Its really easy for me to pile on. Why not be the natural contrarian that I am?
This is my review of pFriem Vienna Lager:
Something happened earlier this week that everyone is upset about. When I say everyone, I am going to even include this “How do you do fellow cracker barrel fans” from the Team Blue TwiX account to demonstrate the disdain for the Cracker Barrel rebrand is truly bipartisan.
What happened was a simple rebrand, where Cracker Barrel went full on communist and replaced the white guy on the logo and will now adorn all their locations with a statue of Chairman Mao greeting customers as they enter updated their logo and will modernize the furniture and atmosphere. Its easy to be cynical and predict this is a Bud Light situation in progress, initiated by what is obviously an ersatz Tech Girl Boss CEO who likely never ate at a Cracker Barrel in her life. Lucky for me, I’m not a shareholder.
…or and seriously hear me out here. The new logo fits better within the confines of a 1:1 square aspect ratio that many company logos need to fit if they want their logo to be easily recognizable in places like TwiX or even LinkedIn. Nearly every rebrand is met with hate, just ask the Washington Football Team, or whatever the Redskins are called now.
But what about the atmosphere, where they will take out the old timey furniture, the wood paneling on the walls and no longer hand a bunch of old bottles, cans, and hand tools I am unfamiliar with? To say something that will truly bring out the torches and pitchforks…okay? Speaking as one of the few people here that isn’t a white male, under normal circumstances walking into a place with a history of discrimination to the point where they need to post a sign that says this…is kind of a red flag.
The funny part is I’ll happily eat there anyways for three reasons:
- the pancakes are awesome
- I don’t have to pretend to want to talk to my family after several hours driving on the highway because they have the pegboard game to occupy all of us
- did I mention the goddamn pancakes?
If the food is the same, and they keep the enormous locations with easy ingress/egress on major highways, I’m probably going to keep eating there. I’ll at least try to knock over the statue of Mao when I leave.
Sometimes a product like this is nice. Wait, this is made in Oreogon? Sorry, I had to. This is well made example of Vienna Lager, which might be better called “dark Mexican beer”. I get it, people like what they like even if its not remarkable, because there is comfort to know something is always the same no matter where you go, that’s never changed for a very long time. Is this beer one of those things? Not really, but its still pretty good. Try it with Quesobirria. pFriem Vienna Lager: 3.5/5
the pancakes are awesome
Sourdough french toast. All this talk about Cracker Barrel makes me want bacon and eggs with sourdough french toast.
Also- now I think it would be awesome if they had a fiberglass statue of Mao wearing an apron out front, like the Big Boys.
My preference for French Toast is Brioche, but I always just get the giant plate of pancakes.
At least take off the glasses for the file photo
They make her look smart.
Lose the glasses, shes a Maddow cutout, blech!
I would probably still eat at Cracker Barrel as well because on many long road trips, that’s been the only restaurant reasonably close to the highway where you can get a reliable decent meal. When I drove through West Virginny last year, that was the only place I could find other than fast food (which my body would probably reject after not eating it for so long).
Do yourself a favor: Fried catfish, grits, and turnip greens. Good stuff.
Not a huge of grits. No one sells turnip greens around here, although the spanish markets have many greens they don’t sell at the supermarkets. They sell beets that come with bonus greens though.
First (and last) time I had greens I thought they were spinach. Surprise!
So the grits you’ll get most at almost every store and restaurant are corn grits, which are OK. But hominy grits are really where it’s at. More flavor, more texture, and as I understand it, more nutritional value. They’re a specialty product though. There’s a place online called Congaree Mill where you can order them. I got a 5 pound bag of blue hominy grits (I’m fascinated by blue foods).
Beet greens are great stuff. I’m surprised there’s some place that doesn’t have turnip greens; the Kroger here (SW Ohio) has collards, turnip greens, mustard greens, etc.
Hominy I can find all the time, its a staple in several traditional Mexican dishes.
