Big Daddy's Redux

Wednesday,  January 18, 2012

Periodically I like to update a review of past restaurants and report anything new--good or bad--and to see whether my opinion of the place has changed or not.  In the past, I have revisited Pestos, El Salto and others and now I figure it is time for Big Daddy's.

This past Wednesday, Big Daddy's was doing a fund raiser for Northview Elementary School so the place had alot of kids hanging around.  Fortunately, for my sake, the parents of Northview kids must be doing a pretty good job because they were pretty well behaved (the kids that is, not the parents!). 

As always, the place is clean, the food delivered quickly, and it was served hot and delicious.  The baby back ribs remain consistently delicious: smokey, meaty, and tender.  What has changed since I last wrote is the addition of a couple of things:  picnic tables inside the dining area, smoked turkey--yeah, baby--really good stuff, something called Texas Chips, and the replacement of the ubiquitous country music with the blues!  Kudos on all that stuff, especially the blues.  This music just ain't played everywhere, especially here in Valpo.  The turkey may be just about the best gobbler I have ever tasted!  I didn't try the Texas Chips, but understand the dish to be a sliced hot link sausage served over a bed of fries and smothered in beans and cheese sauce... 

I still have a couple of issues, the same ones from my previous post for the most part and no place is perfect.  But this is a BBQ joint remember, not a white table cloth kinda place.  Here, as in most really good BBQ havens around the south, you would be a-okay to just leave the utensils alone and tear into the ribs with your hands.  It just ain't good BBQ until you're wearing it up to your elbows and on your clothes!

Nevertheless, the people are really friendly and go out of their way to ensure you are treated well and that your dining experience is satisfactory.

It's Like a Train Wreck Out There!

Northwest Indiana is all abuzz with the news of the massive train wreck in Jackson township of a week ago today.  What further makes the story more interesting is the news that the emergency workers were infected by a bug picked up from the Jimmy John's on Lincolnway.  Read for yourself if you have been living in a cave for the last few days: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/valparaiso/valparaiso-jimmy-john-s-blamed-for-illness-outbreak/article_57ea95fc-9b34-587c-b051-e42b5773d6cf.html#ixzz1jC6EZ0aq

When I checked in on urbanspoon this morning, I wanted to see if anyone had mentioned it under the review section.  After checking the Jimmy John's on Lincolnway and seeing nothing, I double checked the Jimmy John's on Calumet.  Sure enough, some brainiac had copied the article and placed it in a review of the WRONG restaurant.

Upon further reflection, several things are really disturbing about the whole scenario--not to diminish the anguish of those suffering from gastroenteritis--but not the least of these is the dingleberry who has wrongfully trashed the incorrect restaurant.  So consider this: as of this writing, no one has been able to say that the employees of the Jimmy John's (on Lincolnway, that is) are infected or are the source of the infection.  Yeah, I know a headline in the Post-Trib screams:

Sandwich shop worker infected food eaten by train responders


By Erin Guerra Post-Tribune correspondent January 11, 2012 2:55PM

but the article itself does not say, and as of yet probably cannot say that it originated from a Jimmy John's employee.  So;  to Erin Guerra of the Post-Tribune and the reviewer on urbanspoon, both of you are irresponsible.  Who is to say that a customer didn't carry this bug into the restaurant?  Or perhaps the mail carrier was carrying more than the mail? Maybe a rival sandwich shop owner planted a bug to discredit Jimmy John's?  Maybe an infected customer used the restroom at this location?  Maybe this is all an evil plot by Martians posing as simple restaurant workers to take down the United States through our sandwich shops and Subway is next on the list  The point is: who really knows at this time? 

That, in a nutshell, is the problem with a lack of accountability in reporting and a corresponding lack of responsibility in online reviewing.  The former is protected by a big corporation and the latter by anonymity.  I really wonder whether the significant loss in reputation and revenue to the restaurant could result in some equally significant liability for the newspaper and the careless urbanspoon reviewer? 

Of course, if it turns out that a Jimmy John's employee really was to blame... well then, nevermind.