This is another punk-rock leaning short one. “Bloodbath at Burger King” is an absolute gem, as are many others here. This is what I have so far:
Screeching Weasel – “I Saw The Devil At McDonalds (Demo)”
Teenage Bottlerocket – “Blood Bath At Burger King”
The Berlin Project – “Taco Bell World”
Gas Station Boner Pills – “Fist Fight at the Waffle House”
Richies – “Le Big Mac”
Indigo Girls – “Dairy Queen”
The Knuckleheadz – “Fuck McDz”
Teenage Bottlerocket – “Too Much La Collina”
Wesley Willis – “Rock ‘N Roll McDonald’s”
The Smithereens – “White Castle Blues”
Boris the Sprinkler – “Don’t Really Want To Walk To Taco Bell Without You”
Silly Stu – “McDonald’s in the Pentagon”
Motorpsychos – “Fries With That”
The Aquabats! – “Burger Rain!”
Parry Gripp – “Raining Tacos”
What am I missing? Are there punk-leaning songs about Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, KFC, Raising Cane’s, or Chick-fil-A? Panera? Jersey Mike’s, Jimmy John’s, Subway, Quizno’s, Vocelli Pizza, Papa John’s, or Domino’s? What about Hardee’s, Carl’s Jr., Checker’s, Rally’s, Five Guy’s, In & Out, Krystal, Jack-in-the-Box, Rax, Arby’s, or Auntie Anne’s? I’ll even take Eat’n Park or Denny’s.
Holy cow, reddit’s r/punk and Facebook’s Oddly Specific Playlists stepped up with some killer suggestions! The list is currently at 85 tracks. Some fit more loosely than others… but close enough counts in horse shoes, hand grenades, and punk rock.
Also, I need to figure out the right plugin to let me embed Amazon playlists here.
Well. The garden plot thickens. Or something. I have a few more potato-related emails. All signs point to the grocery stores being at fault, and funnily enough the grocery stores have not replied, at all.
This happened, and we got a refund from Instacart. It’s not green potatoes, but they definitely weren’t ready to just toss into the crock pot with a roast.
If you’re wondering what the hell I am talking about, you must have missed the saga as it uprooted…
Thank you for reaching out. It’s always great to meet another potato enthusiast! As you may know, while we don’t represent any one brand, Potatoes USA works on behalf of more than 2,000 potato growers and handlers across the country to promote the benefits of eating potatoes. We’re happy to provide general feedback, and the individual brands and retailers can tell you more about their practices.
As far as green potatoes go, you’re correct that the color signifies the build-up of solanine. It’s a natural reaction to the potato being exposed to too much light. If there’s slight greening, you can cut away those green portions before cooking and eating. Generally speaking, you’re unlikely to ingest enough solanine to do you any harm.
However, I know you’re a potato skin fan (and rightly so). One bit of good news on the nutrition front is that the only nutrient significantly lost when the skin is removed is fiber. (A medium (5.3 oz) potato contains 2 grams of fiber with the skin and 1 gram of fiber without the skin.) Potassium and vitamin C are found predominantly in the flesh.
Potato growers take a number of steps to reduce greening, including maintaining enough soil cover over potatoes in the field and storing harvested potatoes in facilities with minimal light.
If you aren’t already, I’d encourage you to store your fresh potatoes in a cool, dark place. If you’re finding green potatoes upon returning from the store (or after Instacart delivery), you can often return them.
Thanks again for your note. We hope you have a spud-tacular holiday season, filled with plenty of potatoes.
Thank you for your response! I really appreciate your time and the imparted potato knowledge.
In my reaching out to several potato producers, it seems that they all want to lay the blame on the distribution and storage by the grocers.
So, the “all the vitamins are in the skin” that I got from my grandma when I was a kid was just potato public relations? 🤣
No matter, I agree they are delicious.
Please, enjoy the attached mazes with your friends, family, & co-workers!
I hope you enjoy you have a pleasant holiday season and a happy new year, and a great going season next year. I know I am looking forward to planting some potatoes myself.
I may leave out some potato candy for Santa, if I don’t eat it all!
Tuber-ular Tidings to you & yours!
-Eric
I sent the mazes again, like an idiot. Ha ha. I forgot I had sent them previously. No reply or acknowledgement this time.
This came as response from Tasteful Selections, which are the ones pictured above:
Hi Eric,
Thank you so much for contacting us. I am terribly sorry for the poor experience you had with our product. I can assure you that the quality you saw is not our standard, and for this I apologize.
We strive to ensure that every package of potatoes that leave our farm is handled with the utmost care in order to deliver a quality product to our consumers. Unfortunately, sometimes temperature changes and changes in light make potatoes break down or decay faster than they normally would.
The greening you’re experiencing occurs when potatoes have been exposed to too much light, either natural or artificial, that gives the potatoes a sort of “sunburn.” While greening is a result of light exposure, the visible greening can be delayed. Potatoes exposed to light may be packaged and continue to green beyond our last inspection point. We make every effort to avoid this, however, in your case we were not successful. You can cut the green out of the potatoes and use the rest (although that’s a bit tougher with small potatoes), but eating the green portion of the potato can give a very bitter flavor.
I am sincerely sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you. We stand by our products and you should not have had to have an experience like this. I would like to make it up to you by offering you a product voucher to hopefully help compensate you for your troubles.
If I may please have your mailing address, I would be happy to send you a product voucher straight away. Again, my personal apologies for the frustration this has caused you.