Amen to that. Especially if you can find a blend of fortified wines as a braising liquid.
A four-port hominy is music to my ears.
If I ever have the chance, I’ll prepare that dish for you shpip, so you can eat your words.
“pFriem”
How do you say that?
The same way you would in German. Unless you’re one of those Untermenschen north of the Speyer Line.
Also known as the pfop/soda line.
What does that say about us that grew up saying “soda pop?”
“The same way you would in German.”
Which is?
Rhymes with cream, and the P, F, and R are all pronounced as you would expect.
(And words like “ich” and “Pech” end with a different vowel sound from the one that ends Bach, Koch, and Tuch.)
“At least take off the glasses for the file photo”
But then she won’t signal she is one of the good people.
There really does seem to be a pattern of nutjob wokesters and big schlocky glasses. I went the opposite way and got some Harry Potter-esque frames.
Yeah, I’m holding on to my super narrow rounded-rectangles way past their sell date. I might go Harry Potter next time.
I ate at the Barrel once.
Meh.
Decor was kitschy, bunch of old folks, I was confused as to where to go to get seated, turns out I had to make it through the truck stop gift shop first.
I don’t think I’ve seen a Kulturkampf story like this spread so rapidly and comprehensively through the wingnut media.
But I’m completely mystified why anyone following The Democrats would agree with the wingnuts. I thought they hated this stuff.
And I’ll be honest, I didn’t know it was a restaurant. Their branding is so confusing I didn’t know WTF it was.
Branding was off for sure. Then you had to wade through a gift shop to get to the restaurant.
I was utterly puzzled when I walked in there for the first time and found myself in a retail store jam-packed with candy dispensers, pocket-sized bibles, cast iron skillets, stuffed animals, and “Hogan’s Heroes” DVD sets.
Ditto.
Large teddy bears if my memory serves.
There was someone trying to make their way through in a wheel chair when I went as well.
Cracker Barrel gift shops are miniature World Markets. Random baked goods, glassware, furniture, and tchotchkes.
I agree that the outrage seems a misplaced. I will definitely miss the junkiness and darker color palette. I always enjoy that as a break on long road trips. I do not think wokeness caused this rebrand. The new logo is easier to see and the cleanup of the interior means it is way easier and cheaper to maintain.
Yup, it’s bafflingly overblown.
People don’t like change.
That and the conservative media is getting drunk on power. It’s no different than when marxist media starts to throw weight around. I’d love to say that conservative writers and politicians who focus on this useless shit will take a step back and focus on stuff that matters but that is unlikely.
@Common Tater:
I think Cracker Barrel is one of those places that thrives on a cadre of elderly “regulars” who are there on a certain day every single week and possibly take multiple meals there without leaving. Kind of like Waffle House (people who hate their intestines, I guess?)
I could see those oldsters getting angry about somebody messing up their routine, even if it’s just a decoration change. They’re nice people though; my stepsister worked at the local Barrel, knew most of them on a first-name basis, and got mad money in tips.
What Tater said.
Dust and grease on rough wood and knick knacks is trouble.
I thought it would be a nice touch to buy some vintage wine jugs and other gewgaws and put them on top of the cabinets right above the stove where I do all my frying.
Yea, they don’t look so good after all these years.
Try kids and carpet.
it’s bafflingly overblown.
Outrage is addictive. People gotta get they fix.
“Speaking as one of the few people here that isn’t a white male”
You’re the new white
He’s not really male.
Zer zee or zim?
MS, on the subject of beer, I have one for you. Collaboration Oktoberfest Beer Made With Germany’s Störtebeker. If you haven’t tried it yet, give it a shot. I think it is quite good.
Thank you, there is a high likelihood I can find it.
Suthen called out alternate energy on “the Links!” but the post was dead by the time I get there.
