Who doesn’t like to save money?

Friday, March 18

I love to save money.  Who doesn’t?  And one of the easiest ways to save money is by going to a big box warehouse store.

Or is it?

I love going to Costco.  Not right around the corner, but I’m there at least every other month or so.  It costs me $55 a year for this privilege.  And don’t forget that, because you may not be saving money because of that!

But not me!  I more than make my $55 back by eating all of the free samples.  I eat everything.  The lady in the white hair net could be giving away moose thyroid on a stick, and I’d be in line waiting for my free sample.

But really, I make my money back on the things most people don’t buy.  Like tires.  But one set of tires there, and you save hundreds of dollars.  More than worth the membership.  I buy a lot of office supplies for my business.  The copy paper alone is a big saver.  So for me, the membership is worth it.

But is it worth it for causal shoppers who just buy bulk household supplies?

I thought about this as we did one of our PPPs (Periodic Paper goods Pursuits).  Our trip to Costco to get 36 rolls of toilet paper, a dozen rolls of paper towels  and a 276 pack of paper plates.    Am I really saving money?  Could I save even more by shopping in Lansdale?

So off to Big Lots I went.  Yes, it’s a chain store.  But it’s in the borough, and located in the Hillcrest shopping center on East Main Street.

I also found out it’s hard to do a head to head price comparison.    Take toilet paper, for instance.  We use the single-ply Scott paper that comes individually wrapped in tissue.  Always have.  I remember growing up having the blue rolls for the blue bathroom, the yellow rolls for the yellow bathroom and the pink rolls for the pink bathroom.  Fun times.  Costco sells it by the 36 pack.  Big Lots doesn’t have it at all.

The per-roll price at Costco is $0.50.  Similar Scott paper (but two ply) at Big Lots?  $0.99 per roll.  BUT – you can get Cottonelle at Big Lots for $0.48 per roll.  A good deal, if you can use it without getting the image of a cartoon bear with pieces of toilet paper stuck to his ass out of your head.

A weak win – but we’ll give this one to Big Lots.

On to paper towels!  We use Bounty. Lots of it.  Even though Bounty now comes with the convenient half-sheet perforations, Ken uses only one length per job.  An arm’s length.  We go through a lot of paper towel.   And at Costco, it’s $1.34 per roll when you buy the 12 pack.  Now, they did have Bounty at Big Lots, but not where you could reach it.  And with no price.  Similar Scott paper towels were $0.97 per roll in a six pack.  And the Big Lots Ultra Strong brand (which looked suspiciously like Bounty with a different label) was a buck a roll.

Paper towel winner – Big Lots.

Paper plates!  At Costco, Dixie Ultra worked out to be $0.06 per plate.  But you had to buy a staggering 276 plates.  Similar looking Dixie Everyday plates at Costco were $5.00 for 48 plates.  More expensive at a dime a piece.  BUT – you could get virtually identical Aspen brand for the bargain price of $2.95 for 118 plates.  Or $0.03 per plate.

Paper plate winner – this one could go either way, depending on how you value the Dixie name vs. Aspen.

But what I’d really like to know is how they decide how many plates go in a pack.  276?  118?  What weird numbers!

On to the cleaning goods!  We got Dawn Platinum dish washing detergent at Costco for $0.11 per ounce.  But in a big honking bottle that has to be transferred to something easier to use.  At Big Lots, you can get Dawn Ultra (Who names these things??  Is Platinum better than Ultra?  Or vice-versa? I bet it’s all the same stuff) for the same $0.11 per ounce.  But in much easier to use sized bottles.

Dish Detergent – a tie, but the convenience award goes to Big Lots.

On to the dishwasher!  We use Cascade liquid.  They don’t have that at Big Lots, but they do have the Cascade tablets.  So, going load for load, the Costco Cascade liquid works out to be $0.19 per load.  The Big Lots Cascade tablets is $0.11 per load.  And if you’re willing to use the Sun brand of liquid it works out to be $0.04 per load.

