Tuesday, May 06, 2008
"Get to know Penny"
| Starting back about 2002 Mercer's Computer Science Dept. started having annual banquets to honor graduating seniors. All alumni were also invited to attend. That is the banquet I attended two weeks ago in Macon. In fact the CS Web Page still gives the details: All students and alumni in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Science, and Computational Science are invited to attend the end of year spring banquet to be held at 7:00 PM on Saturday, April 26th at the Woodruff House (located next to the Mercer Law School on Coleman Hill). The meal is free for all students and alumni. Recognition will be given to graduating seniors and UPE inductees. A great southern buffet menu is on tap including the following items. Southern Fried Chicken, Sliced Ham, Southern Style Green Beans, Garden Salad, Tomato, Onion, & Hot Pepper Tray, Corn on the Cob, Macaroni & Cheese, Rolls, and Banana Pudding. Friends & family are also invited to this event. We ask for $10 per guest. Hope to see you there! When I arrived at the banquet (late as usual), I noticed there weren't as many people as usual. It was quieter than usual. I also noticed the place wasn't set up. I started to wonder if I was early instead of late. I merged in with the group of alumni closest to my age range (Dave, Scott, Matt, Bobbie) to find out what was going on. I then found out that all the wonderful food discussed above was not there and was not coming. Apparently the catering had gotten screwed up. "If Penny was here she'd be pissed!" I said. "If Penny was here you know this would never happen" was the reply. This was greeted by a round of nods, because we all knew it was true. I first met Penny when she started at Mercer back in about 1992. It quickly became clear to me that Penny was important to know. She made things happen and she got things done. Sometimes she even made miracles happen. You need a pencil? a pen? paper? a floppy disk? a mint? chewing gum? three ping pong balls, a rubber band and a magic marker? Somehow Penny made it happen. I once saw a student ask Penny for help because the student missed a class. Somehow Penny was able to produce a photocopy of notes for the class. To this day I don't know how she did that. Penny taught me many valuable lessons over the years, but one of the best was that most people draw their organization charts upside down. They put the presidents, VPs, directors and deans at the top and secretaries and janitors down at the bottom. Those at the top feel they have the most important jobs. In reality if it wasn't for those "at the bottom" nothing would get done. Ever. I see it sort of like the tires on your car. Everyone takes them for granted. They mistreat them. They don't check the air pressure or the tread wear. They even kick them on occasion. Those "at the bottom" get no attention and no respect. Yet when they're not there, you're just stuck. When I was faculty at Mercer (a job I got in part due to Penny) I would always tell my students "Get to know Penny. She can get things done no one else can." If you ask me for something, I will forget. Penny never forgets. If you need me to do something for you, I'll screw it up. Penny doesn't screw up. And Penny enjoyed that part of her job. I remember one day I had a particularly complicated photocopy job. (Yes, there is such a thing!) I was in the copy room behind Penny cussing up a storm as I kept screwing it up. Eventually Penny walked in and took the papers from me. "You give these to me, and you go back to your office now." Five minutes later I had my copies, sorted, stapled, and perfect. Even after I left Mercer, Penny still got things done for me. I had been tyring to get a book for a class I was teaching. I tried to get the book from the school I worked for and making little progress. A week later, Penny handed me a brand new copy of the book. Penny made miracles seem easy. Penny