Qdoba or not Qdoba.

(My apologies to Will Shakespeare.) 

I can thank Qdoba for at least one thing.

If it weren't for their restaurant on Walnut Street in Philadelphia, my son's college diet would consist of beer and tortilla chips. Thanks to them it is tacos, queso, beer and tortilla chips. He might even add a little lettuce to the tacos, so that's one vegetable serving a day. Like I say, for that I am grateful.

He's back for a while this summer so we visited the Qdoba restaurant in the Tower Building downtown. I like Qdoba it for the most part. The best menu item is the queso, it's as good as you can get in a fast food restaurant.

I was pretty excited the first time I visited the Qdoba-concept restaurant a few years ago. Now, and dozens of visits later, I have one main complaint and one minor complaint.

The biggest problem I have is with the food temperature, especially their signature burrito. Hot food should be served hot and cold food should be served cold. Simple. Qdoba's food, by the time I sit down, is luke-warm, and that keeps me from giving them high marks.

The taste is good, the service is good, but the food-warming basins are not kept hot enough, probably for insurance purposes, the rice is often cool, and then, by the time your food sits in the prep line and you wait to check out, the burrito's way too cooled off for me.

The other thing, and this is a minor point, but it seems expensive for what you get.

Now, I am happy to go to any restaurant of my children's choosing because a good meal is more than the food. We all know that. But if I could get that burrito served piping hot I'd go back, on my own, a lot more often.

Free Donuts. June 4.

National Donut Day?

Yep. According to their websites,  a free donut can be had today at Dunkin Donuts, Shipley's, and Krispy Kreme.

https://www.dunkindonuts.com/Donut/

http://www.krispykreme.com/

http://www.shipleydonuts.ws/

Let's have a vote. Krispy's, Shipley's, or Dunkin's?

I am Dunkin Donut guy, myself. And you?

(I believe Krispy is a no-purchase-required promotion, whereas Dunkin and Shipley require a purchase.)

Talking Jack. In the Box.

I have never been a big fan of the food at Jack in the Box except for the deep-fried, guilty pleasure they call a taco, which tastes fantastic -- especially at 1:00 in the morning.

And I have liked their commercials.

Sidenote: I will frequent a restaurant because of a good commercial. J/Box has them. And stay away from a restaurant with annoying commercials. Burger-King has them (that Burger King character is annoying and creepy).

My problem with J/Box has been the continual change of food and focus. One day the jack-in-the-box character was in, the next day they were blowing him up. Now's he's back. One day they were selling cheeseburgers, the next day, strawberry shakes and pita bread sandwiches. It's all too confusing for me. Jack in the Box has tried every conceivable food fad in the hopes of gaining some separation from the other hamburger places, but at times they appear to have given up on the hamburger altogether. The deep-fried taco is the long-standing menu exception and surpasses anything in fast-food-dom. (Have I said they are great at one o'clock in the morning?)

All of the above is a long introduction to a small point, which is, my son is a Jack in the Box lover and suggested I try the latest iteration. So I did, this morning. I ordered a steak and egg burrito and I loved it. It looked and tasted like real egg and steak on a slightly too-thin and too-crispy flour tortilla, but it was mmm-mmm good, for about $2.75.

Jack. I'll be back. Just keep this breakfast burrito a while. Please.

Talkers.

There are two kinds of people in the world: talkers and listeners.

I am a listener. Here's why.

First, when I am talking, I generally get the impression that the listener doesn't give a rat's you-know-what about what I have to say. Understandable. But I also have a physical defect, that is, my brain and my mouth are not synchronized very well. I pause too often to compose my thoughts, or to consider whether or not I actually believe what I am saying. It's kind of like a guy driving a car and stopping every other mile to get directions. Annoying.

So the fall back position for non-talkers is listening, or at least hearing anyway, because sometimes we listeners listen with reluctance, to put it politely.

Generally though, I enjoy hearing words formed into sentences. I can listen to National Public Radio's fund-raising segments even though I am not concentrating on the words being said. There is a pleasant cadence to the voices. The same with baseball games. There is nothing quite like the sound of a good radio play-by-play man talking you through the game, moving in and out of silence with dancer-like precision. I envy these at-ease talkers who string words together without effort.

But, talkers need listeners and listeners need talkers. Put two listeners together and the silence can be very uncomfortable. Put two talkers together and, well, you know what that's like.

There is a popular story of two famous non-talking, men of letters, Samuel Coleridge and William Wordsworth, that sums up this listener's frame of mind. It goes like this:

"Wordsworth goes to visit Coleridge at his cottage, walks in, sits down and does not utter a word for three hours. Neither does Coleridge. Wordsworth then rises and, as he leaves, thanks his friend for a perfect evening." *

Now that is my idea of a good time.
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* Quote from Roger Rosenblott, Time Magazine essay, the Silent Friendship of Men

Santa Fe. In 36 Hours.

There are a dozen American cities in which I would like to spend a month or two. Santa Fe, New Mexico is one of them.

Years ago, my wife and I had the good fortune of visiting Santa Fe for a few days and loved it. Great local restaurants, small hotels with fireplaces, shopping, art, mountain vistas. And for me, old churches, Santa Fe, has some beautiful and historic ones.

I have mentioned, in previous posts, the New York Times feature 36 Hours. This week's city of focus is Santa Fe, and below are the spots they especially liked in their weekend visit.

• New Mexico History Museum ........................ Museum
• Canyon Road ................................................... Art
• Restaurant Martín ........................................... Restaurant
• Eldorado Hotel / Inn of the Anasazi ............... Hotels
• Santa Fe Farmers’ Market .............................. Farmers Market
• Vinaigrette ....................................................... Restaurant
• Mellow Velo .................................................... Bicycle rental. Maps.
• La Boca ........................................................... Restaurant
• Milagro 139 ..................................................... Entertainment
• San Marcos Café ............................................. Breakfast
• Jackalope ......................................................... Shopping
• Zocalo .............................................................. Homes

For the story, complete list, and descriptions go here: New York Times, 36 Hours in Santa Fe.