Trick or Free

Halloween is a great holiday because of the free great food, not the candy.

Check out what you can get for Free from Chipotle and Tijuana Flats on Classy Eater.com by clicking here.

Mexican Chinese

Stumbled across a new restaurant that you might find interesting and horrifying at the same time.

It's called El Ganadero which is Spanish for "the winner."

On the front cover of the menu, underneath the logo are these words: Mexican and Chinese Restaurant.

This must be one of the strangest things you have ever heard.

Why the heck do we need a mexican and chinese restaurant combined? Doesn't just the thought of it make you say, "Eh.." outloud?

Out of pure curiosity I glanced through the menu a bit more. On one whole page is Mexican and the other page is Chinese. They offer every Mexican or Chinese dish known to man from tacos to Kung Pao Pork. Quite possibly the most absurd combination of two restaurant concepts in history.

I haven't tried their food (and currently have no plans to). But one thing is for sure - this is another classic example of a restaurant trying to offer everything they like, not what the customer might like.

Chili's has the same problem. What is Chili's anyway? Bar? Grill? Steakhouse? Tex Mex? They have Fajitas, Burgers and an "Awesome Blossom"

What some restaurants haven't figured out is, you don't have to be everything to everybody, but you should be everything to somebody.

Refund Policy

(Miss the first part of this story? Click Here. For the record, I had no clue Panera had muffin tops as well - apparently my local Panera doesn't carry them.)

.....and finally decided on the Italian Veggie. (This was completely because the employee insisted we get it.)

We wandered through the open dining room and found some seats over in the corner by the window. Unlike Panera, Atlanta Bread Company brings you're food out to you. They don't clean it up but at least they make the genuine effort to take the extra couple steps and give you the service you deserve.

Our food comes out and the Italian Veggie is......rather......pathetic.

It's smashed down, and had about two mushrooms on it- with the bread, you couldn't even see the "veggies" unless you pulled the bread back and peaked in. It looked like it was missing half of the ingredients. Plus it tasted nasty.

My wife felt guilty and decided that she was going to just pick the veggies off and eat the bread because she felt guilty......then she couldn't even eat the bread because it had the nasty veggie juice soaked in.

Let's recap: get the idea of Muffin Tops in my head, call Atlanta Bread Company, convince wife to come here, pack wife and daughter in car.....drive 20 minutes, walk through downtown, order food, sit and wait.

I have invested more time than probably ever necessary in Atlanta Bread Company. Now, the food my wife ordered came out and was disgusting. She wasn't going to eat it. I wasted my money and my time.

It was going back.

I have sent food back before at many casual dining chains. There it's much easier. The server asks you how it is and you tell them the truth. Fast casual restaurants like Atlanta Bread Company are much more complex....especially when the only reason we ordered the menu item was because of the strong recommendation from their employee.

Do I just walk up to the counter and demand a refund? Can I get a refund at a restaurant like this? Can I trade sandwiches? Will they still take it back even though my wife had picked it apart examining it closely?

My wife, ever the kind soul, insisted I don't try and take it back , but I was determined. I decided my strategy was the truth, which is: the sandwich is no good.

I walked slowly up to the counter where we ordered, found the employee who recommended it and said honestly, "This sandwich doesn't look like we imagined, I'm very sorry but my wife won't eat it. Is there any way we can get a normal Veggie Sandwich instead?

She looked at me, apologized and called her manager over.

"Great." I thought, "the cheap manager is going to come over, deny me and ruin my day because my wife will be even more mad."

The manager walked towards me, smiled and then asked what the problem was. I explained my story and he said, "It's no problem, we'll get you anything you like."

Rrrrreally?!

A little shocked, I stuttered as I asked him for a regular Veggie Sandwich. He told me they would get it right out to me any apologized again.

A few minutes later the manager himself delivered the sandwich to our table.

Wife happy, baby happy, and I'm happy (because of the muffin top and unlimited refill coffee).

Sure, Panera has muffin tops, Panera has sandwiches, Panera has soups and atmosphere and coffee and salads. It's all great, but Atlanta Bread Company has something greater...

Service.

Mmmmmuffin Top!

There I was sitting at my desk, an innocent victim for what was about to be a brutal temptation.

