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Gourmet Sunday

Tami and I were eating sushi last night and I told her that I wanted to take another stab at ravioli for Gourmet Sunday. It wasn't much more than thirty seconds later that Ledger called and said he'd be in town to partake in the festivities (regular readers will remember that he was a key ingredient in the success of the last ravioli dinner in August). However, given that I'd already made ravioli once already for Gourmet Sunday (and once for an unofficial Gourmet Friday), I knew I had to include an added bonus.

Hosts: Rob and Spark.
Guests: Joelle, Kathy, Keith, Ledger, and Tami.
Salad: Mixed greens with avocado and a balsamic vinaigrette.
Soup: Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato, and Pear.
Main: Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato, and Pear Ravioli with a Butter and Sage sauce.
Desert: Apple Crisp.
Wine: Peller Estates 2008 Baco Noir, Finca Flichman 2008 Malbec, and Masi 2006 Campofiorin.
Music: Smiths "the Queen is Dead," and Springsteen "Nebraska."

So, the added bonus was the soup, with complimentary ingredients. And by complementary I mean the exact same. It was delish. But again, I can't stress enough how much time ravioli takes. I wouldn't recommend doing it from scratch. Instead, go buy a sheet of fresh lasagna noodles.

Avoid: Bestbuyglasses.com, UPS, and Quiznos Subs

We'll start with Quiznos:

They make a delicious sub, though they've always been over-priced. I like that they offer guacamole as a dressing, unlike any of the other sub chains. They have a new promotion where you can get large sized subs for $5. Being hungry, and a sucker for a good sandwich, I went in. Apparently you can only get specific subs for $5. Fine. But, the veggie sub isn't one of them. In other words, I can get a LARGE sub with all sorts of meat on it for less than a MEDIUM sub with no meat. WTF! When I inquired, the manager had no explanation for the ridiculous logic. "Okay", I said, "can I get a large meat sub without meat?" He said, yes, but I couldn't have guacamole because it only comes on veggie subs. huh? "I can't swap out a bunch of meat for some guacamole?" Apparently not.

I contacted the head office and spent 25 minutes inputting data onto their automated complaint system and was promised, by a machine, that a person would call me back. Never heard back. In solidarity with vegetarians, logic, and reason, I urge you to take Quiznos Subs off your possible lunch options.

Moving onto bestbuyglasses.com:

I was amazed at the competitive prices listed on their website. I ordered a pair of specs. They were $98 (US), plus $16.95 shipping. Fine. A week later I received one of those "attempt to delivery" notices from UPS stating I owed them $47 for brokerage fees. At no point in the online ordering procedure did it mention anything about additional fees.

When I called Best Buy Glasses they monkey who answered the phone politely stated to me that their website clearly states that residents of Canada may be charged additional duties and/or taxes. When I protested she instructed that if I had clicked on the icon saying FREE DELIVERY IN THE US I would have encountered their Canadian shipping information. Like I said, she was a monkey, and though primates share up to 98% of our genetic material, sometimes they can't comprehend simple concepts like national borders. I inquired why I would ever click on an icon about FREE DELIVERY IN THE US, if I live in Canada. Her response: "Because if I was ordering something online, I would want to know if their were any additional shipping fees." How does one even respond to that?

UPS:

Forty-seven dollars in brokerage fees for an item that costs $100? I asked how they calculate their fees, assuming it was a percentage of the value. Apparently they have a scale where a product between $100 and $200 pays the same brokerage. Again, doesn't make sense because clearly the duty at customs isn't the same for two unequally valued goods. After trying to understand their rationale, I left the conversation even more confused.

The next day they messed up the delivery and I had to call them again, and, of course, I got back into the brokerage fees issue. I guess, I won this particular customer service rep over because he called me 20 minutes later saying he's going to cut the brokerage fees to $20.

As happy as I am about that, it just proves the point that UPSs brokerage fees are unfair and arbitrary. There is no way they're eating a dime, even after reducing the fees by $27.

In conclusion F UPS. F Best Buy Glasses. And F Quiznos.

Gourmet Sunday

Gourmet Sunday finally returned to Joelle's. If you recall an earlier old post you'll remember that what an amazing meal she put together in the spring. Being a regular at Gourmet Sunday, it's no surprise she can cook, but each time she's hosted, she's really taken it to the next level. Oh, and hey, you know those people who claim to be vegetarian, but eat fish, like you're supposed to believe fish grown from the ground? I can't stand that. Anyways, I might slowly be becoming one of them, as my fish consumption has advanced from "experimenting" to "not so regular but sometimes."

Host: Joelle.
Guests: Alex, Neil, Rob, and Spark.
Starter: Vegetable Soup and Mixed Greens Salad.
Main: Rice and Salmon.
Desert: Pumpkin Tarts.
Wine: Not sure, but white.

Joelle has an actual dining table to sit at. She's serious about being serious.

Beers of the World

Last night we visited eleven countries and three continents, sampling the finest brews each has to offer. Rating each beer was difficult when considering there were four judges and no real criteria to base such judgment on. It seems as though Rennick was the only one with any sort of rationale, declaring "If I like it, I'll give it a 5." Comparisons are made even more complicated because the more samples you get through, the drunker you become.

After several hours of tasting, discussing, debating, and arguing, we came very near to throwing fists but managed to narrow down a top three:

3) Fischer Blonde - est. 1821, France.

2) Golden Pheasant Lager - Slovakia. Brewed according to an original recipe, using only natural ingredients: clearest water from our own wells, finest hops and malted barley.

1) Affligem Abbey Blonde - est. 1074, Belgium. A smooth-bodied, golden abbey beer with a light, hoppy character and a surprisingly clean finish. Secondary fermentation in the bottle. Contains barley malt.