Websnark

Comment from: Kate Sith posted at January 12, 2006 2:54 PM

...okay, now I don't feel quite so bad about some of the people on my side of the counter here at P-nera. (And I'm a trainer, so I've had some *really* fun ones.)

Mayonnaise? wow.

Comment from: Misha Grin posted at January 12, 2006 3:09 PM

Meanwhile, I've been on the OTHER side of the counter, working in a foreign country and not speaking the lingo. I went around for over a week telling people that they didn't speak Spanish (though VERY apologetically) before the g-f finally corrected me.

And do you have ANY idea how NON-universal the word "screwdriver" is? VERY! Less so than Mayonnaise, even!

Comment from: Matt Sweeney posted at January 12, 2006 3:16 PM

Weds, would you like some coffee with your splenda?

Comment from: Paul Gadzikowski posted at January 12, 2006 3:16 PM

I once returned an order to a McDonald's counter, complaining that I had ordered plain cheeseburgers and these had no cheese on them. I later deduced from what I had been charged that the counterperson taking my order had misunderstood me and thought I'd ordered plain hamburgers. But now, a second counterperson told me, "Well, they're plain." Yet another counterperson fielded my complaint. I'd never seen that second counterperson there before. I never saw her there again, either.

Comment from: Dave Van Domelen posted at January 12, 2006 3:21 PM

Maybe it was sharp mayonnaise?

Comment from: jeffwik posted at January 12, 2006 3:24 PM

Eerie! I believe the Dunkin' Donuts of which you speak is a mere two hundred yards from my house.

Comment from: Brendan posted at January 12, 2006 3:29 PM

Ah, Dunkin' Donuts. Coffee, bagels, breakfast pastries, maybe donuts, and 2.000 convenient locations in your area.

"I'd like a chocolate frosted with sprinkles."
"With jimmies or without jimmies?"
"Um...with jimmies."
(Clerk proceeds to get wrong donut.)
"WITH jimmies."

Comment from: Rai posted at January 12, 2006 3:53 PM

I totally blew away an entire Dunkin' Donuts the other day by asking for a black half-decaf coffee.

Comment from: Suzanne posted at January 12, 2006 4:26 PM

I...I think I love Wednesday.

Comment from: Scarybug posted at January 12, 2006 4:37 PM

That was fun =)

It sounds like a story my mom would tell, except she would have been sure to say "His English was better than my Khmer".

Comment from: 32_footsteps posted at January 12, 2006 4:44 PM

What's wrong with bubble tea? It gives me something to chew on while I can't taste the beverage.

And Dunkin Donuts has a really odd system of doling out condiments. I've gotten ketchup with my muffin on multiple occasions. I'm still wondering who puts ketchup on anything they'd get at Dunkin.

Comment from: Merus posted at January 12, 2006 5:12 PM

Sugar, we will recall, is not my friend.

Tsk, it's always sad when former friendships go sour.

Or perhaps weevil-infested, seeing as it's sugar we're talking about here.

Comment from: Copper Hamster posted at January 12, 2006 5:17 PM

32_footsteps: My sister. Would put ketchup on Donuts. Or bagels for that matter. Mayo on Bagels... yeah I can see it. Though she'd prolly go more the spicy mustard route.

Eric: Splenda, however, appears to be one of Weds.

Comment from: Pseudowolf posted at January 12, 2006 5:43 PM

I'm reminded of Burger King.

"I'd like a # with no onions and onion rings instead of fries"

Invariably, I get a burger with onions on it and fries instead of onion rings. This happens everytime I've tried in every Burger King I've been to.

Comment from: 32_footsteps posted at January 12, 2006 6:03 PM

You're confusing me, Pseudowolf. Why would you want to get no onions on your burger, but then onions on the side? It's onions all down to me. Of course, I like onions, so I just get them everywhere.

Comment from: larksilver posted at January 12, 2006 7:02 PM

I'm with Pseudowolf. I don't like onions on my sammich, but I do so love those fried rings. If only people didn't look at me quite so oddly when I ordered 'em..

As for strange condiments.. the McDonald's by my old house always had their people ask if you wanted jelly, no matter what you ordered, no matter what time of day. "Do you want jelly with that Big Mac?" uhm. no. (backing away).

