Quest for the Best: Onion Ring

Recently I found myself craving onion rings, and surprisingly Original Joe's doesn't have such.  It was always too early for them before work, and I usually just feel like going home afterwork, so I finally fed my craving on my day-off.  Out of boredom, I decided to amuse myself by trying to find the best onion ring in Moose Jaw, but within reason; I didn't try every onion ring in Moose Jaw, but narrowed it to 4 choices.  So for your amusement I looked for various elements in the onion rings and ranked them accordingly; much like something I saw on a food show.
#4 Grocery Store Brand
I thought I should do a cook-it-yourself brand of onion rings; a person who was too embarrassed to order a large amount of onion rings could bask in their gluttony in the privacy of their own home.  However, there was one problem: I couldn't find any.  I went to the 3 big stores in Moose Jaw:  Wal-Mart, Superstore, and Sobey's (sorry Safeway, I didn't want to go back downtown) and none of them sold onion rings for you to cook for your family; I guess you have to make them from scratch.  This kind of surprised me; I didn't expect 30 brands of onion rings, but didn't expect none.  Perhaps it is a sign of the sad decline of this greasy snack that wreaks havoc on your breath.  I expect I could find some at Costco, but I'm not driving to Regina for onion rings.  I realize onion rings are best when deep fried and not everyone has a fryer, but more people seem to own fryers; perhaps people with fryers are above generic rings and make their own.  Anyways with nothing to try, grocery stores rank at the bottom for onion rings.

#3 A&W
I know I just shocked some of you; there are people who love onion rings at A&W like they love their rootbeer; perhaps this is where objectivity or difference of opinions come in.  However, let me assure you this is not a case of me being over-critical or biased.  Let me say what's good about their onion rings. First, you seem to get the most bang-for-your-buck; they were the cheapest of the rings I ordered and had the most rings as well.  Second, they were fresh; I actually saw the guy in the back drop my order into the fryer and had to wait for it.  Third, they are different; you can distinguish A&W rings from any other as they use more dry breading.  That being said, let me tell you why they are at the bottom of the rings I tried:  they're process is open to bad experience as mine was.  I know they're a fast-food chain, but I never know what I am going to get; I have had great rings at times, but this last time was one of the worst.  These rings were super greasy!!!  These rings soaked through their individual bag, through the take-out bag, and through the notebook they were sitting on.  The breading never seems to stay on the onion; you eat it and you got crumbs everywhere and you're mostly eating oily onion; which is true for many times that I've had them.  And this is always a knock on their rings: they are super, super salty!  I don't know if they are trying to increase pop sales, but I am always super thirsty when I have their onion rings.  I may have got the most rings there, but I also threw-out a whole whack of them. 

#2 Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen is the Switzerland of onion rings and this competition.  My initial thought was I can enjoy these with a meal, but I'm not going to go out of my way to get them.  For just under $3 I got 13 medium-to-small sized rings.  They had little-to-no saltiness.  I don't believe they make them in house; in fact I felt they were something I could buy in a grocery store and reproduce at home, but they were worth it.  I don't know why I don't eat more at DQ over other fastfood chains; their food is pretty good.  But for this comparison they were not bad like #3, but they were not great like #1

#1 Burger Cabin
The Burger Cabin is a local spot in Moose Jaw that is only open in the summer in Wakamow park.  People often dismiss local places like this for the bigger chains, and that is a mistake.  Burger Cabin is a throwback to pre-fastfood burger joints, and is reminiscent of some of the places you encounter at the lake.  That being said it is a great place for onion rings.  For $3.45 I got a dozen moderate sized rings, with just the right amount of seasoning.  These rings are beautiful; they are a textbook example of what an onion ring should be.  They were hot, but weren't greasy.  When I was there I saw the perfect example of their deliciousness when an elderly couple who had ordered ahead of me and upon receiving their order the woman instantly grabbed a ring, crunched it down, and smiled like she was 10 again.  So if you are ever in the predicament I was, don't waste your time and just go straight to the Burger Cabin for rings in Jaw.

When your server says it's the kitchen's fault...

I have spent time as a server (which I was horrible at) and I have spent time in the kitchen, including my current employment at Original Joe's.  Something I must stress to you when you eat at a restaurant: when the server blames the kitchen they are trying to cover their own butt.  The modern kitchen system is designed to be error-free for the cooks preparing your food; unless it is rang in wrong by the server, which it often is.  One of my colleagues in the kitchen was furious because their friend informed them of a meal in our restaurant where the server tried to blame it on the kitchen instead of owning up to their mistake.  Let me tell you why it cannot be the kitchen's fault: When an order is entered it is printed on a ticket, not hand-written, and it is easy to read; if you made any special requests for your order it is printed on there as well.  The ticket is inspected by supervisor and directed to the kitchen.  When your food is plated it is double-checked with the ticket before going across the window to the expo to be served.  In the expo it is again inspected according to the ticket and ensured that all details are correct.  Then after all checks it is delivered to you.  I don't know how many times we will get food back in the kitchen and it is qualified with, "the server entered it in wrong", but I know the majority of the time the server blames it on the kitchen to save face.  I mentioned before that I was a horrible server, but one thing I can be proud of as a server is I never threw my kitchen under the bus.  So the next time your server blames the kitchen, don't be so quick to forgive and tip big.