She walked over to my desk and we started having mildly interesting conversation. Then, through a strange twist, we somehow ended up talking about breakfast. I wasn't paying too much attention, however then she said something that stopped me dead in my thoughts.

"Atlanta Bread Company has muffin tops."

"Wwwwwhat?" I responded. My ears perked up a little higher than usual.

Hot off the Press!

Check out these two articles to see Green Eggs in the news (click the title):

Central Florida Future

Restaurants and Institutions

The first article is from the University of Central Florida newspaper, on a recent visit taken to Greens and Grille.

The second is a blog post from Dr. Chris Muller on the new ebook 10 Steps to Save Casual Dining.

As always, thanks for reading, commenting and engaging in our on going conversation about food.

Pizza Hut Online Headache

I like the internet.

I like food.

I hate ordering food on the internet.

My journey to order food online started with a simple idea from my wife: try the new Pizza Hut Natural Pizza. At first, it sounded awful. Why the HECK would I want pizza from Pizza Hut when there are plenty of local pizza places all over the place? However, the commercials had gotten to both of us and we figured it was only $9.99 so it was worth a try.

Haven't heard of the new Natural Pizza?

Basically, it's Pizza Hut's attempt to compete with local pizza shops by using all "natural" ingredients and multi grain crust. Read the full details here.

We made our decision and my wife says, "Why don't you order the pizza online?"

Ok, I think, that sounds like something fun and different. (I have never ordered pizza online before).

I sit down at the computer, thinking this should only take a couple of minutes. After all - it's suppose to be faster, easier and more convenient than just picking up and calling my order in, right?

We visit PizzaHut.com, click the Online Ordering link and go through the process of "logging in" with our email address.

After we get in, the process for placing the order is severely complex. First, select one of their 30 "types" of pizza, then select if you want to "create your own" or just quick order a cheese etc.

Once you have selected your type of pizza you select your size. For some unknown and completely unnecessary reason, The Natural only comes in Medium. Frankly, this just isn't enough and the Medium costs $9.99. (A little much wouldn't you say since this is basically fast food pizza?)

We finally manage to finish selecting our pizza, toppings and go to check out.

WAIT!

Before I can check out and place my order I have to create a profile. Why? Because Pizza Hut wants all of my precious information. It doesn't benefit me by completing a profile on their site yet I'm forced against my will to spend countless more minutes of my precious time answering their *required questions.

I complete the profile, enter my email, then enter funky letters (uk5g6) to verify I'm a living human being and click, Complete.

Error: Please enter a valid user name. (err, ok I guess I'll make up a different one)

Click, Complete

Error: Please enter a valid Birth month (Apparently it got reset when I clicked Complete again)

Click, Complete

Error: Please check that you agree to the terms and conditions. (um, ok I already checked this once)

Click, Complete

Error: Please enter a valid Birth month (UGH! Does this STUPID thing KEEP RESETTING every time I click complete?!!?)

Tick, tick, tick - it's been over 10 minutes since I started. I could have called and had the pizza half way cooked by now.

I almost gave up, but since I was so deep in to the process I was determined to finish.

Finally, with one last click I manage to get through and I'm notified of my estimated delivery time: 7:37pm. I look at the clock on the wall.....that's 20 minutes from the time I placed my order.

Hmm.....pizza ordered, cooked and delivered in 20 minutes? What are they microwaving these things?

The pizza arrives at 7:34pm (wow that was fast and yes, it probably was microwaved) and much to my delight it's about the size of a normal, every day dessert pie. So basically, it's tiny.

I don't need to go in to great detail here, I'm sure you've already guessed how I feel about this pizza after my exhausting experience ordering it online. Basically it's a Pizza Hut pizza with different crust. Is it better than normal Pizza Hut pizza? Sure. Is it worth $9.99? No.

Now the bigger question at hand here. Why the heck does Pizza Hut think that Online Ordering is a good idea? No one can possibly be enjoying this service! It's irritating, long, process driven and IT'S NOT FASTER THAN ORDERING ON THE PHONE! Is this just some desperate tactic to eliminate ALL customer - employee interaction?

