http://www.my3cents.com/search.cgi?criteria=IHOP&min=50Above is a fun link for a place to "vent" when you are frustrated by poor service or products .
I found it while googeling IHOP + food poisoning .
My "googeling" such a combination was provoked by last nights trip to IHOP for our valentines day dinner . I had told my BF that I would take him out to eat, but becaue we hadn't made reservations, we would need to pick something that didn't have a huge wait time . I had never eaten at IHOP before but the commercials looked good, so I was willing to try a "new place"...something I am usually a bit afraid to do .
When we arrived, it was obvious that they were under staffed....one waitress, one busser and one "assistant" who looked like a deer caught in the head-lights . It didn't take long for them to seat us, but the coffee carafe only had 2 cups in it, gone long before the food arrived . We ordered an onion ring appetizer that was thrown on the table with out plates or ketchup, but the assistant eventually brought us some after we "tripped" her and asked for them . We should have been warned by the couple in the booth behind us, who sent back a plate of "something" that was not cooked correctly, but we had already ordered our steak...his with breakfast food and mine as a dinner .
The waitress, obviously over worked, and who admitted that the other waitress had called in sick for the night, took our order in a rush . She seemed confused from the get-go, saying that they were out of hash-browns....(at a breakfast food place?) but I could substitute my hash-browns for the cubed potatoes.....Mine said it came with cubed potatoes not hash-browns, (which I knew from 5 min looking at the menu)...but I asked if I could get mashed potatoes instead and she said "no problem" that is what the dinner plates come with????? Well, evidently it was a problem, because I got cubed potatoes and instead of the broccoli listed on the menu, I was given corn .
My BFs breakfast had runny egg whites but he ate them anyway...."no fear" in that guy . He took 2 bites of his steak before I got done examining the cadaver that had been put on my plate . It honestly looked more like something that I had seen on CSI crime autopsy slab then anything that has ever been on a plate....(Was Jeffry Dommer in the kitchen cooking ?)...was I expected to eat this or figure out the cause of death ? I
had asked for Medium rare but had never had one served to me that had so many raw areas . There was a bit of it that looked like it "might" be cooked, but it was hard to tell if the "brown" was actually from cooking or just the look old meat gets when it is starting to go bad .
One sniff of this oddly colored steak was a dead give away that the meat had gone "bad"...anyone who has walked in the woods and stumbled upon a half rotted carcass will never forget that smell ....the smell of rotting flesh is pretty strongly encoded in our DNA , and screams....... "don't eat this " ! There was a particularly nauseating area that was completely raw and black . I was wondering how a cook could let this corpse make it out of the kitchen .
When the waitress "assistant" wandered back over with more coffee, I told her I couldn't eat this and she said...."I don't blame you " ????? The honesty as refreshing....perhaps she was an aspie ? The manager came over and I explained that it was more then obvious to me that this meat was food poisoning law suit waiting to happen. He assured me that it came form a reputable dealer and had been properly thawed in cold water ? (I'm clueless, is that how they thaw frozen meat ?) I thought it had to thaw in the fridge ?
Anyway, he said that I could send both plates back and they would only charge me for the coffee and onion rings . No problem . The waitress apologized and it certainly wasn't her fault but that plate had to go through at least to hands before it made it to me and it is hard to believe no one noticed the smell or the"odd" color of the bleeding carcass ....I sure would hate to see what rare looked like but I'm pretty sure it would involve the cow coming to the table and asking me what slice I would like....(concept stolen from the great book......."The Restaurant at the end of the Universe").
So, this was a Valentines day I will probably remember . My BF didn't get food poisoning as his steak was cooked very well done and only two small bites passed his lips, so who knows, if it was contaminated or not . What I do know, is that I wont be going back to IHOP and after reading other reviews, doesn't appear like many others will either .
Tune in tomorrow for Thriftstore "scores" and Felted Sloth .
This giant sloth is inspired by "sid" from Ice Age, and does not look much like an actually sloth...A bit scary looking, but if you remember Sid from the movie , he was harmless with a big heart .
