April 27, 2011 - Moe's Man For Life

Well, we had another uncontrollable attack for fast food.  Don't worry, we've permanently given up the McDonald's class of restaurant.  But even after all my research, it seems I still can't resist the overwhelming draw to the Southwest from my personal favorite host, Moe's!  Sorry to all of you religious Chipotle fans, but I just can't get behind it.  I just feel like they have a pompous attitude, and their prices reflect.  It's as if their passion for a cult following has blinded them to the idea that Americans are not as stupid as the economy predicts... but then again, there IS a cult following.  YOU PEOPLE REALIZE THAT A TORTILLA COSTS ABOUT A NICKEL TO MAKE, DON'T YOU?  Suckers!  And please correct me if I'm wrong, but Chipotle has no military discount.  Is this an establishment my money should back?  I think not.

Okay, enough rampage.  So there we were, committing our crime against better judgement.  Fully prepared to pump my children (and ourselves) full of genetically modified vegetation, hormone injected mystery meat products, and artificially flavored and chemically preserved... well... everything!  Why?  Because I'm an American dammit!  Just kidding.  Hey look, we're on a journey down nothing short of the long and winding detour from the norm.  If we didn't make the wrong decision once in awhile, it wouldn't be called a journey.  And I hope that anyone that is on the same journey agrees, and anyone inspired to join our quest is comforted and welcomed by the thought.

I was excited because Moe's added some new items to their repertoire, and it was clearly in an effort to up the zip!  And as it turned out, I was in the mood for some spice.  So when I saw "Spicy Burrito: Stuffed with marinated chicken, seasoned rice, black beans, pico de gallo, new spicy queso and new jalapeño sour cream," I was sold.  And it was AWESOME!  Elaine went with a "Homewrecker," Evan had his usual "Moo Moo Mr. Cow," and Riley was going to have a "Mini Masterpiece" until she demanded chicken ("Ca-ya chicken?!").  So we got her the "Mini" and added chicken.

But amidst all this excitement I couldn't seem to shake my disgust with... consumer product choices.  Yup, consumer product choices.  That's what I'm going with.  I can't express in a million blogs how strongly I feel about industry's poor decision to exacerbate America's food problem for the good of making a dollar.  I know that I'm not helping by purchasing this garbage, but I can justify the entertainment value of eating out.  Maybe it's hypocritical, but when you boil it all down, it's an opinion and I'm entitled to that.  I believe that the idea that "the public won't pay the extra money for real food," is crap.  We aren't given the opportunity.  And besides, if everyone was educated and realized what they were doing to themselves, realized where their food was coming from, and (most importantly) were presented with the opportunity to choose local, whole, natural foods, THEY WOULDN'T BE SO F***ING EXPENSIVE!.  Supply and demand people.  Take a class!

And then...

Elaine, with her eyes nearly out of her head, casually slides a tri-fold brochure across the table to me that contained this:

"GET. THE. F***. OUT. OF. TOWN..."

I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize for my, albeit censored, profane vocabulary tonight.  I realize that I am in rare form this evening.  I can't help it.  I'm so ------- excited about this I could fart!  And I did, ask Elaine!  Afterall, there were beans- This is inappropriate.

I am so happy to see this.  This is the stuff I want to see everywhere!  Now, is it 100%?  Ah... no.  Sorry.  BUT I'M STILL F***ING EXCITED!  Why?  Because it's a start.  And dammit, if Moe's can start, YOU CAN START!  So go eat some Moe's and feel good about it.  They have my praise and, most importantly, my endorsement.

Food - Awesome!

Atmosphere - Awesome!

Service - Awesome! ("Welcome to Mooooooe's!")

Overall - F***ing awesome!

April 19, 2011 - Food Revolution

I just finished watching the second episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.  I just want to say that if you're taking the time to read this, but not the time to watch that, you're priorities are out of whack!  Watch it.  It will start you down the right path.  You still need to watch Food, Inc., so all of you wimps out there need to suck it up and watch it!

I just wanted to get my opinion out there.  Dino is screwed in the head.  He needs to realize that America follows trends, and if you give them the tools they will fix the problem.  If the food is good we'll order it.  The things Americans look for in fast food are these (in order): SPEED, PRICE, TASTE!  So pathetic.  We're ridiculous.  I'm not any better though...

