Random ramblings about things culinary

Give a man a sandwich and he’ll eat for a day, but give him a cookie and he’s a customer for life.

Living the life of an Air Force brat growing up, I never got used to having a regular place to hang out. I crave change, so the fact that I keep returning to the Subway by my office in St. Anthony, Minn., is a testament to the franchise owner, Wolfe Ifonlaja. For the most part, I try to eat at independents and to never order the same thing twice. But at Subway, I always order a 6-inch veggie on wheat. Because of my consistency, Wolfe assumes I’m a vegetarian and insists I try the veggie burger. I’m going meatless at lunch for the calories, not the health benefits. Without the added calories from meat, I can add chips for just 190 calories. (Which reminds me, I think Jimmy John’s should be severely punished for having nutritional information on their chip bags for one serving when there are two servings in the bag! Especially since I like their chips better.)

I’m not the only customer Wolfe likes to see come through his line. The other day as I waited, he was carrying on a conversation about glasses with a customer. When he complimented the man in front of me on his glasses, the man at first didn’t understand. When Wolfe explained they were celebrating their good taste in eye wear, the customer enthused, “Oh, well, good. Cookies for everyone.”

There was a moment of silence and then Wolfe began handing out cookies to the people in line. I don’t know how much the cookies cost him (I do know they’re 220 calories), but the goodwill was priceless.

I think Wolfe is the reason owner/operators will always be an intrinsic part of franchising.


A hole in one’s theory on recreational dining

One of the most entertaining parts of going to Giants Ridge for a weekend golf trip is you’re near Biwabik, which is impossible to say without sounding like Elmer Fudd. The less entertaining part —unless you count the way I play golf—is the restaurant scene which had slim pickings the weekend we were there.

But that doesn’t mean the area was devoid of charm. One evening, my husband and I were sitting at the resort’s bar after eating at the Whistling Bird Café & Bar, when one of the band members came over to explain the delay in the entertainment. Seems the guitar player who sang harmony was also the resort’s head of maintenance and at that very moment was taking care of an emergency —a downed ice machine. In between sets, he’d run to check on the machine to make sure it was still spitting out ice cubes. And, by the way, the band was really good.

Another night we ventured into Virginia, only to find the whole town shut down because of a power outage.

We ate two out of three dinners at Whistling Bird Café & Bar, a Jamaican restaurant in Gilbert. I had made reservations for Sunday night, but on Friday we found ourselves without a place to eat so we decided to see if we could get in. We were greeted at our table by the owner, Toney Curtis, who was dressed in full Jamaican regalia, up to the dreadlocks. As a reporter I felt obligated to ask him how he ended up running a Caribbean restaurant in Minnesota’s Iron Range (apparently, everyone asks him that question, because right after he told us his story, we heard him repeat it to the table next to us.)

The short version is that he owned a restaurant in Jamaica where his now-wife, JoPat, visited. The two got to know each other and in typical Minnesota style, after marrying, she convinced him that what the Iron Range really needed was a Caribbean restaurant. Apparently it does, because we heard more than one person tell the host the Whistling Bird came highly recommended. Some of the cast from the movie North Country—most notably Charlize Theron and Woody Harrelson—have eaten there as well, as evidenced by the framed photos on the wall of Curtis with the stars.

I don’t know if anyone’s going to want to drive three-and-a-half hours up there just for the Rasta Pasta, but if you’re in the area, be sure to add it to your dinner plans.


Who wouldn’t want to work there?

I originally was going to write about National Breast-Feed at Work Week (September 4-8), until I got sidetracked hearing the many amenities at General Mills, including lactation rooms. Lactation rooms, in case they’re new to you, too—are locked rooms furnished with chairs, a breast pump (or BYOBP) and a refrigerator so nursing mothers can keep their milk supply going after they’ve returned to work.

General Mills provides numerous lactation rooms at its headquarters in Golden Valley, according to spokeswoman Kirstie Foster.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg in amenities. Starting from the days when the company relocated to what was then the boondocks, management added services to help employees out—or as one employee told me to help employees stay in—and work.

Included in the long list of perks are:
• a fitness center, with classes;
• an auto services center, including a gas station and repair services, such as tune-ups;
• dry cleaning services;
• a hair salon, with pedicures and manicures;
• a credit union;
• medical services, including dentist, dermatologist and optometry
• a grocery store;
• a gift store; and
• a concierge service which will run errands that include shopping at Target, shoe repair and party planning.

In addition, the company will pay part of the adoption fees for parents, and have an on-site day care center.

A world-class art collection with a curator “helps foster creativity in the workplace,” according to Foster. Employee clubs encourage employees to get together with other like-minded colleagues, from golf leagues to art and parenting clubs.

And, last, but not least, they have a subsidized cafeteria, plus a D’Amico restaurant and Caribou Coffee in the mix. And, let’s not forget all the food-testing results that are left around the office as leftovers.

Makes my company perk—an office with a door—seem understated.