Food For Thought

On a cold California morning, In-N-Out bustles with voices and smells. In contrast to Hana Zen, this restaurant was completely packed to around 30% over max occupancy (don’t report them). I actually hadn’t heard of their famous secret menu until today, but I got acquanted with the beautiful, price defying fast-food that is In-N-Out Burgers. Seating: Parking was packed, but since this establishment built it self next to a Costco, alternative parking was not far away. The chairs, despite being all metal, were comfortably warm, but not someone’s-been-sitting-in-this-chair warm. The booths were also easy to get into and out of, and seemed to have a wider entrance than McDonald’s booths. Like traditional fast food, you seated yourself, which I had a hard time doing after going through a line stretched across half the perimeter of the building, but unlike traditional fast food, they provided a bench and bar beside the register, already prepared to be packed with backed up orders. ...

Meat Manicotti Seating:  There was no parking. It was a pretty big parking lot, and I had to loop around twice before someone left. Despite that fact, the line inside was only 5 minutes long. There was a girl with a birthday cake waiting for seating and I felt kinda bad we got seated before she did. The table was for 6, and there was a Kiosk tablet in the middle of the table. Besides taunting me with 2 dollar access games, the tablet also let us pay. Which would have been nifty if the roll of receipt paper had not been falling out of the compartment. Enjoyed the tech, hated the microtransactions. Decor: Wood walls with a low interior. Coming out of the waiting area into the seating area, there is a ramp. While I like elevation in restaurants, this was poorly done because they didn't also increase roof height. I felt tall i.e. the ceilings were very short and a bit uncomfortable to sit under. They also had cookbooks, wine bottles, and wine bottle corks arranged around. The c...

Chicken Artichoke sandwich Starbucks does sell food that isn't cake pops or breakfast! It's in the open fridge near the checkout, and they'll toast your sandwiches so they come out nice and hot! Seating: Rickety but homely feeling. Made of nice polished wood but isn't nailed into the ground which is a pet peeve of mine. Monotone and not superbly interesting, which could be good if it forces conversation between people. Decor: Shameless self advertising. "Perfect coffee plants grown in precisely monitored conditions" my ass. Starbucks buys coffee beans from whoever sells to them the cheapest. Beyond that it had a good effect that made me feel like I was saving the environment by giving Starbucks my money. Atmosphere: I've never complained about the smell of coffeehouses but dammit this will be a first. Good at first, causes a stomachache if you stay in for too long, and is an awful place to do any work because of the amount of people and th...

#5 Vito The original Italian sub with genoa salami, provolone, capicola, onion, lettuce, tomato, & a real tasty Italian vinigrette Seating:  The coolest thing about this restaurant was the elevated platforms for the tables. They make me feel a little more private than all the open space normally would. Elevation is also pretty rare in any building, and I personally love it. Decor:  The wall decor was well chosen and either funny or inspiring. One was the poem If by Rudyard Kipling, another was encouragement to be a good father. However hot your date is, you'd be missing out if you went to JJ without looking at the walls, which have something for everyone. The patterning across the walls were the main source of color, a strong firetruck red. Atmosphere:  Staff were enthusiastic and looked like they were having fun, not working a minimum wage job. Lovely people who truly did make the subs freakily fast (finished and handed to me at the soda fountain about 3...