August 3rd, 2009 by ken
Went to Norville Barnes the other night with a group of 12. Overall not bad and the table was properly ready when we arrived for our reservation. Everyone seemed to like the food and the menu specials looked interesting. But, I ordered the slab of ribs and was not happy with the result. The ribs were touted as St. Louis style ribs or dry-rubbed ribs. I know ribs, I love ribs, but these were not St. Louis style ribs. The rub lacked enough salt or garlic and was mostly chipolte it seemed. The ribs didn’t have any smoke to them at all like they were baked in an oven. At the very least, finish them off under a broiler. But, I digress, Its the table service that I want to discuss.
With a large group, it is incumbent on the servers to work as a team and to identify who is the responsible party or if the checks are to be split right off the bat. Our server worked hard running the food and didn’t get enough help from the rest of the staff. If she had, all the plates would have been tabled in short order. The restaurant wasn’t that busy so there was no excuse for the other staff not to jump in. The bartender handled the wine and brought the wine to those of us at one end of the table who ordered the wine for the table but asked us if anyone else wanted wine and said that she would leave some extra glasses in case anyone else wanted some. I’m sorry, but I didn’t go to a buffet. Proper service would have been to place a wine glass in front of each setting when bringing the wine out and if any patron said they didn’t want any wine then quickly take the glass back. She also should have asked each patron at the table if they would like some wine from the bottles that were ordered and not have left it up to us at one end to ask around. Also, why was there no bread brought to the table to get the appetite going?
In any case, other than a few hickups, I would rate the experience a 3 out of 5 and I will be back but I won’t be ordering the ribs.
Tags: DeLand, Norville Barnes, ribs, service, wine
Posted in Not At Your Service, Possibilities Are Out There, Uncategorized | No Comments »
July 6th, 2009 by ken
I am back after a hiatus spawned by all the stupid spam that keeps getting into my comments. I really wish folks would just cut it out. If you don’t have something to actually say about what I am writing about, don’t comment. I just don’t get why these spammers do what they do. Do they actually make money doing it? If so, how much, and maybe I should become a spammer so I can make some more dough. Anyway, good comments I’ll approve, the rest get deleted.
So, the economy still sucks and here in DeLand, FL, it sucks really bad. The summer high pressure dome sits atop us with its oppressive heat, stores close down, people stay inside, the humm of air conditioners tell the tale of the here and now. And yes, jobs keep disappearing; unless you work for our government, then the job cuts come slower and managers are advocating for those in jeopardy, trying to find them other positions and such. Of course, in the private sector, no such help exists at this time for most people facing lay-offs.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: change, government, jobs, lay-offs
Posted in Getting Through It | 4 Comments »
May 10th, 2009 by ken
I will be getting back to the more development, growth, and politics soon but I decided to create another catagory and begin speaking my mind about the good and bad (mostly bad) of local eateries, bars, and coffee shops; it is time to call it like it is. Its time because I am just tired of restaurantuers, and bar owners, and shop proprietors in our little community and its surrounds getting away with unbelievable crappy service, even if they serve good food. So get ready people, its time to step up to the plate. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: DeLand, Odom's, service, Thai food
Posted in Not At Your Service | 2 Comments »
April 17th, 2009 by ken
I’m back and I am angry and thoroughly disappointed in our local and state elected officials. As we all work harder than ever to try and survive this economic disaster we are in, our elected officials seemingly decide that it is time to put their feet up and get lazy. On two fronts, affordable housing in Volusia County, and on SunRail, our central Florida commuter rail project, leadership has been absent, foolish, or simply lazy.
On the affordable housing front, the County Council was mandated by the State of Florida to create an advisory committee on affordable housing to find ways to add to the affordable housing stock in the County, an admirable idea. Except, after assembling a very good advisory committee, seated with people who are hands-on day in and day out professionals who deal with housing as a career, the County Council, and staff, as expressed by County Manager Dineen, blew them off. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: affordable housing, clueless, commuter rail, Florida, housing, lazy, SunRail, volusia county, Volusia Homebuilders Association
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
March 16th, 2009 by ken
Hey all, the stock market seems to rallying and everything seems to be doing great, right? Wrong! Who knows what the stockmarket is going to do today or tomorrow or next week for that matter. What is happening right here in our locale is more people getting laid off, a pittance for unemployment, lost health insurance, and our schools are collapsing. We ain’t out of the woods yet folks and our state leadership is way too close to the forest to see those woods.
The legislators are like a bunch of chickens scratching the ground looking for their next kernal of corn. They are cowards for failing to look seriously at how we need to finance the states most basic needs. I’ve heard it from people who say that a state income tax is impossible; it is never going to happen they say. Mark my words, there will be a state income tax in Florida within 5 years from now. If not, we will be living in a thrid world territory depending on the United Nations for help with funding our public school system and we will be turning to the World Bank to finance road construction and other infrastructure needs. No wonder the Guv is trying his damdest to get the hell out of Dodge and plunk himself down in a cushy senate seat; not a forgone conclusion at all. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Florida, funding, income tax
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
March 6th, 2009 by ken
Its been a tough week in my battles with the Volusia County School System. I hate to admit it, but our children are facing outright educational abuse. Educational abuse you say, yes, that is what I say. So what is educational abuse? Its when we send a constant barrage of messages to our children that we as a state, and as a community, don’t care much about their education at all. Not every one is at fault, but we are all responsible and some serious changes need to be made – on all sides, teachers union, teachers, administration, parents, and the state as a whole. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: education, Florida, retirees, teachers, tenure, volusia county
Posted in Structural Changes | No Comments »
February 27th, 2009 by ken
I have written about some things that have been happening around West Volusia, none of them really good; people being laid off, businesses closing, tough times. However, even though we are all “hanging in there”, many are doing more than that. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: business, construction, demons, financing, risk
Posted in Getting Through It | No Comments »
February 24th, 2009 by ken
Sunday’s Meet the Press on NBC hosted by David Gregory had a couple of governors on it to talk about the stimulus plan. Gov. Jindal of Louisiana and Gov. Crist of our sunny state of Florida. Gov. Jindal was acting like a puppet of the tired old anti-tax right throwing out all kinds of reasons why he doesn’t want to accept any of the stimulus plan money for LA. Gov. Crist was all tanned and smiley and only too happy to take all we could get, nearly $12 billion. Why the divergence of method and style among two Republican Governors? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Charlie Crist, common sense, hurricanes, Katrina, Louisiana
Posted in Structural Changes | 3 Comments »
February 10th, 2009 by ken
I’m taking a moment from work to watch the President doing a wonderful job of communicating with his fellow citizens and listening to and answering questions. He’s down in Ft. Meyers, an area hard hit by foreclosures and unemployment. His ability to handle some very direct and diverse questions was a joy to watch. He definitely gets it. What a shame our leaders in Tallahassee don’t. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Charlie Crist, Ft. Meyers, Obama, politics, revenue
Posted in Tough Times | 6 Comments »
February 8th, 2009 by ken
I looked down at my shoes Friday morning and saw that they needed a polish. I usually do it myself but reached into my pants pocket and found some cash, enough to sit down and have my shoes shined by someone else. Having your shoes shined is one of those simple pleasures in life that can make you feel good and liven up your step. I needed it Friday afternoon.
You see I had just spoken to a friend of mine who was just laid off from his construction job and was feeling kind of down about it. He is the second person I have spoken to in three weeks that has been let go from a good paying job. Both of these guys have years of experience and have parlayed that experience into good solid earnings. Now what are they going to do? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: DeLand, jobs, Rufus Pinkney
Posted in Getting Through It | No Comments »