Let the “Landman” explain the issue for you. BONUS humor bit included after his explanation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmbZwxEnAFc
Third of an acre of concrete is a bit much, 100 yards on the bottom end and a lot of rebar, depending what they are planted in and their size.
I’m surprised nobody wished Rick Astley a happy birthday in the dead thread.
Also, dead post/wind energy – substitute “nuclear” for “wind” and how does the left feel about misinformation and emotions trumping logic for energy production?
The left is all about the feels – their own, not anyone elses.
The restaurant business across the board is in trouble. The profit margin was always a tight squeeze and govt types just cant quit sticking their dicks in it with regulations, mandated wages and benefits, standards blah blah blah. They have been trying to kill the industry for decades and they are about to be successful.
I can remember when fast food places …well they weren’t fancy but the food was good. 90% of fast food now I wouldn’t feed to my dog much less pay15 bucks for.
I went to five guys two days ago. It was convenient on a drive home. Two cheeseburgers with bacon, fries, two drinks was $56. Jesus take the wheel.
Good night.
Whataburger is my go to. They still take pride in cleanliness, service and the food is pretty good. That could be just my location. Anyway, it is a hamburger, onion rings and a coke for two…about the same price. Just for a plug…and this may also be just my location but the Papa Johns Pizza is pretty good.
My preference is the Mom and Pop ME restaurant. That is some top notch food. I have no problem parting with 50-100 bucks for them.
Five Guys is good but it turned into highway robbery.
Like I said the other day, pretty soon again it will only be the wealthy who eat out. Happy days are here again!
the pancakes are awesome
French toast with bacon, and the biggest piece of country ham they have in the place is my normal order.
On the green energy scam: People are as woefully ignorant about economics as they are about physics. They do not understand that a thing’s cost in dollars is a measure of the resources it takes to obtain, make and deliver that thing. That holds true for energy just as much as it does for tennis shoes. The vast majority of that cost is not leather, wood, water or plastic…it is ENERGY.
Anecdotes
“We know the math doesnt work but what we want to do is too important for us to be held back by math” – pimple faced freshman college commie talking up the green energy scam under Obama.
*world’s biggest facepalm*
Me: “Hey Alex, why do all of your ethanol plant designs include a fuel oil tank? Cant you just run the plant on the ethanol you make?”
Alex: *turns red in the face and smoke starts coming out of his ears* “Is there something I can help you with?”
Me: *snicker*
Kill the ethanol scam and gas gets cheaper then everything else gets cheaper
The Intel story really pisses me off. I blame Lee Iacocca. Using taxpayer money to bail out failing businesses is beyond stupid. We cant seem to learn. Socialism doesnt fucking work. Fascism and Communism over and over. Living beyond our means and printing money like crazy over and over and over again. What the fuck is wrong with people?
TNSTAAFL motherfuckers.
Have I told you recently that you are my brother from another mother?
I’ve been saying $=Energy=CO2=environmental damage for so long I’ve forgotten when I started.
All that corn could be processed by chickens, hogs and beef for free.
More BTUs in gasoline than the new and unimproved alcohol mix?
I read a breakdown a long time ago that one gallon of corn ethanol cost 0.8 gallons of diesel to farm.
By the BTU it’s a loss.
And by the dollar. They are looting the treasury. The whole program is nothing but graft and other than that it makes no sense whatsoever.
Interesting note about human nature not related to anything we have been discussing: I was scanning down a page unrelated to here and the words were all a blur…scroll down scroll down scroll down and the words HORNY GIRLS buried in the text jumped out at me clear as day. Did not see that coming.
What does that say about the human brain?
One of my baseless ideas is that sex and transportation are inexorably connected and that they together have driven the vast majority of human advancement.
From women selecting smarter, stronger and more protective mates to men breaking the first horse so they can travel over the next ridgeline for sex with women that aren’t related to them.
Women want to keep the guy with the sweet 442 and convert him to a minivan man while the guy wants to get the new vett after the minivan to feel potent again.
