The Briefing Room
General Category => Economy/Business => Topic started by: catfish1957 on May 25, 2020, 05:50:41 pm
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(https://ei.marketwatch.com/Multimedia/2020/05/22/Photos/ZG/MW-IH064_delive_20200522120803_ZG.jpg?uuid=6a878be0-9c46-11ea-a6ab-9c8e992d421e)
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/spam-biscuits-and-crawfish-2020-05-22?mod=home-page (https://www.marketwatch.com/story/spam-biscuits-and-crawfish-2020-05-22?mod=home-page)
Fun facts from Yelp, of what is the most popular ordered item by state. In my digs (Texas), Crawfish is not a surprise, but was shocked that nearby Louisiana chose Sushi, over Crawfish, Gumbo, or any other Cajun fare.
In our case, we have been sticking with "toucheless" pizza, as it seems to be the least of risk. What about it Briefers?
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Nevada: Spam Musubi.
Pass.
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Before this year, we ate restaurant food once per month. No take out or delivery, we would go sit down for a late lunch. At the beginning of the year, I decided to make that every other week, and pick a local place we had never tried -- no chains -- and had a great reputation. I called it a surprise lunch, because hubby would never know where we were going until we had arrived.
The first one was down a dead end road off a two lane blacktop road in a rural area. The dead end road went in between two cow pastures and ended up at a metal building next to an RV park. Part of the building was a management office for the RV park along with mailboxes and showers, and the other part is a burger joint. $9 will get you a large wagyu beef burger (we could only eat half so we got a second lunch out of it), fries, and a drink. We had a lot of fun with this every other week but then the "stay at home" and no dine in put a stop to that.
Seeing what this is doing to small businesses, I decided to continue to patronize these places where we had never eaten but to do it once per week, take out only. I've seen what grub hub did to a pizza truck in Illinois. Their monthly statement showed they did 46 deliveries and that the total bill for those deliveries was over $1000. After they took out all of their fees, the business netted less than $400, not even enough to cover their costs.
So this is what we have done for takeout:
German
Burgers
Crawfish
Tex Mex
Vietnamese
Gyros
Pizza
Chinese
And the best: South African. It was a restaurant that partnered with our grocery store to do a pop-up. I had been wanting to try this restaurant because my nephew had highly recommended it, but instead of paying $30 - $60 a head off their regular menu, they had a choice of $10 boxed meals that were sooo good. I almost didn't buy them because the side was brussel sprouts and I hate them, but dayum they actually make brussel sprouts taste really good.
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And the best: South African. It was a restaurant that partnered with our grocery store to do a pop-up. I had been wanting to try this restaurant because my nephew had highly recommended it, but instead of paying $30 - $60 a head off their regular menu, they had a choice of $10 boxed meals that were sooo good. I almost didn't buy them because the side was brussel sprouts and I hate them, but dayum they actually make brussel sprouts taste really good.
Great story. Just shows the spirit of American entrepreneuriship.
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Nevada: Spam Musubi.
Pass.
I will have to admit that I had never heard of Musubi. But I agree...... It will have to be a pretty awful meat shortage before I break down to score a can of spam.
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I'll agree with Italian/Hoagie as the most popular in Pennsylvania. Where I live, a small town, we have 9 pizza/hoagie/Italian joints and they all do a booming business.
The one I go to a few blocks from my house recently partnered with other local restaurants to create their own joint delivery service. Since they own the delivery service, they aren't gouged as they would be by the big guys such as Uber Eats or GrubHub. They even have their own app which allows you to charge your meal and the tip, and the delivery person will leave your meal on your porch -- contactless delivery. I usually order something every Sunday. The food is good and I'm helping a local restaurant stay in business.
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Ohio: deep dish pizza - works for me! :beer:
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We've largely been cooking our own meals. We do the occasional takeout from the local tavern, mostly subs and chicken wings (yeah, I know, my palate isn't the most refined thing in the world).
There are two Chinese restaurants in the next town over. One is a takeout place; the other a buffet. After some dummkopfen decided to harass the management there, they briefly shut down, but the community rallied to their support and now they're back open (the buffet of course converted to takeout for the time being).
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I’m a fantastic cook so I’ve been preparing meals in. Here in my state if the lockdown persists to November 3rd, New Yorkers will be eating crow with a side of sour grapes. happy77
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In this end of the state it would likely be pizza.
Gyros? We might have one place in town that serves them...
BTW, pizza goes from the oven to the cutting board to the box.
