Friday, November 13, 2009

Lunch engine optimization











Whatever does the title of this post mean? Well, this week I learned about "search engine optimization." It's all about keywords if you want to drive traffic to your site, and I really wanted to bring eyeballs to our blog. I had a brilliant plan, too! But I must confess that I chickened out. I apologize for my weakness.

And speaking of weakness, I felt like today's lunch at Caputo's Market and Deli was a bit weak. Before you fans of the place freak out, allow me a moment to explain.

I have no problem with the look and feel of Caputo's. The dining space is open and sunny, and I liked the atmosphere. I have no problem with the service, which was friendly and lightning-quick (my sandwich was ready before my drink cup was filled). I also don't have a major problem with the food. I ordered the meatball sandwich, and it was good. The meatballs were tasty, the sauce was good and there was plenty of cheese to make the whole presentation nice and melty.

But here's the thing. A few weeks ago, I had a gargantuan meatball sandwich at Grove Market. And it was better. The meatballs were bigger. The sauce was tastier. The bread wasn't just a bit too chewy, like it was at Caputo's. And the price was right.

My wife, my friends, random acquaintances — anyone will tell you that I'm a cheapskate. For my sandwich at Caputo's — JUST a sandwich, mind you — I paid $8.25. I didn't get chips, because they cost extra. Add in the cost of my drink — NO COKE PRODUCTS AVAILABLE!!!! — and my "meal" came to $10.52. For that much money, I felt like I deserved more.

So again, there's nothing really wrong with Caputo's or its food. I just felt like not enough was right. I know it's a popular place, and I'll probably be burned in effigy for professing this opinion, but there you go.

Man-up possibilities: 8
Food quality: 7.5
Fizz-o-meter of Coke: NA (due to lack of Coke, I had Dr. Pepper)
Service: 9
Overall: 8

At least today's quotes were good:
"Your rear end might be sticking out."
"Wow, you really manned up there, Chuck."

"Those are his actual high school pants."

STATEMENT: "I sent an e-mail while sitting on the toilet." RESPONSE: "I hope you didn't send an attachment."

"I'm totally eating a doughnut when I get back."

"I would edit that out if you tried to put that in."

"You're letting him get in your head, man!"

STATEMENT: "They sell kits." RESPONSE: "Dumpster diving kits?" REJOINDER: "Sure, at Target, Walmart, Kmart."

"I was distracted by the big, shiny building."

"I was thinking about wood."

9 comments:

  1. First to comment... I hope. Unless somebody types faster than me. I owe that to the public after my poor performance last week.

    GPaK hit the nail on the head with his assessment of Caputo's. While serving as an all-around solid eatery with ample dining choices (pro meat or not), where's the "lunch combo" that has become synonymous with lunch?

    While nothing out of the ordinary happened this week, you can't beat the view that Caputo's gives for dumpster diving. We had a front row seat for a Friday dive outside of the back window which is also (worth noting) outside a fish market. GMac noted that might not be the cleanest of dives. I'm just sorry I didn't get the actual dive photo.

    As for my food, I went with the pasta, salad and bread combo that was actually very reasonably priced at 6.95. A spicy tomato sauce covered the fettuccine pasta and the green salad was a nice mix of organic looking lettuce. The roll added just enough food to leave me with that satisfied feeling.

    I chased my meal with tea, yes tea, but hot tea with honey as I nurse what I hope is the downward side of a cold. The water was nice and hot.

    Man-up possibilities: 8
    Food quality: 8
    Water: hot today
    Service: 9.5
    Overall: 8

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  2. second!

    so i missed today's outing.

    that's kinda g--, i mean, i will do better in the future.

    (p.s. i prefer granato, myself)

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  3. I think I've been to Tony Caputo's before. Then again it could have been Granatos. I confess that I don't know the difference between the two. But in my defense, It's been darn near impossible to keep all of these dining establishments straight, what with our new predilection for trying a new destination every week. I'm finding myself getting a little misty reminiscing about the days when we used to have a regular rotation of about eight spots.

    I chose the same special as Scrunch, but I punched it up with four meatballs, extra cheese and the Cacciatore sauce, which traditionally has chunks of braised meat in it. There were definitely chunks in there, but I could say for sure what kind. Still, they tasted good, so I ate them. The special also arrives with a healthy side of greenery (splashed with balsamic or some such), which I promptly ignored, and a wedge of dense bread. Though Greg expressed mild disdain for the texture of the bread, I actually enjoyed the chewiness, though it's possible I would have thought differently if I'd been eating a sandwich on it. We may never know.

    All in all, I found Caputo's atmosphere to be pleasant and the food acceptable (just as I typed that I had to scroll to the top of my comment to see if we'd gone to Caputo's or Granatos. I'm going senile, I know) if a bit pricey. My meal came to $10.45 with drink. Thank goodness this wasn't a tipping-required operation.

    Man-up possibilities: 8.5
    Food quality: 8
    Service: 8
    Overall: 8

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  4. Nice keywords! I like the chewy bread, too; but our Mr. Kratz was raised on soft-n-squishy bread, so we have to cut him some slack.

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  5. So where did we go again?

    I’m so late with my post, I can’t remember where we went or what I had.....hmmmm

    According to the quotes, I did not do a very good job of manning up, so I must have had a salad. Go figure.

    Actually I’ve had Caputo’s salads before, so I knew I couldn’t go wrong.

    So for those of you watching your figure (like myself), I went with the Greek Salad with a Weight-Watchers point total of 6-7 (based on my wife’s best guess).

    I actually enjoy a good Greek (salad), which according Caputo’s menu, is made the traditional way with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar. It also came with a very tasty roll.

    I know Greek salads always come with olives, but since the menu didn’t list them, I asked the very no-nonsense woman at the counter. She shot a look at me as if to say, ‘are you really that stupid?’ I didn’t care for the attitude but chose to ignore it.

    The kitchen staff made up for it by loading my salad up with two different kinds of olives. Plus GPak hooked me up with one of his....What a guy!

    On the whole, Caputo’s was pretty good. It didn’t blow me away, but then again it was a salad...the meatball sandwich looked much better. :)

    Food Quality: 8
    Man-up potential: 8
    Service: 8.5
    Overall: 8

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  6. Now where was I? Letting that guy get into your head, that's so gay.

    I can see where GPaK is coming from. It's a little expensive for a sandwich, and but the price conscious residents of this Mormon city are not really Caputo's target audience.

    Caputo's has some excellent Vegetarian choices. This is the second time I've had the Roasted Red Peppers on Foccacia. It's almost like veggie porn it's so good.

    --
    g

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  7. who is the dude smoking the cigarette that is now following the blog?

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  8. I have no idea who that guy is, but I was wondering the same thing. Then I figured, as long as he helps us monetize, all I can say is, "Ka-ching!"

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  9. Pretty sure that's the guy who cuts Wingnut's hair.

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