Sometimes, they wouldn't ask, but rather would just put it in your bag. Woe be unto he who didn't really look at what he got from the drive through. Imagine putting grape jelly on your fries when you're rummaging around in a dark car by feel; it's not a good surprise, I tell you.

Ew

Comment from: Thomas Blight posted at January 12, 2006 7:13 PM

It would surprise you how many people don't know how to order things. Then again, it also surprises people how bad some clerks are.

In Pseudowolf's case, you have to make it even simpler than it already is. Can the "instead of fries" part. That confuses clerks more than saying "cream, no sugar" (for coffee) in which case then think you said one sugar or something because you wouldn't need to mention it if you didn't want any. As for why he'd get one but not the other, I much prefer the taste of onion rings to onions on my burger, but if you get both that's just too much onion. I believe Pseudowolf may be the same way.

I am currently working at a Tim Hortons. One thing I've noticed is that people lord the use of your name over you. It's quite annoying when we're busy and someone says "Why aren't you faster, Tom?" (my nametag says Tom, not Thomas sadly. On the bright side it doesn't say Mrs. Esterhouse like some).

Any way, 95% of any clerk's mistake is just that, a silly mistake. I have to say that my memory is terrible, especially for repeat situations like coffee and donuts, and also that people don't speak very well. They either rattle off their entire order at once, just skip things (How many times do I have to ask "Would you like cream or sugar?"), don't speak loud enough or aren't good enough english speakers to make what they say understandable to me. Not to mention the tendency to order non-existant products.

Also, you'd be surprised how loud that atmosphere can be; half of the time I can't hear my customer because a coworker is trying to tell me something unimportant (While I'm serving people! It's so annoying!) or because someone has dropped something or hit something for some reason and it has made a lot of noise.

Hmm... I seem to have ranted a bit.

Comment from: Ardaniel posted at January 12, 2006 7:31 PM

Ah, Dunkin' Donuts. Coffee, bagels, breakfast pastries, maybe donuts, and 2.000 convenient locations in your area.

BS. There's *none* in Los Angeles, California. I have to go home to Florida every year to stock up. :)

Comment from: quiller posted at January 12, 2006 7:41 PM

There is a big difference in taste between a raw onion and a cooked onion. Onions on burgers are usually of the first variety, onion rings are the second variety.

Comment from: Darth Paradox posted at January 12, 2006 8:09 PM

Yeah, cooking onions really mellows the flavor in the same way that roasting garlic does.

Mmm.

Comment from: miyaa posted at January 12, 2006 8:25 PM

The story and following comments kind of reminds me of a complaint I read in Lynne Truss's new book Talk to the Hand where as a society we've become a society primarily about choice to the point where we get frustrated when we just want a cup of coffee and instead have to go onto the nusiances of that cup of coffee.

Comment from: PatMan posted at January 12, 2006 8:35 PM

I went to breakfast with a friend of mine from the Ivory Coast. (Lived in France for a few years before coming here, too.) He hates ordering food, so he tried to order something simple.

"Fried eggs and toast, please."

"What kind of toast would you like?"

"Uhh... french?"

"French toast?"

"No.. french bread, you know... "

"You mean white toast?"

"Yeah, that. White toast."

Silly Francophones and their silly french loaves.

Comment from: 32_footsteps posted at January 12, 2006 8:37 PM

I dunno, a cooked onion tastes just as strong as a raw onion to me. But then, I've kind of adapted to discerning most tastes in general. Funny you mention roast garlic versus raw garlic - those taste the same (pending what the garlic was roasted with) to me as well (though they smell different).

Comment from: Rachi posted at January 12, 2006 9:10 PM

Man, I read the first line and saw 'Medford' and thought, "WOW, what's he doing in my town?!" Then I read 'Massachusetts' and thought "oh yeah... that Medford."

Comment from: Tyck posted at January 12, 2006 10:01 PM

I dunno, a cooked onion tastes just as strong as a raw onion to me. But then, I've kind of adapted to discerning most tastes in general. Funny you mention roast garlic versus raw garlic - those taste the same (pending what the garlic was roasted with) to me as well (though they smell different).

Just because this is nearly inconceivable to me..do a raw onion and a caramelized onion still taste the same to you? The bite of a fresh onion and the sweetness of one cooked into brown-ness are very different flavors.