It seems to me that restaurant companies that offer the "amazing service" of Online Ordering THINK it's something customers want. I'm guessing though, that if they really asked people, the truth would come out: we want someone to take our order, be friendly, get it right (with no errors) and do it fast.

We don't need bells and whistles, we need authentic personal service.

Tale of Two Restaurants

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Actually it was the best of both times. Here are two short stories about the power restaurant employees have over the entire dining experience:

Brown Salad

You might recall from a couple months ago, my wife's and my encounter with Rick the Night Manager from Chick-Fil-A. Long story short, we got a brown salad through the drive thru, tried to return it and Rick the Night Manager accused us of picking the salad out of the trash (read the whole post here.) The experience was frustrating, annoying and most of all made us not want to return.

Today, my wife was at Chick-Fil-A again.

Through a strange twist of fate, Rick the Night Manager was there (not working) eating in the dining room.

She ordered her meal, got her iced tea, took a seat and opened her salad.

Much to her surprise - she noticed that a piece of lettuce was brown. She pulled it out, set it to the side and dug around a little more. She found more pieces of brown lettuce and after short analysis realized the entire salad was brown.

She got up (Rick the Night Manager was watching closely from his booth), went to the counter and explained that the salad she got was a little brown. The kind Chick-Fil-A employee promptly replaced the salad with no problem. (In your face Rick the Night Manager).

My wife, relieved sat back down and ate her fresh salad delighted with the service.

Jolly Drive Thru

We stopped today at McDonald's to get two unsweet iced teas with lemon. We got in the drive thru, pulled up to the speaker and were greeted by a cheerful voice, "Welcome to McDonald's how can I help you today"

I was shocked at first that I could actually understand the employee and I was even more surprised that she greeted me and didn't just grunt for my order.

I asked for our teas and the conversation was finished off with a, "No problem is there anything else I can get for you today?"

Wait, wait - you mean you aren't just going to shout my total at me and demand I pull around to the 1st window?

Upon our arrival at the 1st window I compliment the McDonald's employee, Nicole on her great customer service.

Never before have I had such a personal experience through the drive thru - especially at McDonald's. When we got to the 2nd window, I told the manager on duty that Nicole did outstanding work AND made my experience better because she treated me with respect.

Final Thoughts

Two completely different restaurants - one similar theme: we were treated like we were the ONLY customers in both situations. Did you notice that I didn't talk about how good or bad the food tasted? Our entire judgement of the experience was based on service and service alone.

At the end of the day, it's not about the food, the quality, the atmosphere, or the pricing. It's all about how the restaurant employees make us feel inside. The power they have to control the customer's experience is greater than anything else.

Pumpkin Pie Blizzard

I hate pumpkins.

Well, not to carve, but to eat.

I mean think about it. Eating the inside of a pumpkin? Nasty.

My mom used to bake pumpkin seeds, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin pancakes...all which I diligently ignored.

Due to my disgust with the guts of the pumpkin I have neglected trying Dairy Queen's Pumpkin Pie Blizzard for years. I was always of the belief - if I'm getting a blizzard, I'm getting a flavor I love, not some nasty pumpkin thing.

Everyone I know who eats the Pumpkin Pie Blizzard swears it's the best thing on earth.

Tonight - I took the plunge.

We went through the drive thru at DQ and there was a lump of anxiety in my throat. What if I hate this? Then my $3 will be completely wasted. What if I love it? Then I'm bound to admit I have been wrong for years and the Pumpkin Pie Blizzard truly is an amazing creation.

We place our order, make it to the window and my anticipation continues to build. Finally, what seemed like an eternity later the DQ employee handed me a wonderful looking Pumpkin Pie Blizzard.

There was a generous helping of whipped cream on top (more than in the picture above). Like most blizzards, the toppings (or junk as I call it) wasn't very well blended in. However, I'm used to this by now. Before I got to close I did a quick sniff/glance over inspection. (After all this is PUMPKIN we're talking about).

I went in for a deep dive and came up with a mixture of ice cream, pumpkin juice (syrup), crunchy cookies (like nilla wafers) and whipped cream.....

YUM!

DQ knows what they're doing. The pumpkin flavor isn't to over powering, the crunchy cookie pieces work well, and the whipped cream tops it off perfectly.

