tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54734699833578120982024-02-19T07:36:07.219-05:00COLUMBIA'S LUNCH REVIEWLeave Work. Eat.The LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-16509116633757558422015-09-03T17:31:00.002-04:002015-09-03T17:50:13.918-04:00Real Mexico - 2421 Bush River Rd.<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.62px;">The Yelp 100 Challenge officially kicked off Tuesday, 9/1/15, at Real Mexico. Real comes up #1 in the Mexican Category on Yelp in Columbia, so it seemed a fitting spot to start the Yelp 100 challenge. Full disclosure, many of us frequent Real Mexico a lot, probably second only to Taquiera Jalisco. As has been written on this blog, we love TJ's for its street tacos, even more than Real's tacos. However, Real has the best tortas in town, without exception. Three of the six that attended lunch - Tank, Motherboard, and Frodo, ordered tortas, with Tank's Chori Pollo torta being the standout. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtyrmDKfM4dHcH1Jf0zTAHKNuj4fVMiVGOVOlL5SmKUOxuXk_a8aQZSRhyrIC4WDJcay8DQGlyDp33ZYH4y012DX_JfGJa7DJgdkbnwoPuXbHMoH4-qoTSI_Fg7yia_uSyatQN8yfM3ts/s1600/Chori+Pollo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtyrmDKfM4dHcH1Jf0zTAHKNuj4fVMiVGOVOlL5SmKUOxuXk_a8aQZSRhyrIC4WDJcay8DQGlyDp33ZYH4y012DX_JfGJa7DJgdkbnwoPuXbHMoH4-qoTSI_Fg7yia_uSyatQN8yfM3ts/s320/Chori+Pollo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.62px;">There is one reason to come to Real for lunch - it is delicious. Many of the other aspects of the restaurant, as noted below, are objectionable. But with food this good, it doesn't really matter that much. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.62px;">Noodles went with the combo #3, a risky play going generic at a place that does some special dishes. Even he was pleased, as Real can cook up the standards, too. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.62px;">The only person who was not thrilled with their order was Publican, who had chipotle chicken tacos.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1RpR81iIEuHcTZF5LtRxqbeJTy210E4dR46XDStWJDnMU4Zjuk2CXjCuaTdAQEvPXxaIMLQR5IdDtHnU3vHfNU-2obg0uQYj_-wy8ExoQSsdyEsuhWlGqAk278urp7yh4mp6vnaLJteM/s1600/Tacos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1RpR81iIEuHcTZF5LtRxqbeJTy210E4dR46XDStWJDnMU4Zjuk2CXjCuaTdAQEvPXxaIMLQR5IdDtHnU3vHfNU-2obg0uQYj_-wy8ExoQSsdyEsuhWlGqAk278urp7yh4mp6vnaLJteM/s320/Tacos.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.62px;">Real has a nice, friendly staff. However, when you are seated in the back corner of the back room, like we were, drinks can run empty for quite a while. We sat back there due to the lack of decent large group seating. Try to avoid the back room (although it does have some exceptional art back there...).</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.62px;">At lunch, Real gets packed. When it is at full capacity, food does not fly out. Similarly, while t</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.62px;">here is on-sight parking, it is rarely enough at lunch, and the lot overflows into nearby businesses. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.62px;">You should keep an eye out for daily specials, which are often posted on the door. Frodo found his go-to torta that way, and he orders it even when it is not on the menu. The torta is substantially bigger than his face. And, if you are feeling like spending top lunch dollasr, try the steaming hot fajitas.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGGnAkBHWTq-e5OAdqorGMamHBLBm_KioQ9KCaRe4TeOg-kglgs2gYJJ0rBqGU-ZnQ7co80Qv0trnCaFYzorOGHYf_6elzKSO8Kh9mONJFXG9qKf6o-k6hG1nGbGO4LOMj_muRemVQbHU/s1600/Fajitas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGGnAkBHWTq-e5OAdqorGMamHBLBm_KioQ9KCaRe4TeOg-kglgs2gYJJ0rBqGU-ZnQ7co80Qv0trnCaFYzorOGHYf_6elzKSO8Kh9mONJFXG9qKf6o-k6hG1nGbGO4LOMj_muRemVQbHU/s320/Fajitas.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.62px;">As a final note, the line to pay at the register is often awkwardly long. Don't take a seat at a table next to where the line forms if you can avoid it. You will likely eat lunch with some dude's pants in your face. While you are in line, you should check out the large selection of sweet Mexican candy. We can only recommend the Carlos the V. The other options have been too sweet, and have often been thrown away after one bite.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.62px;">This statement is obviously subject to change as the Challenge proceeds but, the consensus at lunch was that while we love Real, Taquiera Jalisco is still the #1 Mexican spot in Columbia in our book - and it is not even in the top ten on Yelp. That is a travesty, Columbia. #BumpTJs</span>The LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-58785740024748937772015-08-31T18:13:00.003-04:002015-08-31T18:13:50.687-04:00The Yelp 100 Lunch Challenge<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Tank
here. Publican and I found ourselves eating lunch in the Vista and asking this question - how do you
reinvigorate your lunch life? We concluded that the solution was to set
an overly-ambitious goal and recruit some expert lunch companions that are
outside of our regular lunch crowd to join us in the pursuit of that dream. So
began the Lunchmen began the Yelp 100 Lunch Challenge. The idea is so
glorious that Rabbit is increasing his day trips from Charleston to his Columbia office so he can hit some Challenge lunches. Frodo, who has written some of this blog's most-trafficked articles, has stepped up to
the plate to help fill in Rabbit's absence.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I
must be honest, I have doubts about Yelp and its rankings, despite Yelp's
ascension to the top of the restaurant ranking world since our blog entered
hibernation. The Challenge will give us a methodical way to test Yelp's
credibility and reliability. We will evaluate each restaurant based on the factors that
matter most at lunch:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Food - delicious,
average, or disappointing<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Service - engaging,
acceptable, or lacking<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Timeliness - prompt,
average, or slow<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Parking - on location,
nearby, or difficult<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Pricing - bargain (under
$8 with a drink); reasonable (under $10); pricey (over $10)<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Daily Specials -
available?<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Ambiance - acceptable?<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Bathrooms - usable, not
usable, or not available<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Intangibles - some
restaurants just have that extra something going for them<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
We
will be weighing in with our thoughts collectively on Yelp under the name
"<a href="http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=BfVMyYk0uFZjVdbXb_a27w"><span style="color: blue;">Lunch Challenge</span></a>."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
To compose the Challenge, we searched the categories on Yelp to see which had the
most restaurants open at lunch. We identified 100 of the highest Yelp-rated
restaurants in Columbia (including W. Cola, Cayce, Lexington, and Irmo) in
those categories. Then, we built a calendar that forces us to go through the
100 restaurants in 1 year. To help judge the restaurants, we recruited
Porkchop, an ironically slender member of the clergy who can eat like the
devil; Noodles, a local attorney whose years living abroad gave him taste for
the exotic; and Motherboard, an IT executive and writer who has yet to meet a
dish too spicy to handle.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Here
is where we are eating over the next 52 weeks. Our goal is to have each
person committed to the Challenge attend at least 50% of the scheduled lunches,
and to have at least 3 people at each lunch. Of course, we will be
bringing along others to enjoy some of these restaurants, because lunch remains
the core of our sense of community.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>YELP 100 LUNCH CHALLENGE<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Top
Reviewer-Rated Restaurants in Columbia’s most significant Categories<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>American (New/Trad'l)<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Motor Supply<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Thirsty Fellow<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
The Backyard Café <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Publick House<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Café Strudel<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Hunter-Gatherer<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
<i>Henry’s (Devine)</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
J Peters Grill (Beltline)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Bernie’s Chicken<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Flying Saucer<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Afro/Caribbean & Indian<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Spice Junction<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Harambe Ethiopian<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Skyaa’s Caribbean<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Delhi Palace <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Mama J’s Carribean<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Village of India<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Lamb’s Bread<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
La Isla Bonita<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Taste of Jamaica<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Shalimar Curry House<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Barbecue<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Southern Belly <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
True BBQ <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Little Pigs BBQ<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Hudson’s <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Maurice’s Piggy Park<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Palmetto Pig <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Big Boys<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Doc’s BBQ<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Texas Roadhouse<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Hite’s BBQ <o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div align="center" class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><u>Burgers<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Five Guys (Vista)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Pawley’s Front Porch<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
<i>Hwy 55 Burgers<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Red Robin <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Smashburger (Devine)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Zesto’s (Forest Dr.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Rockaway Athletic Club<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Rosewood Dairy Bar<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Edna’s Drive-in<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Lucky’s Burgers Shack<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>East Asian<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Sun Ming Chinese <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Chen’s Chinese <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Inakaya (O’Neil Ct.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
M Grille<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
<i>Korea Garden</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Menkoi Ramen House<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Blue Cactus<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Mai Thai<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Pho Viet (Decker)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
New Bangkok<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Greek/Mediterranean<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
<i>Zoe’s (Forest Dr.)</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Arabesque<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Gervais and Vine<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Med. Tea Room<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Olive Grill<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Greek Boys<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Pitas<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
<i>Zorba’s Greek (St. Andrews.)</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Grecian Gardens<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Ariana’s Greek <o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Mexican<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Real Mexico<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
<i>Cantina 76 (Main St.)</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
La Estrella<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Takosushi<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Chapala<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
El Burrito<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Cecilia’s<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Hola Mexico <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Tacos El Puebla<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Tacqueria Guadalajara<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Pizza<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Gina’s Pizza & Italian <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Nicky’s Pizzeria<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Il Giorgione<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Dano’s Pizza<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Tonella’s Pizza<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Pizza Joint<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Bellacino’s Pizza<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Old Chicago Pizza<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Pizza Palace<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Villa Tronco<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 155.85pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Sandwiches/Cheesesteaks<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
<i>The Other Store</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Drakes Duck In<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Beezer’s<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
<i>Groucho’s (Harden St.)</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
DL McLaughlin’s<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
PDQ<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
<i>Immac. Consumption<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
<i>Nick’s Gyros and Subs</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
<i>Very’s Great Philly</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Chicken Salad Chick<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 155.8pt;" valign="top" width="312"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Delis/Cafes<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Di Prato’s<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Mr. Friendly’s<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Andy’s Deli<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
The Gourmet Shop<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Jason’s Deli<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Cali’s Cafe<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Just Us Café<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Michael’s Café<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
No Name Deli<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
Nonnah’s<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td colspan="2" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 311.7pt;" valign="top" width="623"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Notes<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
1. Restaurants in italics have
been left off of the top ten list on another, less appropriate Yelp category.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
2. The American, Greek,
Sandwiches, and Delis lists are blended from the top 10 of the two identified Yelp
categories.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
3. Afro/Carribean &
Indian list is the top options from African, Carribean, Indian, Puerto Rican,
and Vegan Yelp categories<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0in;">
4. East Asian list is the
top options from Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, and Sushi Bars
Yelp categories.<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
The LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-28491571958784025092012-01-26T13:34:00.001-05:002012-01-26T13:34:54.949-05:005th Avenue Deli - 2910 Rosewood Drive, #AGreetings Lunch Friends! Despite rumors to the Contrary, Rabbit and the Publican did not burn to death in the Salty Nut Fire earlier this month. No, all of the Lunchmen are alive and well, if not actively blogging. However, 2012 is now here and with it the promise of fresh, new entries on some of the Capital City’s new establishments. While we’ve been somewhat dormant these past few months, several new places have come on our radar, and reports on a few other established joints that have yet to be reviewed also are being prepared. Stay tuned for more postings in the near future.<br />
<br />
Today’s review is of a relatively new place (less than 5 years old) that has quickly become an anchor of the Rosewood Drive eating scene – I’m talking about 5th Avenue Deli. This place is, if nothing else, a local establishment. The walls are adorned with Gamecock memorabilia, the sandwiches are all named for neighborhood streets, and even the employees are recognizable from their time as servers at other local jaunts.
Since this place has been around a while, you may be asking yourself: “Self, why are the Lunchmen just now getting around to a review?” Well, I’ll be perfectly blunt – two of the Lunchmen want to put this place on the permanent Boo List without even an official review. As you know, you only get one chance to make a first impression with Tank and the Publican, and if you screw that up, well good luck ever falling into their good graces. I however, had never even darkened the doors 5th Avenue, so we settled on a compromise. I would gather up Lunchmen friend Captain Charley and newcomer "The Gipper," and we’d all give it a go.<br />
<br />
I arrived a little early on a rainy Tuesday, but quickly recognized a colleague who worked in the area waiting on his food. He claimed to eat there “at least twice a week” – definitely a good sign. I also spotted several USC baseball players at a small table in the back – another positive indicator as college athletes tend to go places where the portions are large.
Encouraged, I perused the menu and was a little taken aback by the volume of options. There are at least twenty different sandwiches to try, so picking just one can be daunting. They also had two different types of pasta salad, coleslaw, and potato salad. It was going to be hard to get a full taste of the entire menu in one trip, even with three diners.