Dishwasher detergent – any way you look at it, Big Lots is the clear winner.

On to clean clothes!  I use unscented, no dye All detergent.  I don’t want to smell like a forest.  Or a bouquet of flowers.  Or even “fresh scented.”  I don’t want my clothes to smell of any perfumes.  And here we can do a head to head comparison, because both stores sell All in slightly different sizes.  Costco for $0.06 per ounce.  Big Lots for $0.05 per ounce.

Laundry detergent winner – Big Lots.

We start our day with coffee.  Folgers coffee.   Because the best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup.  Not to quibble, but I think the best part of waking up is waking up.  The alternative is pretty grim.  The coffee is  $0.21 per ounce at Costco.  $0.30 per ounce at Big Lots.

Coffee winner – Costco.

Now I know this isn’t conclusive.  But for the things we buy, I can actually save money by shopping at Big Lots.  And not have to drive all the way to Montgomeryville for everyday items.  And not have to buy things in bulk amounts that are hard to store.  And spend money in Lansdale Borough.

I had underestimated Big Lots.  While I don’t think I’ll be outfitting my home with their furniture, I was surprised to see how large their grocery and dry goods departments were.  Full of brands I recognize at really good prices.  And you don’t have to pay $55 per year for the privilege of shopping there.

And you can get bargains like this Spic and Span cleaner for a buck.  Bargain!

End result:  I’m not going to give up my Costco membership.  But I will be shopping at Big Lots a lot more.  It’s more convenient, and I can save money.

Costco is great for tires.  Red meat (Buy a whole filet, slice it up yourself and freeze.  Really good and really cheap). Sheet cakes (Really!).  Certain electronics.  This list can go on and on.

But Big Lots is a great alternative for grocery and dry good items.  Check it out!

A double score here:

Lansdale Shopping Score:  Zero (But I could have)

Lansdale Shopping Score:  1

Big Lots, Lansdale PA

We did end our Friday with dinner at the Lansdale Tavern.  Beer and a burger.  Can’t be beat.  Super friendly waitresses.  To all the golfers out there, Lansdale Tavern is having their First Annual Golf Tournament at the Pinecrest Golf Club on May 7^th.  Check it out – looks to be a good time!  More details and sign up sheets available at the Lansdale Tavern.

The Lansdale Tavern Golf Tournament

Lansdale Shopping Score:  1

So the recap:

TWO opportunities to shop/eat in Lansdale met.

ONE need met outside the borough when I could have stayed here.

Let’s see what today brings!

I died and went to heaven

I died and went to heaven.  No – that’s not why you haven’t heard from me in a while (although I do thank all of the well-wishers who thought my absence meant I must be sick!).

I died and went to heaven because I had the absolute best appetizer I have ever had.  Ever.  And it was the Brisket Flatbread at the new Stove & Tap in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.  Made with cheddar, parmesan, blue cheese, pickled red onion, horseradish cream, this appetizer was not just good.  Not just great.  It was mouth-wateringly awesome.

Lindsey, Ken David and Erin
at the Stove & Tap

And pretty much summed up our visit to the Stove and Tap on St. Patrick’s Day.  Now I’m going to tell you, I’m not usually a big fan of going to a new restaurant when it first opens.  Because of growing pains.  The service is usually spotty because people are still learning their jobs.  The food can be spotty because the kitchen is still finding its rhythm.  The whole experience can be, well, spotty.

Not at the Stove & Tap!  Less than a week after opening, and on a boisterous St. Patrick’s Day, this restaurant was running like a well-oiled machine.  Like it’s been here for a long, long time.

And I hope it is here for a long, long time, because it’s a place I will go back to again and again.  Not just because it’s in Lansdale.  Because it’s fantastic.

