Thursday, June 15, 2006

Au Bon Pain in the ass?

Too soon to tell.

This in regard to a new Au Bon Pain that just opened up in town (very close to work). Today was the official first day open. I fully understand that opening day anywhere is going to be a giant clusterfuck and I will be forgiving, but here's my first impression. I arrived late (after work) to give them a try. I cringed a bit as I walked in to see a bunch of eagerly inept high school kids staffing the joint. This is probably the first job for many of them. They were very friendly, but they're also very inexperienced. I know that this will change in time and they may become assets to the company, but it's generally not a great idea to have them represent 90% of the staff during opening week. The cashier was very friendly and only had minor issues with my order. I decided to try a few things. I ordered an iced caramel macchiato, a Mediterranean veggie panini, a chicken pot pie, and a brownie. It took about 10 minutes to get my food to go (respectable, especially on opening day). It took about 15 minutes to get my iced caramel macchiato. Not so cool. They didn't have any lids (yet) for it so they dumped it into a regular beverage cup as they have lids on a side station. No they didn't actually. Forgivable and understandable during opening week. The caramel macchiato had decent flavor but the ice melted right away. For the record,the A/C wasn't on or working. It was a little warm in there. There were two salads sitting in the window the entire time I was there (about 20 minutes). I wanted to find the appropriate diners and serve them their salads, but the fly hanging out on the Caesar dissuaded me. (The dining area was almost empty). My being in the service industry for so long makes me sensitive to certain scenarios. (Whenever I go out to eat I try to guage the situation. ie. The number of servers, service times, and various other details.) I'm a stickler for efficient and proper service because that's what I like to provide. I wanted to approach the manager and rattle of a list of about 20 things that they could do to improve the place without sounding like an asshole. It was opening day though, and they do understandably have some bugs to work out. I got my food home and I stared on the panini. The roasted veggies in my panini were zucchini, underripe tomato, and red peppers. It also had hommous and goat cheese on it. The vegetables were over-roasted and soggy and I was hoping for a little more variety. The flavor was fine. The addition of the hommous and goat cheese were helpful, but the hommous could use more garlic (that's just me being picky). The biggest problem was the bread. A proper panini should be grilled so that the bread has a nice bite that could cut your gums if you're not careful. The bread barely had grill marks and was exceedingly soft. Better luck next time on that one. The chicken pot pie had a unique presentation. It is not served in the traditional "bowl" style. It is a square shaped entity that is encased entirely in a wonderfully flaky puff pastry. Unfortunately there's a lot more puff than poulet. It had a nice flavor, but the chicken/veloute filling was barely there. I'm a person that will plunk down some major coin on a meal, but the $7.00 asking price for the pot pie is a bit excessive for the setting. In its defense it did come with an accompanying salad. The salad was quite large (probably 5 times heaver than the pot pie), but lackluster. The greens were soggy and overwhelmed by a mystery house dressing which resembled ranch in color/texture, but was unidentifiable in flavor. It also had underripe tomatoes and sliced red grapes tossed in it. This salad just doesn't quite work for me. The brownie had decent flavor but the texture was a little light. I'll definitely go back and give them another try. Every place has bugs to work out when they first open. It's a matter of figuring out what just went wrong and what corporate presentation is supposed to be. I'm a sucker for soups so that'll be my next try. Maybe even tomorrow. Soup and pizza maybe? I hope that there will be some improvement and I'm sure that there will be. Opening week anywhere is mass confusion, especially when there are a bunch of teenagers involved. The only management/trainer types appeared to be on the floor and not behind the line supervising the actual ordering and production process. I'll have a follow-up soon. In teenagers we trust?

Here's a link to the "25 Most Controversial Films Ever" from Entertainment Weekly. It's pretty interesting.

Another great editorial from Jack Lessenberry here from the new Metro Times. Jack Lessenberry for President!

I'm hoping to see Al Gore's global warming pic An Inconvenient Truth this week. I also want to see A Prairie Home Companion.

Tonight on CBS they aired the AFI's 100 Most Inspirational Films. I'd say that the list is pretty darn good. The AFI only includes American films so obviously films like Au Revoir les Enfants , Europa, Europa and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert were not included. I was hoping to see Meatballs, My Bodyguard, and Revenge of the Nerds on the list (seriously!). It's a good list though. What do you think of it?