In an effort to cast a wide net, I went with the “choose 3” option and got a helping of chicken salad, pasta salad, and potato salad. All were homemade and delicious. Now I understand that Chicken Salad is a very personal thing, so what I may enjoy (in this case shredded chicken, light on the mayo, heavy on sliced almonds) you may despise. However, no one can doubt the time and care put into the recipe. As for the pasta and potato salad, they were both on par with any other Columbia area deli, and the added bacon in the potato salad probably pushed it into the top 2 or 3 in town.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-KRED0YrDZBTPxvHVBG7NlvCoA8Cbg6UYqZjyJ78Vxb50AxnqLkjgRiondhXt5ipuU7we76xYeyZxSNMMfXs6SPgHCf7D0VWdvgG7i-uDXPTB2YZOcun6b3JlRh4xQ5M9UYj9TXJCqo/s1600/salad.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-KRED0YrDZBTPxvHVBG7NlvCoA8Cbg6UYqZjyJ78Vxb50AxnqLkjgRiondhXt5ipuU7we76xYeyZxSNMMfXs6SPgHCf7D0VWdvgG7i-uDXPTB2YZOcun6b3JlRh4xQ5M9UYj9TXJCqo/s320/salad.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
One complaint – since I didn’t get a sandwich, I didn’t get a pickle. Personally, I think that if you ask someone for ANYTHING at a deli, it should come with a pickle, be it a sandwich, cup of soup, or just an extra fork. It’s a scientific fact that consuming a pickle at the end of the meal helps significantly with digestion, and as the Hobbit likes to say – “if you don’t take care of your body, who will?”<br />
<br />
Captain Charley went with "The Duncan," a Roast Beef Sandwich with horseradish, provolone and au jus on the side, which the server claims is one of the most popular items on the menu. It was large, but does not come with a side (none of the sandwiches do). To complete his meal required an additional purchase of a side item. I haven’t asked, but I’m 99.99% sure that this is the reason Tank and Publican are against 5th Avenue. You can’t skimp on the sides and expect those two connoisseurs not to penalize you heavily for it. The meal looked good, but with a drink, I’m pretty sure it cracked the sacred $10 threshold that no self-respecting deli wants to violate. Nevertheless, it looked and smelled like a good sandwich:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDXcM4u29Y78hh5B5balJrnJgTuEPnCxIRyGRinyNDOCf49p9uP4L3tfwjja6taSLXq4cLZi3g2bLdfT6jPU92GT_DhqKwJgkfeK-Hoki0GmSkw7l-aE9DKRkjoAiY3CBjs06TbNoLd0A/s1600/steak.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDXcM4u29Y78hh5B5balJrnJgTuEPnCxIRyGRinyNDOCf49p9uP4L3tfwjja6taSLXq4cLZi3g2bLdfT6jPU92GT_DhqKwJgkfeK-Hoki0GmSkw7l-aE9DKRkjoAiY3CBjs06TbNoLd0A/s320/steak.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
As for The Gipper, he took a walk on the wild side and, at the suggestion of our server, opted for the Tuesday Special – the BBQ plate. Maybe he was excited about being featured on the blog for a first time and as a result sort of blew his load early with the order. Would this “back-seat-on-prom-night” rookie move result in culinary delight or disaster??<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslYt-atyD0fILVjsnsfgNttuR_5TM6jjGbi1OuKkIa-jFSCUZJxif3sbhNxkJ9nvS1QyYKmlDVFSqATVZ2-ITPNHGja77_OWVEffvd83YNI1vrAYb5a6PWCaICuRfpywea1bEONqt2PA/s1600/bbq2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslYt-atyD0fILVjsnsfgNttuR_5TM6jjGbi1OuKkIa-jFSCUZJxif3sbhNxkJ9nvS1QyYKmlDVFSqATVZ2-ITPNHGja77_OWVEffvd83YNI1vrAYb5a6PWCaICuRfpywea1bEONqt2PA/s320/bbq2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
Normally I’m skeptical of and non-BBQ place trying to serve swine, but as the picture shows this place knows what it’s doing. I think it’s encouraging that the special is every Tuesday, which means they have had many chances to hone their craft. The Gipper devoured the sandwich, which did come with coleslaw included.
Overall, this place is definitely solid in terms of variety and execution. However, its just too damn expensive (expect to pay around $10) for this site’s taste. Couple that with the distance from downtown, and 5th Avenue is more of a rainy Saturday lunch play with the wife than a legitimate work week option. That said, if you do make the trip, your stomach won’t be disappointed.<br />
<br />
-RabbitThe LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-52587928366402711712011-08-15T17:15:00.002-04:002011-08-15T17:15:11.378-04:00DL McLaughlin's - 10400 Broad River Road<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Good afternoon sports fans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This week we’re stretching the bounds of this “Columbia”
lunch review and heading up to Philadelphia
(figuratively speaking of course) for the best Cheese Steak in the state of South Carolina.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m of course referring to DL McLaughlin's. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First off, while DL’s is a solid twenty minute drive from
downtown Columbia, in this honorary Lunchman’s mind, it’s well worth it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The place itself is nothing to write home
about, but it does have its charm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
main room is quite small and probably seats less than 15, but there is a side
room/ bar with additional seating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
word of caution is in order though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
you have some childhood fear of clowns, you may want to get there early and
secure your seat in the main room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whoever “decorated” (and please recognize that this word is being used
extremely loosely in this context) DL’s must have had some creepy fascination
with clown portraits, because there is no shortage of them in the bar
room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, other than that little quirkiness, DL’s has that quaint charm that tends to come with dive bars; it’s
definitely one of those
“it-you’re-wearing-anything-other-than-a-jean-jacket-you-may-be-overdressed”
kind of places.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, enough of the aesthetics–the Cheese Steak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This, my friends, is the only thing you need
to be worried about on the menu.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Granted, there are some other bar food options, but you cannot make the
trip to DL’s and not get the Cheese Steak, at least not on your first
trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Cheese Steak is served on a
fresh hoagie bun, piled high with steak and your choice of sweet or spicy
peppers, topped with a somewhat less that expected portion of cheddar
cheese.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, the proportions work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a few bites of this Cheese Steak,
nothing short of an actual Philadelphia Cheese Steak will suffice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Cheese Steak is also served with a side
of fries that are nothing to shake a stick at either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The portions are pretty good as well; you can
polish of the Cheese Steak and fries with relative ease, avoiding the
“BBQ-buffet-full” feeling.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A few other miscellaneous points should also be
addressed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a cash only
establishment; they do not take credit or debit cards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, you only need about eight or nine
bucks to get the deliciousness discussed above.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Also, while it is a 20 minute drive, it’s doable to be there and back
within a liberally measured lunch hour (about an hour and a half).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
IN SUM: The best Cheese Steak, with a side of fries and
creepy clown portraits all for around eight or nine bucks, cash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What else can you ask for.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yee haw,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Honky Tonk.</div>
The LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-73999902342337849862011-08-03T16:13:00.002-04:002011-08-03T16:13:47.562-04:00JASON'S DELI - 823 Gervais Street<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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Columbia
is one of those places where something “new” happens only once in a blue moon.
For that reason, and probably that reason alone, Jason’s Deli has been the talk
of the town since it opened only a few months ago. That’s probably also the
reason why if you plan on eating at Jason’s Deli anywhere around lunchtime, I
would highly suggest arriving at least thirty minutes before you plan to eat.
Not only is parking in the middle of the Vista during the weekday lunch hour
hectic and impossible, but what starts off as what I can only imagine to be a
handful of people around 11:00am turns into a feeding frenzy and a line all the
way out the door somewhere around 11:45. Nevertheless, despite the recent
opening of this restaurant, I would say that Jason’s Deli has the goods to back
up all the talk.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The menu is probably incredibly diverse and likely offers a
nice assortment of options, but to be honest with you, I had no choice but to
order the first thing I noticed on the menu. I have to admit that when I see the
word “club” on a restaurant’s menu, I am almost paralyzed. Once I see the club
sandwich, nothing else sounds good anymore. I’m sure you’ve all had delicious
club sandwiches. Who couldn’t love a club sandwich? Three slices of toasted
bread stacked between layers of ham, turkey, bacon, lettuce and tomato, all
held together by that perfect toothpick with the colored plastic on the top. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But this wasn’t just any club sandwich that Jason’s Deli was
offering, no this was a Club <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Royale</i>. The
word just rolls of the tongue… <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Royyyallleee</i>.
When I first saw the it listed on the menu, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Club
Royale</i>, I immediately thought to myself, if I order this sandwich, a Club <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Royale</i>,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>are Bond girls going to serve it to me? As my mind raced through
all the possibilities of what scenario I might find myself in: spying on the
international enemy and drinking an extra dry martini on the shores of the
Italian coast, it was time to order. I had no choice: the Club<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Royale</i>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The restaurant is somewhat confusing. You order your
sandwich, and then you walk along what appears to be one of those
make-the-sandwich-in-front-of-your-very-eyes kind of lines… except that no one
is actually making sandwiches in front of your eyes. Rather, the design of the
production line tricks you into believing that your sandwich will be made in a
mere matter of seconds, but no. In fact, it took a rather long time for our
sandwiches to reach the table. Enough of a period of time had passed that the
Lunchmen who were dining with us on this particular occasion had already had
time to make it all the way up and down the salad bar with a bowl overflowing with
fresh produce.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let me add in a little tidbit of information here. I
probably rank the restaurants I’ve eaten at based solely on one factor: the
quality of the sweet tea. If the tea is bad, I probably won’t come back to the
restaurant. I know that seems silly, but it’s just the way it is. For those of
you who are more curious about the tea than the food, Jason’s Deli had an
assortment of sweet teas, flavored and unflavored. Obviously I went for the
regular sweet tea, no fruit flavorings for me please. I will just give you a
head’s up on the tea, it’s great. I would highly recommend trying their sweet
tea, and if you really feel daring, go for the flavored stuff. Don’t let me
stop you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, back to what you’re probably more interested in, the
food. When the sandwich did in fact come out to the table I have to admit I was
a little disappointed. I know I shouldn’t have been disappointed because I knew
what I had ordered: a club on a croissant. But at the time I had placed my
order I hadn’t really thought about the result. Where was the toasted slices of
bread? Where was the double-decker stack that I have come to love? Sad. Nevertheless,
if you are anywhere near as big of a fan of the croissant as I am, your
disappointment will quickly subside when you pick up that buttery, flakey,
bread and it soaks up all that delicious honey mustard. Let’s just say this
sandwich isn’t for those dieting type.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Club Royale was delectable. Not only was the sandwich
wider than my mouth, but the portions were perfectly divided. I mean, it’s a
club sandwich for goodness sake, it better not have more ham than turkey or
vice versa. I would say the sandwich was equal parts turkey and ham with enough
bacon to have that crispy crunch in each bite. (I know I can’t be the only one
who hates those restaurants that claim to put bacon on a sandwich, but only actually
put one measley piece or a couple of crumbles. Somebody should do something
about that.) The lettuce and tomato were perfectly fresh. The honey mustard was
smathered on there so that when you put the sandwich back down or got to your
last bite there was some of that mustard still left on your fingers. Yum.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Needless to say, the eating experience, as far as this food
critic is concerned, won’t let you down. If you’re looking for good service,
that’s another story altogether though. I would suggest that if you like to talk
a lot, this is the perfect place for you because I will personally guarantee
you that you will have someone stop and check on your meal just about every 8
and a half minutes. In fact, our table was checked by one busboy twice, a
second busboy once, and what I assume to be the manager twice all in a matter
of 30 to 35 minutes of actual sitting time. Not to mention about every employee
in the entire restaurant purposely caught our eyes each time they passed our
table, so as to say “if you need me to stop and ask you how your meal is going,
just blink once”. This is all to say that if you are the kind of person who
prefers to be left alone during your meal, I would suggest trying a different
restaurant. All-in-all however, I would recommend Jason’s Deli if you are
looking for a good club sandwich and an abundance of service.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I guess I shouldn’t end my critique without also mentioning
the free ice cream. Who doesn’t love something free? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Especially</i> soft serve. ESPECIALLY in the summertime. It’s not like
I actually think a stand-alone soft-serve store would necessarily be profitable,
but I do believe that softserve has a way to bring back childhood memories.
Plus, Jason’s Deli has those little Styrofoam cones that seem like a good idea
until you start crunching into them and realize they have no flavor whatsoever.
If those cones don’t bring back childhood memories then I don’t know what will!