It was dinner night out with friends Erin and Lindsey.  An added bonus – good friend David was visiting from California.  While we were waiting for our table, one of my favorite moments happened.  David had to go to the restroom, and upon his return to the lobby, and smiling gentleman turned to him and nicely asked, “Hi! How was your visit?”  Momentarily confused, we thought some random guy was asking David how his trip to the men’s room went.  How odd!  No.  It was one of the managers thinking David was leaving after his dinner, and inquiring about his dining experience.  But I now think restaurant staff everywhere should ask patrons about their bathroom experiences.  Because caring.

When we were seated, we started with drinks.  It was St. Patrick’s Day after all.  The Stove & Tap has a nice selection of local beers on tap, including Lansdale Lager from Round Guys Brewery across the street.  Lindsey had a Lansdale Mule – the inventive rift on a Moscow Mule, made with Lansdale Vodka from the nearby Boardroom Spirits.  These Stove & Tap people are doing a great job of not just making this a restaurant, but a Lansdale restaurant.

The place was packed!

I had a Wood Street Side Car.  Why?  A) I had never had one.  B) I think my grandmother used to drink them in the 1920s.  C) It sounded good.

The drink personified what the Stove & Tap is so good at.  They take something you’ve heard of.  And elevate it.  And make it special.  And delicious.  That Sidecar was pretty amazing.  And I now look at my grandmother in a whole new light.  You go, Grandma!

The wings were too good.  They got eaten too fast
to be pictured.  The wood dishes are nice, though!

I already told you we started with the Brisket Flatbread.  We also had the wings.  And what wings they were.  A generous portion of perfectly cooked wings.  Perfectly seasoned.  They used fresh sage.  Sage!  These are not your everyday wings.  These are really, really good chicken perfection.

The menu is inventive.  At first blush, there are a lot of sandwiches, salads, pasta and main dishes that you’ve all heard of.  Hamburgers.  Mac and cheese.   Fried chicken.  Chicken pot pie.  But in every case, your old favorite is elevated to be something special.  Something that transcends what your idea of the dish was.

I had the hamburger.  But it was not just a hamburger.  You can get that anywhere.  It was a handmade, double patty that was just the right size.  Beautifully assembled with bibb lettuce and pickled onions.  And a sauce that set everything off well, and made it onto so much more than just a burger.  I also got to try Erin’s Po Boy sandwich.  Catfish, not an easy fish to cook, was fried perfectly.  Served with avocado and chipotle mayo on a roll that had just the right consistency.  Another winner.

Ken and David both had the Tap Smoked Cheesesteak.  I’m just going to have to take their words that they loved it.  Loved it so much there was no sharing.  I’ll just have to try it myself sometime.

There was a plate of deviled eggs at some point as well.  Because Lindsey loves deviled eggs.  Not my go to dish, but what the hey – I’ll try one.  And it was good!  Spiced with perhaps Old Bay and curry and topped with a long hot, they truly did have the devil in them. 

Great decor.  The lights are
especially interesting.

Equally as good as the food was the service.  Not an easy thing to do at a restaurant that has just opened.  Our server was attentive, knowledgeable and a nice guy.  From Souderton.  After spending six years in Colorado.  But he likes being home with his family – his brother has eight kids, and he likes being an uncle.  I really appreciate a waiter who, while insanely busy with multiple tables, will take the time to nicely answer our inane questions.  Perhaps if I didn’t have a couple of drinks, I would remember his name.  I think it was Dan.  Ask for Dan.  If you get Dan, ask about his brother with eight kids.  If you get a blank stare, our waiter's name was NOT Dan.

Equally attentive was owner Justin Weathers.  He knows how to work a room!  Super nice guy who obviously knows how to run a restaurant.  Thank you, Justin, for coming to Lansdale!

The restaurant itself is a welcoming space of wood and light colors.  Inventive light fixtures all over.  Really cool, steam-punkish things.

Ken and the bear.

And there is a bear.  In the front window.  Somewhat random, but really endearing.  And from what I hear, the bear is getting to be quite the Instagram hit.  I could really see that becoming a thing.  "Meet me at the bear."  And everyone will know that means the Stove & Tap in Lansdale.

