Florentine's in MV closed
Steve Fenwick
too many other competing joints. There is a "For Lease" sign in the
window, and paper over the windows.
Dinner at Pasta? again revealed shortcomings in the service between
being seated and order taking--late bread plates, slow ordering. But
delivery was prompt, and not as rushed as last time. The fusilli with
sausage is quite spicy; the roasted chicken was a well-seasoned,
well-prepared quite plump half bird. Even the breast meat was reported
to be good.
Steve
--
Steve Fenwick Anti-spammed address: steve (at) stevefenwick (dot) com
Mark Mellin
Fenwick <no-retur...@see-below.invalid> wrote:
> It looks like Florentine's in MV has given up, having been surrounded by
> too many other competing joints. There is a "For Lease" sign in the
> window, and paper over the windows.
The Menlo Park Florentine's (on El Camino Real near the Atherton
border) is sporting a Grand Opening Soon banner for a brand of Celia's
Mexican restaurant.
- Mark
--
Mark Mellin (rhymes with) Just down the Hill from Gene
New User
<no-retur...@see-below.invalid> wrote:
>It looks like Florentine's in MV has given up, having been surrounded by
>too many other competing joints. There is a "For Lease" sign in the
>window, and paper over the windows.
Good Riddance.
They were getting to much into the "spanish" version of Italian food..
assembled not cooked.
Yip Yap
> It looks like Florentine's in MV has given up, having been surrounded by
> too many other competing joints. There is a "For Lease" sign in the
> window, and paper over the windows.
May they rest in peace, and may no one have to
eat their cream sauces again.
BTW, this means that the oldest surviving
restaurant on Castro Street is either Kirin
or Wienerschnitzel.
-- Yip
Jeneen Sommers
Isn't that Fontana's?
Also near there, Fabro's has gone under and will be replaced by John
Bently's (currently in Woodside) sometime in the fall.
Jeneen
The Ranger
> Steve Fenwick <no-retur...@see-below.invalid> got this party
started:
>> It looks like Florentine's in MV has given up, having been
>> surrounded by too many other competing joints. There is
>> a "For Lease" sign in the window, and paper over the
>> windows.
>>
As of my Monday drive around the area, I'd say Cupertino on De Anza Blvd.
and San Jose on Winchester Blvd are still open. I'd guess their flagship in
Saratoga is still doing a booming business, too... (Although I'd personally
be ecstatic to see it get leased out).
The Ranger
ll
> The Menlo Park Florentine's (on El Camino Real near the Atherton
> border) is sporting a Grand Opening Soon banner for a brand of Celia's
> Mexican restaurant.
Must be Meg's margarita orders that's keeping this chain in business.
People hopefully don't go there for the pasteurized, homogenized
"Mexican" food.
Tikki tikki wrote:
> So what Florentine'ses are left in the Bay Area?
The one in Danville closed a year or so ago.
On the other hand, Wendy-Pomodoros seems to find a market for
uninspired "Italian" food (as conceptualized by an accountant)
that is cooked in a central commissary and shipped to remote locations.
That puts them in the same category with McDonald's "Mexican" chain
Chipotle.
Shades of Fast Food Nation.
(Cue the stockholders to respond with some sort of spin.)
At this very moment somewhere in our nation a newly-minted MBA
is sitting in the bowels of some McDonald's headquarters building
writing a business plan for "Mc Don Ronaldo's Premium Tacos,
delivered fresh to you daily in our fleet of high tech,
low emission super-trucks."
Todd Michel McComb
Yip Yap <yip_y...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>BTW, this means that the oldest surviving restaurant on Castro
>Street is either Kirin or Wienerschnitzel.
I don't know about Wienerschnitzel, but Kirin is still doing good
business.
As a person who likes to eat at 4pm, I have to note that even the
fact that they were open at 4pm could not get me into Florentine's.
Deborah Gronke Bennett
> It looks like Florentine's in MV has given up, having been surrounded by
> too many other competing joints. There is a "For Lease" sign in the
> window, and paper over the windows.
