Man, if it's what it looks like, the manager's really a shit.
Seriously, this makes it sound like he is truly a star asshole.
I'm now voting for Anita Esterday, the waitress, for president.
1/2: Are you trying to imply that the manager stole the tip or that he is covering for Clinton? Or something else?
1: If this is really the case, shouldn't the waitress be grateful to the press for exposing the manager?
I'll bet the waitress just wants the press to leave her the hell alone.
5: Stole the tip. Another manager confirmed that it was left, and it's a weird mistake for the campaign to have made -- possible, but for a planned stop unlikely. (Covering for the Clinton campaign is also possible, but requires two weirdnesses: a screwup from a competent campaign, and a lying manager, rather than just one, the lying manager.)
Maid-Rite and their "loose meat" sandwiches have always sounded disgusting to me. Eating there is pandering to Iowa voters, just like promoting ethanol subsidies or giving Evan Bayh a handjob.
I'm glad Esterday told them they were insane, but sadly it probably wouldn't be considered ok for her to talk like that if she were a candidate. She'd probably get a story devoted to making her look silly.
OMG, a Maid-Rite is the most disgusting sandwich I have ever encountered. My parents always got them when we'd visit their hometown for the nostalgia factor. "Loose meat" is as appetizing as it sounds.
"Loose meat" is just a bad phrase. It sounds either like a sexual slur, or an alarm signal over the slaughterhouse PA: the alert level below "Stampede!"
11: I think it looks pretty good, but I don't think I've ever had one.
I'm not touching the rest of your comment.
That photo is the kind of thing my grandmother would look at and ask, "Should I? Or did I?"
the manager's really a shit
Maybe, maybe not. Many if not most restaurants pool tips and divvy them up among the wait and kitchen staff; an extra hundred bucks may or may not have made a noticeable difference depending the typical volume of business. This message brought to you by a former waiter.
"Loose meat" is as appetizing as it sounds.
What kind of sounds does loose meat produce?
18: But in that case, the waitress shouldn't have had an opinion about whether the tip was left, should she?
Actually, come to think of it, if they only talked to the waitress and not the manager or the campaign, and the check and tip were left with the manager rather than at the table, that would explain what the waitress thought -- she didn't see money, so she thought the meal was comped, no tip, and if the restaurant splits tips, nothing identifiable would come to her. It'd make the reporters morons, though.
It'd make the reporters morons, though.
And in other news...
What kind of sounds does loose meat produce?
I bet if you threw it against some plastic film that had been stretched really tightly over a big empty space, it would make an amazingly unappetizing sound.
Maybe Stanley can throw some loose meat on his drums and record it for us.
You know you all ate sloppy joes before. Don't act all uppity about loose meat.
I think $100 tip on one ticket would be noticed, regardless of whether they pool the tips. It works out to be nearly 65% of the bill. The manager is very likely a douche.
Loose meat.
And people say slut-shaming is lost art.
What's a sloppy joe? I vaguely remember discussing it in middle school with some friends, but I don't think any of us figured out what it was. On the other hand, I might have eaten it if it was offered at the school cafeteria and just don't remember.
I remember not eating sloppy joes in middle school--in fact going hungry because that was all that was being served--because they were just too gross.
Sloppy joes are the food of the gods, you snobs. That loose meat sandwich looks pretty damn good, too.
A sloppy joe is a sandwich made from crumbled beef browned in a tomato sauce served (usually) on a really cheap squishy white bun. They're good. Maid-rites are like a sloppy joe only with no sauce or flavoring and the meat tastes kind of steamed.
A blog post about the wonderful sloppy joe.
I'm pretty sure I haven't eaten one, then.
the meat tastes kind of steamed
Ok, I take it back about the loose meat then, but sloppy joes rock.
Break up some ground beef and brown it in a pan. Pour off grease (this step sometimes omitted). Add jar or can of spaghetti sauce. Simmer. Put spoonful of resulting meat sauce on hamburger bun.
That's a sloppy joe.
32: Oh, yay! That site looks awesome -- now I know where to go if I get too alienated here.
Obviously multpli-pwned.
So if you browned some ground beef, breaking it up, and after draining put that on a bun, it'd be a loose meat sandwich?