But really, the whipped cream is freakin great and it's dusted with pumpkin spice stuff.

Thick, creamy, satisfying and delicious. I have been missing out for years.

The bad news? DQ doesn't make pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin pie as well.

On a side note - the Peppermint Blizzard is coming back soon, and I can't wait.

Signature Hot Chocolate

(Skip to 5:45 in the clip above to see exactly what I'm talking about)

In this clip, Judy the elf gives Tim Allen Hot Chocolate that is her own recipe, which took her 1,200 years to get right. It's not to hot, not to cold - shaken, not stirred and has extra chocolate.

Ever since 1994 when this movie first came out I have been in search for this Hot Chocolate somewhere.

I think I may have found it.

The morning started of with a simple goal in mind: Get Perfect Oatmeal from Starbucks.

I had a free coupon and after my abusive attack against Starbucks last month, I figured since it was free I should give it a try. Before I left my house I paid a short visit to Starbucks.com where I stumbled across something I never expected. Starbucks wasn't promoting coffee, or Oatmeal or one of their fattening pastries - instead the entire site was dedicated to their new Signature Hot Chocolate. Available in chocolate, hazelnut or caramel.

Wow, I thought. That looks flippin fantastic. But, it was the morning, I needed coffee, not hot chocolate so I had no intention of buying.

I left my house with the thought of the hot chocolate in mind and instead turned into Dunkin Donuts on my way to Starbucks to get cheaper, better coffee before picking up my free Perfect Oatmeal.

Upon arriving at Starbucks I was driven not to get distracted. Starbucks layout has a way of begging you to browse and spend money on things that are completely ridiculously. Alas, I am weak and about 13 seconds later I was looking at the shelves of overpriced Starbucks products instead of waiting in line to get my Perfect Oatmeal.

As I was completed distracted, I had no idea I was being watched and slowly a barista left her boundaries of the counter and approached me asking, "Can I help you find something?"

(flabbergasted) What?

Since when has a barista EVER left the counter to offer their help to anybody?

Sheepishly, I respond with no and that I was only here to get my free Perfect Oatmeal and get on my way. She says,"Oooh it's so good. You need our new Signature Hot Chocolate to go with it."

"Quiet! Quiet!" I think. The last thing I need is a verbal temptation of an overpriced Hot Chocolate drink that I'm already dying to try.

I glance up at the fancy chalkboard and say to the barista, "That sounds good but it's $3.10 for a Tall?!?! It's Hot Chocolate not expensive coffee!"

She responds, "I know I know, but trust me it's really good."

Hmmmm. Hmmmmm.

"Ok, but I want a short." {Very Classy move. The short cup is smaller (8oz) than the Tall and costs about $1 less, and it's not advertised to be sold}.

She looks at me carefully and lowers her voice. "We're not supposed to sell those."

"Come on" I say, "you want me to try it don't you?"

"Ok," she responds, "I can give you a hot cup of water and a lemon." (she said this as a decoy, baristas can give out the short cups if guests want hot water and lemon).

I give her the Perfect Oatmeal coupon (which I almost completely forgot about in my excitement for the Hot Chocolate and the fact that I was getting a deal at Starbucks) and paid my $2.33 (including tax) for my short Signature Hot Chocolate.

The Perfect Oatmeal came out first. This is no new revolutionary product, however it's Starbucks best selling product launch in their history. It's oatmeal in a bag people! They put the the oats in boiling hot water and then hand you a little bag of dried fruit and a packet of brown sugar with the verbal instructions of, "Wait 3 minutes before adding in."

The Signature Hot Chocolate however is an entirely different story. Never before I have seen such excitement from the Starbucks staff about a new product. All three of the baristas were genuinely excited that I was trying it. It was handed over by the barista with, "You're going to love this."

I took my sip......

and fell in love.

It's rich, creamy, uses 4 different chocolates and tastes EXACTLY how I imagine the hot chocolate tasting in The Santa Clause.

I stood, awe struck in Starbucks for several minutes. Never have a I tried Hot Chocolate that's this good. I mean - it's freakin delicious. It fills your soul as you drink it. Ever single sip is perfect.

I yell a hearty, "Thank You" as I walk out the door and the barista responded cheerfully, "Enjoy your hot water and lemon."