Thank you for your response! I have been exasperated lately with the amount of green or sprouting potatoes from the grocery store. It is a consistent issue across brands and stores, and whether we use a service like I Instacart or pick a bag ourselves.
I understand, from your reply among others, that the issue is most likely occurring after it leaves the potato farm.
Can retailers like Aldi, Giant Eagle, or Target be better educated about potato shipping and storage?
Instacart already refunded us for the purchase of the recently sprouting spuds as that was clearly a shopper error.
If it was spring, I would just plant them! You have a delicious variety of golden potatoes, perfect for home-fries!
Sometimes, the green potatoes don’t reveal themselves until you crack open that bag about to prepare a meal.
I would just like some sort of solution going forward. What can the potato industry do to hold grocers accountable?
If I wanted the gastrointestinal distress and discomfort associated with eating green potatoes, I would just dine at Taco Bell or Pizza Hut. Right?
My mailing address is…
Eric AiXeLsyD
#### Nunya St.
Bidness, PA #####-####
…but again I’m not really looking for free potatoes, I just want to get what I pay for.
I appreciate you reaching out, and pride in the quality of your product. Please find my gift of the attached potato mazes, and share them with your co-workers and friends if so inclined.
Have a very starchy Christmas and a tuber new year!
-Eric
And I got a reply:
Hi Eric,
Thanks so much for getting back to me. I definitely understand your concerns. Our sales & business development team are already working with Produce Managers and providing resources for storing and caring for potatoes. We’ll continue to do our part, however, it ends up being the responsiblity of Produce Managers to not only train their staff, but also make sure they are following through with the potato best practices.
I have a few coupons headed your way.
Sincerely, Jenny
I like free potatoes. I will be on the lookout for potato vouchers!
Now, I have reached several road-blocks with getting a message to Aldi. They apparently do not like to give out email addresses.
I dug up some email formats & corporate names on teh Google mosheen and sent this, also to no avail (so far):
Greetings My Frugal Friends,
I hope you are gearing up for a pleasant, festive, and relaxing holiday season! I appreciate your role in bringing food & other goodies to our homes.
I write to you today with some tuber related shenanigans I have noticed over the last few years. I have submitted a missive to your contact form at the Aldi website to no avail. I have been checking my junk/spam folder too.
I also tried reaching out via Facebook and Twitter… only to be told that your social media teams are unfathomably unable to forward messages to your customer service team or provide an email address. I had to do some Googling, and I pray to a higher power that this reaches a live intelligent and empathetic human being.
I love potatoes. At rhe risk of sounding like Forrest Gump’s friend Bubba droning on about shrimp…
I love potatoes. I like home fries, hash browns, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, cheesy potatoes, hassleback potatoes, scalloped potatoes, potato candy, potato soup, lyinnaise potatoes, potato filling, tater tots, potato salad (hot or cold styles), shepherd’s pie, and sometimes even potato pancakes. Twice baked potatoes are a fantastic treat too. I hear potato vodka is good too, but I am not much of a drinker. Perhaps a potato beer would be more my speed if such a thing exists?
Nearly every bag of potatoes that I have purchased from your and/or your esteemed competitors over the last few years has had an alarmingly large amount of green solanine-filled potatoes. Glycoalkaloids are not our friends! On the mild end, eating green potatoes would be like chasing a Taco Bell meal with a laxative.
The straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back was one night at dinner when ready to bake 8 potatoes as a side to chili… 2 of the potatoes were totally green on the outside. They had been delivered by Instacart, but the green potatoes were not evident upon eying the outside of the bag.
That’s ¼ of rhe potatoes unusable for their intended purpose. Yes, I could have peeled away the green, but who wants a baked potato with no skin? That’s just craziness. Do I get ¼ of my money back?
I have written to and received replies from quite a few potato farms, and they all seem to point the finger at the end retailer… which in some cases is Aldi. They cite importer handling and storage… specifically exposure to light and longer than optimal time frames.
Perhaps the powers that be within your fine organization can put their heads together, asses your handling of these tiny starcchy underground gifts from heaven, and come up with ways to prevent waste? It may need to be a highly coordinated effort with logistics, distribution, shipping, and warehousing.
As an effort to aid exercise in meditation and clearing your thoughts, I have attached some potato themed mazes. Mazes and labyrinths have a history of assisting people to achieve a zen like state. Perhaps this will provide the needed clarity to prevent ultra violet potato decimation.
You have a fantastic business and I appreciate your effort to bring quality goods to the more budget-concious among us.
If requested, I can even forward my original (perhaps lost?) message.
Thank you for your time, I look forward to your thoughts on the matter!
Let’s root for a starchy Christmas and a tuber new year! -Eric
So, maybe that will get something. Maybe not. Giant Eagle hasn’t bothered to reply either.
Hmm. @GiantEagle still hasn't replied about these @SideDelights potatoes… even though Side Delights has. They cite improper handling by the big bird. All I get are crickets, no chirps, tweets, or even screeches.
@tastefulselect we got these from @aldiusa via @instacart yesterday. Instacart has refunded, but what gives with the ongoing potato issues? I have had so many green ones this past year or so. Are stores shipping/storing improperly?
Yeah, tried that. Got a phone number. Not interested in calling. I would like to send an email, but no one will provide an email address, and apparently your social media team can't just forward a DM to the customer service department. 🤷♂️🤦♂️
Well, the replies are starting to come in. While this certainly isn’t an issue as pressing, depraved, or salacious as the lady who put the pee in potato at Walmart that one time, it does seem to resonate with people.