Oh Lunch Lady? Please to have another sloppy Jimbo.
I totally want a sloppy joe now. Is that the same thing as a Manwich?
Sloppy joes are also known as Manwiches. Which maybe should be the official unfogged sandwich? Because it's like Mandom!, but with loose meat.
I didn't know there were these homemade varieties using real meat and real sauces. We always had the canned stuff. But even so, sloppy joes are delicious.
Sloppy Joe is the refrain to an Adam Sandler song.
The manager is very likely a douche.
He's a restaurant manager, so chances are better than average that he's a douche. I have zero interest in defending the Clinton campaign, but let's be serious: the waitress typically picks up her own tips from the table or at least notices that they've been added to credit card slips. A candidate comes in with a huge entourage, a staffer pays the manager, the waitress sees no tip. Maybe she got some, maybe she didn't. Either way, the reporter fucked up. This message brought to you by someone who has worked as both a waiter and a journalist.
This message brought to you by someone who has worked as both a waiter and a journalist.
Simultaneously? Was it for something similar to the premise of Nickel and Dimed?
I find sloppy joes too smooshy.
But bbq pork sandwich--which has almost the same consistency--is fucking awesome.
44: Simultaneously, but not related except in that part of my journalism work was wine writing, and the restaurant where I worked had a legendary wine list, and both jobs were conducive to heavy drinking.
The recipe linked in 32 is basically Cincinnati-style chili on a bun.
You know you all ate sloppy joes before.
I had a sloppy joe Tuesday night. It's the green pepper that makes them tasty.
Break up some ground beef and brown it in a pan. Pour off grease (this step sometimes omitted). Add jar or can of spaghetti sauce. Simmer. Put spoonful of resulting meat sauce on hamburger bun.
That's a sloppy joe.
Good lord, that is not a sloppy joe.
I believe that is called meat sauce, except you put it on pasta instead of a bun.
Mom would make homemade sloppy joes from scratch and they were delicious, but on those very special occasions when she would break down and buy the Manwich sauce... It's like that moment when Anton Ego takes his first bite of the ratatouille.
Oh, that was so good!
Add jar or can bottle of spaghetti barbecue sauce.
My preferred sloppy Joe configuration. Mmmmmm.
Seriously, I'm a little surprised by how sentimental a thread about a sandwich is making me. Damn it, I totally want to cancel my dinner plans now and just make sloppy joes!
just make sloppy joes!
You'll push no-sloppy-joe-eb's Di-curiosity to the boiling point!
9: Evan Bayh may get handjobs, but they'd be in Indiana, not Iowa. Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin get the happy endings around these parts.
And Maid-Rites are perfectly fine, especially with pickle and mustard. They were on some Food Network special a few years ago, one of those "In Search of America's Best Sandwich" type things.
I hated sloppy joes. Come to think of it, I hated most of the food we ate when I was a kid.
52: Wow. Amazingly, I can actually picture sloppy joes being a sexy food. Now I'm a little frightened of myself.
I've rarely had Sloppy Joes outside of cafeteria settings (liked them even then), but aren't they typically made with shredded rather than ground meat?
There's a continuum from maid-rite to sloppy joe to taco.
I spent a few years buying powdered taco mix, then realized that the magic is: cumin+bouillon cube from the bodega+ancho chili+garlic.
55: That's not that crazy of a thought. I mean, they're sloppy and conducive to spilling and needing to chase after small pieces here and there and stuff. If you start getting turned on by meatloaf, then it's time to worry.
I have to admit, sloppy joes don't actually look that appetizing to me.
If you start getting turned on by meatloaf, then it's time to worry
I dunno, "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" evokes memories of making out at junior high dances for me.
So if you browned some ground beef, breaking it up, and after draining put that on a bun, it'd be a loose meat sandwich?
No--at least that's not the way my mom makes them. You simmer the ground beef for about an hour and a half. No browning occurs at any point.
turned on by meatloaf: Each section contributes a dish for the family meal and Justin decided he wanted to make meat loaf and he wanted to shape it into a huge penis. I privately thought, 'You've got to be f'ing kidding me. Penis meatloaf? Are you in kindergarten? Oh well, I'd rather eat penis meat loaf than put up with some of the other stuff I've dealt with in France.' It was immature, but kinda funny because everyone did eat it. And yes, there was much argument over who got to eat which part. Justin was reprimanded by one of the sous chefs which he easily brushed off."