Once I got in the car I continued to indulge. Trust me people - this is awesome. However be warned: It is extremely rich and chocolaty. If you don't like lots of chocolate this is not for you. Feel free to go for the weaker, not nearly as good original Hot Chocolate.

The Oatmeal, however is overrated. Sure I mixed all the goods in and tried to romance it. But, at the end of the day, it's just hot, watery, oat-filled cereal. Blah.

Forget the coffee, forget the oatmeal, forget how it's overpriced and go get Signature Hot Chocolate. You will never look at Starbucks the same again.

Taco Bell Dream Come True

Tonight, a dream come true.

After all of your great suggestions on what to get at Taco Bell, we had a very difficult time deciding.

It started with a search on Taco Bell.com, where we quickly realize there are more options than probably necessary. My wife made her choices and I used your comments to narrow my options down and concluded on a Mexican pizza and the new Volcano Taco.

On my wife's commands I was sent to the drive thru with my friend, and fellow blogger Adam to get all of our food. (see the video below for full drive thru banter).

The drive thru experience was fine, however the window was severely disproportionate to the rest of the building. It was easily an entire foot above my car window, so much that I could barely see the face of the Taco Bell employee handing me my food. I had to reach up to grab it.

Once we got home we laid it all out on the counter to get a good look at what we were about to conquer. I started with the Mexican pizza, which had slid a bit in the box and was now just a Mexican mush in a cardboard box - all things considered, it still tasted pretty good (minus the fake refried beans).

The biggest item for debate was the Volcano Taco with the tempting red colored shell that screams, "I'm on FIRE." But really is just a good old fashion, Taco Bell shell which just happens to be red. I was a little disappointed as I expected the shell, sauce and meat to turn my mouth into a blazing inferno.

Sure the sauce was hot, but don't be fooled. The only difference between this taco and any other taco at Taco Bell is a new sauce - which contrary to the name, isn't as hot as a volcano. My favorite menu item by far is the Crunchwrap Supreme

Bottom line is this, Taco Bell has a lot of great options if you're on a budget. It's not quality, it's horrible for you, the service is decent at best and as a restaurant they basically are the opposite of everything I believe in - but - their food tastes good.

Can't see the videos? Click here.

Chop Me a Salad

Through a series of fortunate events I found myself at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse today.

We have discussed Fleming's before, but I have something new to talk about.

I could go on and on about their prime steak, remarkable service, amazing (flavored) iced tea and their luxurious design.....OR I could talk to you about salad. Yes, salad.

Many of you may be outraged for what I am about to suggest, however I encourage you to try it first before nay saying me completely.

Fleming's Chopped Salad is Better Than Their Filet.

Bold, I know.

I sat down at Fleming's today for a business luncheon and placed my order for the the 6oz filet entree (which includes a salad by force). The Chopped Salad came out promptly and was delicately plated on a triangle shaped plate with fresh chopped tomatoes in every corner. At first glance I thought, "Salad, sick....get this away from me."

As I started to nudge it away to make sure it didn't get to close to me, I decided to give it one more glance........hmm....this salad does look interesting.

I approached slowly and lowered my fork down to get a very tiny bite.....the flavor was something I hadn't experienced before. It was fresh, authentic and full flavored with a hint of blue cheese. After a few split seconds I determined it was worth a second bite.

The salad itself has pancetta, olives, artichokes, asparagus, blue cheese and vinaigrette. About 6.8 minutes later I was licking the plate clean.

A little embarrassed that I had eaten a whole salad on my own, but still thrilled with how good it was, I asked the server to take my plate away immediately.

Hands down, the best salad I have had in my entire life. (However, I haven't eaten many salads so take my judgement for what it's worth.)

The glorious filet came out with two wonderful sides. Eh, after the salad I wasn't that interested.

I may have just been delirious, however from my experience the salad was better than the steak.

Yes, better.

This is what you need to do. Get a hot date, go to Fleming's and just order salads. Your date will be impressed because you're at Fleming's. You'll be thrilled because the salad is so good AND it's a lot cheaper than ordering two Filet entrees. Now that sounds like a prime experience.

Taco Bell Dream

The commercials finally got to her.

