I just had Chipotle for lunch: 1 chicken burrito and 1 soda. Total price? $8.01. What the hell. When did eating a burrito cost so much money? Because "supplier costs" went up? Are all Chipotles charging this much nowadays? I used to go like burritos for lunch because it was cheap and healthy. Now, it's just healthy, sort of.
Considering the economy, I wonder how the increased pricing is effecting sales. I would check their quarterly results but am too lazy to dive into the details of their 10Q. I also wonder if Qdoba has become more expensive as well, or if they are a "cheap" alternative. Quick answer could be the historical performance of their stock, CMG, which reached a peak of $151/share in Dec '07 and has dropped precipitously since, to around $50/share now.
As a side note, I was really impressed with my experience at the cash register. Although I paid with a $20 bill for my $8.01 lunch, the register computed $12 in change. Initially I thought "wow, marketing/sales and finance got together and agreed on something," but that's probably not true. A chicken burrito + soda has to be the second most popular order (right behind a chicken burrito with no drink) and giving out $0.99 to that many customers daily would require a cash register with a HUGE change drawer. And Chipotle can say that they gave something back to their customer. Win-win.
(yes, that was a long side note)
Monday, December 8, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
A New Look
Welcome to my site. The updated themes and the link to my wife's blog on the side are courtesy of - you guessed it - my wife.
Not sure I like the change, though. I was going with the FJM approach of I-have-no-idea-what-I'm-doing when it comes to site design.
Not sure I like the change, though. I was going with the FJM approach of I-have-no-idea-what-I'm-doing when it comes to site design.
In Search of Beer Variety
Three weeks ago, I read an article in The New Yorker about Dogfish Head Brewery (A Better Brew: the Rise of Extreme Beer; Nov 24th, 2008) and I became fascinated with the Midas Touch Golden Elixir. I love beer, but it's easy to go to the store, see the beer you always drink and take it home with you. But after a while, drinking Paulaner, Hoegaarden, Blue Moon, and Leinkugel's Honey Weiss gets old, boring, and too familiar.
The article mentions that Dogfish Head worked with an archeological chemist from UPenn to recreate one of the oldest brews in the world:
The historical Midas was a Phrygian ruler in what is now central Turkey. When he or one of his close relatives was buried, around 730 B.C., the tomb was filled with more than a hundred and fifty drinking vessels—parting toasts to the dead king. By the time they were excavated, in 1957, the liquid inside them had evaporated. But Patrick McGovern, forty years later, was able to analyze some residue from a bowl and identify its chemical content. By matching the compounds to those found in the foods and spices of ancient Turkey, McGovern gradually pieced together the liquid’s main ingredients: honey, barley, and grapes, and a yellow substance that was probably saffron. It was a beer, but like none we’ve ever tasted.
And Dogfish recreated this forgotten beer!
So now, my task is to find where this stuff is sold. Unfortunately, Madison, WI is the closest distributor to the Twin Cities. It is times like these that I miss living on the East Coast.
Once I find it in the store around here, I will follow-up with my own comments on this beer. It's more likely that I will have to wait until I travel back to Philadelphia to find it, but that may happen as early as Christmas. If you can find this beer, I'd love to hear your reaction!
The article mentions that Dogfish Head worked with an archeological chemist from UPenn to recreate one of the oldest brews in the world:
The historical Midas was a Phrygian ruler in what is now central Turkey. When he or one of his close relatives was buried, around 730 B.C., the tomb was filled with more than a hundred and fifty drinking vessels—parting toasts to the dead king. By the time they were excavated, in 1957, the liquid inside them had evaporated. But Patrick McGovern, forty years later, was able to analyze some residue from a bowl and identify its chemical content. By matching the compounds to those found in the foods and spices of ancient Turkey, McGovern gradually pieced together the liquid’s main ingredients: honey, barley, and grapes, and a yellow substance that was probably saffron. It was a beer, but like none we’ve ever tasted.
And Dogfish recreated this forgotten beer!
