Do promotions drive your dining choices?

Today is National Doughnut Day. Who knew? Aparently this is a real holiday started in 1938 by the salvation army to celebrate the efforts of ladies who served doughnuts in the Big One (WWI). To honor this important day, Krispy Kreme is giving away a free doughnut... well not just one, but I think one to each visitor who wants one. Probably more in the hopes that somebody who was not already going to come in would come in for the free doughnut and spend actual money on a coffee or some other product.

I also just heard that Groupon, the coupon company, is going to go public and offer up shares of stock in the company. Groupon's deal is just that, they negotiate a daily deal with local businesses and they send out an email to everybody on their contact list and those people can buy the deal for real money. Then I guess they print off something that says "I paid money and got this piece of paper" they then take that to the business that brokered the deal with Groupon and get some rediculous discount on something.

Like a city guide to fucking Boise Idaho

Now, I don't see how Groupon needs to sell stock and become all high and mighty about the "service" they provide. I could do the same thing from my couch... without even the pretense of wearing pants, and you don't see me filing with the SEC.

But that's not the point.

My point is, how well do promotions work on you?

I'm fairly vulnerable to promotions. I'd cite my lack of impulse control, so really if they can just plant the seed in my mind, I'm likely to be hooked and go be a patron of their business.

But what's your story? Do you have Living social, groupon, and Yahoo! Deals' messages sent to your smartphone so you don't miss a minute of being marketed to? Or do you take more of a "I know what I want and I'll do it regardless of some promotion" attitude?

Let's do a little excercise here. Follow me:

Think of your veto items. Heliocentric = mushrooms (standard, magic ones are exempt from my veto), Watchdog = banannas, Lunchczar = 'light on the mayo', Hatertot = drinks without booze...

What kind of promotion would it take to have you willingly get involved in one of your veto items?

What kind of promotion are you having for lunch today?

Also as a note, I'd like to pint out that while we have recycled posting topics frequently in the past, this one speaks of our most recent renewal... since I think that there were no smartphones, groupons, or websites that acknowledged the existance of Baise ID back in the day. We're back baby.

Better Late than Never?

I've been on a slow cooking kick of late. I love it because in my old age, my teeth are falling apart, and the crock pot creations are so soft and easy to chew. The down side is that slow cooking is... well slow. That doesn't work with my ADD. I'm interested in food, and I want it now.

Thinking about this got me to wonder about the service you sometimes recieve at your lunch spots. Time is critical at lunch time. So most places open for the mid-day meal have figured out how to keep the lines moving. With the occasional exception.

Like at fucking Cosi

Sometimes though, at a late lunch, or at a place that's not quite ready for the lunch rush, you have to wait... ane wait... and wait. Until your lunch is ready.

Does that tardiness make it taste better? Or is it that you're so pissed off, all you can taste is your blood rage?

What are your thoughts on the (sometimes) long wait for lunch to be prepared for you?

What will you be waiting for for lunch today?

It's Barbecue Season

I'd like to thank Watchdog and the crew at Newton St, for putting up a mighty kick off to the the unofficial summer season with the BBBQ they put up on Saturday.

There were hot dogs

and bacon rap Shrimp

And much more

Now that it's summer BBBQ season, What's your thing? DO you Thrive on the basics like burgers and dogs, or are you more of a grilling master, preferring the ribs and briskits and maybe even a grilled sweet potato pie?

What's for lunch when it's grill time?

Hamentashen

Purim is coming up. I figured I put this up there. Our group is an eclectic one. I know that many of you savor exploring new places and eating new things. So, you may have eaten this cookie before and not known what it was all about. I am here to tell you it is a Hamentashen (Bless You!).

Yes, it sounds like a German sneezing. But some of them are damn good. I like the raspberry myself. (cookies that say they are razzberry just creep me out, WTF is a razzberry?).

The story of Purim is told in the book of Esther. The heroes of the story are Esther, a beautiful young (YAH RIGHT!) Jewish woman living in Persia, and her cousin Mordecai, who raised her as if she were his daughter. Esther was taken to the house of Ahasuerus, King of Persia, to become part of his harem. King Ahasuerus loved Esther more than his other women and made Esther queen, but the king did not know that Esther was a Jew, because Mordecai told her not to reveal her identity.

The villain of the story is Haman, an arrogant, egotistical advisor to the king (whose hat is represented in the cookie ... thus the phrase, eat your hat). Haman hated Mordecai because Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman, so Haman plotted to destroy the jews. In a speech that is all too familiar to Jews, Haman told the king, "There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your realm. Their laws are different from those of every other people's, and they do not observe the king's laws; therefore it is not befitting the king to tolerate them." Esther 3:8. The king gave the fate of the Jewish people to Haman, to do as he pleased to them. Haman planned to exterminate all of the Jews.

Mordecai persuaded Esther to speak to the king on behalf of the Jewish people. This was a dangerous thing for Esther to do, because anyone who came into the king's presence without being summoned could be put to death, and she had not been summoned. Esther fasted for three days to prepare herself, then went into the king. He welcomed her. Later, she told him of Haman's plot against her people. The Jewish people were saved, and Haman and his ten sons were hanged on the gallows that had been prepared for Mordecai.

The book of Esther is unusual in that it is the only book of the Bible that does not contain the name of G-d. In fact, it includes virtually no reference to G-d. Mordecai makes a vague reference to the fact that the Jews will be saved by someone else, if not by Esther, but that is the closest the book comes to mentioning G-d. Thus, one important message that can be gained from the story is that G-d often works in ways that are not apparent, in ways that appear to be chance, coincidence or ordinary good luck.

So kids, go eat your hat.

-Diz

They always get you at the drive through

Joe Pesci was right. Or rather Leo Goetz as portrayed by Pesci was right. They always fuck you at the drive through. They know you'll be miles away before you see what they did and you're not likely to come back.

Well that's what happened to me on Wed., Jan 12. We had a two hour delay and I got to work early and went to the McDrivethrough.I wanted a Mcgriddle and a chicken biscuit. They gave me a mcgriddle and some sort of damn cinimon pile. It wasn't the worst thing they could have stuck me with, but It was a huge let down. You ever been screwed at the drive through?

What's for lunch today?

New Year, New Lunch

Ok, so I actually had an old lunch - the other half of my club sandwich from Jersey Mike's (Mike's way!). It was delicious. I think I enjoyed it more today, due in no small part to the hangover I had from Newton Housing on Saturday. And someone in the office saw my bag & approved. I really wish Jersey Mike's would open closer to my office.

Frustration

You know those days? When someone gives you something to do, but does it kind of half-assed? And when you finally figure out half the crap isn't done & you say "Hey, is this stuff from the last time?" and they kind of go "Yeah, I thought I said that when I gave you the stuff" and you want to punch them in the face? Yeah, I'm having one of those days. I had to go get lunch anyway (skinny TKY with cheese on wheat with everything, except mayo from Potbelly's - yum - my mouth is still burning from the peppers), so I took the opportunity to make it a rage-reduction walk. Grrrrr. It worked . . . until I came back in & realized that I've hardly made a dent in this crap.