>
Wow - the passing of an era. That Florentine's was the first place
I ever ate in California (on a visit before I even lived here).
That would have been during the 1981-1982 school year.
I see others on this thread aren't lamenting it much. I'll agree
that I seldom went there for a regular sit-down meal. However,
their "box lunch" take-out was really worthwhile, and I counted
on it when I was working on theatre shows in the MVCPA.
Florentine's was close (and on the way), and they could put together
a pasta dinner with salad and some of that nice bread and spread
in 10 minutes and only charge me $7.00. I'll miss them for that.
-deborah
--
deborah (at) best (dot) com
Mark Mellin
<Pine.LNX.4.44.030425...@suncat.Stanford.EDU>
Jeneen Sommers writes:
> On Fri, 25 Apr 2003, Mark Mellin wrote:
> >
> > The Menlo Park Florentine's (on El Camino Real near the Atherton
> > Mexican restaurant.
>
You're right, I was confusing the name with the place that is now
called simply Pasta Market, also on ECR on the other side of town (not
to be confused with the East Bay's Pasta Shop).
- Mark
--
Mark Mellin ULmar 9-5470
Mailstop 408-85 Menlo Park, CA 94025-3493 USA
David Opstad
markm...@earthlink.net (Mark Mellin) wrote:
> You're right, I was confusing the name with the place that is now
> called simply Pasta Market, also on ECR on the other side of town (not
> to be confused with the East Bay's Pasta Shop).
If you're referring to the one at the corner of ECR and San Antonio,
avoid it at all costs. I ate there once and got dreadful food poisoning
from some apparently refrozen and rethawed prawns. Gack.
Dave
Steven Scharf
> too many other competing joints. There is a "For Lease" sign in the
> window, and paper over the windows.
The one in Cupertino had a sign on the window stating that the
equipment would be auctioned off by the tax collector. But the
restaurant was still open.
Chester
ago.
My father remarked that his pasta -- some sort of linguine in a cream
sauce -- was remarkably similar to chow mein.
We have never returned.
Chester
bbrr
news:mwxwuhi...@deborah.best.vwh.net...
> Steve Fenwick <no-retur...@see-below.invalid> writes:
>
> > It looks like Florentine's in MV has given up, having been surrounded by
> > too many other competing joints. There is a "For Lease" sign in the
> > window, and paper over the windows.
> >
>
> Wow - the passing of an era. That Florentine's was the first place
> I ever ate in California (on a visit before I even lived here).
> That would have been during the 1981-1982 school year.
>
> I see others on this thread aren't lamenting it much.
I remember some decent meals there circa 1981.
I remember more a blowout victory party we had
there for a coed company softball championship,
same year.
Al Eisner
>
> Isn't that Fontana's?
I think that's right. There's a former Florentine's in Menlo Park two blocks
south of Santa Cruz. It was renamed a few years ago, but still looked too
much like a Florentine for me to consider trying it.
> On Fri, 25 Apr 2003, Mark Mellin wrote:
>
>> The Menlo Park Florentine's (on El Camino Real near the Atherton
>> border) is sporting a Grand Opening Soon banner for a brand of Celia's
>> Mexican restaurant.
--
Al Eisner
San Mateo County, CA
Al Eisner
You don't like chow mein?
Al Eisner
>
> On the other hand, Wendy-Pomodoros seems to find a market for
> uninspired "Italian" food (as conceptualized by an accountant)
> that is cooked in a central commissary and shipped to remote locations.
>
> That puts them in the same category with McDonald's "Mexican" chain
> Chipotle.
>
and much of it is quite good. According to a news item from October,
Wendy's purchased a 25% stake, but that's not the same thing as outright
ownership:
http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2002/10/21/daily58.html
.
Wendy's own quarterly report from that quarter refers to Pasta Pomodoro
as "featuring freshly prepared Italian food".
If it is somewhat Americanized Italian, it is at least Americanized to the
taste of San Francisco residents, who have a long tradition of Italian
restaurants. Whereas the food at Florentine always seemed to be "Italian"
food as it might be served in Omaha (to pick a place I've never been, but
apologies if I've offended anyone).