Thank you so much for your prompt reply! This was a 5 lb. bag of Russet potatoes, I believed purchased at Aldi via Instacart. Unfortunately, I disposed of all the packaging. I cooked the whole bag! Well, everything that wasn’t green. It would have been purchased at the Aldi in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania… earlier this week. I really don’t want a rebate or anything. I just want to stop getting green potatoes. Can you imagine if 3 out of every dozen eggs were unusable? Or 5 slices of every loaf of bread just moldy? I may have to reach out to Aldi regarding their shipping/storage practices… and Instacart about their selection process. I am sure you take great pride in your potatoes. I know how I feel with a back yard garden, and I’m only feeding a family of 4. You guys must feed millions. I, really though, am going to reach out every time I get green potatoes, no matter the producer. We, as a society, can’t afford to not get the most value out of a dollar. I hope everyone can work together to get perfect produce into our kitchens.
Thank you for your time!
-Eric
And, they wrote back to me:
Hi Eric,
These are unique potato mazes! Thank you for sharing along with where you recently purchased your Alsum 5 lb. russet bag of potatoes. I’m hopeful the hands shopping for your produce through Aldi can be educated to remove from the store shelf any green potatoes to prevent this poor experience going forward. It might be worth the call to bring this to the retailers attention to help everyone have a good potato eating experience and use the bag in full.
As a consumer, I couldn’t agree more we need to stretch our food dollar, and it’s important from farmer to retail grocer to work together to provide a quality product.
We hope you give us another try.
Take care,
Christine
I wrote back once again:
Thank you Christine,
I have reached out to Aldi via web contact form and Facebook, but they are not nearly as quick as you with a response. I am sure you, like all of us, feel the pressure of stretching a dollar lately. I will most certainly give Alsum and Aldi (and even Instacart) another try. Hopefully they can adjust their potato handling process.
Thank you so much for your quick, informative and warm response. I hope the mazes can bring a smile to your co-workers’ faces!
You have a knack for writing, I enjoyed your email!
I am very sorry to hear about the many “green potato’s experiences” you have had. This particular purchase does worry me, we have not supplied potatoes to Giant Eagle since Sept. 29, 2022. So if they are our spuds, they were packed over 9 weeks ago and they would most definitely be green or breaking down. (We suggest a 4 week shelf life).
You are correct in saying eating green potatoes can be harmful, that is true but only if consumed in very large amounts. To play it safe, we tell everyone just to peel the green away or just throw it out.
Do you happen to have the kwik lock (plastic tie) to seal the bag? If so, can you tell me what the 6 digit numbers are? I am sorry I cannot be of much help on this one, but I would let the produce manager know so he or she can clean out their out of date bags on their produce shelf.
Thank you for your message,
Rachel
That was via webform, so I sent the potato mazes and this:
Hello Rachel,
Thank you for such a quick informative reply! I hope the attached mazes can entertain you & your co-workers. I believe I will follow up with Giant Eagle and other local grocers about the green potato issie. It seems that no potato farms are letting green potatoes out the door, but improper storage may be leading to green toxic tubers.
I must confess I have never put much thought into the choice of brands of potato. I just go with whatever is on the produce shelf. I will have to seek out Masser Spuds with intent from now on.
I don’t believe your product specifically was one that has recently been GOA (green on arrival) or turned quickly once it reached my home. I had some issues most recently with Alsum. In a bag of 8 total potatoes, 2 were green and unusable as baked potatoes to go along with the delicious chili that my wife made last week. It’s delicious because she follows my recipe although taking some unnecessary liberties on portions. The kids are crazy because they say hers is much much better than mine. I agree with them, because I may be crazy, but i am not stupid.
I also spotted an entirely green bag of Side Delights potatoes at the aforementioned Giant Eagle yesterday. It lends credence to the theory that Giant Eagle may need to take more care of their precious potato produce. A lot of people may not understand. I posted on social media asking if others had noticed the issue. On Nextdoor someone suggested that like bananas, I just let them ripen at home. 🤦♂️
Sadly though, the problem does not seem limited to any one store or potato farm. The Alsum bag with one quarter of the bag unusable was just the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. I feel like for the last 2 years, I have been getting a much greater number of green potatoes from Giant Eagle, Shop ‘n Save, Aldi, Walmart, Target, & even BJ’s Wholesale. It is usually only with bagged potatoes… not ones that I would pick fresh. There is the convenience of ordering from Instacart or Target home delivery. Arguably they should be picking better produce, but it is hard to see the whole bag.
Potatoes usually don’t last long here before they’re consumed. We grow our own in the summer, but they cannot fuel our entire consumption. Our small yard and time available are limiting,
If only Mythbusters was still a thing, perhaps they could tell us how much green potato we could safely consume before it felt like we had one of everything from the Taco Bell menu with a side of possible neurological complications.
Thank you once again for your time, and I do hope you enjoy the mazes.
Thank you!
-Eric
And that’s about it for now, other than some standard auto-replies, like this one from Aldi via Facebook Messenger:
I know you’re absolutely riveted by the saga and glued to the screen with anticipation of a solution to the great green potato crisis. Try the potato mazes while you wait!