What does that say about the human brain?
You’re not as dead as you thought you were?
Funny John Bolton deepfake:
https://rumble.com/v6xy934-ai-spoof-of-john-bolton-being-arrested-is-quite-hilarious.html
Coming home last night, got pass by a pickup and a couple miles later he hit something on the road. He was ok, but his truck wasn’t. Not even sure what he hit but the trooper couldn’t find his front wheels and tires. Damn.
Going to swing by the Legion post for chicken dinners. I miss when Oregon beer was decent and not nonsensically named.
Widmer is still my go too Heff but it did change after the acquisition by Anheuser, since sold again and still not quite the same.
I’m guessing the sourcing of their grains changed but have no idea.
What is wrong with you people? I thought for sure you’d hate this post and call me an asshole.
I called you the new white.
Depending on your perspective that is like calling someone an asshole.
…and I responded
Slow day for hate I guess?
You’re a libertarian. Asshole (or at least surly curmudgeon) is baked into the pie.
I thought it was just baked asshole.
Isn’t that just a day ending in -y?
Yes
Nah. I agree with you. Also, I don’t much care what Cracker Barrel does. Let the shareholders care about it.
Last night we had Mrs. TOK’s 50th birthday party. Alice in Wonderland theme and damn did she wear me out putting up all the decorations. Went really well though, there were several people we hadn’t seen in years. Today I’m fighting a virus and shes going up a wedding without me. Hope her sister is a good date.
At least you don’t have to go to the wedding.
Yes, that is kind of a godsend.
“Oh darn honey. I am sick. What a shame. I was so looking forward to seeing everyone. Promise you will take pictures for me”
These two are both getting married for the second time, it’s a smaller friends group and it’s at their house. But a nice warm bath is nicer.
My fiance (now wife) ruminated that we might have to find somebody to watch the dogs during our wedding. I volunteered to stay home and let everyone else have a good time. She wasn’t amused.
damn did she wear me out putting up all the decorations
These euphemisms…
Yeah, I was waiting for a story about the costume.
My biggest gripe with Cracker Barrel is that they have a “get in line online” scheme and it is as worthless as the buttons at a crosswalk. I don’t like waiting in line for food, I’m not a socialist. If you tell me 40 minutes, and then I shown up at the 30 minute mark and then you tell me it will be 40 more minutes, what fucking good is my getting in line online?
I am looking at that portrait of the CEO. Something about it….the neck seems kinda thick for a woman. Nah…surely not.
The outrage over CB is overblown but it is because of Bud Light, Target, Gillette etc…it is a ‘here we go again surely they aren’t that stupid’ moment.
Also my eye wondering about that person’s thick neck is because they have been rubbing our faces in that nonsense for so long I am hyper-vigilant.
I just refuse to go places with waits. Don’t care how good the food is, I hate waiting, and I also hate sitting around after I am done eating.
Cracker Barrel was a part of my youth, we’d drive from Indiana to Florida every summer and would always stop to eat at one or more. The store was fun and we’d get those old timey candies. Now they are everywhere and the food is just meh.
Absolutely this. We didn’t ritually go there, but we’d go from time to time and have a good time. That fucking peg game is the fucking shit. I never cared for the food, but take me to any restaurant? I’ll find something to eat.
The original restaurant setting is playful and fun, oddly standing out by being ‘traditional.’ Even exposing kids to the fantasy, pioneer General Store version of way-back times is actively harmful, according to the Left. We’d have fun wandering around as kids, but I think we only ever purchased the interesting candy on their shelves.
“I don’t give a shit” is my most honest answer. Why should I?
There are two propositions that are widely believed and repeated:
A) The best part of life is doing things for others; your own pleasures are not the focus.
B) “People pleasing” is extremely bad for one’s mental health, and a common regret expressed by those on their deathbeds is that they did what was expected of them by others rather than what they themselves wanted to do.