1 IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE 1946
2 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD 1962
3 SCHINDLER'S LIST 1993
4 ROCKY 1976
5 MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON 1939
6 E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL 1982
7 THE GRAPES OF WRATH 1940
8 BREAKING AWAY 1979
9 MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET 1947
10 SAVING PRIVATE RYAN 1998
11 THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES 1946
12 APOLLO 13 1995
13 HOOSIERS 1986
14 THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI 1957
15 THE MIRACLE WORKER 1962
16 NORMA RAE 1979
17 ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST 1975
18 THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK 1959
19 THE RIGHT STUFF 1983
20 PHILADELPHIA 1993
21 IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT 1967
22 THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES 1942
23 THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION 1994
24 NATIONAL VELVET 1944
25 SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS 1941
26 THE WIZARD OF OZ 1939
27 HIGH NOON 1952
28 FIELD OF DREAMS 1989
29 GANDHI 1982
30 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA 1962
31 GLORY 1989
32 CASABLANCA 1942
33 CITY LIGHTS 1931
34 ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN 1976
35 GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER 1967
36 ON THE WATERFRONT 1954
37 FORREST GUMP 1994
38 PINOCCHIO 1940
39 STAR WARS 1977
40 MRS. MINIVER 1942
41 THE SOUND OF MUSIC 1965
42 12 ANGRY MEN 1957
43 GONE WITH THE WIND 1939
44 SPARTACUS 1960
45 ON GOLDEN POND 1981
46 LILIES OF THE FIELD 1963
47 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY 1968
48 THE AFRICAN QUEEN 1951
49 MEET JOHN DOE 1941
50 SEABISCUIT 2003
51 THE COLOR PURPLE 1985
52 DEAD POET'S SOCIETY 1989
53 SHANE 1953
54 RUDY 1993
55 THE DEFIANT ONES 1958
56 BEN-HUR 1959
57 SERGEANT YORK 1941
58 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND 1977
59 DANCES WITH WOLVES 1990
60 THE KILLING FIELDS 1984
61 SOUNDER 1972
62 BRAVEHEART 1995
63 RAIN MAN 1988
64 THE BLACK STALLION 1979
65 A RAISIN IN THE SUN 1961
66 SILKWOOD 1983
67 THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL 1951
68 AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN 1982
69 THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS 1957
70 COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER 1980
71 COOL HAND LUKE 1967
72 DARK VICTORY 1939
73 ERIN BROCKOVICH 2000
74 GUNGA DIN 1939
75 THE VERDICT 1982
76 BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ 1962
77 DRIVING MISS DAISY 1989
78 THELMA & LOUISE 1991
79 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS 1956
80 BABE 1995
81 BOYS TOWN 1938
82 FIDDLER ON THE ROOF 1971
83 MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN 1936
84 SERPICO 1973
85 WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT 1993
86 STAND AND DELIVER 1988
87 WORKING GIRL 1988
88 YANKEE DOODLE DANDY 1942
89 HAROLD AND MAUDE 1972
90 HOTEL RWANDA 2004
91 THE PAPER CHASE 1973
92 FAME 1980
93 A BEAUTIFUL MIND 2001
94 CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS 1937
95 PLACES IN THE HEART 1984
96 SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER 1993
97 MADAME CURIE 1943
98 THE KARATE KID 1984
99 RAY 2004
100 CHARIOTS OF FIRE 1981

I just the new Sonic Youth CD today from Glen the Good. I can't wait to give it a listen. They're coming to Detroit in August with the Flaming Lips. I LOVE Sonic Youth and have for a long time. I like the Flaming Lips a lot, but their albums are a little more hit or miss. The new one??? It's okay. It should be a great show, but I don't know if I want to risk the contact buzz from the Lips fans.

Gary Numan is coming to town too. Maybe...maybe. I saw him years ago and he was bloody brilliant. I was lucky enough to meet him after the show, get an autograph, and a picture taken with him. Really, really nice guy!

The newest Entertainment Weekly also ran an article with pictures of some of the people in the entertainment industry that have succumbed to HIV/AIDS since it was first mentioned by the CDC 25 years ago. The pictures shown are just a small fraction, but there are some real memorable folks. There are some people that I not only didn't know that had HIV/AIDS (ie. Isaac Asimov, Herb Ritts), but sadly didn't even know had passed away (ie. Tom Villard). Let's keep up hope and pray that a cure is found. Advances certainly have been made in the last 25 years, but not enough.

The rest of the world is watching World Cup soccer right now. Go Switzerland! They tied France the other day and play Togo next. Schweiz! Schweiz! Schweiz!
(Remind me to tell you about the time that World Cup soccer was happening in Pontiac. I think it was '94.)

Random poll- What are you looking forward to most this summer?

Random poll #2- What's your favorite way to drink tequila?

Random poll #3- Who do you want to win the World Cup?

Random poll #4- What would you do for a Klondike Bar?

Cheers,
Jason

3 Comments:

Blogger Kathleen said...

Wow, so much on which to comment.

1st: The 25 Most Controversial Films - I've only seen five of them, Fahrenheit 9/11, The Warriors (I LOVED THIS MOVIE), Triumph of the Will (worth seeing for the historical aspect), Caligula (I only saw the unrated version once and that was sufficient), Aladdin????? One line in it makes it on the Top 25 list???

I fucking hate It's a Wonderful Life.

What are you looking forward to most this summer?
Racing, of course!!


What's your favorite way to drink tequila?
Whichever way ends up with me NOT puking my guts out. Love tequile, but my stomach is not as enamoured.

Who do you want to win the World Cup?
Mexico (since the U.S. hasn't a chance in hell), Sweden, Spain I reserve the right to change my mind as teams are knocked out.

What would you do for a Klondike Bar?
Absolutely friggin' nothing, the most overrated ice cream bar in the history of the world.

10:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am American, but I was living in Italy during the World Cup 1990. Great wine, great times.

I agree with Kat, tequila is rough on the stomach. But when in Mexico . . .

Forget the klondike bars - it's bikini season!

10:24 PM  
Blogger Glen said...

Random poll- What are you looking forward to most this summer? A trip to Greece and Turkey and Egypt

Random poll #2- What's your favorite way to drink tequila? With a nose straw....just kidding!

Random poll #3- Who do you want to win the World Cup? Argentina or Serb./Mont.

Random poll #4- What would you do for a Klondike Bar? Why you people be hatin' on Klondikes?? I'll ask nicely for one.

12:10 PM  

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