Dude, Maid Rite? Do they only employ maids?? And if so, what kind of maids? Old maids? to serve their loose meat?
This all seems very suspicious to me.
And damn you all for making me hungrier than I was.
You've got to be f'ing kidding me. Penis meatloaf?
This cookbook by the Two Fat Ladies contains a recipe for (bull's) penis stew.
60. I like the part in "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" when Phil Rizzuto narrates the play by play.
Dude, Maid Rite?
And what kind of rite is it? Sacrificial? What the hell is that loose meat, anyway?
This has clarified for me that I should date a chef. I really have a thing for food. Any Di-curious, single chefs in the Chicago metropolitan area should feel free to contact me.
This has clarified for me that I should date a chef. I really have a thing for food. Any Di-curious, single chefs in the Chicago metropolitan area should feel free to contact me.
And please invite me over for delicious meals.
I'll confess that I have a secret crush on redtailfox and snark. I want to be their friend and eat their food. Is that so sad?
I read fox's foodblog dreamily all the time. It all sounds so good.
Variant from me youth is ground beef+flour+milk+beef boullion. Which reminds of a not too distant relative:Chicken a la king. And chicken a la king - flour - milk = stir fry?
OT, I'm Becks-style in Vegas in the middle of the afternoon. That is all.
You people are really nuts. There's kids dying in the war, the price of oil right now -- there's better things in this world to be thinking about than...
sloppy joes.
Actually, probably not. Can you make 'em with oily sea birds?
We haven't considered the possibility that the waitress is phony heartland. If the troops can lose their hallowed aura for not spouting right wing talking points, surely a lowly food service professional could be stripped of her status as a Real American?
OT, I'm Becks-style in Vegas in the middle of the afternoon. That is all.
Ham-lov, I didnt really need to know about your butt-chafing from going commando.
Huh. I guess I inferred the wrong definition of "Becks-style".
HL! Are you in the company of Circus people?
On a more serious note, and fucking forgetting where I saw the headline about "Iowans want to talk jobs, not whatever" this is another small piece of evidence that the massive accelerating disconnect between the beltway and the heartland, based on the economy not any silly little war, will tip any minute now into a storming of the Bastille.
71: Is there any other way to be in Vegas? Otherwise the place is just depressing.
on the economy not any silly little war
Then again, neither is Iraq. And the implication that random people in the beltway don't give a shit about anything until it hits their paycheck is pretty disheartening.
79: beltway s/b hearland, of course.
We are long overdue for a revolution in the western world, don't you think?
78:I have relatives living in Vegas, not gambling, connected to gaming at all, and sober. They do stuff like work and play with their kids and stuff. I don't know for sure, since I have never been to Vegas and only get reports from people who interact with other people. It is possible I am being decieved.
L-Rock- no, with wife and our old housemate. Last biz trip I took, I had to eat bugs!
Vegas is a whore. They put a fifty foot tall Absolut ad on the Luxor FFS. America is on the decline.
I vote that waiters replace cabbies and farmers as the people who tell us the state of real America.
82 Wife's parents live here unconnected togaming and entertainment. The plasticity doesnt seem to bother them.
Speaking of plasticity, laydeez, please, for fuck's sake, pun intended, just GO WITH THE BREASTS GOD GAVE YOU. They're fine. Really. Whatever they are.
What Wrenae said in 24. Looks like a variant.
Just in case anyone is hungry for an SJ:
1 lb ground beef
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar
1. In a large skillet, brown ground beef, celery and onion.
2. Drain the fat, who needs it?
3. Stir in remaining ingredients, simmer covered, 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. If Joes appear too 'loose', leave cover off and let moisture evaporate.
5. Cook until it's the consistency you like for serving on toasted buns, with french fries and cole slaw.
[From Recipezaar]
This has all made me want SJs for dinner, but the plumber working on the broken pipe hasn't finished, so I can't run water, which makes it a bit difficult to cook. Except for marshmallows, and we don't have any.