did the impossible, effortlessly, every day. And she laughed, smiled, and joked the entire time. I would occasionally get forwarded emails from Penny. Not the stupid annoying ones that EVERYONE passes around the internet. Penny's were always thoughtful, wise, useful, interesting, and funny. Pretty much little electronic copies of Penny. I pray for Penny. I pray for Carol Ann. I pray for Penny's children Ricky and Amber. But I also pray for the Computer Science Department, and the students. I suspect the banquet was just a glimpse of the future without Penny. The Computer Science Department has lost a wheel. Which normally might not be that bad except I think, in this case, the department is a unicycle. |
Labels: Cheese, Macon, Mercer, Onions
Thursday, April 24, 2008
The perfect gift for the Krystal Lover in your life
| If you were watching the Krystal Coke bottle on eBay that I mentioned the other day, you probably noticed something went wrong. Tiffany gave the scoop over at Krystal-Lover Blog. Apparently eBay in their infinite wisdom waited til roughly the last minute to yank the auction because it violated some rule of theirs. The bidding had surged over the $600 mark by that point. Thanks eBay! Way to go out of your way to screw a charity auction! Anyway, Tiffany has put the bottle back up for auction again here. The bidding currently sits at $305 with about 3 1/2 days left. Sadly since the last auction was well underway, a lot of bidders now know just how high this could get, so watch for the snipers to go bananas on this one! Now if $305, or $600 (or perhaps $1000) is too rich for your blood, have I got a deal for you. Actually I did see a Kreed that went for less than $20 (plus about $20 for shipping) a few months back. Wouldn't this make a fantastic gift for the person you love that loves Krystal? You could hang this on the wall of your dining room and when you bring home a sack full, it'll feel like you're eating in the Krystal dining room. Well, back when the stores displayed the Kreed in the dining room. Why am I not bidding on this incredibly unique and valuable item? Well first of all I already have one. It is perhaps the most prized item in my vast Krystal Kollection. The second reason I am not bidding is that I wont be around when the auction ends, and I fully expect a bit of sniping. No when this auction ends, I may very well be sitting in a Krystal stuffing down a pile of Border Burgers. (Those are the Krystals you get at the last store before you enter Burgatory.) This weekend I am headed back to Macon. My itinerary is quickly getting packed as I make plans to see folks. The central reason for the trip is a banquet hosted by the Mercer Computer Science Department. Apparently they haven't yet figured out that if they keep inviting me, I keep showing up. I had hope to get to see Penny, but her surgery got delayed and is actually tomorrow morning. About the time I will be rolling out of Wilmington, she'll be rolling into the OR. It's going to be tough driving 9 hours with my fingers and toes crossed for her. While in town I will certainly be getting my fill of Krystals, and should finally be able to have a Krystal Freeze, or two (or seven?) And I hear the spicy chicks are back. And we all know the only thing better than a regular chik is a spicy chik! OK, maybe a spicy chik with RANCH! Mental note pick up some ranch dressing prior to hitting Krystal. And Doritos.) Second mental note write that down on paper because you'll forget in 10 minutes. So rather than wishing me a safe journey, I am rubber, and Penny is glue, your wishes will bounce off me and stick to her this weekend. Tonight I shall sleep as visions of Sunrisers and Cheese Krystals and Chili Cheese Fries dance in my head. After this weekend they shall all be dancing in my stomach!  |
Labels: Cheese, Chiks, Chili, Macon, Mercer, Wilmington
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Does your dog bite?