Despite the fact that I’ve just given away the mystery of the ice cream
cones—that no one remembers that they taste like pure sawdust until they bite
into them—I would nevertheless suggest that if you want something free, and refreshing,
go to Jason’s Deli, order just about whatever you want, and partake in the free,
all-you-can-eat ice cream.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-[Dirty] Myrtle</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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The LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-24325155113710103272011-06-02T10:14:00.002-04:002011-06-02T10:26:19.057-04:00ROAD TRIP!!! THE RED BAR – Grayton Beach, FloridaWhat, you may ask, is the greatest invention of the last century? Sliced Bread? Penicillin? HBO’s <i>The Wire</i>? Hardly. I’m talking, loyal readers, about Bachelor Parties. Now, Bachelor Parties are obviously baller on several levels, but since this is a lunch blog, from a lunch-men’s perspective Bachelor parties are great because, in addition to the expected debauchery and careless decisions, these weekends allow you to travel to different locations and indulge in some of the local cuisine. Plus, usually by the time you eat anything you are knee deep in alcohol, so your conscience is dulled and you order the most expensive and fattening (READ: delicious) items on the menu. Even I’ll admit, there just isn’t really a place for a salad at the typical Bachelor Party meal. <br />
<br />
This most recent BP led yours truly to the Emerald Coast in Florida on the Gulf of Mexico to Santa Rosa Beach to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of my law school classmate, “The Governor,” who practices in Birmingham. You may be asking yourself, “Santa Rosa Beach – not exactly La Varenne, is it?” Well be that as it may, this off-the-radar area boasts a dining experience that, despite its distance from the Capital City, deserves a review. If you are ever near the area, I think it’s a must, even if you are as far west as Destin or as far east as Panama City. I’m talking, of course about The Red Bar.<br />
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The Red Bar is nestled right near the ocean in an old village whose storefronts have all been updated and converted into fashionable shops and restaurants. The Red Bar, however, doesn’t look like its changed so much as a door screw since it opened over twenty years ago. To give you an idea, you can expect to wait over an hour for a table, and you’d better bring cash for the bar while you mill about outside drinking and waiting to be seated. Since the weather was perfect and we had a good group of guys catching up, no one minded waiting while we enjoyed some drinks out front.*** Once seated, a waiter quickly approached our large table with a giant chalkboard that featured the night’s menu. Basically, The Red Bar has 5-6 items you can choose from, and that it. Its cash or check only, and when they come to take your order, you’d better damn sure be ready. The experience was, in a word, intense. <br />
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<br />
<br />
I little intimidated, I just did my normal lunchmen move of ordering the special, which this night was sautéed grouper. We also had some orders of tuna dip appetizers for the table to hold us over. Let me first say that I have never before traveling to this part of the country had tuna dip. Crab dip, yes. Shrimp dip, sure. But never tuna. However, after trying this local delight, I give it my full endorsement. Its light, cool, and always comes with a good pita/bread type option for dipping. We had it at every meal we ate out this weekend, and always enjoyed it. <br />
<br />
As for the entrée, I’m not one for hyperbole, but this plate is currently challenging to crack my top five best meals of all time. Maybe it was the Red Bar’s shabby charm, maybe it was the good company and conversation, or maybe it was the scores of co-eds from Alabama, Auburn, and LSU that gradually flooded the restaurant as the evening progressed (more on that later), but the dinner was just about damn near perfect. Other diners with the group tried the shrimp and crawfish over penne, the baked eggplant stuffed with shrimp, and, it being a Saturday night, the Crab Cakes. There wasn’t a plate that didn’t get cleaned. <br />
<br />
To top it all off, a couple of the attendees kicked things up another notch when they ordered a few desserts for the group. I took down about a 1/3 of an order of Bread Pudding, which I had admittedly never tried before but found absolutely delicious. This brings up another lesson learned on the trip. Whenever you are at a restaurant in this type of situation, ALWAYS leave the dessert ordering up to people who don’t drink. They invariably are experts when it comes to dessert. Perhaps they savor this final part of the meal more than others since they aren’t rushing to get to the bar or have another round. Whatever it is, I have found without fail that a teetotaler is usually well versed in the proper way to end a meal. The Governor’s pals that did not drink alcohol once again proved this to be true. <br />
<br />
When it was all said and done, we gathered our stuffed stomachs and headed for the door. As we were leaving, however, we couldn’t help but notice that the crowd had, as the night wore on, gotten progressively younger (READ: hotter) and more female. Suddenly surrounded by sorostitutes from the finest schools the SEC has to offer, we very nearly reversed course to enjoy the new “scenery.” However, we were quickly reminded that all of us were past our mid-twenties, and attempting to navigate this particular ocean of flesh would be akin to Shaq bringing it back for another season next year. He might have enjoyed himself on the court, but it would have been painful to watch.<br />
<br />
-Rabbit<br />
<br />
*** <i>I do want to get something off my chest, a practice that I’ve noticed has become more and more prevalent the further away I get from college. First a little background: In college, everyone is basically poor, so its just understood that a man pays for his own drinks. No questions asked. However, once all your buddies start working and making a little coin, people get the crazy, f-ed idea that we should buy “rounds” of drinks for each other. The lunchmen are going on record as wholly opposed to this. Inevitably this leads to inequity, as the person getting the first couple of rounds ends up shouldering the drinks and getting none bought for him in return. Either (1) the tab only lasts a couple of rounds, so most people pay nothing, or (2) since people drink at different paces people just start ordering their own drinks and paying their own way, conveniently forgetting about the rounds that were just bought for them. Our advice – always say you’ll “get one of the next rounds,” you are sure to come out ahead. But I digress.</i>The LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-24005337614520421092011-04-07T10:24:00.001-04:002011-04-07T10:25:31.644-04:00GastHaus zur Elli - Ellie's Guesthouse, Prosperity, South CarolinaRecently, Mrs. Frodo and I invited some fellow Anglicans to join us in a festive German dinner in Prosperity, South Carolina. If you have ever been to Prosperity, you know that prosperity is not something that Prosperity has ever experienced. That notwithstanding, Prosperity (SC) does house one of the jewels of an eatery in GastHaus zur Elli (translated into Ellie’s Guesthouse in German). <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.gasthauszurelli.com">http://www.gasthauszurelli.com/</a><br />
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We were joined by fellow Anglicans Mr. and Mrs. War Eagle. We invited Conan the Republican and his wife to join us in an attempt to entertain political diversity, but they could not join us because their child came down with the flu. Conan lamented the fact that he couldn’t attend and just continued to blame his child’s sickness on Obama-care. In any event, scrambling to find another couple to join us in the festive birthday celebration, Former Fatboy and his wife joined us. While not Anglican, they are our Scottish religious neighbors to the north and we figured a little geographic and religious difference shouldn’t keep us from enjoying a fine meal and abundant libations together.<br />
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Although I had previously dined at the GastHaus, two things immediately struck me as I entered. One was the picture of Ellie some 40 years ago hanging on the wall. Man, talk about a fox:<br />
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The irony of her looks 40+ years ago compared to current was not lost on our gracious host. She immediately began discussing with us how nature and gravity had taken its toll on her woman-features. She mentioned to no less then 2/3rds of the restaurant patrons that her breasts used to be considered “search lights,” but unfortunately, now they could only be considered “fog lights.” Now don’t get me wrong, I am all for a festive atmosphere. However, a discussion of circular protuberances of a 65+ German cook is not necessarily what I had in mind to get my appetite going. In any event, as Veronica said in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy: "Oh, well, when in Rome." (Ron: "Yes? Please go on." Veronica: "Uh, do as the Romans do? It's an old expression." Ron: "Oh! I've never heard of it. It's wonderful, though.") <br />
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The second thing that struck me was Mrs. War Eagle’s lack of partaking in the spirits. She was so conspicuous about it, and her excuse so weak, I immediately knew she had one in the oven. Not that I was offended or anything—not in the least. I was simply worried that the intense aromas of Ellie’s cooking and Mrs. War Eagle’s sobriety would minimize her enjoyment of the experience. Seriously, my clothes still carry the aroma from the trip. The restaurant smells like a food stand at a David Hasselhoff concert and the smell lingers on you like the tune to Hasselhoff’s 1989 hit, “I’ve Been Looking for Freedom."<br />
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It appeared that Ellie and her food have become quite popular since my last visit a few years ago. When our party arrived at 7:45, our table was not ready. I had always understood that GastHaus policy was one seating a night. That is, if you make a reservation for 5pm, you can have your table for the night as there will not be another party seated at that table—you are not rushed so you can enjoy the dining experience. There isn’t a bar area, and the size of the entire restaurant is pretty small, so the six of us had to stand and wait as the party finished up at our table and the table was prepared. However, Ellie and the staff were gracious hosts and allowed us to pick out our own beers from the fridge (literally, there was a white Kenmore sitting there filled with beer that we walked up to and from which we took beers. I felt like I was at a Thursday night poker game at Tank’s house). <br />
<br />
After a short ten minute wait, we were seated at about 8 p.m. The waitress, dressed in festive German apparel, brought us another round of authentic German beers. When in Rome . . . <br />
<br />
The bread was brought with our 2nd round about 8:10. And then the real wait began. Former Fatboy began telling yarns about how cool and popular he was in high school and how life insurance is a great investment and I need to buy some more. Mr. War Eagle talked about the reemergence of Auburn football and how if he has a son he will name him Cameron Bo. <br />
<br />
At about 9:10, having dined on nothing but bread and butter, we asked the waitress if she could take our order. The restaurant was slammed with every table filled. Our waitress informed us that she would be happy to take our order, but table seven had not received their meal yet and Ellie would not begin preparing our order until table seven’s was served. By this time I was half-drunk and was giving Former Fatboy my medical history so he could write me some super-premium universal life. <br />
<br />
At approximately 9:45, our order was taken. Ms. Frodo and I went with the small sized portion of the veal schnitzel and the pork schnitzel, as did Mr. and Mrs. War Eagle and Former Fatboy’s wife. Former Fatboy, following my encouragement, ordered the large- sized ribeye. <br />
<br />
The waitress took our order for a 5th round and we waited until our food arrived at 10:15 pm (our salads arrived around 10 pm). The food didn’t disappoint, but I ain’t gonna lie, you could have fed me poodle tartare at that point and I would have thought it was delicious. The wait is made up by the portion sizes. There is a reason that the Germans lost to the good old US of A in WWII, and it might have had something to do with the obesity of the citizens of the Vaterland from eating food like this:<br />
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The schnitzel was served with red cabbage, potato salad, and green beans. In my opinion, the schnitzel is better at Julia’s German Stammtisch on Fort Jackson Blvd in Columbia <a href="http://julias.vpweb.com">(http://julias.vpweb.com)</a> as Julia’s schnitzel is a little more moist, tender, and doesn’t come with capers. Ellie’s was quite good, though, even if a little overcooked. I wouldn’t say this to Ellie’s face, though, as hell has no fury like a German woman’s cooking scorned and she very well would kick my ass if I said anything negative about her food. <br />
<br />
The highlight of the evening, however, was when Former Fatboy’s ribeye was served. It was covered in thick gravy and served with mashed potatoes, red cabbage, and green beans. It was so thick and rich, I gained 2 pounds just smelling it.<br />
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Former Fatboy lived up to his name (Former Fatboy), and despite my encouragement for him to clean his plate, he only finished about 70%. In talking with him the this weekend, he informed me that he just recently recovered from this gastronomic delight. He claimed he was lightheaded for 2 days as the blood was re-routed from his brain to his stomach to assist in digestion.<br />
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After dinner, dessert arrived, which consisted of a cake, though honestly, by that point, I was so tipsy and full I can’t remember if it was coconut or some other type cream cake. I would ask Mrs. Frodo but I want to get this up on the blog so bad I am just going to make it up that it was a coconut cake.<br />
<br />
We finished our meal at 11 pm or so. Once Ellie found out it was my birthday, a fact I was desperately trying to keep quiet, she gave me a free beer to chug upon my exit from the restaurant. Good thing the next day was a Saturday. <br />
<br />
I can wholeheartedly suggest a trip to the GastHaus. It is a dining experience unlike anywhere else in the Midlands. However, before you go, keep in mind a few simple rules:<br />
(1) It is not a quick experience. Ellie does not like to be rushed and will prepare one table’s meal at a time, before starting on the next table. It is not uncommon for the dining experience to last 2 or 3 hours. <br />
(2) The portion sizes are huge and are not for the light eater. I am not sure if Ellie allows you to share dishes (I think she would think it is a sign of disrespect), so plan on eating a lot and taking home leftovers.<br />
(3) If you are so inclined to indulge in the spirits, have a designated driver. In the true German experience, the beers have a way to adding up and before you know it, you’ve downed a six pack. And please, please, if she asks you to try a beer in the special mug, partake.<br />
<br />
At last count, my dining experience contained: 5 ¼ hours (including travel to and from Prosperity - Columbia), 2500 calories, six beers, and one well compensated babysitter.<br />
<br />
-FrodoThe LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-1732336528035393362011-04-05T10:44:00.000-04:002011-04-05T10:44:28.544-04:00ROCKAWAY ATHLETIC CLUB - 2719 ROSEWOOD DRIVE (Guest Review)<i>The Lunchmen are delighted to bring you a special guest post from loyal reader and commenter "Hooley," who has graciously provided this long overdue review of a true Columbia institution. Enjoy!</i><br />
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After their humiliating, first-round knockout in the Lunchmen’s March Madness Showdown, I’m here to stick up for Rockaway Athletic Club (a/k/a "Rockaway's"), whom I had winning the title in my bracket. This Columbia institution, this nigh-holy temple of burger artistry, this phoenix-from-the-ashes jewel in our capitol city’s lunchtime crown BOUNCED in round one? My friends, this transgression will not stand.<br />
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I’ve been frequenting Rockaway Athletic Club since it was a no-sign, secret-knock kinda place, when you had to “know someone” to show you which door was the entrance. And then it burned down. Seriously.<br />
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After they rebuilt, gone was some of their previous speakeasy charm, but the great burgers, pimento cheese fries, onion rings, and occasional seafood remained. Still no sign, though, unless you count the occasional cardboard box panel with their specials written on it wedged into the patio fence by the back door. <br />
