Since we're talking about Olive Garden, it's a good opportunity to revisit that private equity powerpoint deck from 2014, which said things like Olive Garden loses $5 million a year because it wastes so many breadsticks. businessinsider.com/starboard-tran…
People slag Wall Street, but "if you don't give people so many goddamn breadsticks they didn't ask for, maybe they'll be more likely to order dessert" is a good insight.
They also criticized Olive Garden for overpaying for asparagus due to imposing "tight length and spear specs" on suppliers and for using custom-size straws.
This is because more male goods-producing industries (like construction and manufacturing) continued to add jobs while service-producing industries (especially leisure and hospitality) lost jobs.
This month's trend is heavily due to the 3rd wave. But the trend since February also has job losses concentrated among women, due to job losses not just in leisure & hospitality but also education and retail. Economy-wide, service consumption is down more than goods consumption.
More women than men have also stopped working due to pandemic-related child care disruptions.
There's something strangely bourgeois about the whole thing. Like the nightmare guests at the Grand Hyatt, in town for the riot, who wouldn't wear their masks in the lobby.
(By the way, as Grand Hyatts go, that's not a very good one -- weird layouts and rooms whose only window is onto an indoor courtyard.)
The problem with Josh Hawley's theory of politics is that being a sociopath and being a whiny little baby are only two of Trump's many traits, and copying them alone will not get you elected president. Trump also, for example, has charisma.
One thing that's happened since the pandemic is I've been eating a lot more oatmeal, and I've formed some opinions about oatmeal best practices. First of all, oatmeal really ought to be cooked on the stovetop from non-quick cooking oats. It's easy and the texture is way better.
Oatmeal is a grain like any other and it needs to be seasoned as you would season rice. It needs fat and salt, even if you're going to have it sweetened.
My go-to sweet oatmeal is with butter, maple syrup, and fresh berries (and salt -- 1/4 tsp kosher salt for 75g of dry oats). For savory oatmeal, try it with salt plus pepper, good olive oil, parmesan cheese, and the zest of half a lemon.