Monkey waiters in Japan a hit with diners

by Jamie Rhein on

Here’s a novel approach to providing customer service. At Kayabukiya Tavern, a restaurant just north of Tokyo, two Japanese macaque monkeys, one named Yat-chan and the other, Fuku-chan, fetch drinks and bring people warm towels to wipe their hands.

Dressed in waiter-like outfits, the duo are certified to work here. Customers love them and ply the monkeys with soya beans as tips. Because of animal rights regulations, the monkeys only work two hours a day, but according to this Mail-on line article, there are three more in training. Click on the video to see them in action. Some folks think the monkeys can understand drink orders.

Drink up and stay the night at the old Catholic school in Bend, Oregon

by Meg Massie on

There’s something deliciously wrong about turning a Catholic schoolhouse into a pub and brewery, but in Bend, Oregon, the delicious far outweighs the wrong. When the St. Francis School relocated, Portland-based McMenamins bought up the original building, renovated it, and reopened the Old St. Francis School as a pub, theater, and hotel in 2004.

McMenamins brews are an Oregon staple, and the restaurant has some of the best pub fare there is. The School is also a great place to catch a show. This weekend, Old St. Francis is host to the BENDFilm Festival. Then there’s Monday Night Football, more movies, and live music. Coming up in November is the pub’s Fourth Anniversary Weekend Party, featuring performances from the Freak Mountain Ramblers.

The property has guest rooms starting at $114 per night and cottages that sleep up to ten people, starting at $185 per night. All reservations include free admission to the movie theater and use of the Turkish-style soaking pool on the property. You can also purchase special packages that include meals, drinks, shows, and activities in and around Bend.

Can there be a better place to party than an old Catholic school?

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Dispatches from around the world


Amtrak updates long-distance dining car menus, rich passengers rejoice

by David Breisch on

Amtrak’s long-distance, full-service dining cars are something of an oddity in… well, just about every way. You have a skeleton crew trying to perform full restaurant-style service down the equivalent of an airplane aisle in the midst of light-to-moderate turbulence that comes and goes as it pleases. Since the dining car typically opens at a specified time for dinner, Amtrak’s chefs have to cook and plate upwards of 100 meals in about an hour or so, in the same conditions.

And then there’s the clientele that all this cacophony has to cater to: a very strange blend of relatively well-off Sleeping Car passengers combined with whomever from coach decides that they want to splurge on an upscale-ish meal. The interesting thing is that people get along. There’s something about being on a dining car cruising across the open landscape that makes travelers want to mingle, chat, and generally have a good time. The whole operation is a remarkable experience to watch, if you’re interested in that sort of thing, and – at least in my opinion – an absolutely delightful way to spend a meal. Where else can you eat good food, chat with your fellow travelers in a relaxed setting, and watch the beautiful countryside roll by?

And, yes, I didn’t mistype when I said that Amtrak’s food is good. While meals are pre-packaged when delivered to the train, everything is cooked fresh on-board by trained chefs in a galley and delivered to passengers by the wait staff. Hey, just like a real restaurant! Unfortunately, the Dining Car experience is rather pricey (though included in the ticket price if you’re traveling in a Sleeping Car), and Amtrak’s latest menu refresh (PDF link) is no different. On the bright side, regional specialties have returned that vary depending on which train you’re riding, such as Texas BBQ Beef Brisket on the New Orleans – Los Angeles Sunset Limited or “Phillips Seafood Coastal Crab cakes in Floridian green chile tomatillo sauce” on the New York – Florida Silver Service. And, of course, you get all of the typical restaurant-style meals on all trains, such as omelets and french toast for breakfast, burgers, salads and sandwiches for lunch, and steak, seafood and pasta for dinner.

Riding in an Amtrak dining car really is a unique thing to do if you have the time for it. Continuously-changing scenery, friendly fellow travelers and good food makes for a one-of-a-kind dining experience. You know, if you feel like paying for it.

(Via NARP)

Race across Europe with nothing but Redbull

by Grant Martin on


You know those television shows where they drop teams off in the middle of nowhere and they have to race across the world with nothing but their wits and trickery to get them by? Well Red Bull might give you the chance to live that dream using your wits, trickery and…. Red Bull to get you across Europe.

Later this month, the German Austrian company is sponsoring an event where 250 teams of three students will race across Western Europe starting in various destinations and headed towards Paris. Teams will be stripped of cash, credit cards and cell phones and instead will be given, you guessed it, Red Bull as currency. Along the way they can stop at various checkpoints to pick up more of the energy drink with which to barter, and in the end all teams will be judged not on time, but on creativity and adventure incurred on the trip.

The first question that comes to my mind is how much Red Bull a team can carry to trade for anything of value. I imagine any serious transaction would require at least a case. Are there also trucks of Red Bull following these students around?

Either way, the journey sounds incredible. Unfortunately, Redbull is no longer taking any American teams. If you can finagle your way onto a foreign team or convince Redbull to let you in though, give it a shot. I wish I could do it. Check out the contest page at redbullcanyoumakeit.com.

The bad economy hits the dollar menu with a vengeance

by Scott Carmichael on

If you have a kid, you’ll probably find yourself at the local McDonalds a little more often than you’d want. But this post is not about the joy a Happy Meal can bring a kid, it is about how McDonalds is handling the declining economy.

The photo on the right was shot at my local store, sorry for the crappy quality, I was trying to be as nonchalant as possible when I snapped it.

The text reads “We’re introducing the double hamburger with cheese to the dollar menu and are moving the double cheeseburger and the McChicken, both at a new price of $1.19 to the sandwiches section of the menu“.

So, naturally I had to ask them what the difference is between a double hamburger with cheese, and a double cheeseburger. The extra 19 cents in a double cheeseburger goes towards ONE slice of cheese.

It is official; the bad economy has finally turned companies completely insane in their quest to squeeze more money out of us.