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Let there be no doubt that the burgers are the stars of the Rockaway’s show. I’m sure I’ve had a couple hundred of them over the years, and I can’t recall a bad one. While you can choose several types of cheese (including their homemade pimento cheese), grilled mushrooms, and assorted veg, my personal jam is the bacon/Swiss burger. The burger itself is always juicy and tender. The bun is soft and fresh, and the toppings are nicely flavorful. For my money, it’s the best burger in Columbia.<br />
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Even with such an extraordinary burger, a man cannot live on burgers alone. I’ve explored the rest of Rockaway’s menu a bit over the years. The grilled chicken sandwich, onion rings, and hot dogs are all quite good. And you definitely shouldn’t miss the pimento cheese fries. The fries are crinkle-cut, my favorite style of French fry, and the cheese is smooth and creamy when melted. Make sure you only order the cheese fries if you dine in because they do not travel well. One last thing about the pimento cheese: you can order a side of it to put on anything. On a recent visit, I tried it on a baked potato, and it was excellent.<br />
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The knock against Rockaway’s I always hear is their poor service. Now I don’t doubt that’s the case because I’ve had a couple slow, inattentive servers there, but in my overall experience, the service has been just fine. Certainly nothing worth complaining about. In fact, on my most recent dinner visit, the food was at our table within ten minutes of ordering it, and our drinks were constantly refilled to the point of my girlfriend saying she wished our server would STOP refilling her drink. I guess I’ll just say I’ve heard the horror stories of bad service, but I haven’t personally experienced any service poor enough to remember. <br />
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With Rockaway’s you get awesome burgers and sides, ample parking, lots of seating options, and service that’s either great (my experience) or not great (Internet consensus). For me, it doesn’t get better for lunchtime in Columbia than a bacon/Swiss burger and pimento cheese fries from Rockaway’s. I’m still a little shaken up they got eliminated in the first round of the lunch bracket. Big thanks to the Lunchmen for letting me come on here and work through my issues.<br />
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-HooleyThe LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-55319656077524235242011-04-04T10:10:00.001-04:002011-04-04T10:10:11.407-04:002011 MARCH MADNESS FINAL ROUND: NO NAME DELI CROWNED ULTIMATE COLUMBIA LUNCH SPOTIt’s been a long road, but after counting all the votes the Lunchmen are proud to award the crown of ultimate Columbia lunch restaurant to perennial favorite No Name Deli. Relying on its quick, efficient service of high quality lunch-fare, No Name was able to overwhelm gourmet challenger Hunter Gatherer in the finals with its relentless consistency. HG fought valiantly throughout the entire tournament, and should take no shame in falling just short of the ultimate crown. Thanks again to everyone for their votes and insight, and if you haven’t tried No Name yet, their on the corner of Marion and Elmwood downtown. Give them a try, I promise you won’t be disappointed. <br />
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-Rabbit.The LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-1668747922821702412011-04-01T09:42:00.000-04:002011-04-01T09:42:23.756-04:00FINAL FOUR UPDATE: NO NAME, HUNTER GATHERER CRUISE TO CHAMPIONSHIP FOR EPIC FINAL SHOWDOWNThe readers have spoken, and their choices are clear. Hunter Gatherer and No Name Deli straight dominated their opponents in the final four to easily advance to the championship. While none of the experts are surprised to see No Name in this position, there are few people who could have predicted that lunch time new-comer HG would still be standing after the grueling gauntlet they negotiated en route to the final match-up (wins over Public House, Mousetrap, DiPrato’s, and Immaculate Consumption). After enduring such a hard road to the final, does HG have enough left in the tank to take down perennial favorite No Name? No Name’s road to the title game has been much less rocky, as the Deli scored easy wins in every round (remember Hardee’s???), regardless of the opponent. <br />
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Also intriguing is the variance in styles that this match-up presents. No Name is quick, efficient, with no frills or fancy trappings – but satisfying and successful nonetheless. HG is a more genteel, relaxed lunch experience for those in no hurry that can afford to enjoy a friendly waiter or waitress, a good beer, and true gourmet offerings. <br />
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Who will emerge victorious and claim the title of Ultimate Columbia Lunch Spot? Its up to you – post a comment with your vote or email us at lunchmen@gmail.com. Results announced early next week.<br />
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-RabbitThe LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-5193309430001212172011-03-29T18:01:00.000-04:002011-03-29T18:01:38.184-04:00The Final Four is Set!(2) Hunter-Gatherer v. (2) Immac<br />
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"The Skirmish on South Main" pits lunchtime Johnny-Come-Lately H-G against the bohemian Immaculate Consumption, a staple of bureaucrats and students. Hunter-Gatherer brews delicious beer while Immac brews well-sourced coffee. Will H-G's gourmet and satisfying fare beat out Immac's balanced menu of light and fresh options? Will a South Main hipster's head explode? Stay tuned to find out!<br />
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(1) No Name v. (4) El Burrito<br />
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The best of Uptown meets the best of Five Points in this intriguing match up. Watch as Rabbit's all-time favorite takes on Publican's original lunchtime haunt. Will Tank swear off lunch forever, as he promised is El Burrito wins? As a side note, kudos to the Urban Spoon reader who posted a crayon drawn hand turkey with the caption "Tank Sux" on the window at El Burrito. Who will prevail? Will fast and consistent No Name stall the ascension of Butler-esque El Burrito?<br />
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Vote now! The polls close at 11:59 p.m. Thursday night, and the results will be posted on Friday morning.The LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-74464259719322724652011-03-25T13:38:00.001-04:002011-03-25T13:39:18.285-04:00MARCH MADNESS SHOWDOWN - SWEET 16 RESULTS, ELITE 8 MATCHUPSWhat a round! The Sweet 16 match-ups certainly lived up to their billing, all the contests were close, with a few exceptions, and we even had to go to a double secret probation style tiebreaker to decide the battle between Tony’s Downtown and El Burrito. Here are your results:<br />
<i><br />
Diprato’s over Café Millwood</i><br />
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Did anyone see this coming? Certainly not the Publican, who, upon learning that his new favorite lunch locale had been upset by none other his least favorite restaurant, threatened to retire from the blogosphere completely unless the judges stepped in and declared a mis-trial. Sorry Publican, but the masses have spoken, and DiPrato’s moves on.<br />
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Hunter Gatherer over The Mousetrap</i><br />
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This was close for a while, but HG pulled away late. Both teams are final four worthy, but The Mousetrap may have been hampered by the fact that most of its clientele is too old to know how to get on the internet and vote. Next year we’ll allow people to vote via telegram also to avoid any accusations of ageism against the Lunchmen.<br />
<i><br />
No Name over Mathias</i><br />
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The most lopsided victory of the entire round. No Name took advantage of Mathias’ relatively unknown status amongst the downtown eaters. Thus far, NND has cruised to the Elite 8 with no real challengers – can they continue on now that the competition gets even tougher?<br />
<i><br />
Other Store over Andy’s</i><br />
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In the end, The Other Store, for all its flaws with service and timing, is just too damn delicious to be denied. They can lay an egg for sure, but the upside for TOS is as good as any place in town. Andy’s finishes a respectable run, and will surely be back next season.<br />
<i><br />
Kingsman over Drake’s</i><br />
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In the battle of cholesterol, the Kingsman comes away with the W. I would say the Kingsman’s fried pork chops are the Jimmer Fredette of this tournament; we’ll see how far the Kingsman can ride them. <br />
<i><br />
Immaculate Consumption over End Zone</i><br />
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In the end, the Zone has too many people complain of an occasional bad experience to overcome the solid consistency Immac has been serving up for years. No one seems to be noticing that Immac is quietly advancing ever closer to the final four. Could this be a sleeper pick to win it all?<br />
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<i>Garden Bistro over M Café</i><br />
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In a battle of two teams no one really expected to make it this far, Garden Bistro surprises everyone when its fans come out of the wood works to sing it praises. They’ve had a nice run, but can they really go any further? Not likely, especially considering their next opponent:<br />
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<i>El Burrito over Tony’s Downtown</i><br />
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This one was a dead heat the whole way. In the end, Tony’s could not overcome its lack of ventilation. Since atmosphere and experience are an important part of the equation, El Burrito’s open air dining and friendly staff pushes them over the top in this case, where both restaurant’s food is equally delicious. That is the second #1 seed to fall this round. <br />
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Here are the region finals, with the winners moving on to the final four:<br />
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<b>TANK REGION FINAL</b><br />
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<i>(5) DiPrato’s vs (2) Hunter Gatherer</i><br />
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After their epic upset of Millwood, does DiPrato’s have enough left in the tank? The Hunter Gatherer has been steadily plowing through the competition in a march to the final four. Will their dominance continue, or does DiPrato’s have another upset in them?<br />
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<b>RABBIT REGION FINAL</b><br />
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<i>(1) No Name v. (2) The Other Store</i><br />
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This chalk match-up pairs two opposites. No Name is quick, efficient, and full of working stiffs on their lunch break. TOS is slow, eccentric, and frequented by Forest Acres housewives fresh off the tennis court. No Name has yet to be challenged in the tourney, but that could very well change if fans of TOS’ Greek Turkey turn out to vote.<br />
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<b>PUBLICAN REGION FINAL</b><br />
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<i>(1) The Kingsman v. (2) Immaculate Consumption</i><br />
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Another chalk match-up with contrasting styles. Immac is the sort of place you go the day after going to Kingsman so you can feel better about your diet. The question remains, though – who is better suited to advance?<br />
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<b>FRODO REGION FINAL</b><br />
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<i>(4) El Burrito v. (2) Garden Bistro</i><br />
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Here we have two restaurants that are probably happy just to have gotten this far. To underestimate either though, may be perilous, as both have shown the ability to knock off some serious competition. In the end, it may come down to whose fan base shows up with more support.<br />
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Thanks to all who have participated thus far, and keep those votes coming – either leave a comment to this blog (at the top), or email us at lunchmen@gmail.com<br />
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Results will be posted Monday, March 28<br />
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-RabbitThe LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-45118904201127413722011-03-22T16:14:00.001-04:002011-03-22T16:15:29.820-04:00MARCH MADNESS SHOWDOWN - SWEET 16 ANNOUNCEDWe started with 64 restaurants last week, and thanks to your input have culled through the lousy service and mediocre culinary offerings in one weekend. I must say I’m actually a bit surprised at the amount of “chalk” in this bracket. There were a few upsets in the first round (TakoSushi, Villa Tronco, Golden Chopstixx, etc), but by the time we get past round 2, we had NO double-digit seeds, and all of our 1, 2 and 3 seeds remain alive. Here are the second round results, with the winners moving on to the sweet 16:<br />
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<b>TANK REGION</b><br />
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#1 Café Millwood defeats #9 Nick’s House of Pizza<br />
#5 DiPrato’s defeats #4 Vella’s<br />
#3 The Mousetrap defeats #11 Golden Chopstixx <br />
#2 Hunter-Gatherer defeats #7 Publik House <br />
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<b>RABBIT REGION</b><br />
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#1 No Name Deli defeats #8 Motor Supply Co.<br />
#5 Mathias defeats #13 TakoSushi<br />
#3 Andy’s Deli defeats #11 Compton’s<br />
#2 The Other Store defeats #7 Taqueria Jalisco <br />
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<b>PUBLICAN REGION</b><br />
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#1 The Kingsman defeats #9 Cock-n-Bull<br />
#5 Drake’s Duck-in defeats #4 Mr. Friendly’s<br />
#3 End Zone Grill defeats #11 Groucho’s <br />
#2 Immaculate Consumption defeats #7 Al-Amir<br />
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<b>FRODO REGION</b><br />
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#1 Tony's Downtown defeats #8 Cafe Strudel<br />
#4 El-Burrito defeats #5 Salty Nut <br />
#3 M Café defeats #11 Villa Tronco <br />
#2 Garden Bistro defeats #7 Dano’s<br />
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Here are the match-ups for the Round of 16. Of course, the upside to the aforementioned lack of upsets is that, as a result, we are in store for some epic culinary battles:<br />
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<b><b>TANK REGION</b></b><br />
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These match-ups could literally cause Tank’s head to explode. It’s pretty much his four favorite restaurants this side of the Congaree all facing off. <br />
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<i>(1) Café Millwood ~vs~ (5) DiPrato’s</i><br />
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The first pairing is particularly interesting. Not only are these two restaurants very different in their menu offerings, décor and clientele, they seem to be diametrically opposed to one another on an almost fundamental philosophical level. I am reminded of when the gang in “The Sandlot” goes head to head with the fancy team from across town. I’ll let you figure out who is who in this analogy.<br />
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<i>(2) Hunter Gatherer ~vs~ (3) The Mousetrap</i><br />
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Both have loyal fan bases, both have been around longer than the lunch men have been working downtown, and both really get going after the sun goes down. It may come down to who you prefer as your Evening entertainment – Jazz Night at the HG, or Ross Holmes at the Trap?<br />
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<b>RABBIT REGION</b><br />
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<i>(1) No Name Deli ~vs~ (5) Mathias</i><br />
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How did this happen so early? This is a matchup worthy of the grandest stage, not the Sweet 16! There aren’t many places that can compete with No Name’s tuna, chicken, and egg salad, but if there is such a locale, its probably Mathias (who apparently also has ham salad? Who knew?)<br />
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<i>(2) The Other Store ~vs~ (3) Andy’s Deli</i><br />
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Two more venerable Columbia institutions. It’s a tough call, but really we should expect that from here on out. You don’t make it through the first couple of rounds if you are boo on any level.<br />
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<b>PUBLICAN REGION</b><br />
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<i>(1) The Kingsman ~vs~ (5) Drake’s Duck-In</i><br />
