How robots are helping address the fast-food labor shortage https://t.co/xh8Ghv9rZX — Paul Epps (@paulepps) January 21, 2023 There’s not really a fast food labor shortage. It’s created by the fact that unemployment benefits and ObamaCare subsidies can total up to $120,000 per year for a family of four. Not bad! If you can make six figures for doing nothing, you wanna go be a fry cook? The robots address the fact that the absurdly high numbers that people want to make for minimum-wage work is well beyond the value that minimum-wage workers add to the bottom line. The real minimum wage is always zero. Read more →
EppsNet Archive: Restaurants
And That’s the Truth: White People Gotta Commit More Violent Crimes
[And That’s the Truth is a feature by our guest blogger, Sojourner Truth– PE] I just read that black people commit the majority of violent crimes in America. And there ain’t that many black people! They shouldn’t be committin more violent crimes than every other race put together. And I hates to say it but I can tell just from readin a headline whether or not I click through on the link I’m gonna see a black face on the other side. Man Kills Restaurant Worker Because His French Fries Were Cold — That’s a black guy. Restaurant Worker Kills Man for Complaining That His French Fries Were Cold — That’s a black guy. Man Killed Resisting Arrest — That’s a black guy. Man Kills His Wife Because She Won’t Shut Up — Ok, that could be anybody. Nine People Shot Outside a Club — Black guys. Wake up, white… Read more →
Scorching Hot Cuisine
This pack of chips caught my eye at the Circle K today so I bought one. The clerk pointed out on the back of the package that the chips were classified as “FREAKIN’ HOT,” accompanied by a temperature gauge with the needle pegged in the far-right, bright red FREAKIN’ HOT sector. To no one’s surprise, except the Circle K clerk, the chips weren’t any hotter than a bag of Doritos. Have you ever gone to a fast food place where they sell a product like a jalapeno burger advertised as SCORCHING HOT? Then you take a bite and you’re like, “That’s it?” No company can produce a mass market food product that can only be tolerated by maybe one percent of the population because they can’t sell it, which is the opposite of what they want to do. They want to sell a lot of them. If you want to… Read more →
Do You Know What They Call a Quarter-Pounder in Denmark?
It is utterly embarrassing that “pay people enough to live” is a stance that’s even up for debate. Override the parliamentarian and raise the wage. McD’s workers in Denmark are paid $22/hr + 6 wks paid vacation. $15/hr is a deep compromise – a big one, considering the phase in. — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 3, 2021 Denmark doesn’t have a statutory minimum wage though. Per-capita income in the US is about the same as in Denmark, even though we are a multi-cultural nation of around 330 million people that naturalizes another 900,000 people every year, many from poor nations, and that Denmark is a homogeneous country of fewer than 6 million citizens that, in recent years, has effectively shut down its borders to poor immigrants. Also, in Denmark, everyone pays high taxes, not just the high earners. A Danish fast-food employee at $22/hr (about $45,000/yr) pays around half their… Read more →
Souplantation, 1978-2020
Souplantation is closing all of its restaurants permanently, a casualty of the coronavirus pandemic. I was probably one of their last customers . . . we had dinner at the Irvine location a few days before restaurants had to close for in-person dining. The place was at least 70 percent empty at that time. It is hard to believe we’ll never be able to go there again. Souplantation was one of our favorite family restaurants, maybe the number one favorite. This feels like the death of a family member . . . so many Souplantation memories . . . RIP Souplantation Read more →
EppsNet Restaurant Reviews: Sasabune
The innovation is the warm, vinegar-flavored rice and the wide, almost circular cut of the fish. Also, unlike Oshima (in this reviewer’s opinion, the best sushi establishment in Orange County), the chef did not have such a pronounced accent that I couldn’t understand what he was saying when he presented the fish. Try to maintain your equanimity when you see the bill, which for us came to about $120 per person (no sake or other beverages), so you don’t look like a rube. Rating: Read more →
That Can Be Cleaned Up on a Resume
McDonald’s employee filmed choking, punching customer over alleged complaint about cold fries FOX 11 Los Angeles How I would phrase that on my resume: Acted promptly to resolve customer complaints. Read more →
If I Were a Cardiologist
I drove through Carl’s Jr. for lunch . . . “Would you like to try a Triple Bacon Cheeseburger?” the girl asked. Triple?! A triple bacon burger!? The burger itself is 1,300 calories. If you go with the combo, it’s well over 2,000 calories. If I were a cardiologist, I’d be sending a thank you note to whoever thought this up . . . Read more →
A Close Encounter with Burt Reynolds’ Legacy
I’m having dinner at a Japanese restaurant . . . in the booth behind me are a couple straight out of Sons of Anarchy. The man is about 45, large, with a shaved head, tattoos and a motorcycle jacket. Same description for the woman, except for the shaved head. Her jacket is emblazoned with PROPERTY OF TROG (or FROG or ????, couldn’t make it out clearly), which I assume is the name of either a motorcycle gang or the gentleman sitting across from her. Midway through the meal, Trog wonders aloud if Smokey and the Bandit is available on Netflix. To his chagrin, the movie doesn’t seem to register with his girlfriend, so to jog her memory, he pulls up the “Eastbound and Down” song on his phone and plays it loudly enough to be heard by everyone in the vicinity. He then launches into an analysis of the film… Read more →
A Bite of Nostalgia