We saw a lot of people we knew last night – friends and neighbors.  But we also saw lots and lots of people we didn’t know.  Many who seemed to have come from outside of Lansdale.

Many who seemed to have come from outside of Lansdale.  That is worth repeating.  You can go to a restaurant anywhere.  But you can only go to a restaurant like the Stove & Tap here in Lansdale. 

Lansdale Shopping Score:  1

So the recap:

ONE opportunity to shop/eat in Lansdale met.

Let’s see what today brings!

Our downtown is like a pretty girl. Missing a few teeth.

Tuesday, March 1

There's an old saying.  Usually said by dentists.  You don't have to floss all of your teeth.  Just the ones you want to keep.

I thought about that as I left to go to the dentist.  Because I had religiously flossed every single day since my last visit six months ago.  And I wanted a clean bill of health.  And clean teeth, too.

Go ahead, click to enlarge and get his contact info.

I'm going to tell you something.  I have been going to the same dentist for twenty-six years.  Time flies when they're jabbing pointy sticks in your gums!  Twenty-six years.  And I'm not about to give that up - Lansdale Shopping Challenge or no Lansdale Shopping Challenge.  Because my dentist is the best dentist there is.  But he's in Yardley, PA.

Yes, I go to Yardley, PA for my dental care.  Because Dr. Frank Prezioso is that good.  I used to live out there, and gave up just about everything Bucks County when I moved here.  Except my dentist.  Again - he's that good.

Shameless plug here - if you're looking for a good dentist and don't mind a drive, give Dr. Prezioso a call.

Me and Dr. P. after an A+ exam!

Lansdale has about 16,400 residents.  Meaning we have about 500,000 teeth in town.  A half million teeth!  That's a lot of teeth.  And there are some local dentists that I'm sure some of you like as much as I like Dr. Prezioso.  I know there's Blooming Smiles Dental on North Broad Street.  And Black & Bass Cosmetic and Family Dentistry, also on North Broad.  Rocco & Buffett Family Dentistry is on East Main Street.  I'm sure there are other family dentists in the borough, too.

But the bottom line is - go to the dentist!  Every six months.  Because a good smile will take you places.

Lansdale Shopping Score:  Zero (But I could have)

But now we get to the part where I tell you why I'm talking about dentists.  Because our downtown business district is a lot like the smile on a pretty girl.  A pretty girl who is missing a few teeth.

Pretty as she may be, you can't help but focus on the missing teeth.  And all of a sudden, she just a little less pretty.  Because of the missing teeth.

What are our town's missing teeth?  Its empty storefronts. Places that have closed or gone out of business.  Those vacant stores can suck the life out of a business district.

Now it sure would be nice to have all of our storefronts filled.  But even in the most robust town, there are some empty stores.

We need to start a program to help building owners - some of them are absentee owners - spruce up those empty stores to make both the store look more attractive to the next tenant, and to make our downtown look more inviting.

An empty storefront on Main Street

So - what do you think?  Should we have a program through a local non-profit or the borough, or some sort of partnership between both, to work with property owners to spruce up empty stores?

Think of it as dental care for the smile of our borough.


Now, We did spend money.  Well, we really didn't.  We were treated by my sister and brother-in-law to a wonderful dinner at The Oasis on West Main Street.  The Swiss folk were about to go back to the land of alps, chocolate and cheese.  But I wanted to show them a great Lansdale restaurant first.  And they were not disappointed.

I also found out that people are really reading this.  Because I talked about the stuffed kibbe that I had on my last visit.  And the next weekend, they had so many orders for stuffed kibbe!  I hope you all liked it as much as I did.

This time I had the spinach lasagna.  And it was the best spinach lasagna I have ever had.  Really.  At the Oasis.

Lansdale Shopping Score:  1

So the recap:

ONE opportunity to shop/eat in Lansdale met.

ONE need met outside the borough when I could have stayed here.

Let’s see what today brings!

I’m mad at a sign. How irrational is that?

I can be pretty clueless at times.  I don’t notice things until well past their occurrence.

