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I've been a bacon eater, steak eater, and my mashed potatoes are what I call "heart attack style" (lotsa butter and salt. Fried bologna with onions (bologna must be part pork, no chikken) sandwiches are a life long fave. Nitrites can make anything taste good.My lipids put me in negative risk territory for atherosclerosis. For 40 years my BP was always around 110/55. My big fear nowadays is my bod outliving my mind. Once you get old enough and get to thinking, it really becomes a question. Visit a nursing home sometime if you don't get my message.
And as you can see, it ain't what you eat. Your liver orchestrates all that blood lipid stuff. And, remember...only damaged vessels get plaques.
Live a little!
After you get a stent or two that'l put the fear in you.
Restaurants and bars, of all types are financially flimsy operations, no matter what. The biggest outcome of the lockdown is going to be a massive wave of bankruptcies and probably permanent closures of zillions of those establishments. I'm sure, when the dust settles, new ones will start up. I just hope it doesn't wind up being just raw seafood and tacos.
I owned restaurants for over a decade, its not as it seems to the public.
They do very nicely, especially the called mom and pop operations, they rake it in.
Many startups fail because inexperienced owners should stay out of the buisiness.
Yup, no way it takes 15 years for restaurants to recover. Also a lot of them are doing pretty well on the delivery side, one driver I talked to said they are retaining 70% of their regular sales just from delivery. My SO and I will be dining out as soon as it's allowed, hopefully within the next couple months.
Only a small number are making their money back from delivery. And delivery isn't very profitable if you have to use the apps (because that is where the customers are). The apps take a 20-30% commission. Restaurant profit margins are like 3-7%.
Sweet Tomatoes was not doing all that well pre-pandemic.
The two locations that I knew of that were near me closed in recent years.
Their salad dressing and pizzas were made with soybean oil, an ingredient I perceive as poison. There was also a lot of sodium and processed ingredients.
The loss of Sweet Tomatoes/Souplantation is not that big of a deal.
They've been replaced by SweetGreen and the other salad chains, which have higher quality ingredients and tastier food.
COVID-19, of course. 97 locations are closing. I am very sad for this. My wife and I go there often. We love the healthy salads and their soups is amazing. Their bread is so good. Their food is far tastier than regular buffets and the place is clean. And there are no other salad buffets in our area to fill that void. I eat salad at home, but the variety isn't there. She told me she has $100 in gift cards and now has to try to get her money back. Fortunately she put that puchase on a cc, so she can probably get a refund.
Dang....I didn't get to go to them often, but always thought it was a well done concept. Never had a bad experience there (save rude customers - but that's everywhere)
After you get a stent or two that'l put the fear in you.
So glad you mentioned stents. Here's the dope on that.
First off, for multiple reasons, stents will handily add 20 years to your life (very few exceptions to that). It is for this reason that I advocate that you get yourself into a cath lab by around age 47 - 50. Fake angina if you have to! It's at least as important as a colonoscopy which is done to establish risk for colon Ca. The most deadliest heart attacks that kill, and kill people in their prime are the ones that happen between 47 and 59. Especially those with no history of hypertension, and often no hyperlipidemia. It's usually so-called "downstream atherosclerosis." The angina you get is very atypical. Often confused with heartburn, a gallbladder attack, a weird sore back. Often by the time people realize it's angina they die. During these attacks often enzymes and EKG's are normal. But just one episode too many, and you're dead!
Cardiac cath is the only reliable means to diagnose these coronary artery blockages. Other methods miss. I know folks who had 95% blockage of the LAD (high road to a fatal MI) and thought they were having a gallstone attack. Their EKG was pretty much normal outside of an acute episode and enzymes were within normal limits. Sent home from the ER.
There are a few risk factors but none well established. A systemic inflammatory disease (like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, especially with attendant arthritis, any variant of lupus). Known for years as a risk factor for early fatal MI are a family history of death from MI around age 50 and female. IMO, these people should be cathed by age 50. Stents are placed at the time of cardiac cath where needed. Problem solved. Normal longevity.
You won't easily find practitioners on to this. Most doctors are clueless. But it is a fact. Let's just say, people who never had heartburn in their life but get it at age 51 for the first time? Off to the ER you go. Insist on a stress test and if that EGD is negative hold out for a cardiac cath.
Last edited by TwinbrookNine; 05-10-2020 at 04:35 AM..
I've been a bacon eater, steak eater, and my mashed potatoes are what I call "heart attack style" (lotsa butter and salt. Fried bologna with onions (bologna must be part pork, no chikken) sandwiches are a life long fave. Nitrites can make anything taste good.My lipids put me in negative risk territory for atherosclerosis. For 40 years my BP was always around 110/55. My big fear nowadays is my bod outliving my mind. Once you get old enough and get to thinking, it really becomes a question. Visit a nursing home sometime if you don't get my message.
And as you can see, it ain't what you eat. Your liver orchestrates all that blood lipid stuff. And, remember...only damaged vessels get plaques.
Live a little!
You sound like someone we could all learn a lot from.
Self-serve food is over for now. I was at a Sprouts grocery store yesterday and noticed big changes in their self-serve bulk bins. I always thought these bins were unsanitary/gross and never bought any products there. The bins are still there, but the flip-up lids and hand scoops are gone. Each bin is now filled with the bulk products pre-packaged in plastic bags and labeled for check out.
Sprouts has always had a lot of prepackaged bulk, so I guess it wasn't a stretch to do this.
Our local Whole Foods has emptied the bulk section completely. I didn't see any bulk items pre-bagged; they're just gone.
Better than Sweet Tomatoes/Souplantation? That's worth a looksee!
It is definitely not a buffet, and fast casual. But I like a few things about Sweet Greens:
1. they prioritize using locally sourced ingredients in all their shops, and lots of small farms
2. they have really yummy and interesting beverages (I don't often get them, but they are good)
3. they have a really wide array of in season ingredients for salads
4. lots of good default toppings available - steelhead trout, chicken, steak, chickpeas, cooked broccoli
What I don't like about it:
1. pricey
2. some of their default salads are weird to me, combos I'd never do. But you can modify whatever.
I really like Mixt Greens - this chain has a way smaller footprint. I also like their default salads a lot better. But they don't have the last beverages. Otherwise the two are very similar. You can get a tasty and filling salad, with great high quality ingredients. Of course it comes at a cost. But I like them! A great special treat that doesn't make me feel mad I spent my money on a salad.
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Otherwise the two are very similar. You can get a tasty and filling salad, with great high quality ingredients. Of course it comes at a cost. But I like them! A great special treat that doesn't make me feel mad I spent my money on a salad.
