Exhorbitantly priced dining that will dazzle your date

[Clipper]

www.uticaod.com/article/20150212/NEWS/150219682

I am sure that these meals are absolutely delicious, but I guess I am a cheapskate. I cannot possibly see myself spending an amount on one meal for two that would buy the groceries to feed us three meals a day for over a week.

We used to go to the steakhouse at the Turning Stone for dinner and spend about $100 for dinner for two, but it was paid for with the credits accumulated on our rewards cards. I would order a 32 ounce prime rib and take half of it home for sandwiches the next day and Kathy would order a smaller portion and also take some home. Were I to have to pay for a meal like that out of pocket, I would definitely hesitate and balk at the price. I guess such over the top spending on just one meal is only for those with money to burn. $170 for dinner for two? Never would I pay such a price for such a thing. I am sorry, but I would never pay over $100 for dinner for two, and then only for a VERY special occasion. Young Tim Hardiman is an excellent and talented chef. He has always wanted to be a chef. His dad runs the Adirondack Lanes and Diner in Barneveld, and he was always in the kitchen helping his dad when there was a party or catering job to be done. I am sure that his food is delightful, and that there is a following for that sort of restaurant, but it's not for me.

I have eaten at places such as that when I drove charter buses, and the driver's meal was comped, haha. The one thing that I always noticed was that for the average working man, there is not enough food on the plate to carry one through to the next mealtime. We once had lunch at a French Restaurant in the theater district, and after lunch I dropped the passengers at Battery Park for them to take the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. While they were at the statue, I had to visit a hot dog vendor and get some REAL food with some fat, nitrates and all the tasty but unhealthy stuff. A "balanced meal" with meat, some carbohydrates (the bun) and a couple of vegetables (sauerkraut and diced onion.)

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I am happy paying $2.18 for coffee and a hamburger of McChicken and McDonald's. But I do buy my own yogurt to go along with it. So that is $1.00 more at Walmart.

In the summer when ever I pass by the Angora next to Stanley I always see that lady who ran Utica's Monday Nite. She made $50,000 a year off that no profit so I guess she could afford it. Now she is one of the head movers of Bagg's Square. I forgot her name.

The Tailor and the Cook Restaurant on that side street near the bridge over North Utica is a high priced eatery. I think it is next to that strip joint and Utica Roasting Coffee Company or whatever it is called. I laugh in the summer they have outdoor dining. I can imagine paying $30 to $40 or more for a meal then have a truck drive by and deposit all the dust from the street on your food. I guess that is the glamor of curb side eating.

[Clipper]

I didn't realize that there was room for tables and outdoor dining on the sidewalk along that block Alan. At least with the new transportation hub every city bus in the city doesn't have to roar by there as they depart Union Station and head for the busy corner. I would not care to eat while a bus spews black soot and diesel smoke in my face as I sit curbside.

Young Tim Hardiman IS an excellent and highly talented chef but I would hardly find it prudent to spend that kind of money on all those little tidbits of gourmet crap, haha. Give me meat and potatoes, or possibly a large portion of assorted fresh seafood, broiled or fried and accompanied by fries and a side salad or slaw. To me any steak under 12 ounces is a "child's portion" and I often order TWO side salads and have them put them on a larger plate so I can better distribute the dressing. Potatoes I can live without if there is another vegetable option, the salad is good, and the meat is properly cooked.

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Clipper the Riverside Dr bus and Herkimer Road bus pass that way every 40 minutes until 11:30PM. Several eateries along Genesee St have tables set up outside. I would never eat out there especially with all the bums walking the city street. I am surprised cowboy hasn't just stopped at one and sat down and just ask for something to eat. He did that a few times at McDonalds.

[kit]

12 oz of steak - a child's portion? Hoo Wah! That's the equivalent of 3 quarter pounders, and with a double salad and another vegetable, that wouldn't "dazzle my date," it would kill her.