Sid took me most of the past two days and nights because of the detailing
90% of my sculptures are very felted very hard because I am so paranoid that they will fall apart if left loose. The exception are bits of hair that I root into the base sculpture . I love the look and feel of the "fuzzy" wool hairs and it is fine to "pet" it, but to much "love" will either loosen or matt the lose hairs .
I like the glass beads for the sloth claws but they are also fragile.....sewn in and not glued . I guess, over all, this is one of my more fragile pieces, not meant for a lot of handling but an occasional hug would be appreciated by Sid .
Here is my cat Baloo, pretending there is not a Sloth lurking near by . (Cats are really good at denial .)
Last but not least , the thrift store finds from yesterdays Presidents day sale . I have been trying to find some nice fabric to line my felted bags . I thought this was a nice variety of colors and the fabrics are very thick cotton that are some kinds of window treatments .....valances ? Pardon my ignorance..... but I have never "treated" my windows....(they are lucky if they get washed . ) Whatever their original function, I think These can be repuposed and will sew up nicely to make sturdy purse liners . This weeks goal is to wash the fabrics and try and sew in the lining . All my bags are different sizes and shapes, so I can't just use a pattern but will have to do some measuring and estimating, then sew that basic shape on the machine and hand sew the top edge to the felt bag .
Anyone who has ever seen me.....(rare as as a polar bear sighting in Mexico as I am basically agoraphobic).....would know that I do not wear "girly" things . Mostly, I live in flannel PJ's and Tshirts but even I could not pass up this silk peach outfit for $3.25 !!! I don't know (or care?) if it fits, because I will probably cut it up and use it in crafting ......(gasp). I think the scarf is silk chiffon but haven't done a burn test on the thread yet, either way, it will be used in some nuno felting .
Another storage container for either finished needle felting OR craft supplies.....the irony is that it will probably sit empty, under the craft table, because I can not decide which function it is best suited for ....(sigh).
Just a little french guy that I will use for displaying bracelets at craft shows . The arms do bend up for placing the bracelets on .
I think I like vintage image on these buttons more then the buttons themselves but they should find some use in my bags .
Not only have I felt sick all week, but my computer appears to have picked up some sort of bug . I'm thinking it may have come in through an email that was supposedly from Facebook...(which I rarely visit), that had a suspicious attachment that I did not open . Perhaps just reading the email was enough to infect me ? I have also had an increase in spam in both my email and Blog comments section from some Asian porn sites....yuck . I will try and deleate them, now that I am at least temporarily back on-line .
This is the whole crew for the week and doesn't include one of my few....just can't save him.....sculptures . I worked on a small rodent for several nights and could just not get the face right . The rodent here, turned out more bat faced then mouse faced, so I may have to add some leather wings .
The hands, feet and eyes are all an experiment with Femo and 6000 glue that I don't know if I ever want to try again . Perhaps they would have looked better if I had some Femo that wasn't black ? but it was the glueing that I hated...toxic and a pain to use . The fiber feet may not look as detailed but they sure smell better .
I'm not sure what type of reptile I was trying to make here....as usual, I just started felting and let the wool take me where it wanted to go . Maybe some day I will be able to tame it , but for now, it seems that I just have to follow where the fiber takes me .
I also managed to nuno felt two new Chiffon fabrics but there was not enough light to show the detail on them, so hope to get better pics. tomorrow.....if I can get on-line again . If not.....might have to go do some laptop shopping and put off fixing my car and teeth for another few months .
Nothing I make will ever be this cute and fuzzy......(keeps me humble .)
I still haven't given up on minatures and this tiny guy was a real challenge . I still need to figure out how to add bead eyes as the techniques I have tried really don't look very natural and I think I need some rounder beads .
This is a blend of blended merino from Yarnahoy and merino/tencel from Sheepish Creations .
I wasn't happy with the vessel after wet felting so I tamed the fuzz with an additional 4 hours of needle felting . A lot of work for something that I am still not thrilled with but I am nothing if not stubborn about admitting defeat .