So now, my task is to find where this stuff is sold. Unfortunately, Madison, WI is the closest distributor to the Twin Cities. It is times like these that I miss living on the East Coast.
Once I find it in the store around here, I will follow-up with my own comments on this beer. It's more likely that I will have to wait until I travel back to Philadelphia to find it, but that may happen as early as Christmas. If you can find this beer, I'd love to hear your reaction!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Riesling
Did I mention that Riesling is my favorite wine, and that Chateau St. Michelle Erocia Riesling is damned good for under $15? A vivid description of the taste? Fuck that noise - all I can say is it's fragrant and it tastes sweet, but it definitely doesn't leave your mouth feeling like you just sucked on a jolly rancher.
Highly recommended, especially when it's approaching midnight and you have nothing else to do than drink a bottle of wine...
Highly recommended, especially when it's approaching midnight and you have nothing else to do than drink a bottle of wine...
Thanksgiving: next time, give thanks away from home!
As an airline employee, I have standby travel privileges. That means I can fly on any flight with open space. It also means that it is impossible to fly when demand is high, like Thanksgiving weekend...only there's a caveat to that.
Most of us think Thanksgiving is the busiest travel weekend of the year, and that's true domestically. Flying internationally is a completely different story because most people only fly home - domestically. It means that I have a better shot at traveling internationally on Thanksgiving than at any other time of the year. I haven't purchased a full-fare ticket in a long time, but logic would suggest that tickets for international travel are priced very low during Thanksgiving, if you're so inclined.
I have taken two trips during Thanksgiving week so far: once to Curacao (Netherland Antilles), and another to Taiwan. In both instances, I was happy with my decision to get away, and in both instances, I had interesting Thanksgiving meals.
In Curacao, I stayed with a friend who lives there, and we ate at his parents' place. From their backyard, we had a great view of the countryside. We had a server to keep our champagne glasses full, and there was a display of food that probably took 10 people all day to make. From yams, to real cranberry sauce (as opposed to that canned stuff), to a variety of vegetables, to a humungous turkey that was marinated the best way possible, and to the many pies and desserts, I'm not sure I was ever more thankful for my Thanksgiving than I was that day.
In Taiwan last week, I ate "Thanksgiving" dinner in central Taiwan in a resort area near the Sun Moon Lake. I was a bit disappointed not to have Turkey, but I wasn't expecting Turkey to be served in Asia. What I didn't expect was to be served "some sort of seafood", as my wife described it as the dish was served. It was VERY fried food that could have been tentacles of some sea creature, but very much took the shape of an insect. I didn't find out until after I finished that I ate fried bees, but it was a fairly good dish. I can't really describe it at all. It tasted like sweet fried food. There was no texture beyond the fried batter that made this dish unique. Thank goodness.
Most of us think Thanksgiving is the busiest travel weekend of the year, and that's true domestically. Flying internationally is a completely different story because most people only fly home - domestically. It means that I have a better shot at traveling internationally on Thanksgiving than at any other time of the year. I haven't purchased a full-fare ticket in a long time, but logic would suggest that tickets for international travel are priced very low during Thanksgiving, if you're so inclined.
I have taken two trips during Thanksgiving week so far: once to Curacao (Netherland Antilles), and another to Taiwan. In both instances, I was happy with my decision to get away, and in both instances, I had interesting Thanksgiving meals.
In Curacao, I stayed with a friend who lives there, and we ate at his parents' place. From their backyard, we had a great view of the countryside. We had a server to keep our champagne glasses full, and there was a display of food that probably took 10 people all day to make. From yams, to real cranberry sauce (as opposed to that canned stuff), to a variety of vegetables, to a humungous turkey that was marinated the best way possible, and to the many pies and desserts, I'm not sure I was ever more thankful for my Thanksgiving than I was that day.
