Dine for the Charleston

The den has a cut out door with pass through windows on either side of it. I’d like to make the room double as a den/office/spare guest room and need ideas on how to enclose it in without actually closing the space in. I was considering a cafe door or informal french doors and plantation blinds for the window cut outs. Does this make sense for an interior room with no "true" windows? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

1] do french doors with multiple panes – you can even get sliding [ pocket ] ones!
2] mount blinds above doors/windows, for privacy when needed.

Hubby and I are planning a trip to Cleveland next month. We’re going to go to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Hard Rock Cafe. We’re very early in our planning stage. Any good fine dining place to go for supper? Any strange of the wall kind of stuff to see? What’s a good area to walk around? Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance.

Well don’t plan on going to the Flats because there is NOTHING there anymore! It has been condemned and is being demolished right now for re-building of the whole area. But…you should definitely go to the Rock Hall. The Hard Rock Cafe SUCKS here. It’s nothing like others in the big cities. Trust me…I have lived here my whole life and work downtown. Go to the West Side Market for a great experience! It’s one of the best markets! Don’t know what your style is but there is a few great places downtown on East 4th street. The House of Blues is there, Lola (a very expensive but well known restaurant),a high end bowling alley called The Corner Alley, and then Pickwick and Frolic…which is a really good restaurant/ comedy club/ martini bar. All are FUN!! They are all right next to each other. You will really enjoy this area of downtown. Hope this all helps! If you need more info…let me know! Here the websites if you want to check these places out…

If you have dined at Mimi’s on Thanksgiving for holiday’s past how was your experience??? Thanks!

As far as I know it is. Several years ago, my sister, my hubby and myself dined at Mimi’s in Sacramento on Thanksgiving day and were delightfully surprised. They serve a very nice dinner. You don’t leave on empty! Reservations would be highly recommended as the place was packed and people were waiting in line!

I am traveling on the Amtrak Capitol Limited for the first time next month and I had some questions. Are regular coach class passengers allowed to sit in the lounge/cafe car and eat in the dining car?

Also is there assigned seating or first come first serve.

. Lounge cars are for all passengers. Coach passengers may eat in the dining car;however, they must pay for their meals. First Class( Sleeper) passengers’ meals are included in their ticketprice. Breakfast and Lunch require no reservations; however, evening meals do. Stay in your coach seat and meal time will be called on the intercom. You will find detailed info on The Capitol Limited Amtrak services and a rroute guide by seaching the words on your PC. I traveled from Washington DC to Chicago on it about 10 years ago and was dissapointed in their meal service. Imagine! They served on paper plates and had no menues. The conductor had forgot them? The Crescent City( New Orleans- New York) knew how to treat passengers. Also The Starlite (Seattle-L.A.) was perfect for me. Wonderful scenery, meals, movies etc. If I traveled The Capitol Limited again, I would ask before leaving the station( in a joking way) if they had their menues and regular plates on the train, because a friend told you they had forgotten them when he made the trip. Does not hurt to keep them on their toes and get better service.

i am planning on starting a kabab cafe, it will serve kabab rolls and will also have steak rolls like philly cheese steaks for people who dont want to try kababs.It will be casual dining serving wraps and bowls of international food. Mostly grilled items and some salads.

Please suggest some names and if you have to go eat at this place, what would you like to see on menu.
It will cater to suburban population who would like to try ethnic food with an American twist in casual dining, you can call it subway version of kebabs and grill restaurant.
Thank you for wonderful suggestions, the name should convey that the place serves kabab and also american fare like steaks burgers etc…..kabab and steak

Kabob’s N’at. If you lived anywhere near Pittsburgh, you’d understand.

When I lived in Austin, there were great 24 hour places like the Magnolia Cafe and Kerbey Lane, and it seems that in the bay area things like to close down early. What’s a good place with interesting food that is either open late or never closes? In-N-Out, IHOP, and Denny’s are known quantities, so let me know about some other places. Thanks.

I’m a fan of the Cardinal Lounge on Merdian Ave. in San Jose which is open 24-hours.

i cant figure out if you just eat at the hotel, or if you have to pay at the dining room…plz help. its a skool project….thanks

Hard Rock Hotel and Hard Rock Cafe are two different places. You do have to pay to eat/dine at the Cafe and as well as pay to eat at the hotel.
www.universal.com has information that may help!

i cant figure out if you just eat at the hotel, or if you have to pay at the dining room…plz help. its a skool project….thanks

Hard Rock Hotel and Hard Rock Cafe are two different places. You do have to pay to eat/dine at the Cafe and as well as pay to eat at the hotel.
www.universal.com has information that may help!

As a simple cafe, serving homestyle food, it was a success for decades. Recent owners tried to make it a "fine dining experience", and alienated customers.

I have the interest and wherewithal, except for (only!) the management expertise to get it moving again. How could I recruit someone (ideally, maybe a Business student who grew up in a small rural restaurant) to help me get a good start?

Location is very significant, on a very beautiful, isolated stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway. How could I go about recruiting enthusiastic staff from other parts of Canada (maybe elsewhere?)

When My son was at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, part of their Business course was to help businesses come out with business plan and to help improve some of the local businesses.

you might want to check with the local Colleges and their business professors to find out if they have a similar program.

You might also check with the local chamber of Commerce, they might be able to put you in contact with retire successful businessmen that could help you get started.

We dined at the Atwood twice while we were in Chicago and my wife said it was the best veggie burger she had ever had so I would like to get the recipe for her if possible.

Portobello Mushroom Burgers

4 portobello mushroom caps
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
4 (1 ounce) slices provolone cheese

Place the mushroom caps, smooth side up, in a shallow dish.
In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil, basil, oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Pour over the mushrooms.
Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes or so, turning twice.
Preheat grill for medium-high heat.
Brush grate with oil.
Place mushrooms on the grill, reserving marinade for basting.
Grill for 5 to 8 minutes on each side, or until tender.
Brush with marinade frequently.
Top with cheese during the last 2 minutes of grilling

Carmelized Onion

2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
3 pounds of onions
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup of dry white wine or water
Grated Parmesan Cheese
By the time you finish caramelizing the onions they will have cooked down to about half their size.

Peel and slice the onions.

In a really large fry pan melt the butter and olive oil over really low heat. Add the onions to the pan

Sprinkle on 1 teaspoon of salt.

Cook the onions over the lowest heat possible for about 1 hour. (Yikes! That’s a long time!) Don’t be tempted to increase the heat. You can not speed up this process. Over the course of 1 hour they should not turn brown. Be sure to give them an occasional stir

After about one hour increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the onions are well browned. That could take another 25 minutes. There will be a lot of brown bits stuck on the bottom of the pan. Those bits are full of flavor. To get them off the bottom of the pan and incorporated into the onions turn off the stove and pour ½ cup of dry white wine (or water) into the pan.

After the wine is added turn the stove back on. This will ensure the alcohol doesn’t catch fire and flame up

Stir while the onion turn darker brown

Now remove them from the heat. Add salt and ground pepper and even a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.