For example, the shed and storage building  company on West 7^th Street that used to have their sample buildings all over the vacant lot at Maple Street.  The other day I noticed they were gone.  Only to be told they had been gone for ages.  Clueless.

So, this sign may have been around for ages.  But I just noticed it yesterday.

In front of Trinity Lutheran Church.  It might as well say "Ignore Lansdale."

 This directional sign is found when travelling eastbound on Main Street.  Coming from Hatfield into downtown Lansdale.  In front of Trinity Lutheran Church.

This sign tells you to make a right onto Valley Forge Road.  To get to North Wales.

And by-pass our Lansdale Business district.

This sign makes me mad.  I hate this sign.  Because the powers that be shouldn’t direct people away from our business district.

Now if you had asked me how to get to North Wales from Trinity Lutheran, I never would have told you to go down Valley Forge Road.  “Keep going straight down Main Street, and make a right at North Wales Road.  That’ll take you right into North Wales.  Have a good day!”  That’s what I would have said to someone asking directions.  Easy to follow directions.

And the same arrow telling you to go to Norristown down Valley Forge Road?  Same answer.  “Keep going straight down Main Street, and make a right on Rout 202.  That’ll take you right into Norristown.  Have a good day!” 

Now, I know some won’t agree with me.  You can marginally – and I mean marginally – get to either destination by by-passing Lansdale and making that right onto Valley Forge Road to Allentown Road and working your way zig-zag.  But it’s not direct.  And certainly not as easy for someone who is looking at road signs!

Google Maps even validates the point that Allentown Road is marginally shorter.  But more confusing.

Google Maps doesn't like our business district, either.

 The only one I can’t complain about is Valley Forge.  Making a right on Valley Forge Road takes you to Valley Forge. 

But this is really a metaphor for a bigger issue.  Is life by-passing downtown Lansdale just like the folks at PennDOT seem to want to?

Look at the things most people travel for in life.  Food shopping.  Eating out.  Entertainment. 

We already know we don’t have a supermarket.  We have a lot of dining possibilities, but only ones that have full-service menus are BYOB.  That will change in a few days when the Stove and Tap opens.  But that will still leave us with only one full-service restaurant with a liquor license.

So – what should we do?  I propose we (and we means borough council, Economic Development Committee, Discover Lansdale, Citizens for the Revitalization of Lansdale and everyone else) put together a proposal for our state legislature to create a new category of liquor license for small municipalities like Lansdale.  Liquor licenses meant to lure full-service restaurants into the state's historic downtowns, where such establishments are lacking.  Use these new, low cost licenses as the carrot to lure dining establishments to boroughs like Lansdale.  Because good, full-service restaurants bring revitalization. 

What do you think?  Is this a plan to help me – and everyone else – shop and dine more in Lansdale borough?

At my age flowers scare me. ~George Burns

Friday,  February 26

Tomorrow is a big day.  For my mom.  It’s her birthday, and she is turning 89.  To mark the occasion, my sister and her husband have traveled here from Switzerland to help celebrate.

So if you see two people lurking around Lansdale with backpacks and binoculars, do not be alarmed!  I repeat, do not be alarmed!  They are merely Swiss bird watching enthusiasts.  Do not try and feed them, as our exotic diet does not appeal to them.  One is a vegetarian, and the other refuses to eat cheese.  Yes, someone from Switzerland who refuses to eat cheese.  Seems wrong somehow, no?

So what do you get an 89 year old for her birthday?  She has forbidden presents.  But flowers always work.  So I’m off to my favorite flower shop:  Chantilly Floral Boutique on West Main Street.

Chantilly Floral Boutique

Marcelene Cox once said, "Children in a family are like flowers in a bouquet: there's always one determined to face in an opposite direction from the way the arranger desires." Perhaps my sister and I should duke it out to see which one of us is facing the wrong way!

Chantilly is so much more than a flower shop, but I go there for the flowers.  Because they make amazing arrangements.  And my mother does love flowers.