| My all time favorite Peter Sellers/Clouseau clip: As we were walking around town trying to decide where to go for lunch, we walked right up on the Southport Trolly Stop.  We couldn't have eaten at Trolly Stop anyway as the line was already spilling out the door when we walked past. We went on to the Ship's Chandler for lunch instead. I accepted that I was so close yet so far away to an American Dog (plus cheese). We did manage to find a lot of delicious goodies for dessert after lunch. Here my mother and I split a fantastic chocolate, marshmallow and walnut snack. It was a bit too big for either of us, so we went half-sies.   I saw there wasn't a line, since the lunch rush was over. I ran in, nabbed a dog to go and went out to scarf it down as the bus loaded up for the trip home. It was messy and it was delicious. It was better dressed, but not nearly as furry as the dog above. It also didn't last long enough for a picture. I can't really think of a better way to wrap up my trip to Southport. I do know I'll be back as Southport is the location to catch the ferry to Bald Island which will most likely be my next lighthouse. Stay tuned! |
Labels: Cheese
Monday, March 24, 2008
Easter Lunch
| Upon arrival at Krystal yesterday I made my way quickly to the counter. I had noticed no signs inside or outside about the new Krystal Freezes, so I was a bit nervous. (More on that is a moment) I did however notice a sign sitting in the middle of the counter. Each word produced a small giddy little squeal as I read them from top to bottom: Cheese(squeal) Ranch(squeal) Fries(squeal) Obviously I knew what I was getting. So I placed my order. Feeling nostalgic I went with the #1 add cheese and ketchup, up sized my coke, and added chili, cheese, and ranch to my fries. I took my number and grabbed a seat. Soon my order was delivered to me in all its glory:    Now let me address the whole Krystal Freeze thing and the "BrainFreeze Challenge." The Krystal in Murrell's Inlet is a franchise store. For those that didn't know, MOST of the Krystals out there are owned by the Krystal Company. There are some that are privately owned/franchised. These franchise stores are sort of the "renegade" stores. They don't always do exactly hat Krystal does. This gives them the freedom to do the Ranch Chili Cheese Fries and other exciting things. They also have some combo meals I haven't seen anywhere else. The other side of the coin, though, is that they don't always carry the items that come out of Krystal HQ. I spoke with the manager of the store briefly about the freezes. He was at first surprised that I knew about them. Then he noticed I was wearing my brown "Krystal" t-shirt. (I didn't even realize I was wearing it.) He asked if I worked for Krystal. I pointed to the pictures of the two KLHOF members on the wall and told him I was also a member, number 22. He then wanted all the details on when I was inducted, where I was from and whereI now lived. He also agreed that Wilmington is a pretty big town not to have a Krystal. I told him "In due time." Anyway, he said they were thinking about the Krystal Freezes, but had not decided yet if they would carry them. They really wanted to see how they did at other stores before they committed to them. On the one hand I can't imagine a FROZEN fruity beverage wouldn't sell this spring and summer in Myrtle Beach. But then there's bound to be lots of seasonal snow cone, slushie, and icee vendors out there who could provide a larger flavor selection, and perhaps a cheaper price. I think if Krystal could push the fact that their are made with REAL sugar, they could lock up a section of the market no one else could access. But then I'm not the one in charge so I don't get to make the decisions. I simply told him I'd be back in a month or so and hoped he'd have them in at that time. He thanked me, shook my hand, and I was on my way. So the brain freeze challenge is on hold. Well my part of it anyway. The next time I can get to a Krystal that has them I will dig in. Currently it looks like I may be back in Macon the end of March, and I may stop by my old stomping grounds to freeze my skull. I guess, like in Murrell's Inlet, we'll just have to wait and see.  |
Labels: Cheese, Chiks, Chili, Macon, Wilmington
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Armor plated Peepsicle
As I was chewing on one of my Peepsicles yesterday I couldn't help but wonder if there was a way to make it even better. It didn't take me long to realize that there was. Everyone likes ice cream on a stick or in a cone. But everyone LOVES it when it's covered in a chocolate shell. After all, haven't you ever seen what all those people would do for a Klondike Bar? This is of course one of the main concepts in Jason's Law of Food Toppings:  So I am standing in my kitchen with another Peepsicle in my hand, and trying to decide if I should go with cheese, chocolate, chili, or gravy. I opted for chocolate for now, but I may try and chili cheese peep someday. The next problem was how to put chocolate on a Peepsicle. I could obviously melt some chocolate and cover it like that, but Peeps do not have a good history when it comes to being mixed with hot stuff. The solution was simple. You might even say it was "Magic." I dug out my bottle of Magic Shell and it was game time! Place a dish on the counter. Slowly pour the magic shell over my Peepsicle as you turned it for even coating. Once it stops dripping, back to the freezer briefly to harden, and in seconds:    |
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Freaky Peeps!
| Date: 3/15/2008 Time: 1:44pm Email from: Chris Subject: peeps
Date: 3/17/2008 Time: 11:06am (roughly 45 1/3 hours later) Email from: My mother Subject: "Peeps"
What to do.... what to do.... Peeps on a Krystal? Eww, no way! Peeps on a Chick? No, sounds like a porn movie. Chili Cheese Peeps? Well I'd try em but I doubt they'd make em. Aha!!! I got it! Tune in this weekend, you'll get it to! |
Saturday, March 15, 2008
I prefer food without a face, please.