The best thing about Vegas, IMO, is the M&M store. A colour for any occasion.
If you're going to be Becks-style in Vegas, you should do it at Fontana's.
My church lady ex-boss had family in Reno too. One of the nicest church ladies ever, I hasten to add.
I also like chili dogs.
Clinton's campaign responded by saying the candidate and her aides had in fact left a tip: $100 on a $157 check.
This is worse than leaving no tip. It's wasting money. I want a candidate who won't piss away the $50 or $100 or $200 I might donate.
91: For the amount of trouble a major campaign brings in? I can imagine tipping like that just as a large party, to say nothing of a media-saturated circus.
I was thinking the same thing as 92. The disruption of business caused by a campaign stop might cause her to lose out on tips from a lot of other tables.
88 We had color coordinated m&ms in test tubes at our wedding.
I have to work all weekend. Sigh. There should be a special thread where LB and I and other wage slaves could commiserate...she'll have to work all weekend too, right? I mean, she's a highly paid lawyer.
Is this off topic?
What luck, I was just trying to think of what to do with this ground turkey.
For the amount of trouble a major campaign brings in?
So be a big shot and leave $50. The campaign was probably in and out of there in 20 minutes.
... might cause her to lose out on tips from a lot of other tables
The yokels scarfing loose meat at Maid-Rite aren't tipping more than whatever coins they get back in change, if that.
For some reason, when I was a kid, I thought of sloppy joes (and yes, they were Manwiches) as frontier/cowboy food - when dinner was over, I'd eat some of the meat straight out of the pan with a wooden spoon - it felt so authentic.
Good pulled pork shouldn't have anything like the mouthfeel of a sloppy joe. Less-good pulled pork can, but I'm not sure how they do it (why would you shred it so fine?).
I have to work all weekend. Sigh. There should be a special thread where LB and I and other wage slaves could commiserate
Where were you last weekend, when I spent 13 hours of Sunday in front of the computer?
Actually, thanks everybody for not having an interesting thread last Sunday or early Monday - it would have been disastrous.
Holy shit, speaking of sandwiches on buns, have y'all seen the burger photo up at MY's?
I can haz cheeezeburger, indeed.
Ok, not almost the same consistency. But a similar concept? Only minus the horrible.
Near as I can tell, we still don't have an answer to the key question: how is the loose meat sandwich seasoned? At all? Just salt & pepper?
I have trouble believing that industrial ground meat (beef?) holds up well with nothing but slow cooking and salt & pepper. But I'd certainly try one.
95 Coordinated with the other decorations, silver and red.
Dear god. I'm Becks-style and at a restaurant in Vegas that's hosting a reception for Guiliani.
Near as I can tell, we still don't have an answer to the key question: how is the loose meat sandwich seasoned? At all? Just salt & pepper?
Salt and mustard. (Not that fancy mustard either--French's or generic, right out of the squeeze bottle.) You add the salt and mustard at the beginning. My mother adds a little bit of Accent or sugar at the very end.
Some people cook onions in, but we usually just have onion slices as condiments for those who like them. And pickles.
Hey, speaking of casinos: do they allow patrons to bring in cameras?
No ferret, but my former housemate is about two drinks short of ferret emulation mode.
Oh wow, you have to do something completely insane and get yourself arrested and live blog it.
We're carrying around a big camera openly but not shooting in the casino proper, and have not yet been challenged.
Just go up and start asking him for tips on good drag stores in NYC.
This is worse than leaving no tip. It's wasting money. I want a candidate who won't piss away the $50 or $100 or $200 I might donate.
Eh, I'd rather have a candidate pass my $100 onto a waitress than spend it on a bunch of fucking direct mail crap that's just going to go straight to the landfill.
112 I'm too chicken. Besides, who am I to interrupt these people's dining experience?
You are the AMERICAN VOTER, armed with an ex-housemate who by now should be in full ferret emulation mode. Go over there and have your housemate bite him.
Ask how he feels about the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day his bff Bernie Kerik has had. Then challenge him to fisticuffs.
