Food

Once again the Gargoyle Leader proves they don’t know how to review restaurants

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It’s not like my blog was the only one in the state railing on Sioux Falls’ newest hot dog stand. Several blogs have complained, not only about it’s service and food, but about the concept all together. So now it is the Gargoyle Leader’s turn up to bat and they give the place 3 stars out of 4. At first you may be a little stunned, until you see who wrote the review, Dorene ‘Gooey’ Weinstein. This line alone says it all about her food review skills;

Crown your wiener with a choice of 24 hot and cold toppings available at 50 cents each.

Sorry, Dorene, I stopped Crowning Wieners as soon as I got out of prison.

My hot dog was tepid rather than hot.

Nothing like a lukewarm weiner

The roll was fresh and chewy

Yah just couldn’t get thru one food review without using that word, could you Dorene?

and the chili flavorful but not spicy, just how I like it.

What is up Gargoyle food reviewers and their love of bland spiceless food? I have often said, the thing I like the most about Parker’s restaurant is that the chef is not afraid to use some spices, but the Gargoyle railed on them about it a few weeks ago. I went in there for lunch a couple of days later and told my waitress my water was too spicy and to send it back, the cooks heard me and got a good laugh.

It’s time the Gargoyle got a food reviewer that likes to eat different food and understands good service.

UPDATE; South Dacola Restaurant Review w/ Angry Guy

I just couldn’t resist to bring this back to the front of the line, there has been some new comments that make me laugh balls;

This has nothing to do with the review, I just liked the image

I made the snap decision to have lunch at Senor Wiener earlier this week. I would have written my review earlier, but the chili dog I had left me with a case of the lingering trots.

Let’s start with the obvious. Penis jokes are funny for about the first 2 minutes you are there, and then it becomes apparent that this tired entendre is all that this place has going for it. I will admit that the service was prompt and enthusiastic, but only 6 seats were filled with butts when we walked in, so no shocker there.  I should also note that I had to wipe my table off before we sat down, since it still hadn’t been cleaned since the last pseudo rush they had experienced. Lazy.

Not wanting to task the Wiener Staffers too greatly, I ordered the beef chili cheese dog on a wheat bun. The dog itself was MAYBE 10 degrees above room temp, despite sitting in the warming tray for god knows how long. The bun had been sitting around long enough to take on a strange rubber-like quality that resisted the flimsy plastic utensils. The paper sheet on the bottom of the basket, once soaked with the copious amounts of Hormel-esque chili and ‘Not-So-Nacho’ cheese, conveniently shredded into small bite size fragments to supplement my fiber intake for the day. The Waffle fries had also taken on the same ‘warming tray qualities’ as the wheat bun. Not a huge surprise, but would it kill them to make the fries to order once the lunch rush has died down? Seriously.

Here are a few pointers that will help keep your doors open an extra few months while you look for jobs next year:

  1. If your food isn’t at the required temperature, you’re going to FAIL FAIL FAIL! Get it right!
  2. Make your own chili. It might cost a little more, but a decent chili dog might up your street ‘cred’.  You need all the help you can get.
  3. Get a better Nacho cheese. Your SISCO brand cheese sauce is disgusting.
  4. Lose the paper liner in your baskets. Seriously gross.
  5. Don’t use the word “Chicago” ANYWHERE on your menu. Too many people have had a real one, which yours ain’t. (so I’ve heard)
  6. Cook your fries to order after the rush, and toss your old ones more frequently. Nobody minds waiting 3 minutes for hot fries, especially if they are going to slather them with your second-rate chili.
  7. Wipe your tables down! I shouldn’t have to do it myself. BIG F on that one.
  8. Store your bread products in a manner that makes them more edible than bouncy.
  9. Get a real garbage can, and then change it when it needs to be. Your tiny Wal-Mart kitchen can is weak and is a sign of how much time and effort you put into this inevitably failed venture.
  10. Before you think about opening a second location over by the new Target, maybe you should get this one right first.

I’m going to end this with a prediction. Senor Wiener won’t be in business for another year. If it is we’ll have a South Dacola New Year’s Sausage Fest 2010 there, my treat.

A Shocking 48% increase in Food Stamp usage in Minnehaha County in one year

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For those who think Sioux Falls is sheltered from the recession, check out these numbers (Bread for the World)

• SD food stamp enrollment saw an incredible one-year increase from Sept.’08 to Sept.’09: 34% !!

Food stamps traditionally go up and down with the economy. But no one envisioned such a huge one-year increase.

(The Food Stamp program is now called SNAP.)
Find the data for your county here:

http://dss.sd.gov/foodstamps/data/foodstampdatapast/index.asp

Minnehaha County residents will be completely shocked by their 48% increase.

Let your local Social Services workers know you appreciate them. They are working hard.

One more note: Even if you include up to 4,000 households using commodities rather than food stamps (option available on reservations), there are still thousands of eligible low-income households NOT signed up for food stamps, easily 15,000 to 20,000 or more. The state should campaign for them to sign up. (It’s all federal funds.)


• Food tax refunds’ dismal reach:
less than 1% of SD’s low-income population.

Only 630 households in the whole state are receiving the quarterly food tax refunds. Make sure your local media report this.

Why is it important?

• People pay a lot of money for the tax. Every year the money families pay in food tax would cover meals for 3 weeks.

• There is a movement afoot to raise sales tax for new city projects, even tho’ cities have other ways to raise funds. In an attempt to make this palatable, the draft of the state legislation says cities may refund the new tax to their low-income residents. So far, there is no effective way to do refunds. Such refund programs are inherently ineffective. People need to know, so they don’t think this option would solve the problem of a higher sales tax, and the resulting higher the cost of living.

I tried Parker’s restaurant again tonight

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The one theme I am noticing is Cajun spices. And we were told by our gracious host, Adam, that is because the chef likes cooking creole or he is from New Orleans, I can’t remember. Either way, it is tasty. I tried the Lamb sausage (a little on the dry side, but the sauce that looked like baby poop was tasty). And I also had a bowl of the terrific sausage gumbo, made perfectly.

Keep it up.

South DaCola food review (by accident)

Tonight I had some brews and tapas at Sioux Falls newest downtown restaurant, PARKERS. I was impressed. The service was good. The food was good and original and the beer and wine selection was nice. The space was historically remodeled and pretty cool. It is in the old Hamburger Shop (best Wisconsin Cheese soup in town!) But we were not supposed to be there, I was having a brew with some new friends at the Touch of Europe and one of them thought it was open, so we walked in and got a seat, I guess they are not officially open and it was reservation only, but apparently I have some pull 🙂 so we got a seat and ate and drank for 3 hours. I highly recommend it (when it is officially open, that is)