Any 'cut table' hand worth their paycheck can get the pizza from the cutting board to the box in one smooth slide, as a unit, and fingers are never used. In the worst case, there's a spatula there to align the most recalcitrant slices, but usually a little shake of the box does the trick.
Oven temps are from 400 to 450 degrees.
That goes for most any pizza place.
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I live in PA and seeing this reminds me how good Primo Hoagies are, especially the Italian Diablo. I may have to get one this week!
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Have I been living under a rock, or did anyone else look at this map and think to themselves: What the hell is "bubble tea"?
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Have I been living under a rock, or did anyone else look at this map and think to themselves: What the hell is "bubble tea"?
I first saw it at my favorite Chinese take out in Queens, New York. This was before the Wuhan Red death struck the planet. Never tried it, though. It’s got these little spheres floating around which I assume are flavored. It appears to be exclusive to Chinese restaurants as far as I know.
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I'll agree with Italian/Hoagie as the most popular in Pennsylvania. Where I live, a small town, we have 9 pizza/hoagie/Italian joints and they all do a booming business.
I figured a Philly Cheesesteak might be in the mix as the winner there. I had one it that part of the world, and it was pretty awesome.
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Have I been living under a rock, or did anyone else look at this map and think to themselves: What the hell is "bubble tea"?
You got my curiosity going...
From wikipedia on Bubble Tea......
Bubble tea is a Taiwanese tea-based drink invented in the 1980s, which is shaken with ice to create the "bubbles", a foamy layer on top of the drink; chewy tapioca balls are added as well. Ice-blended versions are frozen and put into a blender, resulting in a slushy consistency.
Me? I'd take a Reeeses Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard over that concoction any day.
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This is food tracked by Yelp's delivery system. Pizzas are grossly underrepresented because it's usually delivered by the bake shop's own delivery system. There is a passing reference in the story to Uber Eats and Grubhub, who aren't represented either.
It makes an interesting conversation starter, but that's about it.
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For some states this has to be more about Yelp users than about anything real. Croissants for Oklahoma? Really? Thin crust pizza for Illinois, where deep-dish pizza is the local standard?
And I'm not sure what gives with gyro in Kansas -- yeah there's a gyro joint in my town, a decent Greek place in Lawrence and a profusion of mostly Arab-Christian owned Lebanese and generically "Mediterranean" restaurants in Wichita -- but it's not really a big staple around here (I'm guessing kibbeh and shish tawook are both actually more popular with the minority of Kansans who go in for Eastern Mediterranean cuisine), and in most of the state I don't think anyone would pay the delivery charge to get gyro from whereever the nearest place that serves it is located.
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For some states this has to be more about Yelp users than about anything real. Croissants for Oklahoma? Really? Thin crust pizza for Illinois, where deep-dish pizza is the local standard?
As another poster said, just thihk of all the pizza deliveries (aka Papa John, Hut, Ceasars, Dominos) that are counted since they are typically direct and not via Yelp, Grubhub, etc. So yeah, the data is skewed. OTOH, this article was just meant as a fun way to see what has trended during what have been extraordinary time.
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As another poster said, just thihk of all the pizza deliveries (aka Papa John, Hut, Ceasars, Dominos) that are counted since they are typically direct and not via Yelp, Grubhub, etc. So yeah, the data is skewed. OTOH, this article was just meant as a fun way to see what has trended during what have been extraordinary time.
...and it demonstrates the ability of an advertiser to track your purchases, even if it's only for "statistical purposes."
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This is food tracked by Yelp's delivery system. Pizzas are grossly underrepresented because it's usually delivered by the bake shop's own delivery system. There is a passing reference in the story to Uber Eats and Grubhub, who aren't represented either.
It makes an interesting conversation starter, but that's about it.
Yep. Not one mention of Lutefisk.
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Bao buns in WV, really? I think not.
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You can’t seem to find frozen pizza here either. I guess pasta is a comfort food.
Personally gimme ice cream, brownies, and chocolate chip cookies with milk.
Or salty-potato chips or Doritos
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I'll agree with Italian/Hoagie as the most popular in Pennsylvania. Where I live, a small town, we have 9 pizza/hoagie/Italian joints and they all do a booming business.
The one I go to a few blocks from my house recently partnered with other local restaurants to create their own joint delivery service. Since they own the delivery service, they aren't gouged as they would be by the big guys such as Uber Eats or GrubHub. They even have their own app which allows you to charge your meal and the tip, and the delivery person will leave your meal on your porch -- contactless delivery. I usually order something every Sunday. The food is good and I'm helping a local restaurant stay in business.