"Excuse me, Mr. Giuliani, there's a washroom attendant here to see you. Oh my, there seem to be rather a lot of them. They look cross."
It appears Clinton's table didn't tip after all. Meant to tip, though. Others associated with campaign appear to have tipped. Yadda yadda.
Sounds like tips were left, but got misdirected.
We are long overdue for a revolution in the western world, don't you think?
No. Revolution is a no good, very bad idea.
Speaking of plasticity, laydeez, please, for fuck's sake, pun intended, just GO WITH THE BREASTS GOD GAVE YOU. They're fine. Really. Whatever they are.
Amen.
Never been to Vegas, never want to. But the opportunity to get arrested for pissing on Giuliani's shoes would be almost enough to make me reconsider.
We read it differently; I think there was just a screw up, but the intended tip was never left.
I'd rather have a candidate pass my $100 onto a waitress than spend it on a bunch of fucking direct mail crap
I'd call this a false dichotomy, which it is, but it's really more of a stupid dichotomy -- direct mail being a legitimate, and effective, campaign expense.
Unless you meant passing the $100 literally "onto" the waitress, which would certainly narrow the audacity gap.
In a just world, all people would put in some time waiting tables, and poor tipping would keep a person from public office.
Some general rules: the best tippers are restaurant workers. A British accent generally means 10 percent or less. Gus Van Sant does not have a British accent, but tips as though he does.
Direct mail is a sinkhole. Thank God they're finding better things.
My far-flung social evening is done, so I'll rejoin you losers. Two different people crapped out on me.
125: I think there's a whole website devoted to bad tippers. And, somewhere, there's a story of bad NBA tippers (who are apparently legion).
Two different people crapped out on me.
We'll clean you as soon as we're done washing Merganser
I think there's a whole website devoted to bad tippers
Thanks, I hadn't thought to look. Googling 'bad tipper' gets you this list of celebrities right off the bat. Maybe some of them got genuinely bad service, but in the interest of solidarity with the waitstaff class, I don't care.
Michael Stipe is a bad tipper? That's really traumatic for my high school self.
I had no problems with my camera in Vegas. I did, however, get yelled at for taking pictures of the Asian Gaming Lounge in Atlantic City.
I'd call this a false dichotomy, which it is, but it's really more of a stupid dichotomy -- direct mail being a legitimate, and effective, campaign expense.
Great to see the new ever-so-civil Unfogged in action. I hate direct mail--why is my mailbox always full of litter? Why? Honestly, I'm never going to read your ugly brochure.
130: Well, at least you can still want to sex Mutombo:
I would like to tell a brief story about waiting on a famous basketball player. I am not sure on the spelling of his name. His last name is Mutumbo. The first name I will not even try to spell. He is famous for shaking his finger at opposing players when he blocks their shot. He now plays for the Atlanta Hawks. I worked at a restaurant in Santa Clara, CA at the time. He came in the place late about 10:30 with a party of 10 or 11. Everybody told me to 15% the table because they were black. The bartender and I were the only ones that recognized him, though we were not sure it was him. I have a policy of treating everyone the same and not stereotyping people. I gave them the best service I could and did not 15% them like everyone wanted me to. When it came time to pay the bill, Mutumbo gave me his credit card (this is when we knew it was him). He ended up leaving me a 20%+ tip. I would not have gotten that had I 15% him.
68 and 69 make me happy. (Yes, yes, I know.)
Just in case anyone is hungry for an SJ:
I have no problem with celery in the recipe, but this version lacks diced green pepper, which is one of the essential ingredients. It's the blend of flavors between the meat, tomato, and green pepper that's the hallmark of the sloppy joe. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
(I don't think I'd make the sauce exactly like that, either, but don't have any suggestions.)
120: That's funny. If you want to see something ugly look at the DailyKos thread (I know, I know) on the topic. The instinct to trust a campaign flak's word as gold while smearing a waitress as a politically motivated liar just makes me ill (not to mention the total dismissal of the putative topic of the post). Talk about a blog that's been ruined by its community.
direct mail being a legitimate, and effective, campaign expense
Richard Viguerie, your alias fools no one.
Unless you meant passing the $100 literally "onto" the waitress, which would certainly narrow the audacity gap.