In Taiwan last week, I ate "Thanksgiving" dinner in central Taiwan in a resort area near the Sun Moon Lake. I was a bit disappointed not to have Turkey, but I wasn't expecting Turkey to be served in Asia. What I didn't expect was to be served "some sort of seafood", as my wife described it as the dish was served. It was VERY fried food that could have been tentacles of some sea creature, but very much took the shape of an insect. I didn't find out until after I finished that I ate fried bees, but it was a fairly good dish. I can't really describe it at all. It tasted like sweet fried food. There was no texture beyond the fried batter that made this dish unique. Thank goodness.
Where I Get My Information
Maybe for my future interest, I wanted to post the periodicals I subscribe to, in order of preference. For those of you reading this blog, these periodicals are where I obtain about 60% of my information; the rest comes from blogs.
1. The Economist (weekly)
2. Wall Street Journal (daily)
3. The New Yorker (weekly)
4. Harvard Business Review (monthly)
5. Taiwan Review (monthly)
6. Whole Dog Journal (monthly)
7. The Atlantic (monthly)
8. American Scholar (quarterly)
9. Cook's Illustrated (monthly)
10. Wine Spectator (biweekly)
11. Forbes (weekly)
12. Businessweek (self explanatory)
Now, let's be honest; it is impossible to read this many periodicals cover-to-cover. I don't even try. My staples are #1-4. Wine Spectator is a picture book to me, so I spend literally 30 seconds reading each issue (it was free to subscribe to for a year, so again, not very important). Forbes and Businessweek seemed like great magazines before, and even during, business school, but the Economist is vastly superior; why waste my time with other business magazines?
I used to read only the business related articles in the Economist, but now I read everything. Having a better understanding of the political news around the world has rid me of the "Dumb American" syndrome. Hooray! The best articles usually are in the "Buttonwood" section, which are somewhat wonky economic discussions. Those articles actually make me miss microeconomics classes...wait, no that isn't true at all.
I subscribed to HBR while in grad school and thought it was stupid. It contains no concrete analyses and all the subject matter is abstract as hell. After two years of real world experience, however, the concept of making sense of abstract situations seems a heck of a lot more interesting. Managing isn't easy, and there hardly is one correct way to approach a situation. HBR tries to frame and provide solutions for those situations.
Are there any other great periodicals that are missing from my list?
1. The Economist (weekly)
2. Wall Street Journal (daily)
3. The New Yorker (weekly)
4. Harvard Business Review (monthly)
5. Taiwan Review (monthly)
6. Whole Dog Journal (monthly)
7. The Atlantic (monthly)
8. American Scholar (quarterly)
9. Cook's Illustrated (monthly)
10. Wine Spectator (biweekly)
11. Forbes (weekly)
12. Businessweek (self explanatory)
Now, let's be honest; it is impossible to read this many periodicals cover-to-cover. I don't even try. My staples are #1-4. Wine Spectator is a picture book to me, so I spend literally 30 seconds reading each issue (it was free to subscribe to for a year, so again, not very important). Forbes and Businessweek seemed like great magazines before, and even during, business school, but the Economist is vastly superior; why waste my time with other business magazines?
I used to read only the business related articles in the Economist, but now I read everything. Having a better understanding of the political news around the world has rid me of the "Dumb American" syndrome. Hooray! The best articles usually are in the "Buttonwood" section, which are somewhat wonky economic discussions. Those articles actually make me miss microeconomics classes...wait, no that isn't true at all.
I subscribed to HBR while in grad school and thought it was stupid. It contains no concrete analyses and all the subject matter is abstract as hell. After two years of real world experience, however, the concept of making sense of abstract situations seems a heck of a lot more interesting. Managing isn't easy, and there hardly is one correct way to approach a situation. HBR tries to frame and provide solutions for those situations.
Are there any other great periodicals that are missing from my list?
Don't Call it a Comeback
I figured it's time to give this blogging thing a second chance. I tried to focus specifically on travel, but even for a person who travels a lot, the topic is such a super-niche that blogging regularly is difficult. Instead, I am going ahead with a random subject approach. Maybe it will develop into something readable; most likely it won't. At the very least, I will give myself something to do during my downtime, usually as M-F, 8:30AM - 5:30PM...
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