Neighborhood Facebook groups and Nextdoor. They have a lot in common. Typically, the posts fall in one of these categories:
Fireworks or gun shots? It’s loud. No one cleared either with me.
What are all the sirens for? Where are they?
There is a suspicions person or group of teenagers walking around the neighborhood.
I found a hair in my pizza and thought I would try to destroy the livelihood of all involved.
Solicitation of professional goods and services, only by “a college student” or “retiree” willing to severely undercut prices for those professional services.
On a side note, I highly recommend @bestofnextdoor on Twitter.
But then there’s the worst kind. It starts innocently enough. Someone wants to know what is going in to an old building that’s vacant or being torn down/renovated. Then someone jokes, a bank, a mattress store, or Spirit Halloween.
Then. Then, its the worst. People answer the question with what they want to go there, but with authority (or lack of basic writing skills) and make it seem like that is what is going there.
They wish. They guess.
They equate real concrete answers to be as equally fanciful to their own.
People are wishing hard for Target, and Chick-fil-A . Then people say they don’t want Target or Chick-fil-A. Also, no one can spell Chick-fil-A, even as they are replying to something that mentions it and spells it correctly. It’s always Chic Filet or Chik Fila or something equally absurd. It’s a small, but maddening detail.
Actual photo of 50% of the local population.
I bring you, the saga of Burlington and most likely Ross moving into the old Bridgeville Kmart location, as presented by local Facebook groups and Nextdoor, and as ignored by members of local Facebook groups and Nextdoor. It’s all over local social media if you look, but no one an handle the search button. It generally looks like this, people: 🔍
I mean, if only all these could somehow link back to each other, and the actual factual information could be sorted out.
I hope they got the smell out of the building. That Kmart used to totally smell like poop over by the K Café.
All sings point to Burlington replacing Kmart and Chick-fil-A razing & rebuilding where the current empty Taco Bell lies. Ross and a Pet Smart may be squeezed into the Kmart space also. A little birdie told me because they saw my repeated request for factual information in these threads. A true journalist can’t reveal their source, right?
It’s Burlington. And maybe Ross, and PetSmart… and maybe even something else. It’s definitely not a Target.
🎯
My personal prediction: 6 months after Burlington opens in Bridgeville/Collier Township, people will still be asking (via Facebook community groups and Nextdoor) what is going in at the old Kmart location… and other people will still be answering that they drove by and saw red so it must be a Target. 🤦♂️
Actual factual information:
Collier Township Zoning Hearing Board on Burlington: ZHB-2021-0005
Collier Township Zoning Hearing Board on Chick-fil-A: ZHB-2021-0003
Thank you for coming to my TURD(Totally Unfounded Rumor Department) Talk.
OK. I really need to go do something more productive with my time now.
Please, feel free to share your actual factual information in the comments, or wildly speculative conjecture. Apparently feelings are facts everywhere these days, not just in politics.
With the world plunged into chaos due to COVID-19, it is important to remember other ways to keep safe.
🏊♀️💩🏊♂️
Thankfully, the CDC has your back! They also have secured the services of a graphic designer that is nothing short of a hero.
Diarrhea will never not be funny. Well, maybe if you lived at the time of the Oregon Trail it may have not been funny.
Diarrhea makes me laugh. Pizza Hut and Taco Bell jokes make me laugh. Remember the Pizza Hut maze and tweet? Government makes me laugh. Twitter makes me revile in disgust, but also laugh.
Had a great time last night at Stage AE for the Flogging Molly show! It was a nice evening out, much closer to home than the last Flogging Molly show that we had to drive to Cleveland for, and we didn’t wait too long to buy tickets this time. (Last time, we waited too long & it sold out!) After arriving home from work, Bethany & I headed to Dormont Dogs for a nice quick meal. (I had the Connecticut Ave. dog minus the onions, it was fantastic!) We then battled and easily defeated the tunnel monster on the way to the north shore.
We got there early, because I’m generally OCD about getting to shows early. We lined up outside behind the mob of green & black T-shirts peppered with the occasional tartan patterned kilt or someone who didn’t get the memo about wearing green to a Celtic punk rock show. There were more people than I had expected. It was windy, but not unbearable. We were entertained by the 3 or 4 scalpers passing by asking for extra tickets. One guy had his leg in some sort of brace or cast, and one guy was on a bike. They mustn’t have scored any, because I didn’t see anyone selling them.
This was sadly the first time I’ve seen a show with the big room opened up. I need to get to more shows down there. (The 1st time I was there was to see Dethlehem and they were on the smaller bar stage.) It’s a fantastic venue. You have a nice view all around. The only thing I’d change is having the floor slightly sloped… but then again I’m just short. After getting a superficial pat-down at the door, we stopped & said hi to Jeff who was working & not setting any fires. Then we made our way to the bar where I got a Killian’s Irish Red because I can’t really take too much Guinness. The wife opted for water. At a Flogging Molly show? Water? She must be the more responsible half.
We joined the pack of Yinzers crowding the merch table as we tried to get a look and get up front. It was easy to see that the dude wasn’t taking orders from any other dudes… so my wife ordered our shirts and a patch once we squeezed our way to the front. As I was getting a dollar out of my wallet to pop into the tip bucket, it fell into my beer. So, dude got a soggy dollar & a dry dollar. Sorry. Not that sorry though. You can still spend it. I picked up a Devil Makes Three CD too. I saw them online & liked what I heard. I asked the merch guy which one he suggested. He showed me the 1st album & the live one. He seemed to indicate that the live one was a nice cross-section, so I went with that.