Hillary should have made it rain. That would have prevented any tipping controversy.
136: Who are you aiming that at? As far as I can tell, the Kos people are not backing the Clinton people at all, and neither one smeared the waitress. At one point people were suspecting that the manager pocketed the tip. Atrios quoted the waitress as saying quite sensibly that this was a chickenshit issue.
Tipping is very low in this area. Lots of people don't tip at all.
129: God, there are dim, dim bulbs working in the restaurant industry. This complainer about "The Rock," for instance:
He ran me with with this little complaint, ten refills on his soda, too much butter on his garlic toast, etc. The whole ordeal was hardly worth the lousy $7.00 tip I got. While this did average to be about 25%
Yes, that mean ogre expected you to do your fucking job, tipped you more than adequately afterward by your own admission, and you're still moaning about him "imposing on your personal time." Fuck. Right. Off.
I love the places that have a policy of "15%ing" black clientele because they tip badly. Chicken or the egg problem -- maybe your black customers tip badly because they notice they're the only ones in your restaurant getting shit service, geniuses.
I really think that they should 15% everyone and give it all directly to the waitstaff. People could still tip for extras.
Or, they could raise prices, increase pay, and discourage tipping.
But I'm a Communist.
140: To be fair, servers often get an unfair amount of flak for screwups by the back of the house, ie, too much garlic butter. But yeah, the racism in the Mutombo anecdote was pretty appalling, especially with the waiter's weird sort of non-apology for it.
Also, apparently Norman Mailer died.
I generally tip 20 percent unless the person's attitude is really bad. Things outside the server's control do not get counting against them in my book.
However, I am with Emerson all the way. Do away with tipping.
I HATE places that have tip jars for pick up. WTF?!?! Why would I tip you when I am picking up??
Convenience stores with one surly clerk and a tip jar are also pretty rich.
apparently Norman Mailer died.
So he did. Shitty.
144:
Agreed. I pretty much hate expected tipping. Charge me the appropriate price of the service with a decent salary for your employees. If someone does something special, I'll probably end up tipping them or coming back to your place.
Good service should be the standard and the reason why I am giving you business, not something special. You are not doing me a favor by doing your job.
I do 20% unless the service has been weirdly negligent or abusive, which doesn't happen to me that often.
Wonder if Mailer's due for reconsideration?
But if we did away with tipping, how would Lileks show his North Dakotan disapproval for snitty service?
I am a Mailer-hater.
Bad servers would be denied Lileks' radiant smile.
Who are you aiming that at? As far as I can tell, the Kos people are not backing the Clinton people at all, and neither one smeared the waitress.
Sorry, the post itself is quite sensible. I was referring to the comments, where the highest rated comments are by people saying the "story is a lie" on the basis of the campaign flak saying (apparently incorrectly) that a tip was left, and dismissing the waitress's quote. Several dozen accuse the diarist of smearing Clinton. I read the thread before the second update went up and I didn't see anyone considering the possibility that the $100 tip story might not be true, but several accuse the manager of thievery. Imputing bad motives to Republican politicians is one thing, but when they're driven to accuse ordinary people who they view as harmful To The Cause, it makes me uncomfortable.
Don't pay for what ought not to be paid for, but service isn't one of those things, and I've lived by tips myself.
"English accent means less than 10%" happens because in the UK waitstaff get paid properly and the tips are a feature, not a bug - a way of appreciating good service, not a part of the waitstaff's salary that the customer is expected to pay.
Once I understood that the waitstaff were going to get taxed on 15% of my bill whether or not I tipped them that much I did start tipping at a minimum of 15% and round up. But the first couple of visits I made to the US I know I must have stiffed several hard-working waitstaff with 10% tips just because I didn't know.
Once I understood that the waitstaff were going to get taxed on 15% of my bill whether or not I tipped them that much
Huh?
Waitstaff are audited by the IRS if they don't report tips. They talk among themselves about how much to report.
Well, sure, I understand low reported tip income is an audit flag. But that doesn't mean they're taxed on 15% of every bill.
Yeah, they get away with as much as they dare. It can't be a flat percent because some places are very low-tipping.
