Elephun Wednesday (on Thursday)

I have to apologize.  I know you all look forward to Elephun Wednesday and wait with bated breath for the post to come up every Wednesday.  But yesterday you waited in vain.  I have no excuses.  I just hope you can forgive me.

This week, while looking for something completely different, we stumbled upon a picture that we all thought was perfect for The Shipping Monkeys.  Very appropriate, don't you think?

Random Food Mash-up

Cubano

Last week I got lazy and didn't bring lunch one day.  And instead of doing something responsible and getting something good for me or even going for something good for my wallet I got my heart set on a cubano sandwich from  Solas.  And of course Babbit will go along with anything he doesn't have to go get himself.  So we talk Alan into getting lunch with us (it didn't take much.)  I got the cubano, Alan got the caprese chicken sandwich and Babbit got the fish and chips.  The sandwiches came with fries and for all three the fries came in their own container.  Which was nice because I think it helped the fries stay crispy.  And you got a lot of fries.  Which was nice too.  Alan said the chicken was moist and tender and the sandwich was good.  The cubano was greasy and delicious.  It was surprisingly spicy.  I liked it but it was more heat than I expected even though it said it had chipotle mayo on it.  Babbit, who is notoriously picky, pronounced the fish and chips good as well.  The batter was light and crispy.  He did not complain about it at all.  Which, if you know Babbit, means a lot.  At $18 for the fish and chips and $15 for a sandwich it is a little more expensive than we can do on a regular but the food was really good and I will probably go back at some point.

And then I didn't bring lunch again.  And Babbit never brings lunch because he has it like that.  So we ended up at Boloco the next day.  I got the buffalo, like (almost) always.  But this time I tried it with the whole wheat tortilla.  I like the buffalo wrap.  But I'll be going back to the flour tortilla.  And Babbit got the classic because he doesn't like new.  But this time he tried carnitas.  I was very proud of him.  And once again I don't think he complained about the food.  It is nice to have a place that still has reasonable prices within walking distance when everything else is being priced out of the area.  The only problem I have with Boloco is that the small is slightly too small and the regular size is slightly too big.  So I never really know which size to get.

Then, on Friday, the only day I should have gone out and bought lunch we went back to the Teriyaki House.  I talked about it earlier here.  We tried a few other things this time, including the Korean Spicy Beef and the Spring Rolls.  Once again everything was good.  Once again Danny...Boy was not in that day.  We still need to work on him.

Korean Spicy Beef

Kudos

Kudos this week goes to Seabiscuit for not showing up on Friday.  We all enjoyed the break.  We got to unload the vans with no one on the ramp.  And his replacement said absolutely nothing.  It was a nice change.  So thank you for being an irresponsible employee.  We appreciated it.

Elephun Wednesday

Didn't I just do Elephun Wednesday yesterday?  Well, the calendar says no.  But it feels like it to me.  So here we are again.  And this week I think we got another good one.  It is often hard to choose an Elephun Wednesday picture because there are so many good ones out there.  But when we saw this one we all just knew it was the perfect choice.

Kudos

This week the whole team (except Babbit and Henry, who abandoned us) gets kudos.  It was kind of the week from hell and everyone stepped up and got stuff done.  Even Tobeato came through in his fashion.

Anti-kudos (or as Alan would call it, cooties) goes to Babbit who let this scheduling snafu happen in the first place.  WTF?

And the weather.  Again WTF?

And all the people who told us to stay hydrated.

And all the people who asked when we would be moving back into our old space.

As you might be able to tell, this week sucked!

Elephun Wednesday

It is once again Elephun Wednesday.  They seem to be coming faster and faster lately.  It's a good thing that people out there like elephants as much as we do.  It means that we will never run out of elephant pictures.  And it turns out that you can find a picture of an elephant doing just about anything.

Finally We Got Shake Shack

Alan had been promising to buy us lunch at the Shake Shack forever but he always had some lame excuse why he couldn't.  Well, he finally did.  And we are all glad he did.  Surprisingly it was the first time for most of us and we were all pleased. 