A good hoagie shop is wonderful. Subway, meh. There is a hoagie shop that is so good in my state (Edison) that President Obama and his wife went to it and he said it was the best hoagie he ever had.
There was another hoagie place which closed a few years ago offf the NJ turnpike where Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter stopped while they were President and First Lady. He also stated it was the best hoagie he ever had.
Yep. Hoagies from central/Southern Jersey and Pennsylvania can’t be beat. I’ve never had a bad one anywhere in Bucks county
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You can’t seem to find frozen pizza here either. I guess pasta is a comfort food.
Personally gimme ice cream, brownies, and chocolate chip cookies with milk.
Or salty-potato chips or Doritos
There's an Italian Creme Cake made by a place about 15 miles away, that I am craving. Standard sized bakery cake that weighs 12 pounds. Rich, moist, and fattening. Still, I realize that there is no way that thing can be made w/o some close human contact. And I am >60, with pre-existing, so I guess I will still have to wait awhile. **nononono*
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You can’t seem to find frozen pizza here either. I guess pasta is a comfort food.
Personally gimme ice cream, brownies, and chocolate chip cookies with milk.
Or salty-potato chips or Doritos
Unfortunately, junk food is my downfall -- not so much the sweets, but the chips and such. For a long time I had been a good kid and didn't let any of that in the house. But right after the lockdown started in March, I began craving junk and included it in my grocery order. Forget eating "just one" as the commercial used to say. I could polish off a family size bag of potato chips in one sitting. The result was I gained 10 pounds. My doctor didn't scold me; apparently, many of his other patients put on weight during isolation too. But I know he wasn't pleased and neither was I The excess weight has put pressure on my joints and along with the heat and humidity of the last few days, I've been sidelined with knee and ankle pain. Got rid of the junk and am now endeavoring to get rid of the excess pounds so I can walk comfortably again.
I'm telling you this just to warn you -- if you do find the pizza, pasta and junk food you are looking for, be careful with it. So dang easy to pack on the pounds with those foods, but so hard to take those pounds off.
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A good hoagie shop is wonderful. Subway, meh. There is a hoagie shop that is so good in my state (Edison) that President Obama and his wife went to it and he said it was the best hoagie he ever had.
There was another hoagie place which closed a few years ago offf the NJ turnpike where Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter stopped while they were President and First Lady. He also stated it was the best hoagie he ever had.
Yep. Hoagies from central/Southern Jersey and Pennsylvania can’t be beat. I’ve never had a bad one anywhere in Bucks county
I used to buy Subway quite a bit when I worked in downtown Pittsburgh. Seems there is a Subway on almost every corner in the big city. But out here in this town, I prefer the Mom and Pop operations. And they have so much else to offer if you aren't in the mood for hoagies. One joint here is run by Greek immigrants so it also has Greek and Mediterranean dishes too.
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I used to buy Subway quite a bit when I worked in downtown Pittsburgh. Seems there is a Subway on almost every corner in the big city. But out here in this town, I prefer the Mom and Pop operations. And they have so much else to offer if you aren't in the mood for hoagies. One joint here is run by Greek immigrants so it also has Greek and Mediterranean dishes too.
Not that I am a germ-a-phobe, but working 40 years ago in the Dept. of Health makes me view eating out often as an exercise in risk management. That is why as far as fast food, I have frequented Subway probably more than any other fast food establshment. My wife marvels that by smell at a place I can tell if a restaurant has roach or rodent infestation. As far as Subway.....
(1) All the places look and or seem clean
(2) I can see the freshness and quality of the food being prepared
(3) Food prep temps are good, refrigeration and heating
(4) I can watch them make my sandwich. These folks have used gloves back even when hardly anyone else did.
Granted, this isn't the best tasting place on the culinary planet, but .......
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Not that I am a germ-a-phobe, but working 40 years ago in the Dept. of Health makes me view eating out often as an exercise in risk management. That is why as far as fast food, I have frequented Subway probably more than any other fast food establshment. My wife marvels that by smell at a place I can tell if a restaurant has roach or rodent infestation. As far as Subway.....
(1) All the places look and or seem clean
(2) I can see the freshness and quality of the food being prepared
(3) Food prep temps are good, refrigeration and heating
(4) I can watch them make my sandwich. These folks have used gloves back even when hardly anyone else did.
Granted, this isn't the best tasting place on the culinary planet, but .......
@catfish1957
I just find them bland, and I’d rather support a mom and pop store than a chain. The Subways near me give little meat, more bread ratio.