Shame on you Ford

Shame, shame, shame!!!  Next time you hear "Built Ford Tough" you might hear me hysterically laughing somewhere.  I have discovered something that I have always somewhat suspected: Ford vans are not a superior product.  Don't get me wrong, our van has been in many ways a blessing: hauling kids for our jobs as children's worker/youth pastor, hauling equipment for our photography,  or just convenient when we overpack for trips.  I am always quick to encourage my friends that are treading the switch to minivans that they aren't really that bad to drive.  However, I had always heard that when vans go bad, they go really bad; they bleed your bank account out like a slaughtered pig hanging on a hook.  I've always understood that I had to keep this in mind and sell my van before such a time would befall me; which is why I put my van up this spring, hoping to get my money out of it before it took it out of me.  Recently my van began such a decent; it all started with something called the "Transmission torque converter"  This part was a recalled part from Ford and proved to be defective in my own vehicle; Ford agreed to fix it for free and I thought this was great.  However, when in the Ford dealership all sorts of problems arose, like the power-steering rack.  The power-steering rack was no surprise as I have had continous problems with the power-steering since my first winter owning the van, so when the dealership wanted to fix it I thought it was about time I do so.  Figuring that I escaped a major bill with the other problem, I could choke down the cost and get it fixed; ideally leaving me with a like-new van that will run for years.  However,  once everything was back together the transmission no longer shifted smoothly and now Ford wanted to take everything apart and fix the problem; it will only cost $1000 to take it apart and check.  $1000!!! Are you kidding me?!?  These dealerships have no real concept of money; they think everyone should drive new vehicles and upgrade their vehicles every-year, so the idea of dropping $1000 just to check a problem with no guarantees of fixing the problem doesn't seem unreasonable.  If you are someone who has spent the past year as a full-time student or just any regular person, $1000 diagnosis check is ridiculous; so I ceased such a procedure and picked up my van paying for the repairs up to date.  To make things worse my van only seems to lock with the remote, something new which the dealership is not taking responsibility for and blamed it on the guys that towed it to Moose Jaw.  Basically, my hope now is that the van will at least get through the summer while we need two vehicles and then change to a different vehicle. 
I am not shocked by the decline of my van; it is inevitable.  It is frustrating to hear a company boast about how great their product is, but not stand behind their defective piece of crap, and seemingly gouge their customers by running up a bill.  So if you are looking to make a vehicle purchase soon, you should in my opinion not buy a Ford.

The Amazing Brain (As revealed in the world of dreams)

I know many people have said it through the ages, but the human mind is something extraordinary.  I continually have a greater appreciation for what it does.  Lately, I have been fascinated of it through dreams; I don't always sleep well or deep enough to dream, but have been lately and been fascinated by the dreams that have accompanied such sleeps.  The other night in particular struck me in my sleep and after.  I was dreaming about being in the neighborhood I grew-up in, with some people that used to live there as well.  I am not sure what I was doing, but we all had tools and tool belts.  Then in my dream I noticed on one of the others tool belt a remarkable thing:  on their tool belt was a tool I used to use when I worked at the Nursing Home in perfect detail.  All of a sudden, it was like my brain was struck by this as well and thought, "What is that doing there in such detail?"  To explain, most people believe, including myself, that dreams are a collection of your sights, sounds, and thoughts of the previous day or so; usually anything outside of that realm has no detail.  I was in my old neighborhood that day, I had worked with my tool belt and these were in detail in my dream.  I had not seen the people I knew for some time and they were not in detail.  I had not seen or used the tool in some time and yet it was in great detail.  So back to the dream, everything went on pause and the focus shifted to this tool in great detail and an overall sense of how and why in the dream.  I woke-up still amazed that my brain for some reason chose to pull that image out of nowhere in great detail, and then still remembered the dream in great detail.  Dreams are a fascinating thing; I wish I remembered more of them or had some way of recording them.  Should people figure out a way to record dreams it would be phenomenal; TV as we know it would be dead, and perhaps people would be more self-reflective.  My other dream was about my brother and I opening up for the Rolling Stones in some weird castle.

Please Rain

I never thought I would utter such words as, "Please Rain.", but you see it is quite necessary.  Now that I live in Caronport, I have relinquished my house in Birch Hills and in exchange I live in a trailer; a trailer that was built in the 1960's that knows nothing of modern building standards.  This trailer is also situated in the middle of the flat prairie with one meager tree for coverage.  Essentially, considering what I live in and where it is, I live in an Easy-Bake oven; with the usual south-prairie winds it is a convection Easy-Bake oven.  And so while my plea in years past has been for rain to stay-away, to not dampen my events as a youth co-ordinator or a camp program co-ordinator, I welcome rain.  I long for the fresh shower to dampen the ground, and cool the air.  I would gladly endure days of rain, rather than slow-roast at 350 degrees and baste in my sweat.  I am a large Scandanavian man who was not genetically geared to humidity and sticky heat.  I marvel at least in the ability to own an air conditioner which I have set-up in my bedroom.  So while my house is an Easy-Bake, my bedroom has become the walk-in fridge used to preserve my body from spoiling in the heat, and to maintain some comfort to be able to sleep.  How did the pioneers survive?