Tim May
<eis...@slacvx.slac.stanford.edu> wrote:
> In article <Pine.LNX.4.44.030425...@suncat.Stanford.EDU>,
> Jeneen Sommers <jen...@suncat.Stanford.EDU> writes:
> >
> > Isn't that Fontana's?
>
> I think that's right. There's a former Florentine's in Menlo Park two blocks
> south of Santa Cruz. It was renamed a few years ago, but still looked too
> much like a Florentine for me to consider trying it.
Fontana's in Menlo Park was never a Florentine, if this is even
remotely the implication. And that Fontana's in MP closed about a year
ago. The one in Cupertino is still open, last I noticed.
--Tim May
Chester
Not when I'm expecting linguini in a cream sauce.
And certainly not when it's like $12.
Chester
Dave Kearns
>
> This is simply nonsense. Pasta Pomodoro obviously
> prepares their food and much of it is quite good.
>
With some people its not a question of whether the food is good or
not, just that it doesn't fit their concept of "authentic". These
people also seem inordinately influenced by who runs the back office.
Generally, I find that actually tasting the food and judging it on its
taste, adherence to the menu description, and general value to be a
much better way to judge a restaurant. But then, I've been known to
grab a quick lunch at Chipotle, too. Heck, I've even eaten at
Florentine in the past two years!
:)ave
ll
> This is simply nonsense. Pasta Pomodoro obviously prepares their food
Indeed they do. In San Francisco. Not all of it; some of it.
They don't for instance, boil the water in San Francisco.
That's one of the things that their local "chefs" can do.
Of course Willie is probably trying to cut a deal to ship
San Francisco (bottled) water to the Wendy's-PP locations.
> According to a news item from October, Wendy's purchased a 25% stake,
> but that's not the same thing as outright ownership
It's not necessary to have "outright ownership" to have *significant*
control of a company. Ask the venture capitalists.
The dot-coms used to talk about "selling their souls".
www.restaurantbiz.com
"PASTA POMODORO'S SPRING SPECIALS
APRIL 22, 2003 -- SAN FRANCISCO -- In a move characteristic of
more upscale restaurant concepts, Wendy's Pasta Pomodoro chain
has introduced a seasonal menu of lighter Italian fare."
markets.usatoday.com
"Five months ago, Wendy's said it would buy Baja Fresh Mexican Grill
of Thousand, Oaks, Calif., and in February said it would invest up to
$10 million for a 45 percent stake in Cafe Express, a Houston-based
restaurant that offers upscale meals in a fast-food format (sic).
'Pasta Pomodore (sic) fits very well into our strategic framework
for mergers, acquisitions and investments,' Schuessler said."
money.cnn.com
"McDonald's recently acquired Denver-based Chipotle Mexican Grill
while Wendy's earlier this year bought Baja Fresh, a fast-casual Mexican
food chain and has taken a stake in Cafe Express and Pasta Pomodoro.
'This is really preparing us for 7-10 years down the road,' Wendy's
spokesman Bob Bertini said. 'Right now, we think that with roughly 5,400
Wendy's in the U.S., over the next decade we can double that number,
but you have to look ahead in terms of profit streams.'"
> If it is somewhat Americanized Italian, it is at least Americanized
> to the taste of San Francisco residents, who have a long tradition
> of Italian restaurants.
And of Italian food. Like Rice-a-Roni. That San Francisco treat.
-----
Dave "I spent 20 years in the wine importing business" Kearns,
AKA Chef Boy-Ar-Dee, reflected:
> With some people its not a question of whether the food
> is good or not
Well, you finally admitted it!
Given your position on the then proposed California legislation
AB 1922 supporting large multi-national wine companies
in opposition to local wine merchants, your current pro-fast-food
chain invading the ethnic foods market is entirely understandable.
"Got stock?"
> These people also seem inordinately influenced by who runs
> the back office.
See above articles:
restaurant concepts
strategic framework
mergers
acquisitions
investments
profit streams
It's more difficult to find them discussing the quality of the food.