I drove through Carl’s Jr. today for lunch . . . “Would you like to try a Western Bacon Cheeseburger?” the girl asked. “Yes, that sounds good.” The Western Bacon Cheeseburger was a favorite of mine when it was introduced in the early 1980s. A taste of nostalgia! I was tempted when I got to the window to ask why she’d recommended a Western Bacon Cheeseburger and not some new-fangled menu item as is customary, but I was afraid she’d say they just had a couple lying around and needed to get rid of them . . . Read more →
Management Tips From the Pros: Put the Best Employees on the Drive-Thru Window
If you manage a fast food restaurant and you’re reading this, I beseech you to put your best employees at the drive-thru window to mitigate problems that wouldn’t arise in a face-to-face transaction. For example, I drove through Del Taco today for lunch . . . after the obligatory “Hi, welcome to Del Taco, would you like to try our new Queso Something-or-other,” I said “No, thank you, I’d like a Spicy Grilled Chicken Burrito and a large Coke Zero.” “Would you like a churro or something sweet for dessert?” “No but thanks for asking.” “OK, your total is . . .” After several seconds of silence, I decided to pull forward, give her some time to work through the math, and get the total at the window. After I’d gone about 10 feet, I heard her say “Wait, you wanted a burrito?” The car behind me hadn’t moved up,… Read more →
One Thing I Can’t Tolerate is Intolerance: Yelp at Yale Edition
According to the New York Times, June Chu, dean of Pierson College at Yale, lost her job after calling people “white trash” in Yelp reviews. Here are some of (former) Dean Chu’s hot Yelp takes: Regarding a Japanese restaurant: “If you are white trash, this is the perfect night out for you. . . . Side note: employees are Chinese, not Japanese.” On a local movie theater: “So what they have is barely educated morons trying to manage snack orders for the obese and also try to add $7 plus $7.” A mochi establishment: “Remember: I am Asian. I know mochi. . . . To be honest, you’d be better off getting mochi ice cream at Trader Joe’s! I guess if you were a white person who has no clue what mochi is, this would be fine for you.” Remember: I am white. I know racism. This is not racism… Read more →
EppsNet Restaurant Reviews: Pea Soup Andersen’s
I’ve driven past Pea Soup Andersen’s many times in my journeys from SoCal to NorCal and back . . . finally decided to give the split pea soup its day in court. The waitress seemed to be always teetering on the edge of exasperation, at my table and at others as well. She said things like “Let’s do this” instead of “Are you ready to order?” I don’t know if surly waitresses are part of the Andersen ambiance or whether that was just the luck of the draw. The soup was delicious though, served with bacon bits, croutons, diced ham, scallions and grated cheddar cheese, all on the side so you can customize the soup any way you like it. Rating: . . . no deductions for the waitress as I feel she was within the normal bounds of surly coffee shop waitress comportment. Read more →
The Art of the Meal
We Guarantee You There’s No Problem. Product Name of the Day: "Trump Footlong" https://t.co/KDi9gkH3Io… #naming #startup #trump #chicago pic.twitter.com/JCkST0ZAS6 — Igor Naming Agency (@igornaming) March 13, 2016 Read more →
Tony Robbins’ Wealth-Building Tips Seem Pretty Useless
Tony Robbins has 6 tips for Building Wealth Now. Let’s look at each of the tips and apply the “would anyone advise the opposite?” filter to assess the value of Robbins’ advice. Don’t lose money. I’m not kidding, that’s the first tip. Would anyone advise “Lose money”? No. So this “tip” is useless. Look for investments in which rewards far outweigh risks. Would anyone advise “Look for investments in which risks far outweigh rewards’? No. Robbins recommends using “the 5-to-1 rule,” in which the potential returns on an investment are 5 times greater than the potential losses. Why 5? Why not 10? Or 100? Where do you find these investments? I have no idea. Don’t overpay taxes. Would anyone advise “Overpay taxes”? No. Diversify. Would anyone advise “Don’t diversify”? Possibly. There’s a couple of schools of thought on diversification: 1) Don’t put all your eggs in one basket; and 2)… Read more →
See You in Hell
[See You in Hell is a feature by our guest blogger, Satan — PE] Greetings from the underworld! Friends have asked my opinion of the new Diablo hot sauce from Taco Bell . . . I love the name! You call that hot?! See you in Hell . . . Read more →
The Day is Off to a Disappointing Start
After I already ordered and paid for my breakfast taco and extra large Diet Pepsi at Del Taco, the girl informs me that they’re out of extra large cups. “I can’t believe it,” she says. “And I already charged you for it!” “Hmmm . . . just give me a large then, if you have any large cups around.” “I’m so sorry. Next time you’re here, I’ll give you a free one.” “The extra large soda really holds the whole morning together for me.” “I know, I’m a big soda drinker myself. My boyfriend is too and so is my dad. He lives on extra large sodas.” “Drinking extra large sodas is one of the great pleasures of life, in my opinion.” “The large cup feels small in your hand, doesn’t it?” “It does. I like things that feel big in my hand.” Very disappointing. This never happens at Taco… Read more →
Lasts
End-of-winter-break dinner at BJ’s Brewhouse, after which the boy headed back to school for his final semester . . . Read more →
I Can Still Eat
Hi everybody! It’s me, Lightning! My owner bought each of us a chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A. He’s a fast eater but I ate my whole sandwich before he was even half way done with his! I’m very old now. I can hardly see, hear or walk. But my eating ability has not dropped off AT ALL! — Lightning Read more →
Last Night at the Beppo
The Buca di Beppo restaurant in Irvine is closing tomorrow. We stopped in this evening for a final meal. It was a sad occasion. Buca has been one of our culinary mainstays for over a decade. Here we are laughing to keep from crying: We had antipasto salad and baked ziti, a very close call over the spicy chicken rigatoni. Read more →