Trent's Quick Bite

New Lakeside Village restaurant

Thursday, 18 April 2013 15:32

Lakeside Village in Lakeland lost a potato place and gained a Lebanese lunch.

The franchise operation is open for more than lunch but that was the alliteration.

Habibi has two cones of meat rotating in front of burners for shawarma. A guy with a big knife shaves off the beef or chicken after you order it and puts it on a platter or in a sandwich.

As well, they have grape leaves, tahini, tabouli (I would like more wheat and less tomato), baba ganoush, and falafel. There is even more but you need to drop in to find out all the goodies and combinations.

The best deal on the menu is a bowl of hearty lentil soup for $2.99.

Finish with baklava.

Fun in the coupon fliers

Monday, 25 March 2013 09:26

People with an odd sense of humor can find fun in almost anything. That includes me. And more than 30 years as an editor helps find the funnies.

Here are some oddities and sillies from last weekend’s coupon fliers.

* Sargento now makes “Ultra Thin” cheese slices with only 45 calories per slice. The sandwich in the photo has at least four slices of cheese on it.

* “Get lots of protein” says the ad for Mountain High ”Original style yoghurt”. 10 grams per serving. The Greek yogurt in our fridge has 18 grams per 6-ounce serving.

Before we had Greek Yogurt we had “yogurt cheese.” Put a coffee filter in a strainer and pour in 32 ounces of yogurt then put it over a bowl. Put it in the fridge and in the morning you have “Yogurt cheese.” Today it’s called Greek yogurt. The liquid is whey and it can go in pancakes or drinks or soups. To be fair . . .some Greek yogurts are fermented longer than plain for more body and bite.

* The heading on an ad for Totino’s Rolls Snacks says “ In just 60s, you can’t get more Italian” How long is “60s”? Or is that an age?

* Ronzoni pastas now come in bagged portions ready to drop into boiling water for three minutes. Restaurants have been doing this for years. Portion mostly-cooked pasta and either bag it or wrap in plastic. Drop the pasta into boiling water for a minute or two and drain.

* Degree Expert Protection is what we used to call deodorant or antiperspirant. Now it’s getting so smart. “With motionsense. The more you move the more it works.”

Do read the small print on the coupon. Maximum of 2 identical coupons per shopping trip.

* Here’s my favorite silly of the weekend.

Bob Evans Mac ‘n Mashtini. It’s mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, ham, Cheddar cheese, bread crumbs and parsley layered in a martini glass.

Yum. Yum.

Find something silly? Send it along as a comment and we can all get a laugh.

Dog food recall

Monday, 18 March 2013 17:02

Natura Pet Products today (March 18) announced a recall of four of its most popular dry dog foods.

The reason is possible contamination with salmonella bacteria.

EVO, Innova, California Natural and Healthwise might be affected.

Proctor and Gamble owns the company that makes these foods.

There have not been any reports of sickness but the company is acting wisely to avoid potential disaster.

Your pet store should have the dates of the recalled products.

Caring bank gets a Thank You

Monday, 18 March 2013 09:19

The Central Park Art Festival in Winter Haven last weekend was sponsored by TD Bank.

The weather was beautiful, and so was the American-made art.

Food from Winter Haven Tallulah’s, among other food vendors, was, as always, outstanding. So was the music from professional and amateur musicians.

TD Bank handed out bags with goodies in them . . .a Frisbee-like flier, a couple of suckers, a key holder and pens.

A couple of the gifts were different from the others.

The container for a stand to hold a cell phone while charging says ”Made in the USA.”

A package of plastic bandages says “This bandage holder was printed in the USA on 35% recycled post-consumer stock. The bandages were made in Canada.”

When was the last time you got something for nothing that wasn’t made far away?

Thanks TD Bank for caring enough about where we live to support North America.

Glad they are new

Monday, 11 March 2013 08:19

Once Amazon has you it is difficult to get away, but some of the stuff it sends is fun.

For instance . . . For Easter you can buy 48 Cadbury Easter Creme Eggs for the bargain price of $33.59. That’s 70 cents each.

What makes these special is the small print down a ways in the email. They are listed as “new”.

Not even horse meat

Saturday, 02 March 2013 10:02

There is a scandal running through Europe about horse meat in beef. It has hit restaurants, packing houses, retailers and prepared foods.

Taco Bell has been hit in Britain. The company acknowleded that its beef had been adulterated with horse meat and apologized to consumers. Beef products have been pulled from restaurants.

It gets even nuttier in Iceland.

A food official said his team had found a beef product from a local butcher, local is Reykjavik, that had no meat at all.

A beef pie found in a supermarket had “no mammalian DNA.”

From a health standpoint, that might not be a bad thing.