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This one has the feel of two aging heavyweights doing battle, each with one last chance to win the belt. The Kingsman fries pork chops better than anyone in town, but Drake’s fries everything else better than anyone in town. A true clash of the titans.<br />
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<i>(2) Immaculate Consumption ~vs~ (3) End Zone Grill</i><br />
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Immaculate serves beer, its true, but its that fancy, lukewarm beer, and really its an afterthought to the rest of the menu. At the End Zone, beer is cold, cheap, and more commonly ordered than food. Two opposite ends of the spectrum do battle in The Publican’s bracket, whose personality is a contrarian as this pairing. <br />
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<b>FRODO REGION</b><br />
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<i>(1) Tony’s Downtown ~vs~ (4) El Burrito</i><br />
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At El Burrito, diners enjoy an open air space with a cool breeze flowing throughout the dining area. At Tony’s, customers walk through a dark hallway to a windowless, seemingly vent-less restaurant whose aromas stick in your clothes worse than the cheapest of Mexican restaurants. Despite these differences, both serve up quality lunches to their customers. I see this as a potential upset, but the fiercely loyal Tony’s proponents have surprised me thus far, so maybe they can ride their support into the final four. <br />
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<i>(2) Garden Bistro ~vs~ (3) M Cafe</i><br />
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Does anyone else think this doesn’t feel like a 2 v. 3 matchup? Don’t get me wrong, both are consistently good, but has either ever “wowed” you? I can think of at least a dozen restaurants I would choose over these two that have already been eliminated. But, that is the beauty of a tournament like this – you don’t have to beat the best restaurant, just the restaurant you actually go against. <br />
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We’ll post results on Friday, March 22. Please email us at lunchmen@gmail.com, or click at the top of this article to leave a comment with your votes. Thanks,<br />
<br />
-RabbitThe LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-55977726406501084752011-03-21T12:26:00.003-04:002011-03-21T12:29:50.049-04:00MARCH MADNESS SHOWDOWN - Second RoundI'm not sure what I enjoyed more over the past few days - watching the college bracket drama, or watching the first round swings in the Columbia Lunch March Madness Showdown. At 10:00 a.m. this morning, we still had seven first-rounds ties. Thanks for all the emails and input.<br />
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Front-runners Cafe Millwood, No Name Deli, and The Kingsman all came through with unanimous victories, as did 2nd-seeded Immac, The Other Store, and Garden Bistro. The top three seeds in each bracket managed to avoid upset, although I must disclose that the End Zone Grill's fate against Tio's was still undecided until a tie-breaking vote was cast by Tug a few moments ago. Other favorites, like 5th-seeded Salty Nut and 8th-Cafe Strudel, struggled until the very end as well.<br />
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Some of the best drama this weekend was found in 5-points. I'm not talking about the St. Patrick's Day celebration, my friends, I'm talking about the fist fight between 6th-seeded Yesterdays and 11th-seeded Groucho's. Both of these venerable 5-points institutions had fans pressing them to victory. Who could blame them? Choosing between Yesterday's grits and Groucho's Formula 45 sauce just ain't easy. However, in the end, Groucho's eaked out the upset.<br />
<br />
Other upsets include a surprising fall by 6th-seeded Zoe's to 11th-seeded Villa Tronco. The lesson from that match-up is, perhaps, that Columbia's main street workers are not too easily pulled away from their support of the downtown establishment restaurants. Then again, 4th-seeded Hampton Place Cafe got rocked and toppled by Tako-Sushi, one of the newer players on the lunch game. Tako-Sushi's prices were a big concern to the pundits, but the fans seem undeterred.<br />
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New-comer and 6th-seeded Thirsty Fellow did not fare as well as Tako-Sushi. Thirsty Fellow fell to 11th-seeded Golden Chopstix. Perhaps other share my passion for the Tom Kha?<br />
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In other results, the Cock-N-Bull's new location has been warmly received by its fans. The Cock-N-Bull delivered an absolute beat-down over favored Carolina Cafe, who received only one vote. Similarly, 8th-seeded Bombay Grill fell to 9th-seeded Nick's House of Pizza, and 6th-seeded Beezer's fell to the darling of West Columbia, 11th-seeded Compton's. <br />
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Here is what round two looks like; please get your votes in so that your restaurants can earn a coveted spot in Columbia's own Sweet 16.<br />
<br />
TANK REGION<br />
#1 Café Millwood ~vs~ #9 Nick’s House of Pizza<br />
#5 DiPrato’s ~vs~ #4 Vella’s<br />
#11 Golden Chopstix ~vs~ #3 The Mousetrap<br />
#7 Publik House ~vs~ #2 Hunter-Gatherer<br />
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RABBIT REGION<br />
#1 No Name Deli ~vs~ #8 Motor Supply Co.<br />
#5 Mathias ~vs~ #13 TakoSushi<br />
#11 Compton’s ~vs~ #3 Andy’s Deli<br />
#7 Taqueria Jalisco ~vs~ #2 The Other Store<br />
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PUBLICAN REGION<br />
#1 The Kingsman ~vs~ #9 Cock-n-Bull<br />
#5 Drake’s Duck-in ~vs~ #4 Mr. Friendly’s<br />
#11 Groucho’s ~vs~ #3 End Zone Grill<br />
#7 Al-Amir ~vs~ #2 Immaculate Consumption<br />
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FRODO REGION<br />
#1 Tony's Downtown ~vs~ #8 Cafe Strudel<br />
#5 Salty Nut ~vs~ #4 El-Burrito<br />
#11 Villa Tronco ~vs~ #3 M Cafe<br />
#7 Dano’s ~vs~ #2 Garden Bistro<br />
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These are some great match-ups, we'll try to post the winners around this time tomorrow.<br />
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- TankThe LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-2121888115781602962011-03-17T17:50:00.000-04:002011-03-17T17:50:33.927-04:001ST ANNUAL COLUMBIA LUNCH MARCH MADNESS SHOWDOWN<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Greetings Sports Fans!! Its that time of year again – March Madness. In honor of the NCAA Basketball Tournament, the Lunchmen are proud to bring you the 1<sup>st</sup> Annual Columbia Lunch March Madness Showdown. This afternoon Tank, Frodo, the Publican and yours truly got together and put 64 Capital City Area restaurants into 4 brackets, seeded 1-16. We’ll invite you to review the first round matchups and based on your feedback, we’ll post results of the first two rounds Early Next week, along with pairings for the Sweet 16 next weekend. We’ll then do it all again until we crown one champion- the ultimate lunch spot in Columbia. So, take a look at the seedings and match-ups below, and let us know who you think should or would win on some of your favorite showdowns. Enjoy:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">TANK REGION</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 4.65pt; width: 352px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">1</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 87pt;" valign="bottom" width="116"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Café Millwood</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">16</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Hong Kong Grill</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">2</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 87pt;" valign="bottom" width="116"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Hunter Gatherer</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">15</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">300 Senate</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">3</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 87pt;" valign="bottom" width="116"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The Mousetrap</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">14</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Liberty</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">4</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 87pt;" valign="bottom" width="116"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Vella's</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">13</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Very's</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">5</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 87pt;" valign="bottom" width="116"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">DiPrato's</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">12</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">5 Guys Burgers</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">6</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 87pt;" valign="bottom" width="116"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Thirsty Fellow</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">11</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Golden Chopstixx</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">7</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 87pt;" valign="bottom" width="116"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Publick House</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">10</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Which Wich</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">8</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 87pt;" valign="bottom" width="116"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Bombay</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> Grill</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">9</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Nick's House of Pizza</span></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">RABBIT REGION</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 4.65pt; width: 352px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">1</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 87pt;" valign="bottom" width="116"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">No Name Deli</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">16</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Hardee's</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">2</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 87pt;" valign="bottom" width="116"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Other Store</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">15</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Swanson's</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">3</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 87pt;" valign="bottom" width="116"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Andy's Deli</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">14</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Loose Cockaboose</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">4</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 87pt;" valign="bottom" width="116"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Hampton Place</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">13</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Tako Sushi</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">5</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 87pt;" valign="bottom" width="116"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Mathias</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">12</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Rockaway's</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">6</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 87pt;" valign="bottom" width="116"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Beezer's</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">11</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Compton</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">'s</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">7</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 87pt;" valign="bottom" width="116"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Taqueria Jalisco</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">10</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Brookland Baptist</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">8</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 87pt;" valign="bottom" width="116"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Motor Supply</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">9</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Pita's</span></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">PUBLICAN REGION</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 4.65pt; width: 425px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">1</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 142pt;" valign="bottom" width="189"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The Kingsman</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">16</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Cabo Fresh Taco</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">2</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 142pt;" valign="bottom" width="189"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Immaculate Consumption</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">15</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Atlanta Bread Co.</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">3</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 142pt;" valign="bottom" width="189"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">End Zone Grill</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">14</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Tio's</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">4</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 142pt;" valign="bottom" width="189"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Mr. Friendly's</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">13</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Thicket</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">5</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 142pt;" valign="bottom" width="189"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Drake's Duck In</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">12</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Sandy</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">'s</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">6</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 142pt;" valign="bottom" width="189"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Yesterday's</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">11</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Groucho's</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">7</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 142pt;" valign="bottom" width="189"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Al Amir</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">10</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Greek Boys</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">8</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 142pt;" valign="bottom" width="189"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Carolina</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> Café</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">9</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Cock n Bull</span></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">FRODO REGION</div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-left: 4.65pt; width: 425px;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border: 1pt solid windowtext; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">1</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 142pt;" valign="bottom" width="189"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Tony's Downtown</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">16</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">1441 Main</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">2</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 142pt;" valign="bottom" width="189"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Garden Bistro</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">15</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Hennessey's</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">3</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 142pt;" valign="bottom" width="189"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">M Café</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">14</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Casa Linda</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">4</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 142pt;" valign="bottom" width="189"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">El Burrito</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">13</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Za's</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">5</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 142pt;" valign="bottom" width="189"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Salty Nut</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">12</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Nathan's</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">6</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 142pt;" valign="bottom" width="189"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Zoe's</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">11</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Villa Tronco</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">7</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 142pt;" valign="bottom" width="189"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Dano's Pizza</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">10</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Chick Fila</span></div></td> </tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 17pt;" valign="bottom" width="23"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">8</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 142pt;" valign="bottom" width="189"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Café Strudel</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 32pt;" valign="bottom" width="43"> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">~vs~</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 19pt;" valign="bottom" width="25"> <div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">9</span></div></td> <td nowrap="nowrap" style="border-color: -moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: medium 1pt 1pt medium; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0pt 5.4pt; width: 109pt;" valign="bottom" width="145"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Pawley's Front Porch</span></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Wow - there are some intriguing match-ups on the board. Taqueria Jalisco v. Brookland Baptist right off the bat?? Mathias and Rockaway's?? Yesterday's v. Groucho's?? These clashes seem more suited for the elite 8, not the opening round. And what about potential upsets? Can Cayce Stalwart Golden Chopstixx take down newcomer Thirsty Fellow? Will Tank's hatred for El Burrito open the door for Za's to advance? The possibilities are endless...