| After our Smithsonian adventures Heidi and I started making plans to do dinner on Friday night. We had originally discussed going to Philly to get a cheese steak, but since Heidi had been ill recently, she wasn't up for the trip. Instead she asked if I had ever been to a Korean barbecue. As you know, the mere mention of barbecue makes my ears perk up. Since I am from southeastern NC I think barbecue is clearly a gift from God. Sadly, my years of barbecue exile in Georgia has left me wary of what most people call "barbecue." I have had Mongolian barbecue. I like it, but it doesn't like me. I've had Chinese and Japanese "barbecue" as well. So I figured what the heck, lets go for it! Prior to leaving to join up with Heidi I asked my sis-in-law if she'd ever been to a Korean barbecue. She's been to culinary school and is my "go to girl" when it comes to food. She replied she'd never been but wanted to go and was a full recap of my adventure. I then turned to my brother who has lived and/or visited countries all over the world. He didn't have a vast amount of details but simply advised me that if I stick with beef, I should be OK. In particular a dish called "bulgogi." Armed with this valuable information, I went to meet Heidi and off we went. She had already picked out the place we were going. Heidi then explained that I was the first white person she'd ever invited to Korean barbecue who actually said yes. Apparently it's a top notch Korean barbecue named Yechon.  After consulting with Heidi on the menu. I told her I basically had 2 rules for what to get:
After we placed our order, since we were having the barbecue, a "grill" was then placed on our table. I use the term grill loosely, as it appeared to me to be a car hub cap on a Coleman camping stove. Then minutes later, another waitress came to cover our table front to back and end to end with small white dishes fill with what can be best described as things recovered from last night's trash.  It was at that point the Russian Roulette began. I would point at something and ask what it was. I was usually greeted with a blank stare, a shrug , or the occasional "I don't know, go for it!" Deep down I knew the red pile of stuff would be hot. Red is the universal color of hot. I decided to start there and hopefully have enough time to recover from the heat. After stuffing down a mouthful of what I now know was kim chi. Heidi informed me what it was and that it was "the hottest thing on the table." Rather than waving me off, she decided to let me dive in. At least now I know it can't get any worse. I also have a great deal of difficulty comprehending "worse." Another dish I had decided was either some kind of mushrooms or fish so I was avoiding it. Heidi also said she didn't know what it was. It was only later, after she'd coaxed me into trying it, that she informed me she didn't know what it was but she didn't like it. Again she suckered me in. It had the texture of thin shoe leather. The best we can figure is that it was skate (the manta-ray looking fish). One dish I swear looked as if someone had made Jello with dirty dishwater. It tasted as if someone had made Jello with dirty dishwater. There was a fluffy egg type dish, served cold. Come to think of it I believe all of the banchan was served cold. In hindsight this meal was about what I might expect out of Heidi: always an adventure. Next time I get up in that direction we've agreed that it's Philly Cheese Steak time and it might also be Philly Cheesecake time, to, if I get up there with enough time to make one. I will resist the urge to put fermented cabbage or fish eyeballs in her slice of cheesecake. Maybe as a garnish or on the side? While dining at a Korean barbecue was an adventure, it was nothing compared to the adventure that awaited me the next morning. My best advice, if you choose to go for Korean barbecue is this: pepto before, pepto after, and stay near a bathroom the next day. |
Thursday, February 21, 2008
DIY Pups, Part 2
