Cougars

So one of those interesting cultural transitions that I have noticed recently is this "Cougar" identity that is gaining popularity. I am hearing about cougar clubs on the radio, seeing cougar blogs, and now there has been mention of cougar hang outs.

For those of you, like myself, that are not up on what it is to be a "Cougar" this is what I understand: A "cougar" is any women that goes for much younger men. So with the popularity of not settling down at the moment and getting married in your late thirties (as women) you would go after someone in their early twenties. So being strong, confident, and secure...knowing what you want and going after it no matter the age difference.

This is fine and good, and I have nothing bad to say about it (at this point) but when it is known that "cougars" hang out in a certain area, I will probably stay away. I am not really up to having to deal with under sexed and aggressive older women when I want a night out.

On a recent blog I saw that Spindini (a.k.a Sit-and-Spindini) is a cougar den. This bar has been trying to market itself as being for the "elite" and being very "posh" and with its reputation as an "identity building" restaurant......it has made me stay away. Now with it being identified as a place that these women hang out (combined with the fact that its most popular name is Sit-and-Spindini) has crossed this restaurant completely off my list.

All this being said, watch out for these "cougars" as I am not sure what kind of night to expect when you are trapped with them in a bar or etc. Also, be on the look out for these cougar dens as it might be hazardous to your health to interrupt a cougar when they are on the hunt!

UK Tipping Policy Change

Just like in restaurants here in the U.S., tips are used to subsidize the lack of wage that restaurant owners are able to pay their employees in hopes that tips with bring the hourly wage above minimum set by federal government. My last restaurant job here in TN had me at a $2.15 hourly rate ($5.15 when bar tending) with my tips for the night left to hopefully bring me to up to a high hourly wage. This is one of the many reasons that servers will run as many tables that they can handle in hopes of maximizing the amount of tips in one set of table rotations. Regardless, the UK held the same policy until recently. It seems that the restaurant worker's unions have pushed a bill that requires servers to earn the minimum wage regardless of their tips. This could do a number of things for the industry including bringing in a better level of staff and making the jobs more competitive and profitable than in the past.

Check out the BBC article.

Manic Monday

Just a couple of things real quick. While I did have a less than perfect day on Saturday, Friday and Sunday were amazing. My wife and myself (accompanied by my brother an law) got to attend the Beale Street Music Fest again this year. We had a blast as usual and I got to see Johny Lang, Joan Jet, Gavin Degraw, Michael Franti and Spearhead, and O.A.R. It was an amazing time as usual, and the not being able to drink on Sunday left for a lot of contemplation and self reflection that I usually miss out on due to my intoxication.

Last, but not least, was a new restaurant that we tried out this weekend. It's on Monroe in midtown and called Restaurant Iris It is situated in an old mid-town house and has been established by a young creole chef from Southern Louisiana by way of a New York culinary school. The ambiance is amazing and the food was even better so I highly recommend it if you are looking for something new.