So I have new employee orientation today. One awesome thing about being in government orientation is that I get a 75 minute lunch; on normal days I get just 30. Springfield has a lot of food options available, but one that caught my eye was Long John Silver's. I haven't eaten there in about six years, so I decided to give it a go. Two things you should know about me before I tell you about my food: One, I love to cook; Two, I love to pan sear fish. It's simple, heathy, and if you luck up, affordable as well.

So I happily place my order- two pieces of fish, fries, and hush puppies. It took longer than I expected to get my meal, but I knew it would be worth the wait.

So it came in this really neat little box- this was very cool and compact....except my food was hopping around in the box. Take a look.

Now just about everything in this box was fried, so it didn't mean a whole lot to me for it to come like this from a "my food can't touch" standpoint. But are you serious? Just about all of the meals at Long John Silver's are the same; there couldn't be a compartment for fish, one for fries, and one for the hush puppies? I know fast food isn't all about presentation so much as it is about selling the product, but this is kinda bad. I barely got any fries, the ones I got were soft, and if you look closely, there's a bunch of deep fry crumbs in my box. It's like someone said, "Hey! You know what I think you need? More minuscule crunchy pieces!"

So I delved into the meal, hungry as a bear. Everything would have been incredibly tasty except for one small problem: Everything was WAAAAAAAY too salty. The fish was salty, the hush puppies were salty, and by the time I started eating the fries, my taste buds were devoid of registering anything less than super salty. It's a real shame too, because everything except for the fries had a great texture. The hush puppies had this nice hint of garlic, and the fish was crunchy on the outside and hot and flaky on the inside. It's almost like they were trying to mask flavors with salt. Fast food isn't very healthy to begin with, but I'm kinda scared to see the nutritional value for that meal, just because the sodium level has to be extremely high.

Just as a word to the good people who run this company: I'm no professional cook, but I'm pretty sure fish doesn't need a whole lot of salting before it's deemed "too salty". Now I see why I hadn't eaten here in so long. Disappointing, to say the least.

I Scream, You Scream....

On Wednesday, April 27th, Baskin Robbins will run their 31-Cent Scoop Night, which has become a yearly tradition. It's a great way to take the family, friends or significant other out on the cheap. More importantly, however, the night is dedciated to donating to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF). If you have a spare buck or two (as I imagine you would, since you're getting ice cream for next to nothing), please donate, as all the money donated to each Baskin Robbins goes to helping local fire charities.

As a result of this event, the Flavor of the Month is called Firehouse #31; here's a description of the ice cream in the words of Baskin Robbins:

We're bringing the heat with a crunchy hot cinnamon ribon laced through red cinnamon ice cream and packed with hot candy pieces! Vanilla ice cream puts out the fire.

By the way, I just want to point out how cool Baskin Robbins' logo is; it's been out for a few years now, but I just wanted to point out how cool it is that the initials are colored so there's a pink 31 right there in the middle. It's definitely one of my favorite logos from the last few years.

The 2010 McRib Reunion Tour

Ladies and gentlemen, pandemonium has come about America that has not been seen since the Beatles made their way across the pond. That can mean only one thing.

The McRib has returned.

For about a month each year, the McRib re-graces the menu at McDonald's. The sandwich started as a Midwestern test item in the early 80s, only to go national and be discontinued in 1985. Currently, Germany is the only country that sells the McRib year round. It was brought back as a promotional item in 1994, but it turns out that diners craved the McRib. So McDonald's made it a yearly tradition. Thus, the legend of the McRib was born.

Let me make this clear: I have NEVER had a McRib. NEVER. But this year, I will experience the phenomenon. I'm actually really looking forward to it- I mean, people wouldn't flock to this sandwich like this if it wasn't good. In addition, none of my three roommates have had one so we're going to head to McDonald's before December 5th, which is TECHNICALLY the final day the sandwich is to be sold.

There's a reason why I say "technically." Some stores still have yet to sell off their whole supply by that date, so there are actually groups of people out there who turn into nomads, sniffing out the Mickey D's who sell after the end date. It's like following a rock band, or those people in post-apocalyptic movies who are desperately searching for food and rely on rumors alone to set their paths. Let's face it- the only other McDonald' sandwich that has gotten this much publicity is the McGriddle, and they sell that year round, so it's not as exclusive. But I bet you if they sold it in spurts like the McRib, the same thing would happen.