Earlier today, my wife turned to me and said. "We should go to Taco Bell."

As heavenly sounds began playing in my head I responded with, "Are you serious? What are you going to get?"

She said, "I don't know. Why don't you ask people on your blog?"

So it's up to you. It's possible I'll never get this chance again, so it has to be good.

If you could get your dream meal at Taco Bell....what would it be?

Simple Complexity of Health

Before there were so many fattening choices, eating healthy used to be easy.

The concept was simple. Eat three meals a day and exercise.

Then things changed, we started learning more about trans fat, saturated fat, unsaturated fat, carbs, sodium, calories, diabetes, blood pressure, heart attacks, protein and vitamins.

Suddenly things are a lot more complex than they used to be. What does "staying healthy" even mean? We have the South Beach Diet, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and the infamous Atkins Diet which led the way for many years. Restaurants bought in.

Casual Dining chains instantly started introducing Weight Watcher Menus and Atkins Diet Menus to try and bring "healthy conscious" guests in to eat.

Now there isn't just diets, diseases and calories but there is organic food as well. We're of the belief that organic = healthy.....right? If something is "naturally raised" that means it's healthy? Or, made fresh daily? Does that mean because it's not processed in a lab that it's better for me?

This past week I have been blasted by two new trends I haven't seen before. Instead of restaurants responding to a diet or weight loss plan from an outside source, they are creating their own for their guests. Now the tables have turned -- the restaurants are the health consultants to the guests.

Dunkin Donuts has introduced the DD Smart Menu and First Watch has started new "Fresh Facts" emails which outlines what's healthy on their menu (of course they have hired a celebrity dietitian to make it more convincing).

I have no idea what's healthy and what's not. I suppose to be sure you have to do a little bit of everything.

One thing I do know is this: it's all words, marketing, and fake stories to make you feel good. If you want to believe that eating off of the DD Smart Menu will help you maintain your weight - good for you. Dunkin has done it's job in convincing you.

Eating Healthy at Greens and Grille

Technically speaking, I'm not a "healthy eater."

No I don't pump my face full of french fries every day, but I also don't go to the extreme of eating organic nuts.

For this reason, it's still a mystery to me as to why Greens and Grille (an Orlando based healthy restaurant concept) caught my attention. Maybe it's the name, or maybe it's simply because I had heard good things about it. However, whatever the case may be, I have been thinking about Greens and Grille for over a year now.

Last night I finally had the chance to check it out, and upon walking in immediately found myself impressed with the ambiance. Imagine a greener, browner version of Chipotle. The menu is on one whole side of the restaurant and looks like it was handwritten on the wall.

The options are......very interesting. Greens and Grille creates menu items you can't find anywhere else, for a full menu click here.

I knew right away I had no interest in a salad or a wrap (just not manly enough). The daily special was, "The Pig" which seemed very appropriate so I went for it. It's a hot sandwich with grilled sliced pork, caramelized onions, cheese, special dressing, and some other stuff layered in.

My order was placed and then I walked past the line where they make the salads and sandwiches fresh (this is not Panera, everything is open and you can see exactly what they're doing). I started getting a little irritated when I met the rather unfriendly employee at the cash register. This is a classic example of a deadbeat hourly employee who controls the destiny of the restaurant.

She grunted my total amount ($9.50 for the sandwich and a drink - WOW) and then handed me a pager. A pager? For what? It was 8pm - there were about 3 other people in the restaurant. She explained briefly that my pager will go off when my food is ready. To the left hand side of the register there is a sign stating that customers can leave their plates on the table and the service staff will pick them up. Wait a second.....they can come clean my plates up, but they can't bring my dinner out to me? Instead, they're handing me an annoying pager in a tiny restaurant with no other customers aside from us?

VrrrbbbVRrgggbbb my pager started going off and I scurried up to the counter to get my Pig and refill my extremely sweaty cup.

The food looked.......amazing. However there was a small problem: the portion size was very very tiny. For paying almost $10 for just a sandwich and a side of potato chips I was imagining a GIANT sandwich.

I took my first bite and the flavors are sensational. As I said before, Greens and Grille has developed flavors you can't find anywhere else in the industry and somehow has positioned them as healthy. The pork, combined with the toppings and their homemade sauce/dressing was perfect harmony in my mouth.