Everyone liked the burgers.  The fries got reviews like average, fine and okay.  But I, personally, would have put them a notch above that. I guess I liked them more than the guys did.  Babbit did something weird again and we ended up with a chicken sandwich that we cut up and shared.  That was good too.  The chicken was moist and the batter was light and crispy.

A couple of us got shakes as well since that seemed like the right thing to do at the Shake Shack.  Vanilla was the favorite choice but we also tried the salted caramel.  Both were really good.  You can also get your shake malted.  I plan to try that next time.

We all agreed that the prices were reasonable enough and the food was good enough to add it to our lunch rotation. 

 

 

 

Big City Otto Review

Big City Otto (Elephants Never Forget 1) written by Bill Slavin with Esperanca Melo, art by Bill Slavin

(from the back of the book)
It's said that elephants never forget, and Otto is no exception.  He just can't stop thinking about his long lost friend Georgie, a chimp snatched from the jungle by the mysterious Man with the Wooden Nose.  So with the help of his parrot pal, Crackers, Otto sets off for America in search of his childhood chum.  But from the moment this unlikely pair tumbles out of the baggage claim at a big city airport, trouble seems to be all these two manage to find...

It's fun.  There are some predictable jokes about how Otto breaks things without meaning to, or misunderstands something because he has never been in a city before.  And there are the running jokes about how he is self-conscience of his size and allergic to peanuts.  But the story is goofy and silly and meant to be so, so the jokes are still cute, and to a young audience they will be even funnier than they were to me.  The illustrations and bright and fun.  And by the end of the book you are worried about Georgie, sad for Otto, and attached to Crackers for sticking with his friend through all the trouble they get into.  You want to find out what happens to everyone so you will more than likely go and get the next book.  And the best sign of a good story is when you want to keep reading even when the book is over.

Fashion News

Today in the fashion news we have what is sure to be all the rage in headgear this season.  The Box Lid.  Modeled here by our very own Alan.  This model is made from a rubber glove box.  Tissue boxes are also very good material for Box Lids and are preferred for the female version as they often have very nice patterns.  With the variety available you can find a Box Lid for any occasion and for any style.

Kudos

We have a lot to celebrate in kudos this week.

First we have to give kudos to Alan because he finally bought us that lunch he promised to buy us like 8 months ago.  It was delicious and free for everyone but Alan.  So you really can't beat that.  Thank you, Alan.

Next we have to acknowledge Babbit again.  It was awesome when he made Big Ed's screaming goat ring tone go off, not once, but twice, during the pizza party.  The second one during the thank you speech.  Good one, Babbit.

Also, Bucky gets kudos this week as well.  That's right.  I'm giving myself kudos.  I deserve it.  I made Danny...Boy his favorite cookies for his birthday.  Now, by itself, making cookies might not be enough to get kudos.  But it is July.  And it was 90 in my kitchen before I turned the oven on.  And we all know how I loooove the heat.  Besides, they are fantastic cookies.  Just look at them.

Elephun Wednesday

Well, it's Elephun Wednesday, but unfortunately I can't share the Elephun Wednesday picture with you.  Which is quite a shame.  Because Henry picked it and it made him laugh like a maniac.  I think you would have liked it to.  But apparently it was copyrighted or something. So you will just have to imagine it.  Picture, if you will, an elephant that has a huge hamburger for a body.  Or if you prefer you can imagine a hamburger that has an elephant's head and legs.  Anyhow, it was an add for a hamburger you could get at Comeketo, called the elephant burger.  If you live any where near Leominster Massachusetts you should go check it out.  I don't think the burger is made with real elephant but it has just about everything else.  It might give you a heart attack but it looks like you would die happy.

Kudos

This week a double kudos (something I made up just for this because regular kudos just wouldn't do) goes to Fishy Fishy.  In what was a surprise to all of us, Fishy Fishy worked elephant books into his interview for the newsletter.  He hadn't told any of us what he had said so it was even better when we read it and found out for ourselves.  Good job, Fishy Fishy.  We all agree it was a stroke of genius.