</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Okay faithful readers – let us hear from you. Either post comments to this blog, or email the lunchmen at <a href="mailto:lunchmen@gmail.com">lunchmen@gmail.com</a>. We look forward to hearing from everyone soon. Results will be posted Monday, March 21. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">-<i>Rabbit</i></div>The LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-3449742744533233272011-03-04T17:19:00.001-05:002011-03-04T17:20:11.759-05:00TAQUERIA JALISCO – 612 St. Andrews Road, Columbia SC<div class="MsoNormal"> Buenas Dias, mis amigos!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After a miserably frigid January and February, the recent uptick in temperatures has put the Lunchmen in a Fiesta state of mind. Eager to indulge in all the deliciousness our neighbors south of the border can offer, the Lunchmen sponsored no less than 2 trips this week for Mexican fare. On Wednesday, Captain Understatement, Tank and I ventured into the black hole of real estate between Irmo and Downtown for Taqueria Jalisco. For those of you not familiar with TJ, it’s a little gem of a restaurant tucked away in what is probably the nicest shopping center on St. Andrews (not that that is saying much) just off I-26 westbound. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbQyNFa5Kgw1oE2RJogP66v4WjwbSzSMKRNz6G2TNayptBF5VmnRaB8-6aqUUSEjbzrYYjIwI0cUYpFtAAuLiyWuislELPdDaqm6j8l-9DcHjBSWJzQMLaiNu4ifHIUbIB9Pw6jM5CPk/s1600/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbQyNFa5Kgw1oE2RJogP66v4WjwbSzSMKRNz6G2TNayptBF5VmnRaB8-6aqUUSEjbzrYYjIwI0cUYpFtAAuLiyWuislELPdDaqm6j8l-9DcHjBSWJzQMLaiNu4ifHIUbIB9Pw6jM5CPk/s320/Capture.PNG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">TJ is a Mexican restaurant in the traditional sense, with free chips and salsa, immigrant waiters and waitresses, and lots of candy for sale at the counter. However, unlike its brethren, whose food seems to get greasier, dirtier, and mushier every time I go back (I’m talking to you San Jose, Monterrey’s and La Fiesta), there is something about TJ that seems a cut above the rest. Maybe it’s the cool clean air-conditioning, or maybe it’s the fact that the tables and booths aren’t stacked too close together, or maybe it’s the little additions to the cuisine that you don’t get at any old Mexican place. Whatever it is, we have noticed enough to make Taqueria Jalisco our go-to lunch spot when we want to fill up on chips, tacos, and beer. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Upon arrival, the Captain and the Tank quickly ordered beers, and I went ahead and told the waiter we’d be needing another round of chips and salsa as he was placing our first basket on the table. I’ve been to enough rodeos to know that one basket of chips and salsa is enough – for one person. When you have three grown men darkening your doors, you’d better be prepared to offer AT LEAST three rounds of free chips and salsa, damn it. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">TJ features all of the normal Mexican dishes you would expect – tacos, fajitas, enchiladas, burritos, et al., with rice and beans complimenting most dishes. However, where Jalisco really earns its stripes are with its specialty tacos. Rather than loaded down with grade Q white cheese and meat that may or not be mammalian, TJ’s tacos are tightly wrapped masterpieces that are served hot, sans cheese (so you know rabbit is down), with a side of diced chives and onions to pour on. Add in their salsa and you’ve got a truly baller taco. Order three, eat for around 6 bucks, and leave stuffed and blissful. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The tacos come in steak, chicken, pork, and even beef tongue if you are adventurous like the Tank. (BTW – Tank also highly recommends TJ’s tortas, but warns that it invariably comes out much later than the rest of the food, usually when everyone else is finished, thus affecting some of the satisfaction one would normally derive from such a tasty treat).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I should also note that I’ve tried some of the other menu items (fajitas) and there are, in a word, adequate. They certainly aren’t terrible, and you’ll probably enjoy them enough, but there is just no reason to order anything other than the aforementioned tacos. To do otherwise would be akin to visiting Teotichaun and <i>not</i> going to the pyramids. In other words – why even bother?<br />
<br />
-Rabbit </div>The LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-49022044396627811072011-02-16T10:55:00.001-05:002011-02-16T11:07:39.426-05:00BREAKING NEWS: Free Lunch at the Tin Roof this week<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgouuOhS-xHDdkZJLX9dZG1PJx2C8t7UNU1W7qBvuUTGFfTb5pIYbGALV4-V26FWUDtSmK1y84fOpqLUtN5vG-Itpo7B2EuwV4aVppgBZYS0LvNpaUC748NkosD5F7WD3GI2ry6l1Fl-AA/s1600/breaking-news.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgouuOhS-xHDdkZJLX9dZG1PJx2C8t7UNU1W7qBvuUTGFfTb5pIYbGALV4-V26FWUDtSmK1y84fOpqLUtN5vG-Itpo7B2EuwV4aVppgBZYS0LvNpaUC748NkosD5F7WD3GI2ry6l1Fl-AA/s1600/breaking-news.gif" /></a></div>You may have heard the saying that in life there is no such thing as a free lunch. Well, my friends, apparently the old saying does not apply to you, because your friends over at the Tin Roof (102 Senate Street) want to show their gratitude for a great first few months here in the Capital City. If you head to the Tin Roof between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. this week, they will reward you with free food - specifically, any main course of your choosing. Is it delicious, you ask? We don't know, we have not been for lunch - YET. However, the meal is free, so stop being so skeptical and go enjoy some southern hospitality at the Tin Roof this week.The LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-39576884777045106602011-01-21T14:41:00.000-05:002011-01-21T14:41:20.981-05:00Lunchtime Gridlock<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"></span><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Anyone who ever asked a woman where she wants to eat is familiar with the phrase: “I don’t care.” The website dearblankpleaseblank.com provides the best solution to this common problem:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Dear Restaurateurs, </span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Please open a restaurant called "I Don't Care" so I can finally take my girlfriend to eat at the place she's always talking about... </span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Sincerely, </span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Annoyed Men </span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Today’s lunch provided us with an interesting counter-study in the male response to the common question – where do you want to eat? In our office, the dynamic almost always involves 2 or more competing ideas and 1 or more absolute vetoes. On a day like today, it can take a skilled mediator most of the morning to settle on a lunch call; because much like Cartman from South Park, many of the Lunchmen will bail on lunch altogether if certain restaurants or cuisines are selected. For example, the monomaniacal Rabbit not only displays an unflinching devotion to all things salad, he also unequivocally refuses to eat Indian food. Often accused of xenophobia, Rabbit insists he just can’t stand to be in the same room as curry. His steadfast refusal has derailed many a fine lunch. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Today, however, didn’t involve the Rabbit-maligned deliciousness that is Indian food. Today was a simple six man Friday call. After 45 minutes, Tank skillfully crafted a compromise: Tony’s in Cayce for the pizza buffet and a couple philly cheesesteaks. We headed off in multiple vehicles. Tex, Kali and Rabbit went ahead while Tank, <span style="color: navy;">the Dude</span>, and I followed. When Tank’s care pulled into Parkland Plaza, a disturbed Rabbit came running into the parking lot waving his arms like a lunatic. Tony’s, he reported, did not have the usual and customary pizza buffet. We were dismayed. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">After a little wrangling, we abandoned Tony’s for the obvious audible, The Kingsman. Unfortunately, the “Pearl of Cayce” was slammed with no tables available, much less one that could accommodate a sixsome. Gridlock ensued. Palmetto Pig, Sandy’s Hot Dogs, Vellas, Which Wich, Carolina Café, and others were all met with the sort of resistance typically reserved by rednecks for universal healthcare. Throw a looming one o’clock conference call into the mix, and you’ve got some real logistical problems further complicating matters. Despite his best efforts, Tank couldn’t lift the group out of this jam, so the group splintered. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Tex</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">, Rabbit and I enjoyed a fabulous meal at the Kingsman thanks to a few regulars who just vacated their tables. Kali, Tank and <span style="color: navy;">the Dude</span>, on the other hand, went down a dark and dangerous path. The siren song of free chips and salsa tugged the splinter cell, led by Kali, across the boulevard to Monterreys. Yes, that Monterreys. The one that caters equally to the destitute and the underaged. The one where the only thing authentic is the unreliable air conditioning. The one that Tank suspects uses reconstituted meat; the kind shaved from Bovine ankles, melted in a fat, powdered in plastic and frozen for your convenience. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Tank’s horror story on his return made me uneasy. In fact, I can’t even stand to repeat it, and he can’t bear to write it down. The wretched place is so well known in Columbia, we won’t even waste our time providing a review. Suffice it to say that Monterrey’s is to restaurants what snuff films are to theater. Instead of recounting this experience, we hope you’ll learn from our mistakes. We admonish you, hell, we beg you: travel light in numbers, give yourself ample time, and be flexible for the good of the group. Your lunch depends on it. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">- The Publican </span></div>The LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-69722622141100762662011-01-13T15:54:00.000-05:002011-01-13T15:54:19.284-05:00BREAKING NEWS - S&S Cafeteria Shutting its Doors<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXhKO909hNV7DDhK7pP2dI7JBP0k8m-CGdfTkDeXexmQzXZwhVfCyDNpE-JANtRbVQqyV6pAylVFRbECbOiVP4YK2pzGUAvlFaDnLFjNOJF3fb0VVBMVoEncXOIWmFLVajFAwgumax108/s1600/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXhKO909hNV7DDhK7pP2dI7JBP0k8m-CGdfTkDeXexmQzXZwhVfCyDNpE-JANtRbVQqyV6pAylVFRbECbOiVP4YK2pzGUAvlFaDnLFjNOJF3fb0VVBMVoEncXOIWmFLVajFAwgumax108/s320/Capture.PNG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Another Columbia Landmark has fallen victim to the Great Recession. S&S Cafeteria, an after church destination cafeteria for decades, is closing for business on January 31, 2011. The Lunchmen are saddened by this news, given that S&S was the last remaining restaurant of its kind in the Capital City. We encourage everyone to pick up their grandmother this month and take them out for one last hurrah at the S&S. They are located in the old Richland Fashion Mall at the Corner of Forest Drive and Beltline Boulevard.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">-The Lunchmen</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>Editor’s Note: Upon learning this sad news, Frodo, friend of the Lunchmen, lamented that two of the restaurants for which he has provided guests posts for the blog – Nice n’ Natural and S&S – have since gone out of business. Columbia Restaurateurs beware: if Frodo darkens your door looking to have a review-lunch, you may be out of business by the end of the month.</i></div>The LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-2875607218703160592011-01-05T17:29:00.001-05:002011-01-06T09:47:29.972-05:00LIBERTY TAP ROOM AND GRILL – 828 Gervais Street<div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">It’s January, which means a few things here at the office – some people start using their lunch breaks to “hit the gym” and sweat off those holiday pounds (Tex), some people review their year end bonus and scream bloody murder (Tank), and still others look forward to another year of work and contemplate Jumping out of the window (Publican). For the Rabbit, January means one thing: my annual luncheon with East Bound and Down, my favorite snake-oil (READ: insurance) salesman. Once a year he buys me lunch and helps me ensure that Mrs. Rabbit will be taken care of should I unexpectedly head to that great salad bar in the sky. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This year, knowing I wouldn’t be paying, I opted for lunch-men favorite Blue Marlin, which has been mentioned on several blog lists for various items, but never properly reviewed here. However, arriving at 12:45 we were greeted with a 30 minute wait, so we pulled an audible** and walked across Gervais to Liberty Taproom and Grill.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Liberty Taproom is technically a chain in that it’s got a few locations in the Palmetto state, but it definitely doesn’t feel too corporate. Upon arrival we were told to seat ourselves anywhere in the bar area, and were quickly offered our choice of micro-brews. This being a “business lunch,” and me being a “total wimp,” I declined and instead opted for tea (remember I wasn’t paying, otherwise this would be water all the way). </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After a few minutes of serious talk, our food arrived. East Bound, determined to keep his svelte figure intact, ordered the Ahi Tuna Salad, which features red peppers, snow peas, green onions, rice noodles with an Asian honey lime dressing. The tuna was, as all tuna should be, rare, and the salad looked awesome. East Bound could not have been happier with his selection. To sum it up, he ate a healthy meal, but it was so good it felt like an indulgence. In my opinion that is the ultimate goal of a salad.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDP-kV8333RYSa9t_Rl_jGJOFcKlVhsGZ4-a6GU0T6wEtS5e6VR635K-VgkgbCSBmaatEEGMVg3Fm4lW-azHO8qgp4yv3qYzVdCtauJfaAm2aOqsUUz-qMjTnSUhXYoaSvCJEROHYPUi4/s1600/IMG00062-20110105-1315.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDP-kV8333RYSa9t_Rl_jGJOFcKlVhsGZ4-a6GU0T6wEtS5e6VR635K-VgkgbCSBmaatEEGMVg3Fm4lW-azHO8qgp4yv3qYzVdCtauJfaAm2aOqsUUz-qMjTnSUhXYoaSvCJEROHYPUi4/s320/IMG00062-20110105-1315.