The possibly-Cambodian guy understands numbers and sweetener names, anyway. He's off to a good start.

Comment from: Mitch Clem posted at January 12, 2006 10:03 PM

Didn't you havve gastric bypass not long ago? You know a bagel is like half a loaf of bread, right? Be careful.

Comment from: KennyCelican posted at January 12, 2006 10:07 PM

Rachi - What Medford are you from? I spent two fun years in the one in New Jersey when I was a wee lad.

Weds - Six? Huh.Reminds me of someone I know. I determined via trial and error that my wife takes 3 sugars and 3 creams per 2 ounces of coffee. Which would mean that a 12 ounce cup of coffee requires no less than 18 sugars and creams.

Personally, I just get Hot Chocolate.

Comment from: Manzabar posted at January 12, 2006 10:30 PM

This totally reminds me of my first time ordering lunch when I went to Japan. I'd been through about a day and a half of survival Japanese instruction and was feeling really proud of myself for being able to order a hamburger combo meal.... up until the girl behind the counter said "wah, wah, wah-wah". After several hours (it might have only been seconds but totally felt like hours) of staring at each other, she pointed at the buttons on the coke machine for the different sizes of drinks.

On a different day we went out for breakfast (donuts & coffee) and they had donuts with mayo for sale. *shudder*

Comment from: Robert Hutchinson posted at January 12, 2006 10:49 PM

Coffee. Onions. UGH.

Well, okay, I can drink coffee if it's thoroughly debittered (six Splendas sounds fine to me). And onions need to be A) chopped, and B) sparse. Biting into an onion ring just causes my brain to send out an urgent THIS IS NOT FOOD WHAT DID YOU JUST BITE INTO OH GOD message to my mouth. It's somewhat the taste, but mainly the awful, awful texture.

Oh, and I cannot conceive of ordering food in any place of business with "Donuts" in its name, and not ordering you-know-what. But I'm a pig.

Comment from: Zutto posted at January 12, 2006 11:13 PM

Hahah! Good stuff. :)

I wonder where the US market for Bubble Tea originated, as it has at least two outposts in Ann Arbor and another in Rochester, MI.
It's a big hubbub for some folks here in Ann Arbor. Very fancy and foreign and "oooo." (I find it gross.)

Comment from: Zutto posted at January 12, 2006 11:13 PM

Though I am sorry you didn't get your harvest bagel. I'll trade you, Weds.

Comment from: 32_footsteps posted at January 12, 2006 11:35 PM

I first encountered bubble tea in the Los Angeles area in 2001 - I was under the impression that it came from Korea via Hawaii.

As for the bubbles themselves... they remind me of gummi bears, both in the taste and the consistency. Except they're supposedly more healthy for you.

Oh, I can taste the difference between carmelized onions and raw onions, but that's because of what they're cooked with. Generally, when I cook onions, I like to cook them with something (preferrably mushrooms).

As for Medford... damn, my spies refuses to notify me of your presence. Lousy cut-rate ninjas.

Comment from: MarvinAndroid posted at January 12, 2006 11:43 PM

That sounds a lot like something from Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, by Douglas Adams.

But it's still one of the funniest things I've read in a long time. It would make a great comedy skit. The timing is just perfect. What makes it better is that it's real.

Still laughing, even as I type.

Comment from: Ghastly posted at January 13, 2006 12:24 AM

Ah food industry service staff stories.

I remember once, long ago when I lived in Toronto going to Druxys for a bagel. The total was $1.45. I gave the woman $5.45. Naturally she should have given me back $4 in change. Instead I got $3.55 cents.

Me: Um, sorry. I gave you. $5.45 cents.
Her: Yes, your change is $3.55.
Me: No you rang in $5. I gave you $5.45. The total was $1.45. I should get $4 back.
Her:(looking perplexed)No your change is $3.55.
Me: Yes, well you rang it in as $5. I gave you $5.45.
Her: I know that. I'm not stupid. You gave me $5.45 and your change is $3.55 see. (she said indicating the cash register's read out).
Me: Look, this is really easy. The total was $1.45. I gave you $5.45. It's like the two 45s cancel each other out. One from five is four. I should get $4 back in change.
Her: No, it's $3.55.
Me: So you're telling me that $5.45 minus $1.45 equals $3.55
Her: Your change is $3.55! (she's getting angry now)

The manager comes over and asks what the problem is. I explain I gave her $5.45 and she must have rung it up as $5 and that my change should be $4 not $3.55. She tells the manager I gave her $5.45 and my change is $3.55. The manager tells her no it's $4, she must have rung it in wrong, give the man $4.