Let me just say that the marketing is genius by McDonald's. They're taking an item that would undoubtedly sell well if sold year round, and giving it to people in spurts. they are holding the figurative "carrot on a stick" (although this is the farthest thing from a carrot) here, and they have it at exactly the right height. That, potentially, could have been risky. Another fast food joint could have offered a similar sandwich to fill the void left by the McRib, but nobody has stepped up to that plate. Also, for those of you who complain about why the sandwich is year round, consider this: Every restaurant would then have to increase storage capacity for the custom buns, McRibs, the special-cut onions, and the barbecue sauce- I'm pretty sure they don't have any other menu items that use those onions or a steady stream of barbecue sauce. That costs extra money (and possibly takes storage from better selling menu items), and if the McRib doesn't exceed its costs, then it's not smart to keep it on the menu. Having the McRib for a month requires a temporary shift in stock count, as well as no permanent changes to the menu or POS system.

So hit up the closest McDonald's by December 5th! Experience the revolution! Take part in the pandemonium! Immerse yourself in McRib Mania!

I Wink, You Wink, We All Wink For uWink!

One thing that Nolan Bushnell seems to have always had is foresight. His biggest strength is that he's been able to use that foresight to anticipate what people want; thus, his founding of two (still active) forefathers  in their respective industries. So when Bushnell announced in 2005 that he was opening a new line of restaurants with a technology twist, I was instantly sold based off his track record.

Some of you who read this blog may not know who Nolan Bushnell is, and rightfully so; he hasn't made any HUGE splashes in the news lately. Let me fill you in. Nolan Bushnell is the co-founder and former CEO of Atari, one of the founding fathers of the video game industry. In 1977, while still at Atari, Bushnell bought Pizza Time Theatre from Warner Communications (although it had been created by Bushnell). He made the purchase so that Atari would have a place to showcase its best games, as well as its newest models not released anywhere else.

Pizza Time Theater would then go on to become Chuck E. Cheese, the father of the pizza arcade format.

uWink, the eventual name for the chain, was a great concept on paper. It was to have a fully interactuive touchscreen at each table, which acted as a menu where customers could place their orders, customizing them down to the last little detail. The orders, of course would be sent to the kitchen and delivered by attendants. When not in use as a menu, the touchscreen would be used to access a bunch of different games that the table could play while waiting for drinks and/or their food.

Now there's a twist here that makes the technology even cooler. If you wanted to buy a round of drinks for, oh, say, the cute girl and her cute friends at Table 12, you could do that through your screen, sending a note in the process. Same goes for playing games. You could strike up a Table Vs.Table game from your screen to get conversation going with another group of perfect strangers. If you were a techie who had problems talking to girls, this was your godsend. Your time to shine. Your mecca. Your mancave. You get the idea by now.

By the time uWink opened its first restaurant in October of 2006, Facebook had caught fire. People were already using technology to meet new people and strike up new conversations and relationships. This either could have been very good for uWink or a backbreaker out of the starting gate.

Out of the gate, it seemed that the company was getting great publicity and a strong showing in the profit column. They even opened two more restaurants in California, with plans to open franchises in Las Vegas, Canada, and Florida. Unfortunately, even Nolan Bushnell couldn't predict the financial meltdown that was to come in the United States. Well, maybe he did, and that's why the new franchises didn't open- I'll have to get back to you on that one.

Even with the recession, it seemed that the restaurant/technology concept was becoming a novelty; Facebook was the hands down king of people-connecting, and it seemed that Bushnell's ideas were antiquated. Bushnell's industries were all about really connecting two people who had never met each other, but were in the same room (i.e. a 4 player co-op video game or the uWink concept), but people seemed happier just connecting to others through the internet. Although Bushnell had a great concept, it seemed that it just may fail and it did; uWink closed all of their restaurants on September 13th.

But as one door closes, another opens; uWink is still selling their restaurant software under the name Tapcode, but they won't be opening any new restaurants. Although he'll be busy with the new venture, I fully believe that Nolan Bushnell is still thinking, stil contemplating, in the back of his mind, about what his next big move will be.