When the big corporate giant that is Hershey Co. first took over our friendly, local chocolate/truffle confectioners Scharffenberger and Joseph Schmidt, they said that they would be operating as independent businesses. Apparently, that was a big fat lie and the second that the economy turned sour, Hershey saw its chance to do what everyone else was doing... Cut costs, cut factories, consolidate operations, and lay off employees. It's really quite sad because I'm a big an of Scharffen Berger and have been on the tour at Scharffen Berger's factory several times. For those of you who haven't been there yet, you should really go check it out. It really makes you appreciate chocolate even more. Not sure if they will be continuing those tours for much longer since the factory will close, but Hershey has said that they will continue to operate the on-site retail store and the restaurant, Cafe Cacao. I hope for Hershey's sake that they are able to maintain the quality of both Scharffen Berger's and Joseph Schmidt's products.
Adding fruit to your good ol' fashioned hamburger is a new trend that is sweeping the nation. I'm pretty excited about trying it out. Does anyone know a good place to try this out? Here's the article from CS Monitor. +
Here’s a diet that I can definitely get behind - the Flat Belly diet.What does that really entail?Eat more avocado.Delicious.I love avocados and guacamole.More nuts and seeds like almonds, peanuts, etc. Awesome.So far so good.Olives, not as big of a fan.But, ok.Eat more oils.Not just any oils, but good oils…ok, no problem.And, last, but not least, more chocolate.Wait… what?You heard me right… eat more chocolates.What a great diet.
If you're tired of hearing all those doom and gloom deadlines and reading about bail-outs and layoffs... here's some somewhat good news to come out of it. The restaurants are also hurting for our business. So, what does that mean? it means that they're more and more willing to hand out some huge deals. Deals that will hopefully, entice people to dine out. Those of us in the bay area will be pleased to read about some of these deals.
Free Sirloin burgers at Morton's Steakhouse Morton's Steakhouse is giving away free sirloin burgers to folks to dine in on Sunday, December 21st from 5-6pm. Why? Because it's their 30th anniversary. And, they want us to celebrate with them. Sounds like a good reason to go. Make your reservations early! Make reservations for the SF location here.
How about this one? An unbelievable $15/person 3-course meal at an incredible restaurant. The catch? You need at least 6 people to enjoy this family meal with you. So, gather up your friends and call up the not-so-close friends who you haven't talked to lately because this is the type of deal that will entice people to reach out to people they haven't talked to in awhile. I'm going to start calling up some people now. The best part is that this special deal is happening from 12/16-12/23. So, there's still a few days left. You can make reservations for Luna Park here.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana.This city is located 81 miles Northwest of New Orleans and is slowly climbing the charts by its attempts to elevate traditional Cajun cuisine.You’ll still find the trademark dishes like etouffe and po’ boys, but Baton Rouge restaurants are trying to take it to the next level.I have yet to visit the area, but I love Cajun cuisine.My favorite etouffe strangely enough, is actually from Las Vegas.If you venture off the strip a little bit, Palace Station offers up quite a delicious etouffe and Jambalaya.