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@catfish1957
I just find them bland, and I’d rather support a mom and pop store than a chain. The Subways near me give little meat, more bread ratio.
Absolutely no argument there. Maybe I am willing to sacrifice a little taste for safety. Mom/Pops don't have coroporate standards, so they tend (again tend) to be less clean. Cleanest places from my Dept of Health Standpoint my surprise you. I found that back in the day (not sure now), School Cafeterias beat them all hands down. These lunch ladies took absolute pride in their craft, and you could almost literally eat off any work surface they had. I was so impressed.
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This is food tracked by Yelp's delivery system. Pizzas are grossly underrepresented because it's usually delivered by the bake shop's own delivery system. There is a passing reference in the story to Uber Eats and Grubhub, who aren't represented either.
It makes an interesting conversation starter, but that's about it.
Yeah right... Montana - Eggrolls... *snort*
So one gubmint dork likes eggrolls... And is the only Yelp user in the state.
Without a doubt. PIZZA. Second would probably be through the hub, which most of the local burger joints, rib joints, and the local chinese joint uses.
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Before this year, we ate restaurant food once per month. No take out or delivery, we would go sit down for a late lunch. At the beginning of the year, I decided to make that every other week, and pick a local place we had never tried -- no chains -- and had a great reputation. I called it a surprise lunch, because hubby would never know where we were going until we had arrived.
I am on a similar journey @LadyLiberty , albeit for a different reason...
I budget my eating out through my entertainment account. As a rule I would burn it up with fast food - a quick fix for a long day, not wanting to cook. So delivered pizza and MacDonald's or Arby's (they're closest), with occasional Burger King, Taco John's, Wendy's, Subway, and Dairy Queen (all that are in range of the house)... If I am up at the Hutton's Plaza, where most everything is here nowadays, Chik-Fil-A is a certainty.
But I found lately that this instant gratification was not nearly gratifying. If I forego this junk, and cook like I ought, the money saved remains for something a bit better. Now, twice a month, with a lady friend in tow, I go out to explore where I seldom, or never have been.
Same money, but oh, so much better! Still, redneck that I am, it is liable to be a dive, a diner, a burger joint, or a rib joint... I am what I am. But such amazing tastes, So much better the quality!
And there is now an anticipation factor. I look forward all week to the day I am going to go out. I think about it... It impacts many days... Like smelling a roast in the house all day, it makes that first bite so delicious!
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Bao buns in WV, really? I think not.
Maybe there are some hipsters hiding out in the mountains that you don't know about. wink777
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Maybe there are some hipsters hiding out in the mountains that you don't know about. wink777
There's probably not three restaurants in the whole state that make Bao. I tried to find them - one in the eastern panhandle, one in Charleston, still looking for another. :laugh: Around here, there's no shortage of fried mozzerella sticks, chicken wings and pizza, though.
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Around here, there's no shortage of fried mozzerella sticks, chicken wings and pizza, though.
I could live there. :beer:
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There's probably not three restaurants in the whole state that make Bao. I tried to find them - one in the eastern panhandle, one in Charleston, still looking for another. :laugh: Around here, there's no shortage of fried mozzerella sticks, chicken wings and pizza, though.
I’m so cool that I have no idea what it even is! happy77
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I find bao buns to be kind of tasteless. However, there is a restaurant here (two locations) that was started by two high school friends that came up with the idea of using bao buns to make little sandwiches that are really creative and delicious and their fries are award winning.
https://www.fatbaohouston.com/ (https://www.fatbaohouston.com/)
https://www.fatbaohouston.com/sugarland (https://www.fatbaohouston.com/sugarland) <--- menu
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I find bao buns to be kind of tasteless. However, there is a restaurant here (two locations) that was started by two high school friends that came up with the idea of using bao buns to make little sandwiches that are really creative and delicious and their fries are award winning.
https://www.fatbaohouston.com/ (https://www.fatbaohouston.com/)
https://www.fatbaohouston.com/sugarland (https://www.fatbaohouston.com/sugarland) <--- menu
Thanks for the link. I have never seen a bao bun. Looks like someone wrapped food in plastic foam...
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Thanks for the link. I have never seen a bao bun. Looks like someone wrapped food in plastic foam...
They're popular in Hawaii.
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Thanks for the link. I have never seen a bao bun. Looks like someone wrapped food in plastic foam...
Never seen it either. :shrug:
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Thanks for the link. I have never seen a bao bun. Looks like someone wrapped food in plastic foam...
Doesn't look good to me at all.
