Deal of the month: Peet's Coffee strikes again

 

If you missed all the free coffee you could ever hope for during April, you now have a second chance to take advantage of the generous/marketing savvy chain, Peet's Coffee and Tea. They have created a new line of blended offerings, and are promoting them hard. For the next three Saturdays, from 2 to 4PM, you can get a free 'sample' of their Scharffen Berger Chocolate Mocha Freddo.

I'm not exactly sure what constitutes a 'sample', and whether the portion size is as generous as their April anniversary extravaganza. Nor am I sure whether you can get the chocolate-only product (you lame non-coffee drinkers out there) as part of this promotion, or just the mocha.

FYI, if you're unfamiliar with the company, Scharffen Berger is considered to be one of the better American chocolate makers out there.

Me? I'm just a sucker for anything free.

Wine of the Week -- Update

 

Waterstone 2003 Napa Cab...

Back from dabbling in laziness (when it comes to blogging, that is), I am happy to report on the wine I mentioned a few weeks back. If you remember, I had read about it in several newsletters, and then picked up a bottle to try out, recommending it to you BEFORE I had even tasted it myself.

Well, I've finally tried it, and I can say that the juice lives up to the hype, especially if you're a cab fanatic. To address the concerns of one reader, the wine tasted as good (if not better) five days after opening, with no 'falling apart' Prisoner issues to speak of.

Thumbs up.

We were at the Palm, everybody had matching towels (or bibs)

 

Apologies to the B-52s. But summer is almost here, and there's a great meal deal for any fan of lobster. This is especially enticing for a California transplant who once spent her summers on Cape Cod and in Maine, where the crustacean was in plentiful supply and of the New England clawed variety, rather than the New Zealand/Australian spiny version oft found in LA.

For the next two and a half months, the Palm Restaurant (including most locations) is celebrating 80 years of existence with the "80 days of jumbo lobster" event (kudos to the marketing guy who thought such a clever name).

The deal is as follows: two salads, two family sized side orders, two coffees or teas, and one four, five or six pound lobster for $75, $85 and $85 respectively.

For anybody who has accidentally made the mistake of ordering a lobster for one at the Palm in the past (ahem, Mr. Dabbler), you will know that the Palm normally charges $25 a pound for a minimum three pound beast. That includes only the lobster and bib, and none of the other edible accoutrements. So you can see how this current situation constitutes a 'deal'.

One point of advisement: stick with the four pounder. Anything larger has probably built enough muscle traversing the ocean floor over the many years it takes to reach such epic size that it will likely be tough. Bigger is not always better as far as lobstah is concerned. Plus, you can always use the ten or twenty bucks you'll save to turf it, with the addition of a steak to your meal, or to dessert it, with an oversized piece of chocolate layer cake to accompany your complimentary coffee.

Go under a rock, or to the Palm, from now until August 19th.

Rock Lobster!!!
Down, down...

Underneath the waves
Mermaids wavin'
Wavin' to mermen
Wavin' sea fans
Sea horses sailin'
Dolphins wailin'

Rock Lobster!!!

The Ivy Pinkerton Files: "Sox in the City"

 

From New York, Ivy reports:

I have been a bit delinquent in posting. What can I say? There are too many things to write about. I’ve been stymied by the multitude of fashion nuggets thrust upon us this season. Wedges? Black and white stripes? Eyelet? Metallic shoes redux?

Instead, I am compelled to post on a more metaphysical topic: the potential influence of baseball teams on mating. Huh? Let me explain. I have uncovered a phenomenon of which all single Manhattan women should take note. If you are looking to meet more men, don’t buy a puppy (pooper scooping is not chic, anyhow), wear a Red Sox T-shirt.

I was given a Red Sox T-shirt by my husband. Knowing next to nothing about baseball, I wore it around Manhattan and was amazed how many men spoke to me – at the bakery, post office, park, wine shop – every where I went some man would strike up conversation mentioning such foreign words as “Bonds”, ”innings”, ”outs”, and “frozen rope”, whatever the heck that is. It dawned on me that this is a total guy-magnet conversation starter. For those who don’t know, the Red Sox are totally hated by Yankees fans, which make up approximately 90% of Manhattan single men.

Being happily married, I had to tell my single girlfriends because I knew I was really on to something. In fact, I bought one dear friend a Red Sox shirt and had her report back. She says: “Suffice it to say, it worked a super-powered magnetic charm. I would say that I met more men in those three hours then in three months of wearing ‘party tops’ and four inch heels”.

Ladies, take note. Throw out your Jeter shirt – it’s not special. Manhattan men respond to controversy. You’ll get more interest with your contrarian stance – go Varitek! Go Ortiz! Go Manny! Go get your Red Sox T-shirt now. --IP

Oh Ivy, where art thou?

 

With summer just around the corner, I bet we could all use some fashion tips. I certainly know the Dabbler needs all the help she can get. So I plead to Ivy, stop doing your actual work and enlighten us on the dos and don'ts of the impending season. We need and miss you!