| Since yesterday's attempt at Chili Cheese Pups was a total let down, I simply had to try and redeem myself. So here's my second version. We must put Lunchables behind us and move on. While I was at the store buying the lunchables I happened to see something else in the prepackaged meat case:  The difference between the lunchables and these new dogs was that the lunchables gave you buns. Dry, cold, hard, tasteless buns, but at least you got some. I had no brilliant ideas so I decided I'd just use regular buns and cut them in half.  I think my first real mistake was that I kept with the Lunchables method of heating the dogs up. Place dog in bun, then in the microwave. I opted not to waste 4 paper towels this time and just decided they'd have to tough it out in the nuclear storm. In hindsight, I feel that these will never reach true Chili Pup quality as long as a microwave is involved. The dogs need to be boiled (or steamed?) and the buns need to be steamed, just like the real thing. Then you wont have dry buns. Dry hot dog buns I mean. You may still have dry buns, but that's a medical condition and you should consult your doctor for an ointment or something.  A bit more subtle was the bun to dog ratio. Since these were full side hot dog buns I think they may have more bread than is required. Perhaps I need to carve out a small slice from the middle of the bun prior to assembly? I am quite certain I will have to go back to Krystal and inspect some pups very closely soon. I also need to test the mini cheese hot dogs, just to see how they are. Now that I feel confident in my goal of recreating a chili pup, the final step is a Corn Pup. Of "The Big Four" the corn pup is my least favorite. But it deserves a shot. I have seen they sell frozen mini corn dogs at the store, but they don't have a stick. Obviously I could just shove a stick in them and push forward, but I think I may attempt to actually make real corn dogs from scratch. Alton Brown has a corn dog recipe but in typical AB fashion his goal is perfect taste, no matter what. By the time I got done prepping the ingredients, I believe my taste for corn pups would have passed. No, there must be an easier way. And I will find it. (Yes that's my obligatory dog joke.) |
Labels: Cheese, Chili, Pups, Recipe
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
DIY Pups, Part 1
Recently I had a hankering for some Chili Cheese Pups. Sadly, I'm stuck in Burgatory and can't drive down the street and grab some. Slowly the desire kept growing until I could stand it no longer. I decided that if I couldn't go GET some pups I'd simply have to MAKE some pups. In today's post I will be showing you how NOT to do it. Tomorrow I'll show you a better (though still not perfect) way to pup yourself up at home. Let's start with a quick survey. I remember the early days of Lunchables when all you got was like 3 or 4 crackers, and 3 or 4 round slices of cheese and ham. I think they also included a napkin. How thoughtful. I always knew over the years they'd really "beefed up" the product line (pun intended) but I never paid much attention. Who knew they had tacos, hamburgers, and hot dogs? You'll notice in the box above there is a tiny TINY window thru which you can see the "product." Well sort of. It's not until you get it home and rip it open you realize what you've gotten yourself into:  I unpack and unwrap everything and do my best at Mise en place. It is really quite amazing how much they can squeeze into that little box. I was waiting for a circus full of clowns to come cartwheeling out at some point.  FUN TO EAT...NO NEED TO HEAT!: Place Hot Dogs in Buns; top with Ketchup and Mustard. Enjoy! TO HEAT & EAT: Place Hot Dogs in Buns; wrap each in a paper towel. Microwave 3 hot dogs on HIGH 25 sec.; let stand 30 sec. Top with Ketchup and Mustard. NOTE: Hot dogs will be HOT.For starters, the idea of eating these things cold make me almost hurl immediately. Second, I had to pause for a moment and try and figure out if they had a 4 year old type this up. CAN WE Get A Referee's RULING on the abuse Of The shift KEY? Wrap EACH dog in a paper towel? It's not enough to have the big clunky waste of the cardboard box AND the plastic container, AND the shrink wrap for the buns, AND the the Capri Sun, AND the smaller packets, now I had to also waste a few paper towels? Obviously Oscar doesn't care about the environment much. Knowing that "Ketchup and Mustard" wouldn't be enough, I had planned ahead. I had a small onion diced very fine, a can of chili (no beans) warming on the stove, and shredded cheddar cheese at the ready. I dutifully wrapped my dogs and nuked my dogs.    I also got a free pack of "Mystery Flavor" Air Heads candy. It's still sitting on the counter. Mystery Flavor foods always make me a bit nervous. What if it tastes like butt? I mean I was in a fraternity. I've seen plenty of "Guess what this tastes like" stunts in my lifetime. I also wonder if "the new guy" was working in the flavoring portion of the production line, and the boss wasn't supervising very closely. The new guy says "Oops!" and suddenly they're selling "Mystery Flavor" Airheads. What other industry can get away with this? Come on down to Big Ed's Cars where you can buy a Mystery Car for $22,000! After you buy it and drive it you can try and guess what it is! If you guess right, congrats! If you guess wrong, who cares, cause you still own it either way! Bottom line: Put the lunchables back on the shelf! If your kids are pestering you for Lunchables Hot Dogs, you may want to put them in counseling. Or send them to school with a bag full of dirt. It's got to be better tasting. (and more nutritious!) Come back tomorrow for an imporved version of Do It Yourself Chili Cheese Pups.  |