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m sure right now you’re expecting me to tell you I also went with a salad. However, since this was a review lunch, I felt that we had to explore other areas of the menu. Therefore, I tried to find something that would (1) satisfy my cravings for the vegetables I need and (2) fairly reflect Liberty’s cuisine. I spotted the Lunch Salmon item from the “Fish Board” section of the menu and knew I was in business. It’s a piece of salmon grilled and blackened (you can get it cooked a number of ways, but this is how I think its best), served with two sides. I went with collards and seasoned vegetables. The collards were among the best in town, and I actually found pieces of pork scattered among the greens. Normally, seasoned vegetables are treated by restaurants as an afterthought, and more time is spent on their calorie-intense counterparts like french fries or mac n’ cheese. Not so at Liberty. The veggies were fresh, sautéed perfectly, and seasoned with a little kick that made me stand up and take notice. I tried to take a picture, but unfortunately it didn’t turn out. Too bad, because the presentation was surprisingly sophisticated and really added to the experience.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So to sum up, East Bound got a little new business for his 2011 book, and I got a free meal that was one of my most pleasant surprises from a restaurant in a long time. All in all, a successful lunch. I know that Liberty is more commonly known for its happy hour, but if you are in the Vista, its worth the trip for lunch. You won’t regret it.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">-Rabbit</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>** - The Lunch time “Audible” is a very under discussed but nonetheless very important part of the lunching experience. Often a place will have a wait or not accept check cards, or our group will be too large, etc. such that we must, on a moment’s notice, break camp and find a new destination. This can be a maddening and disorienting experience for the diner who has been dreaming of a particular item for 2-plus hours, only to have those dreams dashed in an instant. So, what is a lunchman to do? Here are a few factors to consider when making the audible call that will make the transition as seamless as possible:</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0pt;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><i>Keep it close – No doubt you are famished by the time you walk in the restaurant, so your hunger is only going to grow exponentially as your stomach leaves empty. Therefore, if you can walk to your audible place quickly, all the better. This works particularly well in 5-points, downtown, or the Vista. But, if you are heading out to somewhere more remote, it may require prior research to confirm (1) you likely won’t need an audible because you are going at the right time with the right amount of people, and (2) if for some reason you do, there will be a place close by you can live with.</i></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><br />
</div><ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0pt;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><i>Keep it similar – If you had your mind fixed on Mexican and were all pumped to set a new taco eating record at Casa Linda, then an audible to your local sushi bar probably won’t do. You need to keep the theme of the original lunch intact – where else can you get a taco, or a burrito nearby? Columbia is big enough that this should not be a problem.</i></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0pt;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><i>Keep it cheap – Don’t let a lunch audible bust your budget. If you went out expecting to pay $6 for a burger and fries, don’t let people talk you into spending twice that down the street. While the food may be worth the price, it will seem extra expensive since you were mentally prepared to fork over only half of what your bill actually is. I have learned this the hard way.</i></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>So remember, when forced to audible, keep it close, similar, and cheap, and you should be good to go.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>The LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-29117484073314428632010-12-28T09:34:00.000-05:002010-12-28T09:34:50.983-05:00YESTERDAY’S RESTAURANT AND TAVERN – 2030 DEVINE STREET<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Sure, everyone is familiar with the Fuller Building, the triangular skyscraper located in Manhattan and featured in countless movies and TV shows. But what about Columbia’s own flat-ironed shaped icon? I’m talking of course about Yesterday’s Restaurant and Tavern, located between Santee and Devine Streets in the heart of 5 points.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj900PfQXh4whPrTt75M5zTQ0h2fo5eYfzgrq8N47BQ-V0niyyJVJ0z1U_MGiljmEs2G5gE98b1sZMNpNnx38p6x2WqlTLLZZYx0cuxKwUUsXO1I_rGEJgv7rQeJTuzX76ml82DLO8668k/s1600/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj900PfQXh4whPrTt75M5zTQ0h2fo5eYfzgrq8N47BQ-V0niyyJVJ0z1U_MGiljmEs2G5gE98b1sZMNpNnx38p6x2WqlTLLZZYx0cuxKwUUsXO1I_rGEJgv7rQeJTuzX76ml82DLO8668k/s1600/Capture.PNG" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">For over 30 years, Yesterday’s has been serving a wide variety of food to an even wider variety of patrons, catering to anyone from the poor college student to the power-lunching senator or congressman. You don’t stay in business this long unless you do a few things really well, and Yesterday’s is no exception. The lunchmen are all relatively familiar with the offerings at Yesterday’s, but decided this holiday season was the perfect time to give the old place a proper review. Armed with quarters in our pockets for the meters and with visions of chicken n’ grits dancing through our heads, the Publican, Tank and I made a bold lunch trip over the week of Christmas, when things slow down considerably and allow for such leisurely lunch trips. (Really, the two weeks around Christmas and New Year’s are the absolute best times for the Lunchmen. The relatively genteel pace at the office, coupled with gift cards burning holes in our wallets, leads us to throw caution into the wind more often than not, foregoing a quick sandwich for a truly baller culinary adventure.)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I had some other errands to run (READ: last minute gift buying for Mrs. Rabbit), so I arrived at the restaurant a little early but was quickly seated in a booth that looks like it was made up of one of the church pews from the Crucible. Looking around, I noticed that pretty much all of the decor was at least as old as the faded photographs of past patrons and revelers posted throughout the place. Don’t get the wrong idea – the place is charming, but it is certainly not “up to date.” This is not meant as a slight – in fact I would wager that the Publican finds the furnishings to be one of the most admirable traits of Yesterday’s, aside from the collards (more on that below). </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">I had the waitress bring around three waters for the table (standard Lunchmen protocol – never order a tea/soft drink unless it comes with the meal free of charge. Do that everyday day at lunch, and you save 8-10 bucks in a week – an extra lunch basically on the house! It’s like your own personal punch card!). She offered to let me look over the menu until my now late companions arrived, but I assured her there was no need to wait, stating: “The Publican will have the Salmon and Grits with Collards, Tank would like Chicken and Grits with Squash Casserole, and I’ll have the Chef Salad, of course.” At first she stared at me, probably wondering who “Tank” and “The Publican” were, and whether or not she should go outside and fetch one of those 5-Points cops on horseback to take me away to the funny farm. But, seeing I was by no means joking, she wrote the order down and sent it back to the kitchen. Obviously our waitress has yet to discover the blog. Hopefully that will not be the case for long. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Luckily, my partners in crime soon arrived, providing me with some vindication in the waitress’ eyes, and the food was not far behind. Everything came out looking fresh, and we were all impressed by the quantity and presentation. The Publican’s salmon and grits were perfect – the thing I love about good salmon filets is when they are so tender that you could take a plastic spoon and slice them it up like Lorena Bobbit with a Ginzu. This plate was no different, the salmon looked like it was melting into the grits. The collards are probably the best thing on Yesterday’s menu, and after the Publican dressed his properly (READ: literally drowned them in pepper vinegar) I was able to try a bite, much to my delight.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Tank was giddy on two levels. First, with the sheer mass of juicy chicken breast tenders that floated atop his bowl of grits. Second, with the cheese and chives that compliments the dish, creating an interesting, if not overwhelming flavor scenario. Intrigued by the squash casserole, which I admittedly ordered for Tank without his authority and more out of my own curiosity, we all tried some. It was, in a word, different. Not saying bad, but definitely unexpected. I’d be interested to see the recipe, that’s for sure.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKQmiv5xz2Gc2AX6ynhkt3YUbF3md9Iy-E5Yc9zTuUTtmDqQxjAulLsBMk7enKMH97uiRgOTQfwjxReyxZARWg_w82s-Y_d61E1RKkjeVN9lpdfPGVCWcaprl-spHZudgYF8TQNk2PhNQ/s1600/chicken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKQmiv5xz2Gc2AX6ynhkt3YUbF3md9Iy-E5Yc9zTuUTtmDqQxjAulLsBMk7enKMH97uiRgOTQfwjxReyxZARWg_w82s-Y_d61E1RKkjeVN9lpdfPGVCWcaprl-spHZudgYF8TQNk2PhNQ/s320/chicken.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Finally, my chef salad was just as you want it – big, with the meat finely chopped but the vegetable sliced whole, and heavy on the toppings. Of particular note is Yesterday’s bread offering. Rather than a plain roll or a couple of crackers, Yesterday’s hits salad lovers with a freshly made muffin to go with their meal. An unexpected but welcome surprise, and one that actually complimented the meal perfectly. The muffin was not large, but it was loaded with banana flavored goodness, and could have quickly eaten a half dozen if allowed to. We all shuffled out of the booth pleased, both with amount of food and its quality. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7FlqNsFXA6cAtmMNS9DUFNxSYloQCRr-0MjFblFmYeUvmz3N8rcwoQnj7xWIrmIvm03yTSRk8H0jGtFdsK2iy4E4guc6l8_SJMQQxviyV7x4LAIhBoisqDTI_CcikCZA7kUknNO-5oI/s1600/chef.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7FlqNsFXA6cAtmMNS9DUFNxSYloQCRr-0MjFblFmYeUvmz3N8rcwoQnj7xWIrmIvm03yTSRk8H0jGtFdsK2iy4E4guc6l8_SJMQQxviyV7x4LAIhBoisqDTI_CcikCZA7kUknNO-5oI/s320/chef.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">The story does not end here, however. Yesterday’s has so much going on that I feel duty bound to mention the following items. First, the bar area is large, eclectic, and usually fairly crowded. Happy hour is a good place for a cold draft beer at cheap prices and can lead to conversations with a professor, a construction worker, and maybe even a stock broker or doctor. Also, the bar food is second to none – I’d put the cheese fries here (served with extra little cups of bacon bits to add in at your leisure) up against any in town.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Perhaps most important though, is the comfort food. In addition to the grits plates, they also are famous for their fried chicken, Confederate Fried Steak, and the signature “Arkansas Traveler” (Roast Beef served over cornbread with black eyed peas and gravy – about as healthy as Arkansas Razorbacks fans are classy). All of these are undoubtedly delicious, but also undoubtedly lethal to a productive afternoon at the office. Consume at your own risk.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Really, there is something for everyone here, making it a great spot for a large group with lots of different tastes. If you are ever in the 5 points area and have the time, this is a must stop. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">-Rabbit </div>The LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-91763263185272461202010-11-23T15:38:00.001-05:002010-11-23T15:53:55.242-05:00ROAD TRIP: Harry & Harry 2 – 719 Sumter Highway, Bishopville, SC<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">“<i>Burgers Prepared 88 Ways.</i>”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This week I found myself passing through Bishopville, South Carolina, about 50 miles east of Columbia. Unfortunately, the purpose of my trip was not to capture the infamous “Lizard Man” on film or to visit South Carolina’s premier alpaca farm. Work, as usual, was the basis of my trip to Lee County . As always, I intentionally scheduled my meeting for 11:00 am, thereby ensuring I would need to stop and sample some of the local flavor for lunch before heading back to the office. As anyone from the area knows, the best place to do that is right off Interstate 20 at “Harry & Harry Two.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_BuS_fFuyZLNnJae3MmDiRrSkmNTFmUrXc6YwUPddvetNLYqFx4Sa1oyro_xQNA-C1FmG2LJ9OFLZIe4kXTPuwjTrIJGJR5MTrGFBuvHcJUHSVnzU6lJ4B5pVzH3VttQ4if4Risd2swI/s1600/outside1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_BuS_fFuyZLNnJae3MmDiRrSkmNTFmUrXc6YwUPddvetNLYqFx4Sa1oyro_xQNA-C1FmG2LJ9OFLZIe4kXTPuwjTrIJGJR5MTrGFBuvHcJUHSVnzU6lJ4B5pVzH3VttQ4if4Risd2swI/s320/outside1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">H&H2 sits on Sumter Hwy in a building that looks more like a Duck Camp than a restaurant. However, the welcoming sign boasted that they can prepare hamburgers no less than 88 different ways, so I knew I was dealing with some folks who take their food seriously. Encouraged, I walked in and looked for a spot. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-F_oadES2ieYQPG71PxG4Ct8YwgsoxND1bxXLi2QrBSV4kPjHqOHz0UqEis3-3GpFyrab4oXEJa3GCodHX_6cbntSsInU1TClsPPLoI-L76vMjojV4Qv2oYqlqQV8j6XRKm30r8aQLWE/s1600/insdie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-F_oadES2ieYQPG71PxG4Ct8YwgsoxND1bxXLi2QrBSV4kPjHqOHz0UqEis3-3GpFyrab4oXEJa3GCodHX_6cbntSsInU1TClsPPLoI-L76vMjojV4Qv2oYqlqQV8j6XRKm30r8aQLWE/s320/insdie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Like many small town locales, most of the people inside looked to be regulars who knew the way things were supposed to run. There was no need for a hostess or a sign directing me to sit down or any other wasteful formality. A little intimidated and feeling the glances of the native diners, I quickly found a seat in the non-smoking section and ordered some iced-tea. The drink only confirmed my long held theory: There is an inversely proportional relationship between a town’s size and the amount of sugar in their sweet tea. The smaller the population, the greater the amount of sugar. As you can surmise from Bishopville’s size, the H&H2 tea was extremely sweet and extremely delicious. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As for the menu itself, in addition to the aforementioned burgers, H&H2 also serves a large variety of sandwiches, wraps and salads. Most of you faithful readers know that I go with salads most every time, but road trips are different. Once outside Richland or Lexington County, I allow myself the small indulgence of ordering whatever I damn well please. Thanks to some local insight a few friends let me in on, that meant on this trip I was going with Mrs. B’s famous chicken salad on texas toast. From the looks of things this is their signature item, and they do it very well.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9-fAzTqSjKAChfvyyrpB2-qRksfX2T3EXGpzttHmSMuwto7i-2-oMhetGFDTQDDDZyYoR19iqBY1yDGil-GNO09Y21r64Oe9zRfwnyVOn2Mf8hoOh6_FkBFUpbBuJ8Zs3YvFCt-hhSg/s1600/sandwich.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9-fAzTqSjKAChfvyyrpB2-qRksfX2T3EXGpzttHmSMuwto7i-2-oMhetGFDTQDDDZyYoR19iqBY1yDGil-GNO09Y21r64Oe9zRfwnyVOn2Mf8hoOh6_FkBFUpbBuJ8Zs3YvFCt-hhSg/s320/sandwich.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">The sandwich itself is massive, and if I had Mrs. Rabbit with me we probably could have split it and both been full. Unfortunately on this day I dined alone, so I had the daunting task of finishing it off by myself. A tough job, but someone had to do it. Accompanying the sandwich were some of my favorite type of French fries. I’ll call them steak fries for lack of a better term, but to give you a point of reference, they tasted like the ones you can get at those “Great Steak & Fry” places in the mall, but with less grease. These crisper versions were a perfect compliment to the entrée, and there were none left behind at the end of my meal. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As for the place itself, it stayed busy the whole time I was there, but a few staff members who had obviously been doing this for a while seamlessly kept the place running and everyone’s drinks filled. There were a few tables where folks who had long finished their meals were staying around just to chat, enjoying the slower pace of life in a small town. As I learned on my way out, one of those tables is known simply as “ The County Council,” and apparently features pillars of the Bishopville community who make H&H2 their lunch destination on a pretty consistent basis. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">H&H2 saved the perhaps best for last, presenting me with a bill for $6.00 for my entire lunch, drink included. I don’t think you’d get half of this meal in Columbia for that price. I happily paid my bill and was walking out when the matriarch of H&H2 said “Wait, that’s a Columbia boy, hurry up and add some more to his bill!” as she blew a puff of smoke from her freshly lit Salem Light. I smiled and thanked her again, thinking geez – is it that obvious I’m not a local? Apparently so. