Photos and blog post by John HoffThis has been a pet peeve of mine for a several months, now, and some days ago I decided to finally write about it the same way I write about, for example, the unsightly Plexiglass windows at Friedman's Shoes on West Broadway. You see, there's a little place called the Chicago Grill on Lowry Ave. N. which serves the usual stomach-churning assortment of greasy meat-based foods widely available in North Minneapolis, and the window of the store advertises TIALIAN BEEF.
That's right. Tialian.
I can understand somebody making a mistake when the sign was manufactured. Hey, mistakes happen. What I can't understand is why they...
...went ahead and installed it like that. Was there nobody at all--from the person who ordered the sign to the person who installed it to the person who paid for it--NOBODY AT ALL WHO CARED WHETHER THE SIGN WAS SPELLED CORRECTLY AND CARED TO IMPOSE SOME KIND OF CIVILIZED STANDARDS? We're not talking about a misplaced apostrophe, here, or the wrong use of they/their/they're but rather a spelling error which is pretty much inexcusable butchery of the English language.
Now here's the crazy part. After I took this picture but BEFORE I managed to blog about it, the misspelled sign which had remained for, lo, many months...is gone. It's covered over with some kind of brown paper or cardboard. I think somebody saw me taking the photo from inside the store so maybe they decided to fix the issue before I could blog about it. Or it's a coincidence.
But if only I could get such quick progress with Friedman's Shoe Stores.
Already, I'm starting to miss the misspelled sign and grow sentimental. When I would drive by it with my girlfriend Megan Goodmundson, we always chuckled even as we gritted our teeth.
Lately, I was pioneering some experimental communication in "Chicago Grill Pig Latin," like so:
It's a tsereotype to say all Tialians have afmily members who are in the amfia.
With our neighborhood changing so rapidly, it's hard to cover the BIG STORIES let alone something this minor. But on a day that saw both a court hearing on the Jerry Moore v. John Hoff defamation suit, as well as a new attempt at a lawsuit by Peter "Spanky Pete" Rickmyer, somehow this little story got documented for posterity.
Tialian beef! Uymmy!
The basic premise of sanitation is that foods have a defined period of time in which pathogens can grow to unhealthy levels. This is generally 4 hours at temps between 40 and 145 degrees.
ReplyDeleteThe key to finding a good healthy meal at a restaurant is that they have enough business to turn over the perishable food product so it doesn't sit too long or it isn't continually handled which can lead to cross-contamination.
You place your trust that the vendor takes due diligence to protect you from serving contaminated foods.
Do you think that someone who is too cheap to replace a bad sign in front of their store won't take shortcuts that might jeopardize your health.
Interesting point. I have to admit, I never even thought of that angle but I can't disagree.
ReplyDeleteBeen like that for months? Try years!
ReplyDeleteGrrrrrrrr! They wouldn't have left it like that in any other part of the Metro, but the standards are so low here, who cares? right?
Do you think they have Talian meatballs?
ReplyDeleteSaw a write up in Strib about Mpls restaurants who were found to have critical food/health inspection citations at recent inspections. The Strib actually framed it in a top 10 worst findings list.
ReplyDelete#10 Chicago Grill, 1120 Lowry Av. N., 8 critical (25 total)
Unhygienic practices observed. Raw meat stored next to cooked meat. Unsanitary food-prep tables, coolers and freezers. Dishwashing not properly done. Raw eggs at room temperature. No illness log on site.
This #10 was in no different than other nine listed but since this restaurant had already been featured here I am spotlighting this comment here.
Every time I drive by this intersection (Lowry and Emerson) there are groups of people loitering, running around the intersection, generally causing too much disruption and distraction in that area. I strongly suspect open air drug dealing. Revitalizers should call 9-1-1 on loiterers and suspected drug dealers so we can get this area cleaned up. I strongly suspect the owners or employees at this Chicago Grill are in cahoots with the no accounts on the sidewalks, based on what I have observed.
The link to the Strib list here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/121028544.html