Labels: Cheese, Chili, Onions, Pups
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Chocolate Cherries and pups on the beach
Yesterday's mission was to go get a Chocolate Cover Cherry Milkquake. I swapped out the CD in the changer in the truck, grabbed some reading materials (chapter 3 from my programming and logic textbook) and headed south. Two hours later I had arrived at Krystal in Murrell's Inlet, SC. I was starving. I went with the old standard, a #1 with cheese, but decided to go for the chili cheese fries, due to the HUGE sign on the front of the store telling me to. I was worried I hadn't saved enough room, but I summoned my inner Kobayashi and went back to the counter: Chocolate Cherry Milkquake and two chili cheese pups. To go! After a brief phone call from Courtney, she had given me an idea. You don't get that close to the beach and not go. So I loaded back into the truck and rolled up the street to Atlantic Ave, that goes directly to Garden City beach. Grabbed my food at made my way out to the sand. The law says you can't have dogs on the beach off leash. You know what I say to that?  Bite Me! In reality, it wasn't the beach cops I was concerned about. That picture is perhaps one of the toughest I have ever had to take. As I "set up" the shot, I look up to see:   With my seagull adventure behind me, I grabbed my MilkQuake and returned to my truck to enjoy it in peace.  |
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Valentine's Day Tips
| Yes, today is Valentine's Day. The day that the greeting card and candy companies conspired together on. Sadly, the internet and "e-cards" have destroyed the greeting card industry, and so now we are left to be pummeled by electronic greetings from people we don't even know. As a guy, I can sympathize with the other men out there who are always faced with the Valentine's Dilemma: In previous years, I might have suggested you tell her that instead of crummy old diamonds you got her fresh Krystals. Sadly you're likely to spend the rest of the evening trying to convince her that diamonds are "so 1900's" and that Krystals are the new diamond. For those looking for the more passionate approach, I might suggest a quick mid-afternoon phone call telling her that you have a steamy evening planned. Again, sadly, you'll spend the rest of your evening trying to explain that you meant a steamy sack full of Krystals. No, my friends, the old approaches to injecting a little steamy Krystal goodness into your Valentine's Day were simply destined to create another Valentine's Day Massacre. It was time for something new, something sweet, something delicious. And Krystal has done it!  Sadly, due to my work schedule (noon to 8pm, today) and my location in Burgatory, I will be unable to enjoy one of these new MilkQuakes today. I think this means I will be road tripping back into South Carolina this weekend for one. And a mess of Cheese Krystals, chili cheese fries, pups, chicks, oh my! Is it lunch time yet?!? For those who choose not to participate in the "Valentine's Scam" Krystal has you covered, too.  |
Monday, February 11, 2008
Spaghetti and K-sauce
| While cleaning up my Krystal files collection this past weekend I discovered a recipe with pictures from well over a year ago. I searched my archives and it doesn't appear I ever actually posted it, despite my great teaser in this post. I created this recipe well over a year ago, in Sept, 2006, and just never got around to posting it. I never got to posting it partly because I feel it isn't quite complete yet, and I didn't get all the pictures I should have. But it appears I may not ever get a chance to complete this, so you'll have to fill in the blanks on your own. I love Spaghetti. I can't ever spell it, but I sure can eat it. To be honest, it if has pasta, sauce, meat and cheese, I'm there. (Go meat!) One day as I was making a batch of spaghetti and meatballs, I realized that, once again, Krystals had done a lot of the work for me. Here's what you'll need: 
The recipe is incredibly simple. First you need to conduct a bun-ectomy on all 6 burgers, and stack up the patties. Try to retain as much of the onions with the meat as you can:      |
Labels: Cheese, Onions, Recipe
Friday, February 08, 2008
What's in a name?
