The Healing Power of Food

When I was a wee lass (well, 16) I had it in mind that I would love to own a sort of funky tea shop/sandwhich place. All the details for the building and decor and food/drink; type of employee I'd like, etc. were there. I never did a thing with it and a few years later, these little places were popping up all over the place. I never went with my gut to open a place.

I've always adored Halloween. Halloween wasn't really big after the 70's scare of razor blades in apples, etc. (those horrid "Harvest Parties" became vogue- or, worse yet - those "Hallowed KING parties" for the BornAgains...allow me to go off on a tangent rant here and say/rant: just because you RENAME a pagan holiday and pretend it's about Christ doesn't mean it isnt' a pagan holiday/endrant) I should have invested in Halloween when I was so in love with it because a few years later it hit really BIG. There were (and still are) stores wholly dedicated to just Halloween stuff. Missed that one.

I used to work in a clinic and I saw a new insurance-type emerge --- it was orginally called Western Ohio and it was a type of HMO that GM employees in our area got. They were encouraged to come to this Doc-in-a-Box place instead of ER's; they used us as family doctors tho we certainly weren't that but we were convenient as all hell and they paid anywhere from nothing to 10$ for the co pay. It was complete bullshit as mothers would bring their 5 year olds in who'd done nothing but skin their damn knee because it was cheap and made them look like "good" mothers. (around this time if a doc didn't Rx an antibiotic for those abrased knees he'd have holy hell AND the company pres to answer to--thus the emergence of the SuperBugs ---another rant)

I often thought, hey, I should buy stock in this insurance company. I never did. A few years later, they were bought out by a huge conglomerate and stock holders made five times their investment back.

How can someone so consistently NOT do what her instincts are telling her to do?

I'm in a mood today, I guess. Rather incoherent, too; stayed up late! :)

anyone else ever feel this...wistfulness?

OH! My original point! I"ve been thinking a LOT about how food is so IN right now. The whole Julie & Julia Project, etc. I'm wondering if I should try to open a little cafe...one that nourishes the SOUL as well as the body, you know?

I've no business experience. I'm probably nuts.

Brianna;585581 wrote:

OH! My original point! I"ve been thinking a LOT about how food is so IN right now. The whole Julie & Julia Project, etc. I'm wondering if I should try to open a little cafe...one that nourishes the SOUL as well as the body, you know?

I've no business experience. I'm probably nuts.

I would say do it and take it one mile at a time. That's how all great accomplishments are undertaken.

Your community probably has resource to help you figure out how to get started. Talk to banks, especially locally owned banks. Get involved with the chamber of commerce or other business groups.

Wing it with brains.

With a sign out front that says;
"EAT HERE OR WE'LL BOTH STARVE"
:haha:

Do it!
Do some gluten free stuff too.

What do you have to lose that you can't afford to?

You should go for it if it's your dream.

Dreams are better than reality any day.

In many ways life is like a poker game.... if you don't bet nuttin, you can't win nuttin.....

try it!

anyone else ever feel this...wistfulness?

OH! My original point! I"ve been thinking a LOT about how food is so IN right now. The whole Julie & Julia Project, etc. I'm wondering if I should try to open a little cafe...one that nourishes the SOUL as well as the body, you know?

I've no business experience. I'm probably nuts.

Sure, wistfulness is normal, I think. What needs to happen now is for you to have faith enough in yourself to try it. Why not? What's the worst that can happen? Never sit in your proverbial rocking chair wondering "what if...?" Do you have a friend with a business mind? Maybe someone from the college who could give you helpful tips? Network and use your creativity and lust for life.

Just my humble opinion. :)

Griff wrote:

Do some gluten free stuff too.

THIS.

The number of people on a gluten-free diet for a variety of health reasons is skyrocketing. And even in my hippie town, there are still almost no restaurants we can eat at. Advertise in the right areas, and your little cafe would be packed. Shit, just opening a place that used only natural and organic ingredients would get you 90% of the way there.