She throws up her hands in the air and exclaims in a loud frustrated sigh, "Well why do we even HAVE a cash register if nobody's going to believe it." Gives me the correct change with this "I hope you're really happy ripping us off" kind of look and then storms away from the counter angry.

I couldn't help it. I'd never seen anyone so utterly convinced they were right when they were so clearly wrong. I just burst out laughing. The manager apollogised and then went off to have a chat with her. As I left the store she was yelling "$3.55! His change was $3.55! He just ripped us off for a dollar!"

She probably has a career in politics now.

Comment from: Thomas Blight posted at January 13, 2006 12:57 AM

Ghastly, that makes me think of the Something Positive where the manager takes the girl out back and commits euthanasia (probably spelt wrong).

What's annoying is explaining the combos to people. How hard is it to grasp the concept that the price listed is for that sandwich, a medium coffee and a donut, and if you get something different the price will be different? Although I suppose it doesn't help that getting a muffin instead sets it into the 15% taxed area instead of the 7% area... which increased its price by a small sum. To date, even the manager has been unable to pound it into this person's skull that this is correct.

Also, I get many people who ask for a "Turkey Breast BLT," to which I reply "Which one?" and they just restate, "Turkey Breast BLT," thus making me explain that the Turkey Breast sandwich and the BLT sandwich are on the same price level but they're different sandwiches. Once I even had someone ask, "what's on a BLT?" I was dumbstruck for about thirty seconds before I realised it was not a joke.

Comment from: Eric Burns posted at January 13, 2006 1:04 AM

Mitch -- thank you, guy.

For the record, if I chew the bread/bagel well, I'm fine. And thank god. My diet is largely based on meat sandwiches, these days.

Comment from: Abby L. posted at January 13, 2006 2:36 AM

It's always good when people are well-mannered about another person's difficulty in a foreign language. Kudos to you, Eric. :) Though I often find it's the American whose the worst at English who disdains learners for having troubles.

Comment from: Sean Conner posted at January 13, 2006 2:50 AM

Reminds me of a night five years ago I ended up ordering a hamless ham and cheese without the cheese (sadly, a rather common occurance in my life).

Comment from: Josy posted at January 13, 2006 3:22 AM

As a sometime-Dunkin-Donut employee:

a) 6 packs Splenda = Less than 2 spoons sugar. When you ask for 2 sugars, you're usually getting 2 heaping teaspoons of sugar. So come on, people, 6 Splendas is nothing. I've been asked to create a large iced coffee with 20 TABLESPOONS OF SUGAR. ...And no ice. Go figure.

b) Not sure if this was sarcastic or not, but 32_Footsteps: Why ketchup at a DD? Have you never seen the breakfast sandwiches? We can do anything you like with a slab of ham, egg, cheese, sausage, or bacon.
...Uh, YES. OF COURSE. ANYTHING. ::coughs nervously::

c) Re: Special orders. When some people order "regular coffee," they actually mean "black, normal coffee," while others mean "cream and sugar." When the clerks ask you seemingly obvious questions (like "Do you want ham on your ham sandwich?"), they're just trying to make sure as little is lost in translation as possible.

Believe me, WE don't enjoy screwing up your order, either.

Comment from: Amanda W posted at January 13, 2006 4:07 AM

Big big kudos to Eric and Weds for being kind and patient with this guy. I unfortunately live with people who get uppity and impatient when those damn frr'nrs don't whip up their orders to spec in a matter of seconds. On my own, I try my best to be patient, and to thank them honestly for their service. I can only imagine how things would be in a reversed situation -- if I were trying my damn best but the language barrier messed things up, but I had that attributed instead to my own supposed incompetency and even my race or culture.

Guh.

Thanks for not being those people. ;)

Comment from: Branitar posted at January 13, 2006 6:06 AM

Ok, being a stupid german I just have to ask now: what the hell is "bubble tea"???