Something new is coming to Krystal. But it needs a name. Tiffany posted this request up on the forum at Krystal Lover's Lounge a week or so ago. They've come up with a new sandwich and are taking name suggestions: Product Description: Its a 100% Black Angus beef chuck patty with melted swiss cheese and onions on mini toast.Obviously you can see the mini toast, the Black Angus beef chuck patty, the swiss cheese and the onions. But if you look a lot closer you'll find something that is NOT one of those four items. I can clearly see a yellowish and a whiteish color. I will assume the yellow color is Krystal's delicious mustard. While I personally would never have thought to put mustard on this sandwich, I wouldn't kick it I hate mayo. In fact hate is not really strong enough of a word. They need to make up a new word to describe my level of hate. Abhor, detest, despise, loathe, spurn, they all fail to reach the level of hate I feel towards mayo. Sadly it appears there may be mayo on this new sandwich. Either than or that's marshmallow fluff. (And yes, I'd prefer marshmallow fluff on my hamburger before I'd go for mayo.) Currently "The Krystal Melt" seems to be the favorite. It's short and sweet and to the point. There are also a lot of other suggestions trying to come up with creative abbreviations. The problem with doing the abbreviations is that it's just too complicated. I am quite sure Tiffany and Kenny know of the fable "elevator pitch." The idea is that if you are in an elevator with an executive, you have literally seconds to pitch your idea to the captive executive audience before one or the other of you gets out of the elevator. Often it is over simplified to a certain number of sentences or less. This is the reason that The Fair Tax, despite being a brilliant solution to the US Tax problem, will never pass. It takes too long to explain it to people. (The flat tax is not as good as the Fair Tax, but it's easily explained so it caught on quickly.) When I was teaching at Mercer I had a few theory classes and those tests often included long answer/essay questions. The problem with those is that some student who does not know the answer go with the idea that if they just keep writing they will either accidently stumble over the answer I am looking for, or I will get tired of reading it and give them credit. At one time I was working on a scheme that would allot a certain number of words for the entire test (5000 words?) and the student had to "spend" his words carefully among the various questions. Perhaps one day I'll revisit that idea. Speaking of revisiting, lets get back to the new sandwich, shall we? Being the sarcastic trouble maker I am, I have thrown a suggestion into the mix: The K-swiss, short for Krystal with Swiss. Of course I am unsure if Krystal's legal department is ready for the lawsuit they'd certainly get, and if they somehow were able to keep that name, you know people would compare the sandwich to a tennis shoe. And while we're at it, why do most tennis shoes have holes on the sides for ventilation, but K-SWISS, the one shoe that SHOULD have holes, does not? I have spent the last week dreaming about the deliciousness that is a BA burger. For those that missed it, you can see the ultimate example of what a BA can BE when I created the Holy Crap Burger™ and Oh My God Burger™ a year and a half ago. That post will also give you a glimpse into why abbreviations for foods are not a very good idea. If the cashier has to explain what the item is to the customer, then quite simply the item won't sell. History is flooded with products that simply wouldn't sell because of the name. So I start to think about what is really IN this new sandwich. I have to get past the whole Black Angus thing. First of all, the lead guitarist for AC/DC, Angus Young is not black, nor does he do any cattle ranching that I know of. He's certainly not Swiss either. After I got over that headache, I got back to work. Then the idea suddenly hit me from three directions at once. Its ground beef Chuck, right? And everyone knows Chuck is another name for Charles. I don't know WHY it is, but it is. I know this because in college, my fraternity big brother, Rich, believed my roommate, Brian looks like Charlie Brown, so Rich always called Brian "Chuck." (Brian was not amused.) There is also, of course the commercials for Charles Schwab that advise you to "Ask Chuck" or "Talk to Chuck." There's also everyone's favorite wine, Charles Shaw, or "Two Buck Chuck". Now Charles is a more grown up, almost stuffy name. We all know Krystal is far from stuff, and always young at heart, so Charles just won't do. But Charley will! (Or Charlie, Charlee, or whatever.) It's cute, it's fun, and it’s playful. But it's now so far from where we started, the elevator pitch will need at least 18 floors. But wait, there's more! What's the big difference between a BA Burger and a Krystal? OK, sure there are a lot of them: square vs. round, the meat, the toppings and of course the size. But the important one is the fact that unlike every other Krystal sandwich, the BA Burger is grilled. Char grilled. wait for it. YOU GOT IT! The Charrley |
Labels: Cheese, Mercer, Onions
Monday, February 04, 2008
Paul has cute little dogs.