To the floor! It was still relatively easy to make our way to the center & almost front of the floor. Things were starting to pack in as we got there, it was pretty good timing & placement. We thought. Bethany thought she smelled a skunk, and we were too far away from the obligatory dreadlock kid for it to be Patchouli & BO, so it was most likely the extremely pungent weed that we were smelling burning much later. (I bet area Taco Bell locations had a surge of customers after the show.) Our friend Laurel made a last-minute decision to come to the show, so she joined us right as the lights went down…
Brothers of Brazil | Stage AE (Pittsburgh, PA) 05/10/2012
The Brothers of Brazilwere up first. Imagine a young Fred Schneider(or Michale Ian Black) on guitar and Billy Idol(or maybe even Johnny Rotten) on drums. These dudes were quite interesting. The guitar-work was amazing, & the drummer was quite the showman & very entertaining. They had this weird samba punk rock vibe… it was odd. I’d see them again. I dunno if I’d buy an album. It was fantastic that they opened & closed with a theme song. I believe these dudes will do well for themselves. I don’t think Bethany & Laurel were as amused as I was.
The Devil Makes Three | Stage AE (Pittsburgh, PA) 05/10/2012
Up next was The Devil Makes Three. The crowd stated getting a little more packed in, and a drunken kid beside me ruined the first 2 songs by slurredly “singing” loudly & off-key directly into my ear, until he decided that the crowd wasn’t as into it as he was, and muttered something about us being lame & pushing forward. These dudes rocked quietly, but they play really well. They have great melodies & harmonies… even though they were minus their regular bass player. I have no idea what to call it. Is it folk? Alt country? Blues? Punk? It’s close-to-but-not bluegrass or rockabilly. All I know is that I like it. I’m gonna say if you like punk rock, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, or old folk or blues stuff… you ought to check these cats out. They win the award for coolest guitars too. Cooper McBean played a mean-looking old archtop with what I think was a P-90 mounted in it. it looked like it had been left out in a sandstorm after someone dumped some paint-thinner on it. I wanted it. He mainly rocked the banjo & a tenor banjo. The lyrics are great. Check out this comic set to the lyrics of the song “The Bullet”. I will see this band next time they’re in town! Bethany really dug them too, being a country fan and all. I think Laurel was trying to figure them out.
Well, we enjoyed the part of the set that wasn’t ruined by belligerent drunken meat-heads. Starting at about the same time as The Devil Makes Three, the crowd directly behind us was swaying & getting rowdy. Oh well, it’s a concert. We’re in the middle of the floor. That’s what happens. Until these testoster-tools behind us start arguing about something. I heard something about touching or talking to a sister. I’m not sure. Maybe they were bumping into each other, maybe someone was trying to bump uglies. I was trying to pay attention to the blisteringly talented band on stage. There was arguing, shoving, and a guy getting in the middle. Somebody’s “bro” got in the middle and then calmed things down. Security was eying them and pointing flashlights from the ramps on the side, but apparently not responding. Then everything was “cool” and it remained calm, for a song or two anyway. All of a sudden I hear “oh my god!” and my wife is on the floor on her ass. I pulled her up and swung around and yelled something to the effect of “Who the [expletive] knocked my wife on to the [expletive] floor?” Two dudes larger than me in height and girth (one in a kilt as well as a drunken stupor) looked at me with an expression that can only be descried as “oh shit”. I turned around to ask Bethany if she was OK. She nodded. I swung back around to the now large gap in the crowd surrounding the two sweaty ass-clowns and demanded that they apologize to Bethany. They did, looking like a dog that just took a dump on the living room floor, as security arrived to further scold them and ask me if Bethany was OK. Next time how about responding before a bystander gets knocked over? I guess she saw one dingleberry trying to choke the other dingleberry as she got knocked down. I would expect this kind of crap at a metal show, but for folk punk? Way to uphold drunken Irish fighting stereotypes, McPotatoheads. I don’t know if I would have punched those guys, or what… but apparently my tone of voice or the look on my face told them not to mess with me. I thought security was going to drag me into it too as he was asking if Bethany was OK. Later Laurel laughed as she said she thought I was going to swing & she’d end up jumping on the fat guy & throwing punches too. Maybe we’re all a little too violent?
Finally, it was time for Flogging Molly! Despite all of the drunken violence, the smell of burning leaves in the non-smoking venue, the guy in front of me repeatedly backing himself into my junk, getting sweat on me from the shirtless guy, and paying $12 for parking, we were having one hell of a great time!
If you’ve never seen Flogging Molly in action, I’m not sure how to describe it. Seven people come on to the stage and sound like 70. The crowd really started moving so I pushed Bethany & myself forward & off to the side as we lost Laurel with the first wave. She found us not too long after that. Dave King & company ripped through a bunch of hits & some stuff that they don’t regularly do live. I remember it being a long set & how I liked every selection. I could have watched them go for many more songs, even after the encore. I can’t pick a favorite track, I like so many of them. I really enjoyed “What’s Left of the Flag”, “If I Ever Leave This World Alive”, “Float”, & “The Son Never Shines (on Closed Doors)”, & of course “7 Deadly Sins”. The inter-song banter keeps things light with songs that can have such heavy lyrical matter all the while to a happy beat. You get the feeling that they’re all playing right from the heart. You have this killer group of musicians that can probably between them master any instrument you might have lying around. Dennis Casey has his hands full trying to compete with & leave room for all of the other instruments. I was glad he got a spot for a guitar solo of sorts, in with the Guinness chug. Every time I see a Celtic punk band, I get the urge to buy a Telecaster. At any rate, Flogging Molly did not disappoint. We’ll see them next time they’re in the ‘Burgh, Cleveland, or anywhere else nearby. I know Bethany loved it, I think Laurel did too. After the show, we ran into my cousin Patience. Taste in awesome Irish music must run in the family.
