Yeah, I know (I used to work for them many years ago), that's why I checked off the "do not send me e-mails" box on my order.

Raw fish? Never tried it, probably never will. Even the idea of steak tartare turns my stomach.

See, that's funny, because I think raw steak sounds way grosser than raw fish. Note that I enjoy eating both of them. Along with raw oysters and raw broccoli.

Amych is totally right! I bet there's a software package out there for clueless restaurateurs. I don't even know how to spell that word.

"about" page with rambly ghost-written stuff

A relatively high-profile restaurant opened up in town with a colleague as one of the co-owners. Her profile in the "about" part is all about how she is a great lawyer and great FOH. (E.g., "She looks equally at home discussing the complexity of law as providing a warm presence on the floor.") I mean, who could possibly have written that but her? Who has that POV? Ugh.

that's why I checked off the "do not send me e-mails" box on my order.

Heh. I've never bothered, just in case I need a coupon at some point.

I've seen John Mahoney a few times in the Oak Park/Forest Park area (I helped him in the library back in 1990, and he was at the car wash when Mom and I were there a few years ago--she went up and thanked him for his work right before we left, and he was very sweet about it).

Aww, I bet he was awesome.

He still lives in Oak Park, which I think is pretty cool (he grew up across the street in Forest Park). Both times, I did the whole "treat him like a normal person" thing, which was helpful when I was tracking down a copy of Uncle Vanya for him at the library. I told my mom to leave the poor guy alone, but she couldn't resist approaching him. It's got to be pretty hard on him, though--both times, I knew he was in the building before he showed up because an employee came around and told us he was there. At the library, it was pre-Frasier, so he didn't get too much notice, but at the car wash, he was getting a lot of out-of-the-corner glances from everyone there.

I've seen Kenny Rodgers at the Cascades in Nashville, and I think Hal Holbrook passing by some nameless seafood restaurant on Decatur St. In New Orleans. No famous people in local restaurants though. (I made a point of avoiding The Rendezvous when I knew George Bush was coming to town.)

Raw fish? Never tried it, probably never will. Even the idea of steak tartare turns my stomach.

I don't do raw fish either. I love sushi, but my place has some really great vegetarian and cooked options. There's a rock n roll, with small bits of deep-fried halibut, avocado, cucumber, and maybe something else that I don't remember (with rice, seaweed and the teeny-tiny orange fish eggs). You get to have all the pleasure of deep-fried halibut, and yet still feel kind of virtuous because there's so little of it.

I regard fish and beef as two widely divergent things when it comes to cooking... there probably aren't too many people who like their steak cooked more thoroughly than I, but I love the taste of raw sushi-grade tuna.