The unfriendly cashier kept walking around the dining room, never offered to refill my drink, but instead quietly stalked our table waiting for me to be finished so she could clear my plate. Here's what I'm thinking: if you're going to walk around anyway and at least refill people's drinks.

I inhaled the sandwich and the chips without much delay, and I was feeling pretty good about myself. After all, their products are all healthy and organic, right?

Well, it's a matter of how you define "healthy". If you say healthy is when restaurants make all of their items from scratch and prepare all dishes fresh daily, then Greens and Grille is your place. If you define eating healthy is Special K bars and 5 mile jogs in the rain, than this is probably not you're place.

Greens and Grille does a great job at a couple things:

1. Innovative dishes
2. Making all of their dishes from scratch

If you're in the mood to drop 10 bucks and you want something that is high quality and tastes great and you don't mind not getting amazing service Greens and Grille is you're place.

P.S. - I asked the manger on the way out how healthy their items were. He dodged the question and explained that they make all of their items from scratch, and then admitted the dishes weren't that healthy.......good who likes healthy food anyway.

Death to the Butter Packet

I hate tiny little wrapped butter packets.

They are evil. I have no idea why restaurants use them.

What amazes me more is that I have come across them at restaurants that aren't necessarily cheap: Bonefish and Cheesecake Factory.

It's a fairly simple request. All I want is some butter to go with my bread.

The server brings out a plate and sitting in the middle are 3-4 small little butter packets wrapped in golden foil. 90% of the time they are virtually frozen and if they're not frozen they have melted down to liquid form. It's like they are trying to punish you for taking advantage of the complementary bread.

Now the real challenge begins: transporting the butter from the packet to your bread.

There really is no good way to go about it. If it's frozen solid you can't unfold the back and if it's melted down the butter goes everywhere the second you start unfolding.

Once you manage to get it open (be careful, it's possible that by now your thumb is stuck to one of the corners of the foil) you can't really get the butter off the pack.

If it's frozen you can't hold on to the butter to cut a piece off because that would require using your thumb (which you just got unstuck) to hold a corner of the foil down. If it's melty soft the butter goes sliding all over town and you're a master if you can somehow flip the butter from the packet on to the bread.

Wow that is a lot of work for a tiny little portion of butter that barely even covers the piece of bread you have.

By the time the entrees arrive I usually have smudges of butter all over my fingers, up my elbows and smeared on my pants. I don't know how this happens, but I'm tired of it.

I want these butter packets to die. No restaurant should ever use them. If I'm paying $20 for an entree I should be served butter that is easy to spread, tastes good and is user friendly....no instructions required.

The Pastry Lady

It was a late Friday night.

We just ordered food at our local Panera Bread, gotten our iced teas and were now sitting out on the patio enjoying the unusually cool weather for a night in Florida.

It was a few minutes before 9pm (the time this Panera closed). As we sat eating our sandwiches (mine was the Italian Combo) the clocked clicked past 9pm and we saw in the distance a dark shadow in the parking lot.

The shadow, appeared to be the outline of a small elderly woman. She walked slowly towards us, up to the front door of Panera. In her hands she had several large containers and she gently knocked on the front door. (They were already closed and were cleaning up the kitchen, counters and dining room).

The young Panera employee greeted her at the door and welcomed her in warmly.

My wife and I's suspicion now began to grow. Who is this lady? Why does she have containers and what the heck is Panera doing letting her in after hours? Even though we were done eating, we decided to stay and watch to see what would happen.

She walked up to the counter, opened up the containers and the Panera employees brought all of the pastries over to her and set them by the cash register.

Then it occurred to us. This woman was: The Pastry Lady.

Do you know The Pastry Lady?

The person who comes at the end of the night to every Panera in the country to take the leftover old pastries. These "donated" pastries end up at churches, schools and non profit organizations all over. It's likely you have found yourself in a situation where donated pastries have been available to you. Traditionally, they are picked up and offered in a clear plastic trash bag. You never really know who goes to get them.....they just appear and someone might mention - "Oh these trashy bagels came from Panera."