The other day I made a Facebook post about Taco Bell‘s commercials. It got people excited, and it got me thinking. Are Taco Bell’s commercials purposely aiming at stoners? I would say yes, but maybe I’m over-thinking it. Maybe it’s a humorous accident. Maybe I just really want to try that Dorito taco shell.
♫♬ Late night munchies... ♫♬
I (of course) decided to write to Taco Bell and ask them about it. Here’s what I sent…
⌓⌓⌓
From: Waldo Lunar <world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com> To: Rob.Poetsch@yum.com Cc: Brittany.Hunsaker@yum.com Sent: Friday, April 20, 2012 Subject: ⌓ Taco Bell’s Drug Culture Advertising?
¡Hola, hombres from the border!
I’ve been wondering about your advertising for quite some time. With phrases like “late night munchies” and “fourth meal”, are you actively trying to evoke a connection to pot smokers? That “baaaawww” yell in you jingle might as well be the word “bong”. Now with this Dorito taco shell and the kid that drove 900 miles to get one, it’s just pushing it over the edge. Are you planning a film for it in the vein of Harold & Kumar go to White Castle? If not, maybe you should.
I just can’t tell if you’re aware of it or not. It’s genius either way.
If you are aware of it, wow. Way to straddle the subculture line while subliminally (or not so) appealing to what has to be a core makeup of your consumer base. If you’re not aware of it, then… well, maybe you ought to talk to your advertising agency or marketing department or whoever handles such campaigns. They are the true geniuses to behold here.
Maybe I’m just hyper-aware of nonsense or trying to make correlations where there are none… and you really see no connection or intend one with your commercials and stoner culture. I mean, I don’t partake… but consider myself well informed as I have seen Friday, Half Baked, and several Cheech & Chong movies. I refuse to think I’m the only one that sees it.
If I see it, surely you see it too? Why don’t you just come out & say it? I have some possible new slogans for you…
⌓ “Cure the munchies with our crunchies!” ⌓ “Get baked at the Bell!” ⌓ “Fishbowl then drive thru!” ⌓ “Open late with a well lit parking lot for shady deals!”
Well, that last one needs some work. I’m anxious to hear your thoughts on the whole thing. Thank you for your time.
At least the employees here agree (if this is indeed real).
I’m anxious to see what they send back. Will they acknowledge it? Will they be shocked? Will they act surprised?
Did they give that kid enough coupons to equal 55½¢ per mile? That’s $500 in Taco Bell Bucks… and depending on the year of that Volvo, he might not be getting that good of a deal on the gas milage.
I know, I’m over-analyzing the thing… but that’s what makes my blog fun.
I feel like they know exactly what they’re doing, but I guess there’s a fine line between finding your market & making overt marijuana references. Perhaps the latter would get some people up in arms. Has weed not become that acceptable yet? I know functioning contributing members of society that smoke… but then again I have seen some people that are consumed by it.
They don't really make tilde characters for those signs, do they?
I guess it’s still illegal… so they can’t tell you to bake up & amble slowly to the border. Actually, a string of “get high responsibly & feed yourself at Taco Bell” ads would be really really funny… or a play on the medical/medicinal angle. Health food to go with your special green medicine & help with that nasty glaucoma?
Do you feel like Taco Bell knows what they’re doing, or do you think it’s a string of coincidence?
Are they advertising to stoners and dirty pot smoking hippies (I use that term with affection), or am I thinking too much?
Would you drive 900 miles for a Dorito shell taco? Would you do it if Taco Bell footed the bill? Have you tried one? Did you like it?
Do you get late night munchies? Do you enjoy a fourth meal? Are you a dirty pot smoking hippie? Do you work at Taco Bell’s ad agency?
I hate Lent. So, did you see my email to Sheetz about having Deathfish now? I hate Lent. They wrote back. I still hate Lent. I do still like Sheetz though.
From: Ashley Sheetz
To: Eric <me@my.emailaddress>
Sent: Friday, February 17, 2012
Subject: RE: The New Shrimp Sub?
Hi Eric,
I’m very sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I hope you find this information helpful. Let me start off by saying, we do everything in our power to ensure a pleasant visit for all of our customers. This includes keeping strict guidelines which include, but are not limited to, designating one fryer vat only for shrimp in order to help minimize the possibility of cross-contamination. Employees handling food are instructed to change gloves and wipe down the frying area after seafood orders are fulfilled.
If your condition is life threatening, it may be in your best interest to avoid our M•T•O® products in the event that residue from the shrimp may come in contact with those food items considered safe. Our M•T•GO!® products are pre-made, individually packaged and manufactured under strict allergen monitoring programs; therefore, they would be a better choice for someone with severe reactions to certain allergens. All allergens in our M•T•GO!® products are identified directly on the packaging label.
Please keep in mind that our seafood menu is a limited time offer that we make available to our customers during Lent. Shrimp and fish items will only be served in our stores until the 25th of April. I apologize again for any inconvenience.