It seems to me that there’s a contradiction, but what do you think? Am I missing some nuance? Do different things work for different people? Is there a way to balance those two, and how do you find the sweet middle ground? Or is one of them false?
People are different, news at eleven.
I figure the best path is between A and B.
Do you really want to know? Most people dont. They tell me they cannot contradict any of my arguments but cannot accept the conclusion that they lead to. That, or they hand-waive me away and say “That’s bullshit”.
Short answer: You have to look after yourself so that you can be strong enough to help others. Do not neglect yourself. You will know who to help and when to avoid being the victim of vampires.
You will know who to help and when to avoid being the victim of vampires.
That’s the thing that most “radical selflessness” philosophies don’t address: What to do when you encounter people who see kindness as a weakness that they can exploit for their own gain.
One person I know in a “six degrees” kind of way makes a habit of begging for money, saying she’s going to lose her apartment and live on the street if she doesn’t get X-hundred dollars fast, throws out some Bible quotes about helping the poor, then spends any resulting money on cigarettes, alcohol, and vacations. If she is refused, she goes on social media and makes a bunch of vague posts ranting about “all the greed in this world”.
Yeah….get a crucifix, a garlic necklace and DO NOT invite anyone in the house after dark.
John Galt. I swear by my life and love of it that will not live my life for the sake of ours or ask them to live for mine.
Since we are barely talking I will ramble on about another subject.
32 caliber pistols. I never had respect or desire for a 32. A 30 carbine is weak tea for a rifle but it shines in a pistol. The drawback is the horrible crack it makes. The other 32 cartridges are crap. When I had an arm I could throw a rock harder than that. But then…..
I ran across a Ruget single six in 32 H&R mag at a steal so I bought it. I got one box of ammo for it. I put a 55 gallon drum out about 80 yards from the back porch thinking the bullet would go through the facing side, hit the back side and dent it. I could recover the slug…right?
Nope. It made a VERY loud crack like the 30 carbine and the bullet hit the barrel right now, zipped all the way through the barrel and didnt even slow down. Huh. No shit…..
Now I am dying for a SW model 16 k-32 masterpiece with a 6″ barrel.
Those old S&W revolvers look sweet. I’m still in love with the Schofield wheelguns, but I have kind of an aversion to getting into a whole ‘nother caliber.
Is that going to be a carry gun? I’ve carried my GP100 .357 when I’m wearing heavier clothes.
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1120084122
Carry for the woods and target shooting.
The “Parker” series that I am reading was written in the 60’s and early 70’s and .32 caliber pistols show up surprisingly often. The author (Richard Stark, aka Donald Westlake) is apparently fond of the S&W Terrier and the Baretta Tomcat shows up often.
In the books James Bond had to trade in his beloved Baretta in 25ACP for a Walther PPK in .32.
I was raised on 22LR and large calibers. My first pistol was a 41 mag. My second…a 44 mag. When I got my first auto it was a 1911 in 45 acp. When I stepped down to 9mm I was pleasantly surprised but my disdain for the watered down 32’s remained for most of my life.
If you were unaware, there have been several attempts at making the Parker series of books into movies, the most infamous being the movie Payback (if you watch it, I highly recommend the director’s cut, although the theatrical cut is still good).
Sometimes a product like this is nice. Wait, this is made in Oreogon? Sorry, I had to. This is well made example of Vienna Lager, which might be better called “dark Mexican beer”. I get it, people like what they like even if its not remarkable, because there is comfort to know something is always the same no matter where you go, that’s never changed for a very long time. Is this beer one of those things? Not really, but its still pretty good. Try it with Quesobirria. pFriem Vienna Lager: 3.5/5
Sounds good.
It seems to me that there’s a contradiction, but what do you think? Am I missing some nuance?
Maybe the distinction between voluntary and compulsory?
