Page One Hundred Thirty.
Today I started a new dog-sitting job. It's my first time with this dog, a basset hound, and I'll be here for the next twenty-three days. Archie's parents are hiking around Germany and Italy. Archie seems like a rather spoiled but easy going dog. He has a dog walker come in a few times a week plus he goes to doggie day care twice a week; this in spite of the fact that both parents are retired and home, a lot. In short, this dog's social life is more active than mine. (And people claim I'm busy.)
The fun part of this job will be eating all the vegetables from the garden: yellow grape tomatoes, roma tomatoes, beefsteaks, Swiss chard, and basil. I'm going to eat at a friend's house this weekend and bringing a salad. (She's buying a pizza. But I told her I'll only eat about one centimeter of it as I'm still on my diet.) I think I'll saute some mushrooms, onions and red pepper and mix it with copious amounts of raw tomatoes then add some blue cheese, freshly chopped basil and drizzle on some balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I'll serve that on a bed of greens including the Swiss chard. Yum, yum, yum.
Showing posts with label Tomatoes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tomatoes. Show all posts
Friday, August 30, 2013
Monday, April 22, 2013
A Really Bad Salad
Page Sixty-Five.
Yesterday, I went to dinner with my sister at one of Cleveland oldest and most well known delicatessens. I wasn't real hungry so I just ordered some French Fries and a side salad. I was quite disappointed in the salad. It was a small bowl filled with a handful of light green iceberg lettuce, one small slice of soft tomato, two thin slices of peeled cucumber and a very light sprinkling of shredded carrot. It was $3.50. In who's dreams is that a good value and who even serves a boring, non-nutritious salad like that anymore?
I don't know about anywhere else, but in the restaurants where I typically eat, here in Cleveland, Ohio, that type of salad hasn't been served in at least a decade and a half. Perhaps the fault is mine in that I naturally gravitate toward places that serve more interesting salads. But really, comparable delis in Cleveland don't even serve that type of plate anymore. My sister noticed it too and she eats out a lot.
I almost could give them the benefit of the doubt and say it was a cost cutting thing. But romaine lettuce is no more money than iceberg anymore, two teaspoons of shredded carrots can't cost too much more than one teaspoon, a couple of grape tomatoes might increase the cost a touch but not a lot, a couple of slices of onion would've been nice, unpeeled cucumber has much needed fiber and doesn't increase cost at all and a very light sprinkling of nuts or dried berries might increase cost by $.25.
While eating the salad, I said, "I would've loved this salad when I was ten years old. Perhaps that's specifically what they're trying to do: create a salad for a very unsophisticated palate. Who knows? And, again, this is a very well known deli here. They do a BIG business. Perhaps that's it. Maybe they figure, "why mess with success?" All I can tell you is, I'm never getting their salads ever again. (I should really write them a letter and let them know my concerns. But, who knows if I will?)
Yesterday, I went to dinner with my sister at one of Cleveland oldest and most well known delicatessens. I wasn't real hungry so I just ordered some French Fries and a side salad. I was quite disappointed in the salad. It was a small bowl filled with a handful of light green iceberg lettuce, one small slice of soft tomato, two thin slices of peeled cucumber and a very light sprinkling of shredded carrot. It was $3.50. In who's dreams is that a good value and who even serves a boring, non-nutritious salad like that anymore?
I don't know about anywhere else, but in the restaurants where I typically eat, here in Cleveland, Ohio, that type of salad hasn't been served in at least a decade and a half. Perhaps the fault is mine in that I naturally gravitate toward places that serve more interesting salads. But really, comparable delis in Cleveland don't even serve that type of plate anymore. My sister noticed it too and she eats out a lot.
I almost could give them the benefit of the doubt and say it was a cost cutting thing. But romaine lettuce is no more money than iceberg anymore, two teaspoons of shredded carrots can't cost too much more than one teaspoon, a couple of grape tomatoes might increase the cost a touch but not a lot, a couple of slices of onion would've been nice, unpeeled cucumber has much needed fiber and doesn't increase cost at all and a very light sprinkling of nuts or dried berries might increase cost by $.25.
While eating the salad, I said, "I would've loved this salad when I was ten years old. Perhaps that's specifically what they're trying to do: create a salad for a very unsophisticated palate. Who knows? And, again, this is a very well known deli here. They do a BIG business. Perhaps that's it. Maybe they figure, "why mess with success?" All I can tell you is, I'm never getting their salads ever again. (I should really write them a letter and let them know my concerns. But, who knows if I will?)
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