Food for thought:
Compare the burgers at, say, Fat Apple's to McDonalds.
Compare the tacos at Shipotle to your local taco truck.
"Corporation food" almost always comes out behind.
Oh, and ... Fast Food Nation.
"Support your local ethnic food vendor. Buy a taco from a truck today."
Al Eisner
> Al Eisner wrote:
>> This is simply nonsense. Pasta Pomodoro obviously prepares their food
>
> Indeed they do. In San Francisco. Not all of it; some of it.
>
> They don't for instance, boil the water in San Francisco.
> That's one of the things that their local "chefs" can do.
> Of course Willie is probably trying to cut a deal to ship
> San Francisco (bottled) water to the Wendy's-PP locations.
>
>> According to a news item from October, Wendy's purchased a 25% stake,
>> but that's not the same thing as outright ownership
>
> It's not necessary to have "outright ownership" to have *significant*
> control of a company. Ask the venture capitalists.
> The dot-coms used to talk about "selling their souls".
>
None of them prove anything. You are empirically wrong about the specifics
here. You'd best get your head out of that pot of boiling water so
that you can watch and taste. [Or have you had a really traumatic
experience at a Wendy's once?]
Steve Pope
> ll <ljll...@REMOVEattbiTHIS.com> writes:
>> On the other hand, Wendy-Pomodoros seems to find a market for
>> uninspired "Italian" food (as conceptualized by an accountant)
>> that is cooked in a central commissary and shipped to remote locations.
>> That puts them in the same category with McDonald's "Mexican" chain
>> Chipotle.
>This is simply nonsense. Pasta Pomodoro obviously prepares their food
>and much of it is quite good.
Not necessarily. The Berkeley Pomodoro, before it thankfully
closed, outputted some of the godawfullest soppy/soggy
Italian-styled food I have ever seen.
The chain has no quality control. I had a few good
early experiences at Pomodoro's, but they have been bad enough
often enough since then that I no longer consider them
an option.
Chipotle is much better at keeping things together. (So far.)
Steve
Al Eisner
>
> Not necessarily. The Berkeley Pomodoro, before it thankfully
> closed, outputted some of the godawfullest soppy/soggy
> Italian-styled food I have ever seen.
>
> The chain has no quality control. I had a few good
> early experiences at Pomodoro's, but they have been bad enough
> often enough since then that I no longer consider them
> an option.
>
The ones I can recall are Inner Sunset in SF, Milpitas, and San Bruno (the
latter only once); I'm sure there's one more, but I can't remember it.
I've not encountered problems you mention at all - that is, the pasta
itself has always been good to very good, while some of the sauces are
less successful than others. But nothing soggy or soppy. The starters and
salads I've tried have also all been fine; I haven't tried any of the few
"secondi" (not that they use that word) on their menu.
If we're lucky, a bad one (as Berkeley?) would fade away....
Of course, a serious involvement by Wendy's would likely mean more
standardization, but I don't know how good a thing that would be. Of
course, the fact that San Francisco is the center (mentioned by ll) has
to do with the origin and continuing management of PP itself, and nothing
to do with Wendy's.
Steven Scharf
> On the other hand, Wendy-Pomodoros seems to find a market for
> uninspired "Italian" food (as conceptualized by an accountant)
> that is cooked in a central commissary and shipped to remote locations.
Their accountants are not too smart. They're paying all those workers
at Pasta Pomodoro to stand in front of the stoves pretending to cook,
then secretly serving their patrons pre-cooked food from a central
commissary.
Seriously though, the central commissary only supplies a few
prepared ingredients to the stores (i.e. salad dressing and
tomato sauce). The food is not cooked at a central commissary
and transported to the restaurants then reheated, the food is
cooked in the restaurant with some ingredients from the central
commissary.
Yes, it would be better if the sauce and salad dressings were
prepared from scratch on location, but hey, it's a low-priced
chain; you get what you get, and at least they're not using #10
cans of sauce. They have some items on the menu that are very
good, I especially like the fresh spinach. And how many Italian
restaurants have brussles sprouts on the menu? Very good panna
cotta too.