There's a restaurant in our city which serves almost entirely organic food, and they also have a menu which pretty much excludes gluten. It's brilliant, and the food is great. It's not really set up for kids in that there isn't a kids menu, but they're very accomodating and some people do take their kids.

Their kitchen went up in smoke a few months ago. I haven't checked to see if they're back in business yet. I'll have to do so soon though now that I'm thinking about it.

We have an Italian place Nick's in Endicott with gluten free choices and Lost Dog Cafe in Binghamton does as well, so you see who gets my business.

this is interesting. I, too, have a relative on gluten-free diet (celiac sprue).
thanks, all, for the encouragement!! :)

Just on a pie-in-the-sky route (not to say yours is, but you know better than to ask for sensible advice here) I always dreamed of owning a for-women coffee shop/ brothel. Men are employed by the establishment to flirt and compliment the women - in a similar way to hostesses in late night drinking clubs. But more is on offer under the table (as it were).

Funnily enough, I thought up the idea to benefit women who didn't get flirted with in every day life, anticipating how magical it would feel to them. At the time I was flirted with every day. Now I'm one of the women who would pay premium prices (well, once I'm working) to be told I am faascinating, amazing, interesting by a paid employee :(

You know the service industry is damned hard work Bri - you've been there. If you still think it's a worthwhile proposition I say go for it.

I always wanted to open a restaurant that caters to females, called Boners. It's like Hooters, only instead of big-breasted waitresses it will be well-endowed men in g-strings. I haven't yet decided if the special should be foot long hot dogs (which will come out only 4.5 inches long as homage to big 'fish' stories) or doughnuts.

Of course, this idea development could have been sarcastic commentary on my part in response to how fucking ridiculous I find those places to be: sex selling foodstuffs. :rolleyes:

The logo could have a backwards B.

hehe...that's a great idea!

Brianna;585581 wrote:

I'm probably nuts.

mmm... may I eat you?

ALMONDS: A one ounce serving is about 24 nuts with 6 g. protein, 160 calories, and 9 g. monosaturated fat. Almonds are loaded with Vitamin E (an antioxidant that helps prevent heart disease and cancer) and magnesium (strengthens bones).

BRAZIL NUTS: A one ounce serving is about 8 nuts with 4 g. protein, 190 calories and 7 g. monosaturated fat. Brazil nuts are packed with selenium (an antioxidant) and phosphorus (strengthens bones and teeth & assists with energy metabolism.

CASHEWS: A one ounce serving is about 18 nuts with 4 g. protein, 160 calories and 8 g. monosaturated fat. Cashews are rich in selenium, magnesium, phosphorus and iron.

HAZELNUTS: A one ounce serving is about 20 nuts with 4 g. protein, 180 calories and 3 g. monosaturated fat. Hazelnuts contain large amounts of
Vitamin E.

MACADAMIAS: A one ounce serving is about 12 nuts with 2 g. protein, 200 calories and 17 g. monosaturated fat. Macadamias have the highest level of unsaturated fat (cholesterol lowering).

PEANUTS: (not actually a nut, but a legume, though often thought of as a nut so here it is) A one ounce serving is about 28 nuts with 7 g. protein, 170 calories and 7 g. monosaturated fat. Peanuts are a good source of Vitamin B3 (promoting healthy skin), Vitamin E and zinc (renewing tissue), potassium (muscles) and Vitamin B6 (immunity).

PECANS: A one ounce serving is about 20 halves with 3 g. protein, 200 calories and 12 g. monosaturated fat. Pecans are packed with Vitamin B1 (thiamine energy) and zinc.

PISTACHIOS: A one ounce serving is about 45 nuts with 6 g. protein, 160 calories and 7 g. monosaturated fat. Pistachios are full of phosphorus.

WALNUTS: A one ounce serving is about 14 halves with 4 g. protein, 190 calories and 2.5 g. monosaturated fat. Walnuts are rich in Omega-3s (reducing fat and cholesterol).

You could use a butcher shop where there's a sign in the window -

"Even Your Wife Has Had My Meat In Her Mouth"

Almonds, pecans, and walnuts have lots of calcium too. So do sesame, chia, and cotton seeds.