Thursday, September 17, 2015

Here we go again...


Fill 'er up!



Well, there it is..  You sign up for these trips that are a year out, and take the “plenty of time” attitude and then… BAM!  Five days from now we board the great silver bird and fly to Ireland, and here’s my empty suitcase, waiting to be filled up.  That’s this afternoon’s project.  The bad thing is you can’t take too much stuff, and the good thing is that you can’t take too much stuff.

So the little hiatus of feeders lately is due to lists to accomplish, this to buy, that to find, pondering what the weather will direct you to take, that kind of thing.

But your relentless reporter has not been totally absorbed with the trip, so here’s a few little this’s and that’s…

On the Wing

I think I have mentioned that a new store opened here lately, Wild Birds Unlimited.  It is located just south of our San Souci center in the newer center that houses Kohl’s and Dicks.  It is (appropriately enough) situated over by Buffalo Wild Wings and Golden Chicken Grill!   A little avian conclave.



They had their “grand opening” last weekend, complete with a display of live birds, provided by “Raptor Eye” a rescue organization.  An owl and Swainson’s Hawk were much admired by the crowd.



Inside they have a nice array of birder “stuff”, from feeders to feed (after all, this IS a food blog) and all sorts of other stuff including note cards, DVD’s and so forth.




The owners are very nice and are eager to help you with any suggestions.  I’m glad they’re here, it's nice to have quality bird supplies without driving to Waldbart’s in Prince Freddie or Charlotte Hall. Go help them out.  You and the birds will appreciate it!

Amazing

I think I have mentioned that one of the little trade journals that I occasionally get in the mail is called Restaurant Hospitality, and sort of focuses on the food service business from the “inside” point of view.  It’s the one that had the little article about the opening of a second edition of a popular place, and the writer found it to be much lower quality in both food and service.  And the worst part was that the management didn’t seem to care..  People came, so what’s the problem?  Operate cheaper + same people = more profit.    That was a couple of issues ago, and the latest edition had some letters to the editor expressing various opinions about “The Befuddling Business Plan”. Won’t go into them here, but one said it will catch up to them, and the old restaurant mantra of “Sales Hide Sins” won’t last.

Besides the good restaurant talk the ads are always interesting.  The things that are available from food service companies are amazing.   Don’t want to sit and reduce cream sauces?  Tired of making bases for them?  Land of Lakes rescues you



Don’t want to slave over those soups?   Never mind



Too much trouble to butcher, fabricate, and roast that poultry?  Thaw, heat n' serve! 




Now, before going further, let me state right here that I have been in quite a few kitchens of our local restaurants with real chefs at the helm, and have NEVER seen anything like those products around.   Independent restaurants like Elements, Ruddy Duck(s), Café Des Artistes, Dry Dock do it the right way.  It just appalls me that some places use stuff like that.

It was nice to see an old friend treated for what it is, maybe just a bit overstated



But it is what it is,  golden, cheesy, gooey, and is kind of a staple on the Flutter’s “Quick Fix” menu. Comforting...

Okay, I gotta go count out underwear and socks, and start filling that LL Bean hungry mouth..  I will take a few duds to

DFD




No comments: