Waste Through Pour Menuing

OK, I made up that last word.  But seriously people...put the main ingredients on the menu and I won't be wasting so much money.

I had a working lunch today at a restaurant.  I carefully looked for a reasonable dairy-free and cost effective option.  We had to pay for our own lunches.  So, I got some basic burger with a side salad and a vinaigrette.   The salad comes not just TOPPED with grated parmesan, but bottomed with it as well.  There was cheese laced throughout.  What the hell?   I hadn't said "no cheese on the salad" because this was a GARDEN salad and I have never picked a head of cheese in my garden.  Also, I've had it before WITH NO FREAKING CHEESE.  I was really pretty pissed.  Probably too much so.  I tried for a second to pick the cheese off, but there was no hope.  It was everywhere.  If it weren't allergy season I'd cheat a bit but not right now in pollen central when I need to mow the lawn.  Dairy gives me sinus infections and makes my allergies much worse.  So it wasn't like I'd die.  But really, I was already going to waste the bun, and the money spent no the bun, because it was fried in butter and then apparently re-buttered.  I knew that so I pull the burger off the bun immediately.    Without the salad, it meant that I got to eat a naked burger with 2 slices of tomato, 4 pickles, and some ketchup.   Not really worth 9 bucks. 

I have sent an email to the restaurant, via one of my aliases, that it would be nice to know when there are common allergens like dairy on things where they aren't expected...say "garden" salad.   I realize I'm too pissed off about this.  More than it deserves.  It's just that I don't understand when cheese became a default ingredient in everything.   I've had it show up on club sandwiches when it was not listed in the ingredients.  If it ever appears on a BLT I will not be responsible for my actions.

Woohoo Craigslist!

I don't know if I've blogged about how much I hate mowing lawns.  Probably.   Here's a short review:
I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate mowing lawns.  I don't get it.   Why cultivate something that you cut, fertilized, cut, water, cut....etc.  Anyway, there you have it.

And yet...as a renter, that's part of the deal.  I have a reel mower like this:











Actually, that might even be the right brand.  I've had it for 15 years and maybe use it 5 times a year.  

The current lawn generally gets too tall in the spring to make any progress with that type of mower and I have to hire it done:  40$ (and the person may or may not show).  I hate that.
Sometimes, like say this year, the landlord concedes defeat and hits it with his riding lawn mower.   He did that last weekend.  The damn lawn already needs mowed again!   It hasn't even rained.

So, in the quest to be a decent tenant I've been scanning craigslist.  Once upon a time I had use of an electric mower and liked it better than gas.  1) quieter  2) no fumes 3) works good enough.   So I thought perhaps I could try that again.

Sure enough, there was an ad for this mower:


It retails for about 240$ to 260$.   Slightly used on craigslist:   $40.
And it came with a heavy gauge cord (which you need unless you want to start fires all the time......hmmmm......no, burning grass off just makes it grow better).


Good deal.   I may try to mow a bit tonight to keep ahead of the stupid lawn.  I'm sure I'll fall behind again but I think getting a more effective mower shows good faith on my part.

Movies worth owning

I was listening to the radio (remember that?  like TV but without pictures and it comes through the airwaves for free...unless you're one of the schmucks who pays for it) and heard a show where film makers talked about movies they can watch over and over.

I have many of those.  Some I own and some I don't.  When I do own them it's usually because I got the flick as a gift or from a thrift store.  I can't remember the last time I paid full price.  There are a few that I check out from the library over and over.

Here are a few favorites:

Escanaba in da Moonlight.  Very funny take on hunting camp in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  I own a thrift store VHS copy that is dying slowly.

Kitchen Stories.  A scandanavian film about anthropologists studying the kitchen habits of Norwegian farmers.  Very amusing in a slow depressing way.  Library checkout...repeated.

Grey Gardens.  The ORIGINAL documentary NOT that HBO tripe with Drew Barrymore (who is a fine person as far as I know but that movie should not have been made and adds nothing to the story).  Got the DVD set as a gift.

Kinky Boots.  Cute story of a shoe factory in England that struggles to stay open and keep its staff employed.  I own it.  Don't remember if it was a gift or thrift.

My Name Is Joe.  The story of a scot getting sober and trying to stay that way against some serious odds.
I bought a VHS off the internets used...it's very hard to find this movie and I love it.

There are more but I'll stop now.