Down in the dumps lunch at Arby’s. Shared a Reuben, curly fries and iced tea. (They have Pepsi which I won’t drink and they had no lemon for the tea.) I don’t think we felt much better.
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The “Meat Mountain” sandwich at Arby’s is the key.
For a while they were serving Boylan soda. Guess that was short-lived.
Doesn’t fast food just make everyone sadder?
[Should we split this thread?]
Not at all. It’s a kind of comfort food. There’s a time and place for everything. And those Arby’s fries were better than most I’ve had anywhere. I was thinking about going back, bringing my own (Mexican) coke, ordering two fries and having that for lunch.
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How comforting.
LOL! It was the lack of Coke and lemon 
The sandwich and fries were hunky dory.
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Fast food as comfort is like a tournaquet - won’t fix what’s wrong with you but at least it’ll stop the [emotional] bleeding…up until the point where that little part of your soul dies.
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I think the people who are forced to eat fast food might be sadder, whether it’s because there’s nothing else around, or are in a time crunch, or are short on funds.
I don’t eat fast food very often, so if I do eat it, it’s usually because I’m craving it. Sometimes you just need a 20 piece Chicken McNuggets with 4 packs of sweet and sour sauce. (no fries, but if I want fries, I do the 10 piece) So I’m happier, not sadder after I eat it.
I do think the people who don’t eat any fast food at all are missing out somewhat.
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I’ve concluded I rather have McD at airports… formulaic production, minimal fuckups and good QPR (relatively speaking… )
I actually like to try fast food/chain restaurants in other countries. Always McDonalds. Usually Dominos. They often have items unique to that country. I like trying the stuff that we don’t get here, like a Paneer Burger, Maharaja Mac, Sambal Chicken Burger, Tandoori Chicken Pizza, etc. 
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Haha yes, some more memorable experiences - Seafood pizza at Dominos in Tokyo, chili sauce at KFC in India that tasted exactly like Hainanese Chicken rice chili.
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We ate at a KFC in Rio. They used real plates and flatware, bussed your table and had the ubiquitous in Brazil rice and beans. Fun.
Michelin calls that ‘consistency’.
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What happens when you learn inglish in the 'hood
I have been known to do well in my English classes from UCLA
Ergo… Westwood, always up to no good.
I finally tried the “famous” White Moustache yogurt that I picked up this weekend at Eataly and which someone above said was reason enough to go to Eataly.
I enjoyed the yogurt, but I still prefer the hard to find in Southern California St. Benoit yogurt from Petaluma because I swear I can taste the Jersey cow in the St. Benoit. Definitely no Jerseys in the White Moustache. I got the plain. Perhaps the flavored White Moustaches ones are more special since they seem to be made with some unusual jams.
Haven’t tried White Mustache, but I second St. Benoit - don’t know about Jersey cows, but it’s by far the best yogurt I’ve ever had. My mother occasionally gets it in some “farmer’s market” boxes. I’ll try to remember to ask for details next time.
Proof of the old adage that it is never the same river twice, I hit Eataly at 11:00 a.m. today to get another slice of Roman margherita pizza. It was good, but not as divine as the slice I had on Sunday. I think the big difference was that even though it was exactly at 11:00 a.m. when I got there, all the pizzas were already out (and perhaps had been for awhile as they were preparing for the weekday opening rush). The pizza, while not cold, was not immediately out of the oven like it had been on Sunday and that definitely made a difference in taste. Also, on Sunday, the margherita had nice round balls of mozzarella and today the mozzarella was all melted and flat, which I think made it taste not quite as good. Finally, the basil slices today were not as sprightly as the ones on Sunday had been.
Since I was the only person at the counter at 11:00 a.m., I did get to pick my slice. There was a corner slice that barely had any topping and I felt sorry for the person who was going to come along later and either get stuck with that slice or reject it and have to wait quite awhile for a new margherita to come out of the oven (or choose a different variety of pizza).
After I finished my pizza and was leaving, a luscious looking olive-topped pizza came out of the oven and, of course, I was disappointed that I had already eaten as opposed to being able to nab a slice of that pizza right when it was pulled from the oven. Other than lucking out as something comes right out of the oven, I guess you have to get to the pizza stand 5 minutes or so before it opens, lurk and hope you can nab a slice as it comes directly out of the oven, although I am not sure if they will open the cash register before 11:00 a.m. if the pizzas come out early.
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Wouldn’t have stopped me. 
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Finally tried La Pizza & La Pasta restaurant at Eataly. On the one hand, I had a perfectly pleasant business dinner. On the other hand, I understand what all the hate is about. Del Posto (my favorite Italian restaurant) it is not. And I think because of the hype and crowds, some people were expecting greatness and were predictably disappointed.
After we had skipped lunch and a business meeting ended early, we waltzed in to La Pizza & La Pasta at 4:40 p.m. on a Friday evening and were promptly seated at a nice window table. We ordered suppli rice balls, mozzarella with pesto, tomatoes and olives, a margherita pizza, tagliatelle al ragù with braised brisket and a fennel and burrata salad. (We also ordered the shishito peppers, which somehow never showed up. I didn’t pay, and the person who paid didn’t check, so hopefully the peppers didn’t show up on the bill).
The suppli were fine, but nothing amazing, and the same was true of the mozzarella. Definitely not the equal of the mozarella I have had at Osteria Mozza. The margherita pizza was nice, but a little “wet” as some have mentioned, and I didn’t think as good as the pizza at Pizzeria Mozza or Sotto, and even at Eataly, I prefer the “cheap” Roman pizza. The tagliatelle was perfectly al dente, but I didn’t like the dish much because the brisket was cooked with sugar and cinnamon and I loathe any hint of sweetness outside of a dessert dish. (One of the worst things I have ever had – a dish that the New York Times raved about – was foie gras in strudel dough sprinkled with sugar – like an apple strudel but instead of apples there was foie). I thought the fennel and burrata salad was just plain tasteless.
For wine, we got the Il Bruciato (blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah) and I was shocked at how decent it was for a $56 bottle of wine.
The thing that made me the happiest, and why I would return in a heartbeat, was the selection of amaro – they had at least 10 on the menu, maybe more. We ordered Maria Al Monte, which I have had before, and this other one whose name I can’t remember but which I adored. (Definitely need to return to the restaurant to find the name of that particular amaro since they don’t have the amaro menu online). It was just so pleasant to sit there in the early evening and sip wonderful amaro, and for those of us who work in Century City, it is even more amazing that you can float directly from your office and do that. So for me, La Pizza & La Pasta is a cool neighborhood hangout.
After dinner, we went down to Caffe Lavazza and had bombolini, cannoli, tea for me and cappuccino for my dining companions. I enjoyed the bombolini and cannoli more than when I had tried them previously (most have been all that amaro that primed me for dessert) and my companions pronounced the cappuccino excellent (I’m not a coffee drinker).
Give me more amaro!
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