I'm glad that there are people like Jamie Oliver out there doing what they're doing.  I'm glad he's working the health angle, and he's really gone to America's battle ground for his conquest.  I am still concerned more with where the food comes from.  He managed to get the pink slime out of the burgers he made at Patra's, but where did the beef come from?  Was it corn fed?  How many antibiotics are in it?

Have you ever asked this about your food?

Watch the show.  Learn some things.  Then don't stop there, make some changes.  Start simple.  I'm going to learn to grind my own beef next.  I have the attachment for my Artisan Stand Mixer and everything.  Then it's on to making my own sausage.  What are you going to do?

April 18, 2011 - The Beginning

I feel bad that this is how it all has to start.  I feel bad for Circus, but they should've cared about the one thing that gives them a purpose in society. 

It's Monday night and my wife asked to go out to dinner.  One year ago this wouldn't have been an issue, but things have changed.  I would've known exactly where to go, what I would eat, and what the kids would eat.  I would've known exactly how long we would've been there, and I probably could've scripted the conversation between Elaine and I.  Not to say that we were boring or unoriginal, but we were the typical American consumer.  We were consistent.

So what happened?

We took our usual twenty-five minutes to get ourselves into the car, dealing with all of the usual distractions.  You know, shiny objects and what not.  I asked Elaine where she wanted to eat and the conversation ensued.  We used our new criteria in selecting a restaurant which basically consists of two things, (1) something one of us has never tried, and (2) something family-friendly.  I know, it should be easy.  But we live in Saratoga Springs, New York, and we're not exactly new to the area.

We found ourselves at Circus Cafe, on Broadway in downtown Saratoga Springs, and obviously I'm not thrilled.

A lot of things came to a head for me today.  Six weeks ago I did what I believe every American should take two hours out of their busy lives to do.  I watched Food, Inc.  I've listened to my mother preach about organic foods and consumer products now for years, and that documentary finally made me listen.  I watched Inside Job, I watched Gasland, I read everything I could get my hands on, and I talked to my wife.  We talked, we got scared, we calmed each other down, we planned, and we planned, and we planned.  We've made a decision to change.

So why did we go out to dinner?  Saratoga Springs is notoriously liberal, and artsy.  Shouldn't they be making strides in step with the food revolution?  After all, we are the last ones to jump on the bandwagon, aren't we?  Food, Inc. came out in 2008, right?  Everyone's seen it, and things have all changed, haven't they?  The chicken in my pot pie couldn't possibly been an overfed, bloated, antibiotic filled, abused chicken, could it?!

The Review

Our Menu:
     Jay - Chicken Pot Pie with a side of Cranberry Sauce
     Elaine - Tortellini a la Panna
     Kids - Macaroni & Cheese with side of Apple Sauce & French Fries

Food - Poor
Atmosphere - Decent
Service - Decent
Overall - Horrible

It started out with every high mark I could've given it.  I'm being nice.  I usually go into a restaurant with a chip on my shoulder... figuratively.  It was dark, and really warm, but I read the verbage on the beginning of the menu and became intrigued.  It said that the concept was a product of the owner's love of the restaurant business, theater, and the circus.  The decor was precisely what it should've been.  The owner was commited to the concept, and I respect him for that.  But notice that the write-up never said a thing about the owner's love of food.  We were greeted with popcorn by our server who was wearing a shirt that said "Juggler."  I was continuing to respect the owner's commitment to his concept.  Even the beers on tap were consistent with the concept.

Then the food came out.

We paid $10 for less than a full box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, apple sauce, and the type of curly fries you can buy in the freezer section of any grocery store.  The tortellini Elaine ordered may as well have been Bertolli, and the garlic bread was clearly made from sandwich rolls.  My chicken pot pie lacked flavor and originality, and was far from hitting the spot.

WTF?

I don't remember if I've ever gotten in the car after dinner and said "that was horrible."  And what about that meal was consistent with my new change?  What was I thinking?

Like I said before, I feel bad that this blog started because of Circus.  But I stand by my statement that Circus, just like every other restaurant in America, should begin to care about the ONE thing that gives them a purpose in this world:

FOOD.