Margie Booz

But I also go for another thing.  Margie Booz.  While her kids now run the business, Margie can almost always be found at the shop.  Margie is one of those people who you would love to kidnap and keep for yourself if it wasn’t illegal and downright creepy.  No. No kidnapping!  Margie needs to be shared with all of Lansdale.

Did you know that Margie was chosen this past holiday season to travel to Washington to help decorate the White House for Christmas?  Her talents put her in that elite group.  We are lucky to have her here in Lansdale, PA!

Margie has worked tirelessly in the past on various civic events like the Holiday House Tour.  If there were a Mrs. Lansdale award, Margie would win it.  We need more business owners and citizens like Margie Booz.

While her son Charles is usually found up at their Harleysville store, you can almost always find daughter Barbara at the Lansdale store.  The genes in the Booz family run deep – both Charles and Barbara are wonderful people, too.

Chantilly is so much more than flowers.  Perhaps things I’m not in the market for, but they do have a wonderful selection of woman’s fashion clothing and accessories, and lots of great jewelry.  If you haven’t been to Chantilly Floral Boutique, you’re missing out on one of the nicest stores in town.  Truly, if every store in Lansdale looked as good as Chantilly, both inside and out, we would have one of the most beautiful towns in Pennsylvania.

But I was here for flowers.  And remembered what Delta Burke once said.  "If you want to say it with flowers, remember that a single rose screams in your face: 'I'm cheap!"  So I got an arrangement.

So, stop into Chantilly and say hello to Margie.  But remember, no kidnapping!

Lansdale Shopping Score:  1

So the recap:

ONE opportunity to shop/eat in Lansdale met.

Let’s see what today brings!

Playing Post Office. And croquettes!

Thursday, February 25

I’m going to vent about a frustrating place in Lansdale where I spend money.  But wait!  Isn’t this supposed to be an upbeat blog about shopping in Lansdale?  To entice others to shop in Lansdale?  Shouldn’t I refrain from negativity?

Sometimes you gotta call it like you see it.

This is an airmail stamp.
Something the Lansdale Post Office
has been out of for weeks.

And the entity I’m about to complain about is one you hear a lot of gripes about.  All over the country.  The United States Post Office.

Now don’t take this to be a complaint about the people.  They are nice and hard working.  I’m complaining about the postal service itself.

You may remember a few weeks ago I was on some errands for my mom.  And she wanted air mail stamps.  And the post office was out of air mail stamps.  Well, she needs more.  This lady writes a lot of letters to overseas destinations, let me tell you!

The post office is still out of air mail stamps.

To me, that just seems silly.  Sure, you can cobble together two different denominations to make up the $1.20 postage.  But how hard can it be to provide the post offices with the items they need to sell?

I was, however, quite happy when I went into the post office, and there was no line.  No one waiting at all.  Perhaps a little less happy when I noticed there was no one behind the counter, either.  She eventually came back.

Does anyone remember the kid’s game – Post Office?  It involved kissing?  Why would anyone name a kissing game after the post office?  Most probably the most inefficient way to get kissed there is.

Vintage post card

Lansdale Shopping Score:  1

Mom’s second chore?  She needed a few bottles of white wine.  Because if you go visit my mom, you will be offered lots of food, and a nice glass of wine.  That’s the way she rolls.

Not overly fancy wine.  But good enough wine.  So a trip to the State Store in the Hillcrest Shopping Center.  Still not as good as the one on Valley Forge Road, but good enough for today’s purpose.

I did see an interesting display of something called Charmsoju.  $4.19 a bottle (375 ml).    The guy at the checkout says it sells like hotcakes.  But didn’t really know much about it.  So I looked it up – "Korea's most popular alcoholic beverage" and the top selling alcohol in the world,according to Wikipedia.  Might have to try a bottle!  Not for mom.  For me.

Lansdale Shopping Score:  2

And then we get to the highlight of my Shopping Lansdale day.  I fulfilled my chicken croquette desire.