Sincerely,
Ashley Sheetz
At least they “get it”. I’d love to know if employees are told why they’re to use gloves & separate fryers or they’re just told to. Not that I doubt the company’s convictions… just that I’ve been trained on things in the past where people have obviously had no idea or understanding of what they’re doing… they just know what they were told to do.
I wrote back…
From: Eric <me@my.email.address>
To: Ashley Sheetz
Sent: Monday, February 20, 2012
Subject: Re: The New Shrimp Sub?
Hi Ashley,
No problem on the response time. I really appreciate that you took the time to reply at all, and love the honesty & frankness with which you’ve answered my questions. The instructions to use gloves & wipe down food prep areas are great to hear for people like me. There are a bunch of us out here… I just happen to be one of the more vocal & inquisitive ones. More restaurants are recognizing that food allergies are on the rise. Peanut & wheat allergies are hitting the news more… but there are more of us out here with special dietary needs. It’s easy to understand not being able to eat something, but the gravity of eating that thing is sometimes lost… and cross contamination seems to be the thing that’s hardest to convey. I’m sure you can imagine it’s difficult to place your trust (& potentially your life) into someone else’s hands.
I’m glad that Sheetz has an understanding of allergens! It’s good to hear that the procedures are in place to minimize cross-contamination. Hopefully the gravity of the situation is passed along in training. Do a Google image search for Anaphylactic shock some time. It’s not a pretty sight.
I hope the meatball sliders are still available after April 25th! Ha ha. I haven’t tried them yet, but they look AWESOME. Perhaps I’ll stick to the M•T•GO!® products for now. I do really enjoy the pre-made turkey sandwiches.
I see more & more Sheetz popping up… you guys ought to build in Bridgeville… it’s right off on Rte. 79, and you can put a hurting on the local Get·Go.
Thanks again for your time, & answers!
-Eric
.seitilibasid gninrael fo nuf ekam ot ynnuf ton yllaer s’tI
Then I wrote back again…
From: Eric <me@my.email.address.>
To: Ashley Sheetz
Sent: Monday, February 20, 2012
Subject: Re: The New Shrimp Sub?
Hello Again Ashley,
Sorry for the barrage of emails… I just had one more suggestion. Perhaps on the signage promoting any fish/shellfish items next year during Lent (if/when they should happen to return), you could make a note of the separate fryers, and to maybe ask a manager or person in the kitchen about your allergies? Better yet, a button on the touchpanel alerting the staff to your allergy & having it print on your order/receipt would be stellar. It would prove you guys to be innovators when it comes to dealing with food allergies! Acknowledging that there’s an issue goes such a long way with us food allergy folks.
Rock on!
-Eric
.seitilibasid gninrael fo nuf ekam ot ynnuf ton yllaer s’tI
Hope I’m not too annoying. Now I’m hungry for Sheetz.
Oh how I hate Lent and the inevitable accompanying seasonal fish/shellfish/seafood specials. Sheetz got in on the act early this year.Please, restaurants that don’t already serve deathfish… Stop adding seabugs to your menu!
Of course, I also had to send off an email or 20. I sent this to quite a few Sheet-related email addresses that I had in my address book or found on the web, and I think also through their contact form.
From: Eric <me@my.email.address>
To: Feedback Sheetz Inc. ; sheetzweb @sheetz.com ;
Cc: Lisa Claar
Sent: Monday, February 13, 2012
Subject: The New Shrimp Sub?
Hello Friends,
I write to you today with a sad face: ☹
“Why,” you ask? Yesterday I stopped a Sheetz just south of Scottdale on my way down Rte. 119 towards Uniontown, all excited to get some delicious made to order goodness, and was stopped dead in my tracks when I got to the magical touchscreen. I saw signs advertising a new Shrimp sub.
Why, my friends? Why?
I understand the importance of having an evolving and diverse menu. I get that you don’t want to grow stagnant. Sheetz has been a safe-haven for me in dining for years. I have written to you in the past many times over different issues, and 99% of the time, it is high-praise my friends. Years ago when in Altoona, a friend & I even stopped to have our pictures taken in front of the Sheetz HQ sign. I speak of your genius touch-screen ordering and delicious “gas station” food to anyone who will listen.
My problem today extends from that fact that I am severely allergic to shellfish my friends. This includes crustaceans and mollusks… things like Shrimp, crab, lobster, clams, oysters, mussels, geoduck, calamari, scallops, snails, and several other “delicious” sea-bugs and slimy things.
If the disgusting bug-like sea creatures are battered & deep-fried in the same fryer that also cooks my french fries, cheese sticks, or chicken tenders, and I happen to partake of said otherwise non-deadly foods… it sends me quite immediately into something called Anaphylactic shock. Basically, that involves itching, redness, swelling, and the closing of airways.
Needless to say, I don’t generally like to cap off my dining experiences with Anaphylaxis. Yes, I have an Epi-Pen, but it’s a last resort & really only buys time until an ambulance can arrive & get me to a hospital. In order to dodge the excitement of choking while en-route to a hopefully life-saving facility, I generally stay away from any places that serve shellfish. Sheetz has been a go-to safe place for me for many years. Now, I have to cross you off of my list?
Cross-contamination issues are huge. If someone assembles a shrimp sub, then makes me a turkey or meatball sub without washing their hands or changing gloves… Hello, ambulance ride! I’m not doubting the training & cleanliness of your employees, but I’m sure you can imagine that I can’t take placing my health & safety in someone else’s hands lightly.