> That puts them in the same category with McDonald's "Mexican" chain
> Chipotle.
Except the food is much better at Pasta Pomodoro. It makes no
pretensions about being "inspired." Chipotle will not be around
for long; it's doing even worse than McDonald's Chicken chain,
Boston Market. Been there once and that was enough. McDonald's
is trying to sell its non-hamburger business, including Chipotle
and Boston Market, see:
"http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/food/117127_healthymac14.html."
> Shades of Fast Food Nation.
Actually, chains like Pasta Pomodoro and Chipotle are in the
"quick-casual" category.
Sadly, Pasta Pomodoro is the best Italian restaurant in the south
bay, which is one reason that they are doing so well. This is not
a testament to Pasta Pomodoro, it is a testament to how bad the rest
of the places are. Is it because no one is willing to pay for high
quality Italian food in the south bay? No, there are some horrible
Italian restaurants that charge a lot of money for bad food. You
have to go north to Palo Alto before you find anything decent.
Good article about Pasta Pomodoro at:
"http://www.chainleader.com/archive/1101/1101growthstrategy.html"
I hope the investment by Wendy's does not destroy them. Baja Fresh,
owned by Wendy's is definitely several rungs above Taco Bell, and
a rung or two above Chipotle, in terms of American-Mexican food.
One thing is for sure, being a part of chain does not make a
restaurant bad, and being independent does not make it good.
Al Eisner
sch...@hotmail.com (Steven Scharf) writes:
> Sadly, Pasta Pomodoro is the best Italian restaurant in the south
> bay, which is one reason that they are doing so well. This is not
> a testament to Pasta Pomodoro, it is a testament to how bad the rest
> of the places are. Is it because no one is willing to pay for high
> quality Italian food in the south bay? No, there are some horrible
> Italian restaurants that charge a lot of money for bad food. You
> have to go north to Palo Alto before you find anything decent.
When they had a branch in Palo Alto (in the current Evvia location, so
it's been at least 5 years), La Pastaia was my favorite local place for
pasta. Is the one in San Jose gone, or has it gone downhill, or was it
simply not as good? (I've never found my way there.)
--
Al
ll
> This is followed by lots of pointless links and press releases.
That's the last resort of someone without a substantive
argument -- just dismiss the facts.
BTW, "lots"? Is *three* a big number for you, Al?
I thought you SLAC guys could count higher than that.
Hey, *I* didn't make up those quotes.
They're the product (probably the *best* product)
of the corporate flacks.
> You are empirically wrong about the specifics here.
C'mon Al. Be specific. What am I "empirically wrong" about?
> [Or have you had a really traumatic experience at a Wendy's once?]
Not at all. I consider Wendy's to be above average in the
fast food industry.
My objection is to corporate accountants and marketing weasels
hijacking ethnic food, and doing so in the name of "strategic
frameworks" and "profit streams".
And then, BTW, when their "investment" doesn't pan out,
dumping them.
Corporate accountant:
"I've got this great idea! We shave *one gram* off each pat of butter.
Our profits increase one million dollars per year!"
Steve Pope
>> The chain has no quality control. [..]
> Well, then perhaps each of us had best state which outlets
> we've been to.
The best one was very early on, in the Marina on Chestnut. Not
sure if it's still there. The one in North Beach, next to Coit
Liquor, was so-so; the one in Berkeley was lousy, and I don't
think I've been to any others although I may be mistaken about that.
Steve
Geoff Miller
Uh, folks? It's *The Florentine,* not "Florentine's."
Trust me; I've been eating there since 1967.
Geoff
--
"Trolling should be more subtle." -- Tim May
Steven M. Scharf
------ ----------
1 San Bruno
3 San Jose-Alameda (spotty service, cold soup, no lines)
2 Sunnyvale (very long waits)
1 Mill Valley
1 San Francisco-Irving
Haven't had a bad meal at any of them. To me, one of the strong points
they have IS the quality control. Unlike many fast food places where there
are vast differences in the quality.