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">- Rabbit</div>The LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-66682299740503629522010-11-16T19:10:00.001-05:002010-11-17T10:59:01.683-05:00ROAD TRIP: Park Row Market No. 1, 108 Courthouse Sq., Edgefield, SC<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">"Explore the past while enjoying the present."</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This week I found myself visiting the Federal Correctional Facility in Edgefield, SC. For those of you who have interacted with people that are dealing with unfortunate incarceration, you know that life behind bars can leave prisoners lonely and in need of human interaction. Such was the case with the prisoner I visited today, who decided to take this opportunity to talk about anything and everything under the sun. Therefore, I had four long days to search Edgefield, SC for a suitable dining option. At first I thought I was going to be limited to a couple of old fast food chains and suspect Chinese options. However, once I drove into downtown Edgefield, my eyes spotted the Park Row Market No. 1, and I knew I was in business. Any place that puts the huge, ten foot sign on its outside wall to greet customers is sure to be a awe-inspiring establishment worth visiting:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5oqlVEsAjxx-nzswOWZt0PA2rD304n__dmuoHL9rpi_NFqElvdCcFJRZuwgBk87ddDShgpcppcWNSoKSYDq2IN3GQKIVByZP7Qz7-wVoo2YnrdLFgTrcmHw3545GZuorK1Co9bRfXTpM/s1600/IMG00028-20101116-1229.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5oqlVEsAjxx-nzswOWZt0PA2rD304n__dmuoHL9rpi_NFqElvdCcFJRZuwgBk87ddDShgpcppcWNSoKSYDq2IN3GQKIVByZP7Qz7-wVoo2YnrdLFgTrcmHw3545GZuorK1Co9bRfXTpM/s320/IMG00028-20101116-1229.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As you can imagine, after reading this I had high expectations for the Market. Fortunately, I was not disappointed. The first day I was in a bit of a hurry, so I asked the counter person what could be made quickly. She said it all could, but she recommended I try the chicken salad. I agreed and sat at the bar without even looking at the menu. Within 90 seconds she brought out a thick Chicken Salad sandwich on whole grain bread with lettuce and tomato. It was, in a word, huge. No exaggeration, it was at least 50% bigger than anything available in downtown Columbia. Further, it came with kettle chips and a pickle for 6 bucks. A meal like this would cost you upwards to $8.00 in the Capital City. Speaking of the Capital, did you know that Edgefield has given birth to TEN governors of the State? Well, they know it, and tell you every chance they get. I’m sure there are richer, more quaint towns in South Carolina, but I guarantee you there are none as proud as Edgefield (see above photo).</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, the chicken salad sandwich, while not a normal go-to for the Rabbit, was so good that I decided to return to the Market the next day to further explore the menu when I had a little more time.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">On day two, I looked over the menu and was ready to go with the Clemson Bleu Cheese Salad when something caught my eye. MUFFULETTA. Those of you that know the Rabbit know that, while I eat salads 99% of the time, there is one vice that I cannot resist – a proper New Orleans Muffuletta. If you are unfamiliar with this culinary triumph, Wikipedia describes it as follows: “one muffuletta loaf, split horizontally. The loaf is then covered with a marinated olive salad, layers of capicola, salami, mortadella, and provolone.” It is without a doubt the best sandwich on the planet. The Market’s version was just perfect, with soft, warm bread encompassing salty meats and olive salad, along with some sort of vinaigrette that really finished the product off nicely. I probably should have left some on the plate, but I couldn’t not finish something this good.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As for the Market itself, it was originally opened as a general store in 1932 and is located on the downtown square of Edgefield in a picturesque setting. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGEfyq1NCERUFkQGm2TtIbr9DCZcL_0LR0uqlmUc7mtzZVpA0FKSVqERhHu9Uhuzw6TU_lXyKh_TWWSXXWDwapH5aXFkf1dvGc1Q7TueD6CrOYkV1jlxkmx67298IlNhCrbCqpczKIStA/s1600/Capture4.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGEfyq1NCERUFkQGm2TtIbr9DCZcL_0LR0uqlmUc7mtzZVpA0FKSVqERhHu9Uhuzw6TU_lXyKh_TWWSXXWDwapH5aXFkf1dvGc1Q7TueD6CrOYkV1jlxkmx67298IlNhCrbCqpczKIStA/s1600/Capture4.PNG" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The inside has a variety of mismatched tables and chairs, and a lot of stuff on the walls like you would see in Cracker Barrel. However, unlike Cracker Barrel, I think this stuff is actually antique and was not made in some novelty factory in Taiwan. The place is, as you would expect, full of locals and regulars, and everyone knows everyone. Obviously, I stuck out pretty bad in my suit and tie, and because I was eating alone and in a hurry – both of which appear to be rare occurrences for the market. As a result, I confess I was not brave enough to take pictures of the food inside the restaurant for fear of being run out of town, so you’ll have to use your imagination. My apologies.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In summary, if life ever finds you in the land of ten governors, whether it’s to visit an inmate or tour the National Wild Turkey Federation Headquarters, no trip to Edgefield is complete without a stop in at the Park Row Market No. 1. You won’t be disappointed.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">-Rabbit</div>The LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-67964484012661110862010-11-16T18:10:00.000-05:002010-11-16T18:10:22.334-05:00S & S CAFETERIA - GUEST POST FROM FRODO<!--[if !mso]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>Editors Note: The views expressed in this blog entry are those of Frodo and do not reflect that of the Lunchmen or this blog. This applies to both the quality of the restaurant, and its appropriateness for "Date Night." </i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">After a long and restless Halloween weekend chasing around 17 month-old baby Frodo, Mrs. Frodo and I decided that we owed it to ourselves to give each other a little quality alone time.<span> </span>Therefore, we decided that we would make Monday night . . . DATE NIGHT! </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Where would an acceptable date night destination be for Mr. and Mrs. Frodo?<span> </span><span> </span>We tried to consider an eatery that would clean from our systems the copious amounts of Halloween candy ingested the night before.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Would it be somewhere romantic, like a Garibaldi’s or Restaurante Divino?<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What about a little out-of-the-way place, like Mr. Friendly’s?<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Or, somewhere in the ‘burbs we haven’t tried like Travinia’s?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Mrs. Frodo and I struggled with this decision all day, emailing, phoning, and Facebooking each other with one idea after the next.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We went to Mr. Friendly’s on our last date night, and while delicious, we were ready for a change.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We wanted to avoid the suburbs like the plague.<span> </span>We had heard that the ‘burbs were like trying meth for the first time, and we worried that if we went to the ‘burbs and tried it, we might never make it back.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The romantic idea didn’t fit well with a Monday night date night—we wanted to go somewhere a little something more, shall we say, “blue collar.”<span> </span>A place where it is totally acceptable to show up wearing a Dickies shirt with your named patched on the breast.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">So what would fit the bill?<span> </span>On the way home from another day slaving for the man and counting my day in six minute increments, I saw a Light that provided my answer. I capitalize “Light” because it was so bright and vibrant it was like the Star of David leading the Three Wise Men to Baby Jesus, only this Light led me to culinary delight:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Mrs. Frodo, ever the proud soul, had her reservations about my choice. <span> </span>With its octogenerian clientele, cafeteria line service, and florescent lighting that is only rivaled by an operating room, this place is not known for its ambiance.<span> </span>I have seen pictures of North Korean gulags that have more of a welcoming interior than the S&S Cafeteria.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">But, once I explained that the Light guiding me was nothing short of divine inspiration, Mrs. Frodo, ever the faithful one, agreed to make S&S Cafeteria our date night choice.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">All I can say is that Mrs. Frodo was not disappointed.<span> </span>She went with the fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, green beans, and iron-skillet baked cornbread.<span> </span>I went with the freshly carved roast beef, turnip greens, steamed cabbage, and jalapeno cornbread.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp3KJSk5XUdkb8fPo6-DQbgzkwXEHHlBQ4WS70AY42bknFfFkY9d1GYUvu4uAGE6cvDl32hvtPmWKCD-Aof2NOH3FojxJSP2UXtKjr5hCmhemIIDlOpvlBfPLcHoCU3pObB7XAipqv0p0/s1600/Capture2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp3KJSk5XUdkb8fPo6-DQbgzkwXEHHlBQ4WS70AY42bknFfFkY9d1GYUvu4uAGE6cvDl32hvtPmWKCD-Aof2NOH3FojxJSP2UXtKjr5hCmhemIIDlOpvlBfPLcHoCU3pObB7XAipqv0p0/s320/Capture2.PNG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The roast beef normally comes (literally) floating in gravy, but I had the courteous S&S server just drizzle my roast beef with the au jus.<span> </span>It was roasted perfectly—medium rare, and cut thinly for easy eating.<span> </span>The turnips are the best you can get west of Florence, and the cabbage did such a number on my taste buds that they are still dancing.<span> </span>Mrs. Frodo raved about the fried chicken, with its crispy exterior and moist, tender interior.<span> </span>She informed me that the macaroni and green beans were above average.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">But, the highlight of the meal was the bread.<span> </span>Folks, simply put, you will not have better cornbread that what is offered at the S&S Cafeteria.<span> </span>My Me-Maw cooked cornbread growing up, but I would laugh in her face and hide her denture cleaner if she made me choose between her cornbread and S&S’s cornbread.<span> </span>S&S cooks their cornbread in an cast iron baking pan greased with bacon drippings or lard, resulting in a crispy, crunchy exterior.<span> </span>The interior is loaded with corn kernels and jalapeno peppers, resulting in a sweet and spicy bread that simply makes you want to make out with your wife right there in the middle of the restaurant.<span> </span>Most of the patrons in the S&S wouldn’t notice anyway because they have to take off their glasses during the meal as their bifocals fog up from the steam of their food.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">If you want a place that has a romantic ambiance, you may want to look elsewhere.<span> </span>However, if you take your eating seriously, and want the best home cooking short of your grandmother’s house (with many more options that your grandmother could ever offer), I suggest you swallow your pride and follow the Light to the corner of Beltine and Forest Drive to the S&S Cafeteria.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">-Frodo </span>The LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5473469983357812098.post-38126849321959649172010-11-05T16:00:00.000-04:002010-11-05T16:00:51.096-04:00Andy's Deli - 2005 Greene Street, Columbia<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>My Friend, My Dear.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There is only one thing that upsets my man Tank more than poor food quality and service – lack of parking. On numerous occasions, the Publican and I have witnessed Tank react to a lack of spaces with what can only be described as a mild coronary. The guy just does not like circling around looking for places to park. It is such a problem that he has vetoed lunch options solely on the premise that parking would be too hard to come by. However, rather than merely gripe about this, I decided to use Tank’s strange condition to my advantage. Following a morning long Sudoku session (more commonly known as continuing education seminar), I threw out the idea of an old favorite from my childhood in the capital city – Andy’s Deli. Tank was somewhat apprehensive, but as soon as I regaled him with tales of a large and spacious lot to park in, he was on the suggestion like a fat girl on a BB. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">First, a little history – I’ve probably eaten at Andy’s Deli more than any other place featured on the blog (including No Name Deli). Back in High School, I probably went at least twice a week for over three years, and many times more often than that. This continued while I was at Carolina. I know Mr. Andy. His younger son was in High School with me, and his older son was my First Week chaperone. (If you don’t know what First Week is, then you were not cool in High School and should find another blog to follow). In other words, I am well versed with the menu and its highlights. Why then, you may ask, are we just now getting a review on this Columbia landmark? Well, since I work downtown and live in the sticks, I don’t get to 5-points as much as I’d like, and just haven’t had the occasion to stop by in a while. All that changed today, however, as the three original lunchmen went in for another bold Friday call.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3u-LNV8FM7Gvp7IqIJztRhlb3IocSKN20yrugRFNFQM8h3xrtE_2B8259nhc2Icv663USw2-9e_vVBglcSyZ13UbP92h1YEpvHSpkmg6ooGgyNwvF04T-zbuPgzPcHaN38BXFmKAl8Dk/s1600/sandwich.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3u-LNV8FM7Gvp7IqIJztRhlb3IocSKN20yrugRFNFQM8h3xrtE_2B8259nhc2Icv663USw2-9e_vVBglcSyZ13UbP92h1YEpvHSpkmg6ooGgyNwvF04T-zbuPgzPcHaN38BXFmKAl8Dk/s320/sandwich.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If you know Andy’s then you know what it’s famous for – the sauce. Much like it’s rival Groucho’s, the sandwiches at Andy’s are, while serviceable on their own, merely the stage upon which Mr. Andy displays his true culinary triumph – a delicious mixture of 1000 island, dill, and other undisclosed ingredients. The sauce is thicker, and in my opinion superior to Groucho’s 45 sauce, but I mention it to provide others with a point of reference and comparison. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">For this day’s lunch, Tank went with the R2D2 – a grinder style sandwich with roast beef, pastrami and swiss – heated and served with the aforementioned sauce – plus a bowl of chili (Editor’s note – many people find that Andy’s while undeniably delicious, is somewhat lacking in the portion department, and therefore order additional menu items such as chili, an extra bag of chips, or a hot dog. Rabbit is too restrained (read: cheap) for such indulgences, but it is a common occurrence amongst others). The Publican, always a traditionalist, went with the Andy’s Special – another grinder featuring Roast Beef, Turkey, Bacon and Swiss, and added an extra bag of chips to complete his meal. Speaking of chips, a big draw of Andy’s is their variety of Wise brand chips you can choose from. All sandwiches automatically come with chips, and you can choose any one of several delicious flavors at your fingertips when you stand in line. Both patrons made quick work of their entrees. Tank summed it up when he said “the only word that can accurately describe an R2D2 is ‘delicious.’”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As for this guy, I went with my favorite – the My Dear’s Salad Bowl (as previously featured in my list of top 25 Columbia Salads post last month). This salad is covered in ham, turkey, bacon and cheese, and you can get the sauce as your dressing, either on it or on the side. As you can see by the picture, if you order this, there is no need for a second item to fill you up – you are lucky to get through this in one sitting. Though it had been a while since I had been in, Andy hadn’t lost his touch, and I soon found myself stuffed and satisfied. Add in a tall diet coke or tea with some of Columbia’s best crushed ice (and now featuring – finally – free refills) and you’ve got the makings of a great Friday lunch. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I encourage everyone, whether an Andy’s veteran or a first timer, to remember this place and all its history and deliciousness the next time you are near campus looking for a solid lunch call. You won’t be disappointed.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">-Rabbit</div>The LunchMenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10328824057171206873noreply@blogger.com0