Sadly, Sheetz will have to be off of my safe list for now. May I ask you to reconsider this deathfish offering in the future? I believe you had a seafood sub that I wrote to you about a few years ago. Are deadly seabugs really a necessary item? Do they sell that well?
Places that have added deathfish to their menu over the years where there was once none include, Quiznos, Taco Bell (it’s gone now), Dairy Queen (it’s gone from most of them now), Texas Roadhouse, Famous Dave’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Bob Evans (it’s gone now), and many more that I can’t remember now. Pretty soon I’ll only be able to eat at McDonald’s… until they introduce McLobster country-wide. I don’t want to be the guy that only eats Big Macs and eventually has to have a wall knocked out by Maury Povich or Jerry Springer so I can exit my house.
I write to you on behalf of the shellfish-allergic out there that just want a place to eat with safe food that we know will continue to remain safe.
I beg you to take this off of your menu, and leave it off. Please? I walked out of Sheetz yesterday with my head hung low & after not purchasing anything at all. I also needed gas & drinks but left in shock & had to get them elsewhere. My wife didn’t even say anything to try and console me. She could feel my disappointment as we walked silently to the car. Only after I started the car & pulled out of the parking lot did I let out a string of expletives that only revealed the proverbial tip of the iceberg to my frustration.
Thank you today for your time. I hope you take my thoughts into consideration, and are eventually able to pull the deathfish from your menu, and drain/clean/refill all of the fryers. There are more like me out here. Perhaps they’re less vocal & dramatic, but the shellfish-allergic do exist. We have feelings too. Feelings that are crushed when new seafood offerings don menus everywhere. We slip into a depressed food-related funk when Lent rolls around with all of its horrible seafood specials and limited time offerings. Are we to live in a social hole & prepare all of our meals at home? Please, don’t condemn us!
I thank you for your time and apologize for my need to complain. I hate to come off as a whiner or “poor me”, but something just had to be said. I look forward to your thoughts on the issue, I know you value all customer input. You have a great company, I just don’t want to die while eating at Sheetz. It might be bad press for you guys.
Pleadingly Yours,
-Eric
.seitilibasid gninrael fo nuf ekam ot ynnuf ton yllaer s’tI
And, no one wrote back. Well, I did get this…
From: <customer_focus@sheetz.com> To: me@my.email.address Sent: Monday, February 13, 2012 Subject: Thanks, Your message has been received
Dear Eric,
We just wanted to let you know that we received your message and notify you that it is being directed to the proper individuals for review.
At Sheetz, customer opinions are always appreciated. Our mission is to ‘provide customers with fast and friendly service, quality products in clean and convenient locations’. Your comments help to ensure you receive only the highest possible service expected from Sheetz.
If your comment or question requires special attention, you can expect to get a more specific response back in the near future.
Thank you.
But, after the Tweet above divulging the sheetzlive@sheetz.com email address, I re-sent it with this…
From: Eric <me@my.email.address> To: “sheetzlive@sheetz.com” <sheetzlive@sheetz.com> Sent: Monday, February 13, 2012 Subject: Re: The New Shrimp Sub?
Hello Friends,
Perhaps my email below was sent too soon! I see via Twitter that you have separate fryers for seafood? I’m interested to know what other safe-handling practices & training are involved? Do employees know why there are separate friers? Are they taught about cross-contamination?
Is the deadly sea-bug sub a limited time only deal?
I’m a blogger, one of the issues I blog about is food allergies… Would you like me to spread the safe-handling word?
Rock on!
-Eric
.seitilibasid gninrael fo nuf ekam ot ynnuf ton yllaer s’tI
…And got this as a response:
From: Ashley Sheetz To: Eric Carroll <eric_aixelsyd@yahoo.com> Sent: Monday, February 13, 2012 Subject: RE: The New Shrimp Sub?
Hi Eric,
Is the email below something you had sent to this address as well? I am working on getting in touch with our Food Manager to answer all of your questions, so I will be in touch as soon as I have all the necessary information for you.
Sincerely,
Ashley Sheetz
I wrote back again, but haven’t heard anything further so far…
From: Eric <me@my.email.address> To: Ashley Sheetz Sent: Monday, February 13, 2012 Subject: Re: The New Shrimp Sub?
Hello Ashley,
I had sent it this morning to an older Sheetz customer-service address that I had, and submitted it online via the contact form on the website. Thank you for your ridiculously quick reply, and your Twitter team is awesome.
Thanks!
-Eric
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Dirtbag Rob & Eric AiXeLsyD outside of Sheetz Corporate Office some time in 2004
So, that’s where it stands until I get further replies from Sheetz. I’m interested to see what they have to say. A separate fryer is a great start… but it’s also important that employees understand why there’s a separate fryer, so they don’t mix items up, or only use 1 late at night or while cleaning the other.
I’m still hoping that they remove it form the menu & keep it off. I’d sure feel a hell of a lot safer if it was nowhere in the kitchen.
To the rest of you, let’s stop these damn seafood lent specials. Let the business go to Red Lobster, Joe’s Crab Shack, Long John Silver’s‘, VFD fish fry events, and Monterey Bay. If you don’t normally do shellfish, stay away from it. Please? I ask of behalf of the seafood allergic and those who choose to eat kosher.
World (and Lunar) Domination 