[Clipper]

Heehee. Yep Kit. I always order the 12 oz ribeye when I go out, and when I was younger, it was the bigger the better when it came to steak. I am simply not satisfied with a 6 or 7 oz portion of steak and I have never been a fan of filet mignon, as I find it dry and flavorless. I find the best cut of beef to be one that is well marbled with enough fat to make it juicy and moist. Kathy orders filet mignon, and even medium rare it always lacks flavor and juiciness in my estimation. I can live without a potato, but I have to have a salad with a dinner out. I am a salad hog. On many occasions I don't order anything but a large salad and a couple of packages of saltine crackers on the side. One of my favorite meals is the unlimited trips to the garden bar at Ruby Tuesday with a cup of soup. If we go to Olive Garden I can eat three or four plates of salad. We often have told the waitress at a restaurant to hold off on putting our order in for our entree in until we have had time to leisurely enjoy our salad. I am not fond of Olive Garden's entree's but I love their salad and bread sticks. I actually like to go there in early afternoon for the soup and salad special for lunch.

As to the reference to a steak being the equivalent of 3 quarter pounders, I would not eat ONE quarter pounder, much less three of those disgusting things, haha. If you see me at a McDonald's it is only to buy an order of their french fries. Kathy enjoys their filet of fish, and when she wants one, I go to Wendy's for a burger for me, frosties for us both, and then to McDonald's to get her sandwich and a large order of fries. I refer to a trip to McDonalds as a trip to pick up a bag of farts and a case of indigestion.

[kit]

I'm with you, Clipper. On the rare occasion that I stop at a fast-food place, I prefer Wendy's. Many of them used to have a salad bar which was pretty darn good for an indigestorium, but apparently they weren't cost effective and they removed them. But their burgers and frostees are still the best in my book (for gruchees, that is). It's probably due to their similarity to what they served at Kewpee's years ago that many of us from the Utica area fondly remember.

But I think many doctors might agree with me that 12 ounces of red meat for one person in one sitting, no matter how good it may taste, is "overkill" which in the long run pretty much sums it up. I hope you don't do that very often. I'm wondering how many times you eat out vs. how many meals you make at home?

As you know, I love to cook and experiment with different things. I particularly like to make variations on the Placki Ziemniaczane that Chris posted some months ago. It seems many European countries have these potato pancakes but each has its own variation. As far as I'm concerned, they're all good.

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Large order fries and fish sandwich at McDonalds now going for $3.33. Lent

[Clipper]

We only eat out once or twice a week Kit. We however don't cook as much at home as we used to. We quite often simply do sandwiches and home made soup for supper. I love salad, and we always have salad ingredients in the crisper drawer. That is usually what I have for lunch. We don't eat too much red meat any more because of the price. I buy a lot of lean pork and quite a bit of chicken. I occasionally still buy a pork butt with a nice fat cap to cook all day in the crock pot and to make pulled pork with bbq sauce. When I cook that I cook it in a full bottle of bbq sauce, a cup or so of orange juice, and brown sugar, among other things, and when it is done I dump that liquid along with most of the rendered fat, and add a little bbq sauce back into the meat when I have pulled and shredded it.

We are all going to die of one malady or another. Eventually we will all be boobies up, looking at the bottom side of the sod. I have ceased pickling my liver many years ago, and I no longer fog my lungs with tobacco smoke. When I DO go I have two ways in which I would like to be found. Either dead in bed, having died in my sleep, or face down in a plate of my favorite food. I would be overjoyed if they were to have to wipe the steak sauce or gravy off my face before they can attempt to resuscitate me. I do try to eat a fairly balanced diet and to eat plenty of vegetables and fruits, but I am not going to sacrifice the pleasures of eating good food and live on chicken, fish, sprouts, and grains. When you eat breakfast in this house, whether it be waffles, french toast, grits or fried eggs, you will most likely see a small skillet with pork sausage links or patties sizzling away. We have cereal or oatmeal two or three times a week, and no breakfast meat, but the other days there is some animal protein included in the menu.