"Al Eisner" <eis...@slacvx.slac.stanford.edu> wrote in message
news:CBv2sI...@slacvx.slac.stanford.edu...
Dave Kearns
news:CBv2sI...@slacvx.slac.stanford.edu...
>
> San Bruno (the latter only once);
>
I eat at the one in Sunnyvale approx. 3 times a month. Once my Chicken
Parmesan was dry (very busy at the time plus brand new waitperson).
Never have I had anything which could be described as soppy or gloppy
and if all they're doing is boiling water, then they're wasting an
awful lot of saute pans. But then, as I said, some people don't feel
the need to actually try the food in order to decry the restaurant.
-dave
Dave Kearns
food-related evidence for a lack of quality (or any thing else).
-dave
Geoff Miller
Chester <chester [at] mushroomgravy [dot] org> writes:
> My father remarked that his pasta -- some sort of linguine
> in a cream sauce -- was remarkably similar to chow mein.
> We have never returned.
Well, hell; I'd have thought you'd have applauded this as
an exercise in cultural sensitivity. You know, an effort
to bridge cultures 'n' lifestyles, that sort of thing.
(Had it been me, of course, I'd have called it an ethnic
joke waiting to happen. But you'd probably expect that.)
In any case, your family's response only serves to under-
score what I said earlier, about how overly eager the
Chinese are to take offense. "Garcon, Ambercrobie &
Fitch T-shirts all around, servooplay!"
ObFood: Chun[g] King Chow Mein, the kind with the little
can if "fixin's" taped to the bigger can of fried noodles.
Do they even make that stuff anymore? Say what you will
about culinary kitsch, there's something about those
noodles that's oddly satisfying.
Dave Kearns
>
> Sadly, Pasta Pomodoro is the best Italian restaurant in the south
> bay,
>
I certainly wouldn't say that. Pezzella's, Il Postale and Bella Mia
are all better restaurants, but are not necessarily as convenient as
Pomodoro.
-dave
Steve Fenwick
sch...@hotmail.com (Steven Scharf) wrote:
> Sadly, Pasta Pomodoro is the best Italian restaurant in the south
> bay, which is one reason that they are doing so well. This is not
> a testament to Pasta Pomodoro, it is a testament to how bad the rest
> of the places are. Is it because no one is willing to pay for high
> quality Italian food in the south bay? No, there are some horrible
> Italian restaurants that charge a lot of money for bad food. You
> have to go north to Palo Alto before you find anything decent.
While I can't comment on Pasta Pomodoro, I'd argue that Pasta? on Castro
is certainly decent or better.
Steve
--
Steve Fenwick Anti-spammed address: steve (at) stevefenwick (dot) com
Steven M. Scharf
"Geoff Miller" <geo...@u1.netgate.net> wrote in message
news:b8d4ka$l...@u1.netgate.net...
> ObFood: Chun[g] King Chow Mein, the kind with the little
> can if "fixin's" taped to the bigger can of fried noodles.
> Do they even make that stuff anymore? Say what you will
> about culinary kitsch, there's something about those
> noodles that's oddly satisfying.
That was what I believed Chinese food to be when I was growing up.
But it's no worse that what is passed off as Chinese food at some
Chinese restaurants.
I'm going to look for those taped together cans at Safeway.
Michaela
Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo
<calliope+use...@rescomp.stanford.edu> wrote:
> y0 y0 y0! Steve Fenwick <no-retur...@see-below.invalid> got this party
> started:
> >It looks like Florentine's in MV has given up, having been surrounded by
> >too many other competing joints. There is a "For Lease" sign in the
> >window, and paper over the windows.
>
> about is the bread and the cheese spread.
There's a Pasta Market ("formerly Florentine's") in Sunnyvale on ECR. It
has the same food and ObCheeseSpread. They deliver to us at work (via
waiter.com).
Which is to say that they deliver to other people at work. Never been much
for those tomatoey acid sauces and creamy salt sauces...
Michaela
Steve Fenwick
Mmmm, those little red cans of the dried/fried noodles were great. Yes,
that's what I grew up with as "Chinese food". I got cured of that when
we moved from the Midwest to the East Coast, where good Chinese is more
obtainable.
