M i a b i . F i l m s » food

Advanced Food Service

Greg — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 05:33:38 +0000

Working during the week between Christmas and New Years, at least for me, means cleaning out files and long lunches. During one such lunch, a few collegues and I went around the corner to FoodParc. FoodParc is the future of lunch dining. Quick, easy, and pretty much self-servicing.

You walk into the restaurant (err cafeteria) to find a bright and sterilized atmosphere. White and neon. Like the Korova Milk Bar from A Clockwork Orange. Minus the nude statues and LSD. A human greeter points you to the computer kiosks where you order your food. On the touch screens you are given a choice of several cuisines with the option to highly customize each one. When you are satisfied, slide your credit card through and take your ticket. While it’s unclear whether or not they actually take cash here, it’s definitely frowned upon. A welcome policy. Cash is clumsy, slow, and unsecured. Let’s embrace credits people.

With ticket in hand, you wait at the designated location for your meal to be prepared. A human behind the counter calls your number and gives you your lunch. No waiters. No tipping. A quick turnaround. I am a bit conflicted by this. On one hand, I’m a friend to the waiter/waitress. I’ve been in the trenches. I know what it’s like to deal with the dregs of the Earth while you’re finding your way. At the same time… not having to deal with a cranky post-graduate lazy bastard who would rather be smoking weed then waiting on you is welcome. Or worse, dealing with an overly bubbly and scripted automaton that has been drinking the company kool-aid and revels in his/her flair. Either way, there’s really no sure technique for figuring out which one will spit in your food, so better to take them out of the equation altogether.

There is ample seating for you and your friends to sit down and enjoy your lunch. When you’re done, leave it on the table. A human busboy will take care of it.

None of this is especially groundbreaking. You can find self-order kiosks at Quick Chek. But I do appreciate the way in which FoodParc has organized it. A nifty, interestingly-designed restaurant. An intuitive traffic pattern. And food that is decidedly not bad. The food is cheap. Probably savings passed on by not hiring workers in a recession. The way I see it, you have to start somewhere. If we are indeed going to live in an advanced society, we are going to need advanced food service.

Small Portions

Small Portions

Greg — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:02:03 +0000

Welcome back. Though I posted once or twice in August, It’s been nice to have pretty much taken the month off from this site. Did a little traveling. Got caught up on some tv and movie watching. Took more beatings at work. Had a nice time. But I’m back for the Fall. And so happy for it. It may be taboo to say it but I generally don’t like the Summer. Especially Summer in the city. I can’t stand sweating profusely and constantly being uncomfortable. Bring on the cool breezes and pumpkin apple potpourri that awaits in the next few months. Definitely my favorites of the year.

So was the break from doing this site fruitful in any way? Why yes. Yes it was. Here’s what I discovered this summer… Small portions. Ben & Jerry’s has come up with a god damn brilliant little item. It’s a little mini bucket of goodness. Only 3.6 ounces of ice cream. I’ve gotten a few of them. You can easily try all of the flavors. There’s even a spoon… built into the lid. Bite sized, serving sized meals are on the brink of a revolution. Just look at the sliders craze. It seams like every bar and restaurant in town is serving little White Castles now.

Here’s what else they need. Little 1-2 hotdog-sized packets of sauerkraut. I hate having to make an entire can of sauerkraut when I’m only trying to outfit one dog. I don’t mind the extra work, I’m just really really against wasting fermented cabbage.

Can you guys think of any other food that needs to be given the small portion treatment?

What’s for dinner?

Greg — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:42:03 +0000

No idea what to make for dinner? Check out this terrific single serving site that’ll help you decide.

http://www.whatthefuckshouldimakefordinner.com

Giving thanks

Greg — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 05:37:51 +0000

I’ve searched long and hard and I’m really not thankful for anything this year. Instead… here’s some pumpkin pie.

Small Portions

Thought Bubble 16

Greg — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:34:59 +0000

Who is Julienne? And where did she learn how to cut vegetables like that? No related posts. No related posts.

Fridge People

Greg — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 04:05:39 +0000

2009 | 1:36

Who’s in my fridge? I think they’re leaving the light on. Not sure though. Does milk frighten them? Are they just looking for paradise? These fridge people better help pay this month’s energy bill.

or…

iPod/iPhone version. Right click to download. 19 mb

Fridge People – false start

Greg — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:05:31 +0000

Hey guys. I had to pull this video because in my haste I mistakenly uploaded the wrong file to Vimeo. Now I’m at work and can’t reupload. Come back tonight! Related posts:Small Portions Megapixels Related posts:

Scrapple

Greg — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:48:18 +0000

Last week, I ate scrapple. Scrapple is not what you think it is. Unless you already know what is it. I can tell you it has nothing to do with apples. Or spelling games. Scrapple is pig scraps. Basically, ground up left over pig parts, formed into a loaf, pan-fried until brown, and fed to you. What parts could possibly be in there? They leave that fairly ambiguous. The package reads, “May contain pigs’ head, liver, heart, snout, feet, tongue, and other pork trimmings.” This is enough to make any stomach quiver. But if I’m going to eat blowfish, owl, and panda, I had to forge ahead with snout. Scrapple has history, man. According to Wikipedia, Scrapple is arguably the first “pork food” invented in America. How bad could it be? It’s breakfast meat. Name me one bad breakfast meat. Can’t be done.

That scrapple was greased up, fried up, and served with my eggs. Let me tell you something – It wasn’t that bad. I felt myself getting fatter and pinker though. Have you ever felt your arteries clogging? I could actually feel my arteries attempting to work and failing. It’s no wonder this country has an obesity problem if we’re inventing shit like this. Scrapple is like corn bread except replace the corn with ‘meat’. It breaks apart fairly easily. If it weren’t fried, it would just be tiny ground up meat and spices. Yes, it was edible. No I will never have it again. It makes me wonder though if eating that many miscellaneous pig parts is good immunization against swine flu. I suspect yes. Afraid of needles? Eat scrapple.

No related posts.

Thought Bubble 11

Greg — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:43:01 +0000

Speaking of bytes… How big is bite-size? How do they know? It’s gotta vary right? While we’re at it, how big is a morsel? Approximately the size of a dollop? A dab-ill-do-ya? Dollop is a cool word. It’s a twisty palindrome. Twist it like salt water taffy and it’s the same forward and back. dollop. The d and p. Seriously, I take big bites.

No related posts.

Once, Just Once 2

Greg — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:02:01 +0000

Once, just once… I’d like to try blowfish. I won’t go near mangos. Keep me away from caviar. But I’m willing to put my life on the line for a fine dish of blowfish. It is a delicacy after all. If that’s not courage then call me a lion. Related posts:Thought Bubble 23 Related posts:

Thought Bubble 23