Comment from: Cyrano posted at January 13, 2006 7:31 AM

"Bubble tea" is (as I recall - moved out of LA a few years back and don't see it much any more) usually some kind of sweet chai (spelling?) tea with little "bubbles" made from some chewey, sugary substance floating in it.

I think it's kind of gross, but I have friends who drink it by the liter.

And speaking of language mess ups. . .

A number of years ago, while studying abroad in Freiburg, Germany, I was out with a couple of friends of mine grabbing some lunch. Said friends were a mix of fellow foreign students and Germans. Well, the waitress comes up after our meal and I jump foward with my German to ask to pay. My German at the time wasn't BAD, to be precise, but it had some . . . rough edges. Instead of "konnen wir bitte bezahlen?" (can we please pay now?) I asked "konnen wir bitte zahlen?" (Can we please count now?).

The waitress gave me a really blank look, and then one of the Germans at our table looked at me, and started in.

Ein, zwei, drei. . .

At least that's better than the time when, trying to explain that a friend of mine spoke perfect French, I implied that he was very good at providing certain . . . "personal" services.

Comment from: elvedril posted at January 13, 2006 8:15 AM

That's strange, when I lived in San Diego we would always refer to what you call "Bubble Tea" as Boba. Then again we would always get it in the Korean neighborhood, so that might be why.

As for the foreign food ordering stories, the only one I have is when I first got to Poland and forgot that Polish has different words for check (as in personal check) and check (as in the thing you pay). I had a waitress stare at me blankly for a while when I asked her (in good Polish) to give me a personal check after a meal.

Comment from: J.(Channing)Wells posted at January 13, 2006 8:45 AM

For the record and IIRC, the chewy stuff in bubble tea is essentially tapioca.

Comment from: Pseudowolf posted at January 13, 2006 9:40 AM

In Pseudowolf's case, you have to make it even simpler than it already is. Can the "instead of fries" part. That confuses clerks more than saying "cream, no sugar" (for coffee) in which case then think you said one sugar or something because you wouldn't need to mention it if you didn't want any.

But if I just say "I'd like (combo meal #) with no onions and onion rings" they try to give me the meal plus an order of onion rings.

As for why he'd get one but not the other, I much prefer the taste of onion rings to onions on my burger, but if you get both that's just too much onion. I believe Pseudowolf may be the same way.

More or less, yeah. I love the taste of their onion rings, but the onions on their burgers are not as tasty. They're okay, but not exactly my favorite thing ever.

As for bubble tea, I saw it advertised on a few shops in Seattle, but I didn't try any. I figured it was bubble gum flavored tea, seeing as these places also had other stuff like "Watermelon Tea" and "Strawberry Tea" and so on.

Comment from: 32_footsteps posted at January 13, 2006 9:54 AM

But Josy, how many people go for ketchup on their blueberry muffin? Yes, I know some ketchup obsessives, but I don't think there's enough to just throw ketchup into every bag at DD.

As for doing anything with an egg and sausage... I'm taking that as a personal challenge to get sausage, egg, and cheddar on a Boston creme donut. I will follow this up by watching my heart literally explode from my body and bitchslap me for putting it through that.

Comment from: KennyCelican posted at January 13, 2006 10:40 AM

For instant heart explosion for the cholesterol susceptible, try Scottish Eggs (the kind found at the PA Renn Faire). For those who've never seen them, hard boil an egg, cover it in sausage, then deep fry the whole thing.

Mmmm... Tasty. Wish I had a deep fryer so I could make them myself.

Of course, if you can get them to deep fry your Sausage, Egg and Cheese Boston Creme donut, you've got me beat in terms of sheer fatty goodness.

Comment from: larksilver posted at January 13, 2006 10:56 AM

tapioca! EW.

In Pseudowolf's case, you have to make it even simpler than it already is. Can the "instead of fries" part. That confuses clerks more than saying "cream, no sugar" (for coffee) in which case then think you said one sugar or something because you wouldn't need to mention it if you didn't want any.

But if I just say "I'd like (combo meal #) with no onions and onion rings" they try to give me the meal plus an order of onion rings.

I have the same problems here. When I order a hamburger, I have to say "Mustard, no mayonnaise" or I get both. yuuuck.

Comment from: larksilver posted at January 13, 2006 10:57 AM

Of course, if you can get them to deep fry your Sausage, Egg and Cheese Boston Creme donut, you've got me beat in terms of sheer fatty goodness.