When I start talking about eating at one of the many hot dog places around Wilmington, it is only a matter of time before my father with bring up Paul's Place. Sure enough, it's only a few miles from where my office is on North Campus, and I'd driven half way to Pauls on many occasions. There's an Andy's Cheesesteaks just north of campus, and if you drive past it you'll run into Paul's Place. Well as long as you don't blink. Paul's is very small, unassuming, and competely in the middle of nowhere:   Prior to making the drive up, I of course hit the Web Site to get the scoop. It's worth taking a moment to go see the site and read the history. Everyone talks endlessly about the relish at Paul's. It's apparently a love it or hate it type of thing. (I hated it!) This past Friday I went in to get some work done. I don't normally work on Fridays but it's so quite on campus I get a lot done! I decided to try and blend in like the natives and went with their 3 dog combo, BUT I only got one with relish. The other two I got chili, since the relish is supposed to be a chili alternative.  The relish dog is in the middle.  Looking around the place one of the things you just can't miss are the millions of jars of pickled, jellied, jammed, peppered, and sauced items   As you step up to the counter you can look down and see the hot dogs in the hot water right below you. They literally assemble your dogs within arm's reach. They place them on big squares of tissue paper and place them on your tray. Then you get your cup to go get your own drink. This is when you may notice one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. Since moving to eastern NC (the birthplace of Pepsi Cola) from Georgia (the birthplace of Coke) I have fallen repeatedly into the Coke/Pepsi conundrum. The first week or so everywhere I went I would order a Pepsi and be asked if Coke was ok. So then I'd ask for a coke and occasion get asked if Pepsi is OK. Frankly, you cannot win. I'd say there's an even Coke to Pepsi ratio here. Often it's a mad dash to scan the menu or look for the drink fountains to see if you are in a Coke or Pepsi place. As I walked in to Pauls I quickly saw the Pepsi fountains to the left of the counter. So I ordered a medium Pepsi with my lunch. But as I turned to my right to find a seat I saw Coke fountain to the right end of the counter. I then had to turn completely around to make sure I hadn't mis read something. I hadn't. Paul goes both ways, apparently. This is the only time I have EVER seen a place with both Pepsi products AND Coke products. Next time I go back I will certainly get a picture. I haven't figured out exactly where to stand to get them both in the same shot. While the cola wars is currently a cold war situation (get it? Cold Cola war?) I suspect Paul's would be the perfect spot for a taste-off. Lts face it, when they hand you your cup it's 3 steps to a Coke and 3 steps to a Pepsi. Come to think of it you also have the opportunity to "cross the streams" by mixing Coke AND Pepsi in the same cup at the same time. Oh yes, my next trip to Paul's will be an enlightening and entertaining experience for sure! But please, hold the relish. |
Labels: Cheese, Chili, Onions, Wilmington
