc and tonics. After being seated in front of a rather large portrait of Johnny Most (a personal hero) and about 10 feet away from the chef's table packed with Patriots, we were treated to a variety of breads with butter and our second course: a caesar salad for me and onion soup for her.

For the main course, both TLM and I had 14 oz. dry aged sirloins, though mine was prepared au poive (a new favorite) and served with a Courvoisier cream sauce. I don't think I can do proper justice in words to the excellence the taste of this steak demanded. I recommend it to anyone, nay, everyone as a must-have meal.

To finish the meal, TLM and I split a delicious crème brûlée, the first time I'd ever had (or seen) the dessert. This, of course, was the proverbial icing on the cake of a truly "capital" evening.

Then we drove home in a snowstorm.....

Vegas '06- Part 5- "IN-N-OUT Burger"

There's lots do do in Las Vegas, without a doubt, but every once in a while you see something you just can't resist. As The Lovely Mary and I looked out of our hotel window, we saw such a sight: an IN-N-OUT Burger.

Now there are lots of great restaurants and other places to eat everywhere up and down the strip. Seeing that familiar red sign and big yellow arrow, however, reminded us that we didn't have to break the bank to get some good food. Before you knew it, we were at the website finding directions, and thinking about how long it's been since the last time we got to eat at one (there are none out here on the east coast).

Mmmmmm......double-double, baby, just like we remembered.

Sandwich Day

Yes, it's true. There is in fact such a thing as "Sandwich Day", another one of the food holidays, and it is today. The day is the anniversary of the birth of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich who is credited with inventing everyone's favorite two-slices-of-bread-with-something-inside snack. Does this mean Mr. Montagu is indirectly the inventor of Oreo cookies as well?

Top Chef

So The Lovely Mary tells me about this National Blog Posting Month thingee and I thought it was a cool idea, so here's my official first post for the month (with not too much time to spare). Now I almost have an excuse for wasting time writing these things...

On to the topic for today:

One of the shows in our current cycle right now is Bravo's culinary reality show, "Top Chef". Last season was decently entertaining, with enough inter-chef drama to keep our attention. There is something to be said for bantor between a sommelier and a short order cook. Oh, there was a bunch of cooking competition too, I think...

Anyway, the second season of this show started this week, and I can already say with certainty that the producers of the show have spared no expense in bringing another diversly eccentric cast of characters to the kitchen. My early favorite for most controversial is Marcel, the young know-it-all with a degree in molecular gastronomy and a Japanimation haircut.

This week's episode brought some other personalities to the forefront. Specifically, Marisa's. My early assessment: she sucks. There was some challenge where the contestants were split up into two teams and had to go to the markets for ingrdients (cooking show, right, I keep forgetting). After checking out, one of Marisa's teammates, Otto, thought that maybe they had gotten some extra something-or-other, and mentioned it in passing. He didn't steal them. All he did was notice that they hadn't been payed for.

Anyway, this Marisa gets more and more twisted into ethical knots as the day goes on, and when one of the judges comes to visit, she not only tells him about the food not payed for, but implies that Otto was the one responsible, causing the judge to cast Otto off to return said items. Later, when standing before the judges, Marisa really throws Otto under the bus, referring to his "act of dishonesty" as a reason the "team is in jeopardy".

Mind you, Marisa knew about the unpaid-for items for as long as Otto did, and Otto was the only one with the wherewithal to even notice. Oh, and the dessert Marisa was in charge of was called a "substandard product" by the judges. But did she go home? Nope. For some inane reason Otto bowed out of the competition, letting Marisa off the hook. Good job, Otto.

In the previews for next week there looked to be a lot of swearing, and maybe even a stabbing with all the knives around...