Dude. That almost makes a Monte Cristo sound healthy.

Comment from: 32_footsteps posted at January 13, 2006 11:32 AM

Wait, you're taking a fried egg, a fried piece of one of the fattiest meats you can eat, a deep-fried pastry filled with fatty cream and covered in chocolate, combining them together and deep-frying it again, and this is somehow not as bad as a Monte Carlo? Lark, where in the name of mercy are you getting that sandwich? I know a Monte Carlo is not healthy by any definition, but still, worse than all that?

Comment from: J.(Channing)Wells posted at January 13, 2006 12:35 PM

I read that as, "Wow, that idea almost makes a Monte Cristo look like a plate of steamed broccoli and tofu in comparison!" rather than "that's almost as bad as a Monte Cristo!"

Action semantic debating action!

Comment from: Cadete posted at January 13, 2006 2:27 PM

[QUOTE]And onions need to be A) chopped, and B) sparse. Biting into an onion ring just causes my brain to send out an urgent THIS IS NOT FOOD WHAT DID YOU JUST BITE INTO OH GOD message to my mouth. It's somewhat the taste, but mainly the awful, awful texture.[/QUOTE]

I've been trying to explain that to my family for years, almost in those exact same words (except that I say them in Portuguese). So far it has only resulted in my brother saying "It's the texture!" in a sarcastic tone, but they do try to put either less onion or warn me when there is onion so I can pick it out.

Comment from: Aerin posted at January 13, 2006 3:11 PM

Ah, thanks to whoever clarified. Maybe it's a California thing; I was bemused at the mention of bubble tea, but I know from boba. It's the freebie of choice at school when clubs and meetings are trying to lure people into attendance.

The dad of one of my best friends will eat an onion like an apple. No joke. It's faintly nauseating. Personally, I like the flavor that onion adds to cooked dishes, but I always eat around the actual onion bits. Onion rings, I could take or leave.

Comment from: 32_footsteps posted at January 13, 2006 4:31 PM

See, I took that comment like this donut sandwich would be almost as bad as a Monte Carlo. I can see your way of it, though.

And I've eaten raw onion like an apple. It's not nearly as bad as "nauseating." Though I don't really do it anymore, because that much raw onion at once isn't good for the stomach, I understand. The last time I did do it was on a dare, for $20.

Yes, now you know how much I'm worth.

Comment from: miyaa posted at January 13, 2006 5:57 PM

Weirdest thing that happened to me after I read this thread: I had a dream where I was playing Burger Time 3 where that Chef appeared with animated large packets of sugar and I had to control Wednesday to save Eric from being sweetened to death.

Comment from: Tyck posted at January 13, 2006 6:53 PM

The dad of one of my best friends will eat an onion like an apple.

Every so often, somebody will tell you there are onions sweet enough to eat like this, even for people who normally taste them strongly and don't like them. Vidalias are usually discussed in this context. The people who tell you this? They're lying.

Anyway, I put onions in practically everything I cook. And garlic, and some crushed cayenne or other heat if I can get away with it. And potatos..I cooks teh Midwest-Mexican.

Comment from: quiller posted at January 13, 2006 7:10 PM

Hmm, I've been in LA since 1988, and I've never seen bubble tea, just boba.

Oh, and while the balls are tapioca, they aren't really anything like tapioca pudding. More like little balls of unflavored jello. Feel really weird going down your throat.

I've found that Monte Cristo sandwiches are rather disgusting. I've course I found this out because in France a Monte Cristo is a simple grilled ham and cheese sandwich, and I made a mistake back in the states. I've also learned that beef tongue on a sandwich is apparently some kind of cured processed meat. I'd probably have a hard time getting a bartender to make me a monaco, as well. (Which is a strange concoction made from a lager type beer and cherry syrup. Yes, I know, but the sweetness of the cherry counteracts the bitterness of the beer, and actually makes cheap beer drinkable for me. And it was cheaper than wine and less prone to give me a headache.) The things you learn in a foreign exchange program are not necessarily the things you think you are going to learn. (Cheap places to eat in Paris: greek restaurants in the latin quarter, falafel place in a jewish section, and chinese restaurants (particularly if you are with a group). We didn't have a very big meals budget when we did class trips.)