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I would walk a mile for a gyro. :laugh: But unless Sonic or DQ starts serving them out here and delivering, too bad for me* . I do find that the biggest delivery in Texas is crawfish is odd. Oh well, different strokes I guess.
*I did attempt to make one a while ago. But lamb is too darn expensive and the sauce is a pain.
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I would walk a mile for a gyro. :laugh: But unless Sonic or DQ starts serving them out here and delivering, too bad for me* . I do find that the biggest delivery in Texas is crawfish is odd. Oh well, different strokes I guess.
*I did attempt to make one a while ago. But lamb is too darn expensive and the sauce is a pain.
I do love a gyro... Used to be there was a set of whistle stop convenience stores up in here called Ole's Country Stores... They had a gyro for 3 bucks that was fantastic. When the store chain folded up a while back, that steady source dried up... I can still get em over to Anna's Greek Gyros, but they are seriously 8 bucks a whack, and inside a mall, so hard for me to get to... Even so, every now and then, I still go...
Fixin to see if I can make my own. The local food warehouse will sell to me, and i think I can get that gyro meat there, pre-cut ... If so, the rest is just regular groceries... Then I'll be in high cotton.
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I would walk a mile for a gyro. :laugh: But unless Sonic or DQ starts serving them out here and delivering, too bad for me* . I do find that the biggest delivery in Texas is crawfish is odd. Oh well, different strokes I guess.
*I did attempt to make one a while ago. But lamb is too darn expensive and the sauce is a pain.
We've got a great little Greek restaurant in town that makes fantastic gyros and Greek salads.
They have been open but don't have a big enough staff for delivery, but my husband has picked some up several times in the past months.
Nice!
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Fixin to see if I can make my own. The local food warehouse will sell to me, and i think I can get that gyro meat there, pre-cut ... If so, the rest is just regular groceries... Then I'll be in high cotton.
Let me know if you perfect the sauce. :laugh:
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We've got a great little Greek restaurant in town that makes fantastic gyros and Greek salads.
They have been open but don't have a big enough staff for delivery, but my husband has picked some up several times in the past months.
Nice!
That makes me sooo jealous!! happy77
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Let me know if you perfect the sauce. :laugh:
It's the meat that makes it hard
Tzatziki sauce... cucumber and yogurt mainly...
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tzatziki+sauce (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tzatziki+sauce)
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This place opened last year about a mile from us. It's a chain, but so far only two locations in the US.
https://donerandgyros.us/ (https://donerandgyros.us/)
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It's the meat that makes it hard
Tzatziki sauce... cucumber and yogurt mainly...
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tzatziki+sauce (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tzatziki+sauce)
Thanks @roamer_1 . Those look a little easier than the recipe I had from a friend's Greek grandmother. I'll give it another try the next time I get the urge.
As far as the meat goes, you are right it is a little trickier. I have read that you could use a good cut of steak if marinated properly. But I am a purist and want lamb (loin preferably) which is as scarce around here right now as a brontosaurus burger. Omaha Steaks carried one at one time that I used the left overs for gyros that was preseasoned. Same flavor and texture as store bought gyros. But they, too, are lambless. Oh well, I don't get as creative with cooking in the summer time any way, lol.
You are very lucky to have a source for the real thing. You also have access to game that might be a substitute?
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So Texas is eating the Crawfish boiled and Louisiana is eating them raw?
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So Texas is eating the Crawfish boiled and Louisiana is eating them raw?
Never get between a coonass and 10 pounds of crawfish (no matter how well its cooked) :cool:
Funny thing. Back in the '70's and early '80's they used to give the stuff away free at bars.
At last glance it is $5.19/lb. cooked (at least last week)
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You are very lucky to have a source for the real thing. You also have access to game that might be a substitute?
@berdie
You no doubt have the same resource - A grocery wholesaler - The place the grocery stores or food vendors buy from... Mine will sell to any business, and since I have business accounts, that is no problem.
I can't get at the name of the stuff I get (I ain't got it here now) but it comes in a wide flat box, maybe 100-150 strips... Pre-cut, looking a whole lot like a bacon strip other than color. Either beef or lamb, and either takes the freezer just fine... Just rebag em into a zippy or some such.. haul out a strip or two, throw em in a hot cast pan for a bit, and you are ready to go...
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Never get between a coonass and 10 pounds of crawfish (no matter how well its cooked) :cool:
Funny thing. Back in the '70's and early '80's they used to give the stuff away free at bars.
At last glance it is $5.19/lb. cooked (at least last week)
This may be the first year in a long while that I haven't been at a crawfish boil.