What is quality?

It looks like I like to runt a lot, here the today one.

I've been recently to a bar/club/pub/whatever which was advertising 4$ Martinis on Thursdays.
Well, it was the worst Martini I have imagined I'll ever have. To give you a hint, it tasted like water with oil from olives. Not to be confused with olive oil which would've been palatable, albeit objectionable. There was no hint of vermouth, nor vodka just a watery oily slime.

Under normal circumstances I would chalk this to experience, never visit that establishment again and be done with it. However (and this is a word I like a lot :-) ) I had to pay a second visit next Friday to same establishment. Having being burned with the martini experience I asked for a Guinness along with a nachos planter. To my horror, the Guinness come in a bottle with the explanation they don't serve anything on tap. Come on, Guinness form a bottle? Not even from a can with a widget? How are these guys staying in business?

As it turns out the answer is ignorance. My friend who dragged me into that club the second time around had no idea what a widget is in context of beer bottling.
Another surprise come around when I asked around and found  not many understood James Bonds statement "I like my martini shaked, not stirred". *(see note)

So, to end my runt: I have to ask: Are we growing Stupid? Are we taking Big Corp advertising at face value and forget what food or drinks should taste like? I cannot see how a business who serves oily water as martini can survive more than three weeks unless the patrons don't know or don't care what a quality drink or meal is.

*note: Marini is a cocktail made of vodka (or gin) and vermouth and spices and bitters.

Worst coffe

is McDonalds and that is official.

I thought Tim Horton's coffee is the worst but then I tried McDonalds and changed my mind.
It's bland, bitter and has no body nor after taste. They probably use the cheapest Colombian beans  they can get. No wonder they give it for free.

Beef stew

Here is a recipe that calls for inexpensive meat and turns it into a great dish.

Start with some beef shank or back ribs or ox tail or some similar lesser grade beef. Add some onion, carrots, celeriac, parsnip, potatoes or whatever you have in your pantry and cook them together for four to six hours on very low heat. Season with salt, pepper, bay leaves, garlic and ginger.