Food is Art, Not a Factory

You're out of town, out of state, even out of the country!  You feel like you need some grub so for some odd ball reason you go to the Cheesecake Factory.  Well, what do you know?  They have the same 500 things on the menu that they do at all the others.  Same crowds, some menu, same speed... same junk.

There's something awesome about how Ray Kroc and the rest came along decades ago and took the Ford model of factory workmanship and created the Fast Food machine we have today.  I mean c'mon... who among us never has 1100pm drive-thru french fry cravings, used the $1 menu to get over grief, or sped from one meeting to the next with one hand on the wheel and one on a Whopper or Big Mac?

Multi-tasking

Can someone explain to me how this is any different than your run-of-the-mill McDonald's, KFC, or Taco Bell?  O' wait, got it, its a sit down restaurant.  So we're going to have to ballpark it with the Applebee's, T.G.I.Fridays, and Olive Garden's of the world.  I mean, that's where you'll find the gift cards at your local grocery store at least.

If the Cheesecake Factory portrayed itself as the generic eating establishment it is nobody would have a problem.  Instead all we ever hear about is how "fresh" everything is and their long quality control lists.  Sometimes you can't tell if you're listening to a grown adult rap about Spicy Chicken Chipotle Pasta or a middle school girl defend Justin Beiber's cocaine habit.  It just makes you wonder if Dr. Dre ever told Snoop, "Nah, I wouldn't experiment like that.  Let's not push the envelope here.  This is art!"

If you can make a Dr. Dre to Aunt Bee transition the please help.

Art is not something only for experts though.  Hopefully we all still have these moments: Someone is cooking and you're the sous chef, the novice, the JV team doing some hands-on learning.  Generally it happens with family.  Maybe its your grandmother, maybe your father, maybe even your uncle [wink].

"You put a little bit in at the time."

"I just sprinkle about this much in my hand."

"You gotta keep your eye on it or it might burn."  "But how long do I stir?"  "Until it looks right."

So don't think that only the experts can create great food... great art in the kitchen.  Have you heard of "mom and pop?"

Just a couple weeks ago my niece and nephew were breaking some green beans and they asked a very reasonable question, "How big should it be?"  It took so much joy to let them be creative and say, "Its kind of up to you.  Just be sure you break the ends off."

Can the Cheesecake Factory please take a note of this before it tries convincing us that what they serve is either "family style," "haute cuisine," or especially art?  What you put on the plate could just as easily be produced by an engineer as it could a cook.  (No offense to the engineers :-))

Thoughts on Richard Sherman:  Compton born, 

Stanford educated

Best Things About Jenn #3:  While house sitting, she 

packs and organizes nearly everything so I can keep 

my routines

Words to Get Rid Of #2:  Twerking