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Sunday, Feb 24, 2002
A Superior Lifestyle
February 24, 2002
Superior, Colorado, is located in the Boulder-Denver corridor. This area in general has seen a lot of growth, but Superior in particular is a hot spot.
From 1990 to 2000 the population of Superior grew from 255 to 9,011, or 3,400 percent. Since almost the entire town sprang up on the Colorado prairie in the past ten years, it gives an excellent snapshot of American culture at the close of the 20th century.
The big box shopping trend is well apparent. Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy, Super Target, etc. are represented. There's a sampling of major and minor fast food chains -- McDonald's and Taco Bell compete with Tokyo Joe's and the Noodle House. And there's a sampling of that new scourge on the dining scene: the corporate chains of sit-down-cloth-napkin-restaurant. Applebee's, Ruby Tuesday's, Bennigan's, PF Chang's, etc. all offer an experience somewhere between a real restaurant and a fast food joint.
The first (and only) time I ate at Olive Garden, my impression was "Denny's with better decor and an Italian menu." After that lack-luster meal, I thought it best to monitor this cultural phenomenon from a distance. But then my boss decided to hold weekly dinner meetings at a restaurant near work. The sales guy was the biggest whiner, so we got to eat at his choice, your neighborhood grill and bar, Applebee's.
If you've been lucky enough to avoid the dreck they call food, here's a general idea: hearty, simple fair, dominated by butterfat and salt. Why bother to cook the vegetables properly, when you can just serve them swimming in butter and salt? Why take the effort to prepare a tasty white sauce for the pasta when the rubes will eat anything with cream and salt? Why focus on the quality of the beef when you can just coat a steak with cheap mushrooms, butter and salt? I wasn't feelin' good in the neighborhood when I had to eat there.
Don't get me wrong. As evidenced by my recipe for bread pudding on the Sustenance page, I have nothing against butterfat. But rich ingredients must serve the technique and other flavors rather than mask the lack thereof.
I worked at a McDonald's in high school, and spent some time studying their system. The aim in everything -- food, atmosphere, decor, architecture -- isn't quality, it's consistency. The new corporate sit-down-cloth-napkin trend is based on that same mantra: consistency above all else. If you go to any Applebee's in the country, you can get the same shitty blackened chicken alfredo they serve in Milpitas, California.
There's a Mimi's near my house. But I've avoided it based on the suspicion that it was a corporate restaurant. It seemed just a little too neatly packaged for the demographic of the neighborhood. But I did get a chance to have lunch at the Superior Mimi's this past week. "Denny's with better decor and a watered down New Orleans theme".
I had pot roast with green beans and mashed potatoes, with a starter of gumbo. All was edible, but none rose above mediocrity. Rather than the crisp-tender mouth feel of my blanched and shocked beans, Mimi's had a tough-soft feel of frozen and over-cooked beans. I like to finish the beans with a little duxelles (shallots and cremini mushrooms sauteed in olive oil) and fresh chopped parsley, while Mimi's is satisfied with a splash of melted butter.
Mimi started with some nice red potatoes, but the primary source of flavor was the pre-fab gravy-like topping. Hey, Mimi, ever heard of "aromatics"??? There are all sorts of ways to make potatoes yummy without opening a bottle of beef goo. Hell, I could prepare vegan potatoes that would add a lot more flavor, aroma and color to the plate than Mimi's spuds.
The gumbo had some of the right ingredients, but the net effect was a pale imitation, perhaps a Minnesotan interpretation of gumbo. Oh, ya, you betcha. A splash of tobasco might have helped a bit, but a good gumbo is about layers of flavor. I would hang my head in shame if one of my batches came out like Mimi's.
I've never done a pot roast, but I think I can do better. In fact, I have a roast, purple potatoes, maroon carrots, golden turnips and red wine in my kitchen right now.
Mimi, I don't know who you are, but I'm throwing down the gauntlet. Meet me at the Iron Chef, and prepare to be humiliated.
Slacker Day UK
February 24, 2002
This past Friday was Slacker Day in the UK. I'm celebrating this by going in for a job interview at a start-up. Weird, huh?
These guys are funded, but they have what we call in the trade "broad focus". At the very least, it's good practice.