Comment from: 32_footsteps posted at January 13, 2006 9:31 PM

I'm not suggesting anyone play this... but Miyaa's post reminded me of Captain Novolin.

Yes, I'm so much of a video gaming geek that I could come up with a game where sugar is the bad guy.

Comment from: Tyck posted at January 13, 2006 9:34 PM

I know Captain Novolin! Or, to be more truthful, I remember seeing an article about it an old copy of some gaming magazine or another. It was one of those "Video games aren't just about splattering the screen with poorly digitized blood!" pieces.

Comment from: gwalla posted at January 14, 2006 3:28 AM

Bubble tea, also known variously as boba tea, tapioca pearl tea, and pearl milk tea, is iced tea with milk and large balls of tapioca. Usually served with an extra-wide straw so you can suck up the "pearls" (so-called, although they're way too dark to look like pearls. They be black pearls, matey, R!). In many cases other flavorings can be added to, or used in place of, tea, such as strawberry or taro root milk. It's not chai, which is spiced tea with milk (technically the milk isn't necessary for it to be chai, just the spices, but you need the milk or it'll take the enamel right off of your teeth). I suppose you could make boba chai but I've never seen it offered.

I think it's mainly popular around colleges. Probably due to large populations of students from Asia.

There used to be a little place in Berkeley across from the UC campus called Boba Cafe. Every time I'd walk past it I'd say "Boba Cafe? Boba Cafe, where?"

Comment from: Kirath posted at January 15, 2006 7:09 PM

For the record, Burger King has the best onion rings ever, for one reason. They totally sidestep the texture issue. Traditional onion rings are made when an onion is sliced crosswise, the resulting rings are battered, and then deep fried. These wind up the onion rings that are delicious crispy outside surrounding slimy, nasty cooked onion.

Burger King doesn's make traditional onion rings... they used formed, finely minced onions instead, which are much, much better.

Comment from: gwalla posted at January 15, 2006 7:21 PM

"Onion rings" made without onion rings are an abomination unto the Lard.

Only someone who has never eaten a decent onion ring could possibly claim that any fast-food onion rings are anything but awful. Particularly those foul minced processed "onion rings".

Comment from: Plaid Phantom posted at January 16, 2006 3:05 AM

Personally, I kinda like said fast food onion rings when coupled with the knowledge that they're not true onion rings. Or at least that helps me sleep at night.

Comment from: KennyCelican posted at January 16, 2006 10:30 AM

Ah, but for them to be good onion rings, the onion itself needs to retain the texture of a raw onion (crunchy), thus making the entire onion ring a torus of oniony, crunchy goodness.

Those things at Burger King? Blech. The taste is weak and the texture is deep fried bread crumbs, not deep fried beer batter. If you want good onion rings, go to the Serendipity Cafe (A.K.A. The Dip) in St Croix.

Of course, this is assuming you like the taste of onion (fresh or carmelized) in the first place. Oh, and I have found onions sweet enough to eat whole, unfortunately I haven't found a particular breed of onion which is reliably sweet enough.

Comment from: larksilver posted at January 16, 2006 11:31 AM

See, I took that comment like this donut sandwich would be almost as bad as a Monte Carlo. I can see your way of it, though.

Oh, aye, I was saying that the concoction of which you speak sounds way, way, worse than a Monte Cristo.. and that's saying something, for every time I see someone eating a Monte Cristo I can hear their arteries harden.

Comment from: Robert Hutchinson posted at January 16, 2006 9:37 PM

For the record, Burger King has the best onion rings ever, for one reason. They totally sidestep the texture issue.

For the record, I have had BK and non-BK. Same brain response for me. (And Chicken Fries are a freaking ripoff.)

Comment from: Zernik posted at January 18, 2006 12:10 AM

In both LA and Berkeley, I've never seen Boba referred to as anything other than just boba... although bubble tea is a pretty good descriptive name.

Usually, I see it in iced fruit drinks/smoothies. It's a nice mix of flavors - tapioca and, say, pineapple.

Okay, I just realized that sounds pretty strange, but it's really good.

Comment from: 32_footsteps posted at March 10, 2006 11:38 AM

Hey, remember this, when we were joking about putting a fatty meat sandwich on a donut to maximize calories?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2362369

My arteries cry in pain from just reading that story.

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