This woman however clearly took her work very seriously....very carefully she began picking each pastry up and placing it into her container. She handled each one like a small child. Slowly she filled each container up and closed the lid.

She worked for about 15 minutes....us watching her every move through the window. The Panera employees were oblivious to her. They kept cleaning the kitchen and she took every pastry they had left out, home in her containers.

Although we should have, we didn't wait to see how she managed to get them all out to her car. However, it was the first time I had ever seen the phantom Pastry Lady appear to take away all the old unwanted bagels, muffins and cookies.

Who knew that such love and care could be put in to old pastries from Panera?

You would think with donated Panera goods being picked up every night all over the place that they would make this sort of attention a requirement. After all, they are famous for their baked items. Their bagels, breads, scones are direct representations of their brand and what they stand for. Why then, do they allow quality baked goods to be tossed into a trash bag?

What Panera needs is more high quality Pastry Ladies like the woman we saw. They need pastry ambassadors that can transport their goods to the right destination and treat them with the respect they deserve.

I mean really.....if your going to donate something.....do it the right way - the way of the mysterious woman we saw. Not the method most people take which is turning overpriced baked goods into trash.

Frozen Cheesecake on a Stick!

I never dreamed it would happen.

Who could imagine something so delicate, unique and satisfying?

We were strolling through downtown Dunedin, FL shopping for stuff we didn't need. It was warm, yet we were only on the verge of sweating. In the distance, I could see the beacon of light, however it was too soon to ask for permission.

It was small and I wasn't entirely sure it was real. As I squinted and held my hand up to my eyes to block the sun, I slowly read the sign....."Chocolate Divas"

My heart began to race with anticipation and I made my move. "Wife, look ahead. There is a store called Chocolate Divas, maybe we should check it out.....we don't have to, but it could be cool."

She shrugged and said, "Ok".

It was a quaint little store with only one employee. The cases were filled with homemade, delightful chocolates....my eyes began to wander and I came across a single white sign taped to the front of the case: "Frozen Cheesecake On a Stick $3.50"

Ok, wow.

Am I at the state fair or at a chocolate shop?

I casually mention this item to my wife and the employee chimes in: "They're amazing." My wife says - "You should try it."

YES!

The employee walks over to the fridge and pulls out a Milk Chocolate Covered Frozen Cheesecake on a Stick wrapped in clear plastic with a ribbon tied around it. This wasn't just a small piece of cheesecake, or a ball of cheesecake....it was an entire SLICE dipped in homemade milk chocolate.

I pulled out my debit card and the employee stopped me...."I'm sorry, we can only accept credit cards with a minimum purchase of $10." My heart shatters. My wife, came to the rescue. She dug around her change purse and managed somehow to find $3.50 worth of change.

We walked outside, and I unwrapped this amazing treat.

The chocolate was thick, rich and complemented the cheesecake wonderfully. Soft, frozen cheesecake with a graham cracker crust. It was simply unbelievable. I had never heard of such a dessert.

Things got slightly awkward when I got to the stick part, but I was able to navigate my way around it.

The chocolate chipped off into chunks, which was good by itself as well. I got a little messy but somehow with much effort I was able to finish the entire thing (with chocolate and cheesecake all over my face.)

For only $3.50 this was a dazzling dessert. Chocolate Divas knows how to do it right, but if you can't make it to Dunedin you can get your own Cheesecake on a Stick by clicking right here.

Ice Kreme Cult?

Krispy Kreme used to be a cult.

A doughnut cult phenomenon. We lined up for hours before a store opening. We wore hats. We bought dozens and dozens of those hot, glazed, gorgeous donuts.

Then, something changed. It wasn't so special anymore. We stopped going and Krispy Kreme did little to change.

Now they have a solution.

Ice Kreme.

Ice Kreme?

Instead of taking advantage of the ever growing breakfast business......you're selling Ice Kreme? I thought the problem was that people thought your doughnuts were full of fat? Oooooh so instead of changing your products to be healthy and offer more variety you plan to expand to the dessert business! Makes sense to me.

Here is a perfect example of another restaurant scrambling to define themselves in the ever changing market. The solution is to focus on what you know best, not waddle into a brand new product offering.

While it might not make sense for Krispy Kreme, that Doughnut Sundae does look good....