“It’s almost midnight and you haven’t done your post for tomorrow!” Andy is anxious because I’m running behind. I had to remind him that dialysis ended at 14:15 today because our schedules were all clumped into Monday in advance of the blizzard. After a late lunch, I conked out and slept till 21:08 or so. Things are a bit thin for tomorrow, Tuesday, I agree, but I seriously considered skipping a blog day. Incidentally, the latest prediction is that the area an hour drive north of here and Western South Dakota will get buried in drifting snow and where I live (maybe, if I read it correctly) may miss the worst of it.
=(^+^)=
I got out of dialysis so late in my day I decided to treat myself to a sit-down restaurant meal, something I almost stopped doing because of COVID-19. I had a semi-fancy hamburger and fries and a draft Blue Moon, much tastier than what I had in mind for lunch at home!
The hamburger was a Swiss cheese/American cheese hamburger with two crunchy slices of smoked bacon. It came with shredded lettuce, tomato slices, and dill pickle chips. I chose the brioche bun from the three choices that included pretzel and Kaiser buns. I kept it simple: a bit of catsup on the hamburger and fries and I ate the “fixings” separately as an undressed salad. All of those extras, while tasty on a burger, make eating problematic and needlessly messy in my mind!
The hamburger was the juiciest, beefiest, most perfectly seasoned hamburger I’ve had in a long time. This was no fast food hocky puck with too much salt and a soggy bun! I don’t quite “get” the point of the American cheese on this particular variation, but it actually blended inobtrusively with the Swiss cheese. The draft Blue Moon worked well with this perfect hamburger though had I guessed what a great burger I was about to be served, I would have looked a bit closer at the red wine selection instead of the beers.
The fries…! Chunky spears with crisp exteriors and interiors of perfectly cooked and potato-y goodness! I nearly prayed to the potato gods asking forgiveness for polluting these fries with a little catsup, they were so tasty in those sections without this condiment!
I paid my bill and added a 25% tip. I know most people who read this blog outside of the USA will question that gratuity and the size of it, but there comes a time when a restaurant meal is so well prepared and served – did I mention the exceptional service by the wait staff?! – that a sizable tip seems reasonable. I respond well to excellence no matter how it is manifested. I guess it’s a carryover from my days as a quality assurance guy.
Sounds delicious! (And I agree with your tipping philosophy)
It was an amazing hamburger! I forgot how good they are at this restaurant since COVID-19 pretty much ended eating out at restaurants for the past two years.
25% gratuity is practically automatic in our “tourist paradise.” It is added to your bill before the total, with an option to add more, if you so desire. Most people don’t realize it and add a tip on top of the exorbitant tip.
I recall tips in Germany… no I don’t. The VAT tax was already added into the price and there was a t9p for poor service of the pretty much pointless 1 pfennig coin that even then rarely showed up in pricing or change. I think I saw one the whole time I was there.
I see 25% as the ultimate tip here. More usually, I give a 10-15% tip.
Burgers are always better when someone else makes them. 🙂 That was kind of you to give a big tip.
There is lots of truth to that, though this still was exceptional compared with others I’ve had at local restaurants.
Medical taken care of, and a great meal – It must be your birthday!
That happens in March, but this would be a happy way to spend my birthday then!
Wow man, this post is all about that juicy burger and fries, Doug! I just had breakfast but your description makes me want a big fat burger and fries! I hope that the worst of that storm passes you by! Stay hungry!
That was the day’s highlight! So far – midday on the 13th – there hasn’t been much snow here.
Andy cat looks cute there! A meal out is a real treat, and I am glad you were able to enjoy a good lunch! The $25% tip is right in line. The servers work hard.
The businesses around town are experiencing the worker shortage that seems to have affected the entire country. This particular restaurant’s had a help wanted sign in their window for four or five months, without any takers.
My mouth watered all the way through that description of a marvellous meal!
Then I captured it in words!
At last, WordPress have elt me make a comment, Doug! And tick a like! But ill it let me so others?
Any way, all the best with the weather mate, Amazingly we have a similar forecast; to the East Snow Red Warning, but Nottingham is anotch down, with only a chance of it. We” both see, will we not.
Andy is looking good!
I have no idea why WordPress deals us these quirks on a regular basis, but we definitely get to deal with them, eh!
Does my Dementia-ridden brain no good at all, Doug.
Humph!
Nor mine!
Two-of-kind
as a kid we enjoyed the mess while eating a burger, but as an adult the fun is less LOL
Exactly! I usually stash an extra napkin or paper towel with me when I eat out because restaurants never give me enough napkins to deal with my messes!
Good that Andy keeps you on your toes. And admire those and you who tip excellence. Well done!
Wait people never get paid what they bring in value to the dining experience.
I’m pleased you got that treat – I agree about the difficulty of eating a well stacked burger
Yeah, I see those burgers with so much stuff topping them that the typical human jaw can’t possible stretch open wide enough to take a little of everything it each bite, and I think, “Why?!” Even this burger I had today would have been a bit hard to eat if I’d put all the toppings on it. They actually were nice as a side salad.
Absolutely
The other thing about those over-stacked burgers is they must have thousands of calories and more than several days’ salt and fat
If I got adequate napkins in restaurants, the stacking might be more tolerable, but nothing is mor distressing than having a mess and no way to deal with it. As it was, because of the catsup, if I hadn’t put a bit of paper towel in my pocket, I would have used the given napkin up and beyond practical usefulness! I guess one could ask for another napkin, but when one needs a napkin, one needs it now.
Yes. We sometimes employ wet cloths
That would be ideal!