ObMVFood: Dinner at Pasta? again last night. Service was better--seated
immediately, drinks and bread delivered quickly, but no bread plates
until I asked twice. But appetizer and entree delivery were better
paced, and the food (scallops with asparagus, fusilli with sausage,
roasted chicken, tiramisu) were all quite good.
Geoff Miller
ll <ljll...@REMOVEattbiTHIS.com> writes:
> Shades of Fast Food Nation.
That was a fascinating read even if it *did* have a
none-too-subtle leftie perspective, with the author
trying to guilt-trip his readers about the low-paid
Messkin slaughterhouse workers, the narrow profit
margins of chicken farmers, the corporatization of
beef ranches, and on and on. And let's not forget
that part near the end about the nice, mild-mannered
cattle rancher we met in in early chapter committing
suicide -- all so *you* could enjoy a cheap Big Mac,
you insensitive bastard!
I believe it was in _Parliament Of Whores_ where
P.J. O'Rourke said something about the sternest
Politburo member and the most blissed-out hippie
having something in common: the idea that some-
thing could possibly be worth anything more than
what people are willing to pay for it. And that's
what I don't get about this whole "underpaid worker"
thing that the dreadlocks-and-ankle-bracelet set
have themselves in such a lather about.
Working in a slaughterhouse, to name one example, is
a form of unskilled manual labor. And for reasons
that should be obvious, unskilled manual laborers are
not paid very highly. Why not? Because lacking any
special training or skills or experience, they're
interchangeable, and because there are more of them
than there are shit-jobs to go around. That's a fact
of life, and it always will be.
Similarly, it's unrealistic to expect corporations to
move their manufacturing enterprises offshore in order
to save costs, and then in deference to the anti-
globalization nitwits, to turn around and pay their
foreign workers wages comparable to those in the U.S.
instead of whatever the going rate is in East Shitholia.
It stands to reason that whatever the Nike workers (or
whomever) are earning in Burma (or wherever), it beats
hell out of not having the opportunity to earn *any-
thing.* Everybody wins: the locals have jobs, and the
American multinationals make money through their use
of cheap, offshore labor.
Geoff
--
"Edith Head gives good costume." -- Hollywood restroom graffito
Steven M. Scharf
Chinese restaurants. You still get bowls of dried-fried "noodles" on each
table.
"Steve Fenwick" <no-retur...@see-below.invalid> wrote in message
news:no-return-address-8...@news.apple.com...
Deborah Gronke Bennett
>
> When they had a branch in Palo Alto (in the current Evvia location, so
> it's been at least 5 years), La Pastaia was my favorite local place for
> pasta. Is the one in San Jose gone, or has it gone downhill, or was it
> simply not as good? (I've never found my way there.)
> --
> Al
I believe the SJ location is still around, still in the DeAnza hotel.
Their webpage is here: http://www.lapastaia.com/
The general info page appears to have been last updated late in
2002.
La Pastaia in Palo Alto was also one of my favorite places. The location
in San Jose is not quite the same (larger and less cozy, and the
menus were always a little different, even when both locations were
open).
-deborah
--
deborah (at) best (dot) com
Meg Worley
Mark wrote:
>> The Menlo Park Florentine's (on El Camino Real near the Atherton
>> border) is sporting a Grand Opening Soon banner for a brand of Celia's
>> Mexican restaurant.
ll writes:
>Must be Meg's margarita orders that's keeping this chain in business.
I'm not *that* big of a lush. And I only drink at the Shallow
Alto Celia's, where they know me. It must be the combined
margarita orders of the entire bay area.
>People hopefully don't go there for the pasteurized, homogenized
>"Mexican" food.
On the other hand, no one ever went broke underestimating the
anti-semitism of H.L. Mencken, oops, I mean the taste of the
American public. I've seen plenty of tables laden with platters
of Celiac glop yet nary a margarita in sight.
Rage away,
meg
--
Meg Worley _._ m...@steam.stanford.edu _._ Comparatively Literate