Science-tists hardest hit
The US Supreme Court has derailed researchers’ efforts to reinstate almost $2 billion in research grants issued by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The court’s decision on Thursday represents a remarkable reversal, allowing the administration of US President Donald Trump to proceed with science cuts it began in late February.
Trump is plunging us back into the Dark Ages.
Cutting dollars that is given to entities who claim to be doing science is contracted to just “science cuts”. Nice.
“In a scientific sense, this is a total loss,” says Jenna Norton, a programme officer at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, which is part of the NIH. “The trust and certainty that is so critical to successfully conduct research has been completely obliterated by this ruling.”
“What the court made clear yesterday is, if your grants get cut, you’re not going to be able to get any effective remedy for it,” says Samuel Bagenstos, who until December was the top lawyer for the NIH’s parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services.
“Don’t you understand? Society OWES us that money. The high priesthood must receive their just and proper tribute from the ignorant rabble.
Early this year, the NIH began terminating thousands of research grants related to a plethora of topics disfavoured by the Trump administration, including DEI, HIV/AIDS and COVID-19. An analysis by Nature found that the cuts have razed entire fields of study, such as investigations into the health of transgender people. This loss of billions of dollars of funding has led dozens of research institutions, such as Stanford University in California, to lay off staff members.
Boo fucking hoo.
No shit. I remember listening to the hearings on whether or not employees of the drug companies should be allowed to moonlight with the NIH, CDC etc and write the regulations the companies have to adhere to. It was a fucking joke and clearly as crooked as hell. In the end they painted themselves just as they do here…selfless life saving indispensable saints and said the main reason they should enjoy both positions and both salaries is that they really like it that way.
FUCK. THEM.
such as investigations into the health of transgender people.
Here: I’ll save you billions of dollars… Their health is terrible because an actual “sex change” is not something we have the technology to do at this point. We have the technology to do irreparable damage to create a facade that requires constant medical intervention to maintain.
Wow, this was supposed to be a reply to Brooks’ comment above… I guess the reply decided to transition into a comment of its own.
The history of how Vienna lager became “dark Mexican beer” is one that’s interesting to me, and mildly entertaining.
The history of how Vienna lager became “dark Mexican beer” is one that’s interesting to me, and mildly entertaining.
I know nothing about that, but I do like XX amber and Modelo Negra.
Long story short, German immigrants brought their brewing styles to Central and South America, and their lagers became popular.
Never been to a Cracker Barrel. They’re thin on the ground up here.
Well. I got in an accident on the way home from work. No injuries and no one else involved. Hit a curb. Likely broke an axle.
It’s likely to be totaled, I’d imagine. Warning lights on in the lane, pushing the pedal in Drive didn’t connect any power to the engine. It did reverse. Fuck me. Police and fire took me in an ambulance to make sure I was OK, which I was. I up-sold the reality that I’ve been exhausted, the most obvious negative physical symptom I experienced. (This was not entirely true.) I still haven’t boiled down all my thoughts on it, but today was scary. Not at all in the moment, but from 30,000 feet. I didn’t have a (grand mal) seizure, I do know that. But right before it happened, I did realize I needed to pull over. (I think I did too soon, into the curb instead of the entrance road.)
Work was productive (for what it is) and I was gonna start my notes on my piece about it. I hope to still jot bits down, but I admit I’m rather distracted at the momo. Driving the mini-van to work tomorrow, as my ’13 Malibu awaits its fate in a tow-shop lot.
Me no likey. But I’ll be just fine. Life has no business being perfect. (Dammit.)
Holy shit, well glad nobody was hurt.
If you were unaware, there have been several attempts at making the Parker series of books into movies, the most infamous being the movie Payback (if you watch it, I highly recommend the director’s cut, although the theatrical cut is still good).
Made previously as Point Blank starring Lee Marvin.
Honey Harvest is 4 weeks away, Sep 21. Make your plans accordingly.
Time is of the essence!