We had dinner for the first time at the KoffeeKorner on North Broad Street.  I was a little nervous, because I’m picky about my chicken croquettes.  I had high hopes, and didn’t want them to be dashed.

Simple dinner menu.  Ten items.  But I was there for just one.  The chicken croquettes.  The best deal is the full meal, which includes a soup or salad.  I had the French onion soup.  Hot, tasty, and covered in lots of cheese.  So far, so good.

Good, attentive service.  A light crowd (we were the only ones there when we got there).

And then dinner came.  A perfect plate of American comfort food.  Just like grandma would have served you in the sixties.  Bonus points for the fact that all of the food items came in separate dishes – a huge thing for folks who don’t like their foods to touch.

A bowl of mixed veggies on one side, and the required mashed potatoes and gravy on the other.  And the mashed potatoes had just a few small lumps in them – just like grandma’s – to let you know they were homemade.

But the proof is in the pudding.  Or in this case, the proof was in the chicken croquettes.  But that makes for a weird cliché.

Would the croquettes be croquetty?  And by that I mean they need to be cone shaped, have a crispy, deep-fried breaded crust, and have a perfectly seasoned, smooth, yet with a few chunks of chicken filling to let you know it was made with real chicken, and covered, but not swimming in chicken gravy.

And the verdict?  They were croquetty.  Up to my high standards croquetty.  Very good and satisfying croquetty.  Worth going to Koffee Korner for dinner croquetty.

Now if I could only convince Microsoft Word that croquetty is a word.  Enough with the squiggly red line!

So – go to the Koffee Korner for dinner!  It’s worth the trip for simple yet satisfying comfort food at great prices.

Lansdale Shopping Score:  3

So the recap:

THREE opportunities to shop/eat in Lansdale met.

Let’s see what today brings!

To Go to Togo

Wednesday, February 24

Everyone has a little quirk in their brain.  Some of us have more than a few.  One of mine has to do with the words “to go.”  Every time I see that, I think it says “Togo.”  As in the county in West Africa.

And I think I know why.  First, we had dinner from Capasso’s 2 Go.  And the 2 Go part of the name got me thinking of Togo.  The country.  Because when I was in 4^th grade, we studied Africa.  And each kid had to pick a country to study.  And I picked Togo. 

I really dove into the project, and most probably knew more about Togo than any other kid in school.  I might just remember enough to beat you at a Togo trivia challenge today.

I promised myself in 4^th grade that one day, I would go to Togo.  Well, that promise has not yet been fulfilled – but I’m not dead yet!

Back to Lansdale.  So we had take-out cheesesteaks and fries from Capasso’s 2 Go.  And didn’t have to go to Togo to pick it up.  Because it’s on Main Street.  You may remember back on January 16^th when I first visited this place.  And promised to keep patronizing this new business.  Well, at least I have kept one promise!

Lansdale Shopping Score:  1

But this really got me thinking.  We have so many places in town to get cheesesteaks from.  Not that it’s a bad thing!  I do love a good cheesesteak, as do many people.

But is a proliferation of pizza joints, cheesesteak emporiums or Chinese restaurants going to be the thing that puts Lansdale on the map?  Now I’m not saying we should go full quirky – I’d sure miss pizza, cheesesteaks and Chinese food – but should we collectively wish that our town had more unique restaurants to visit?

Like a Togolese restaurant?

Well, that might be a stretch, even for Lansdale.  Togolese food might not suit our palates that well.  But their cuisine does sound interesting! (From Wikipedia):

Togolese style is often a combination of African, French and German influences.  The cuisine has many sauces and different types of pâté, many of which are made from eggplant, tomato, spinach and fish. The cuisine combines these foods with various types of meat and vegetables to create flavorful dishes. Roadside food stands sell foods such as groundnuts, omelettes, brochettes, corn-on-the-cob, and cooked prawns.

Additional foods and dishes include:

·         Agouti, known as ‘grasscutters’.

·         Baguette bread

·         Chili peppers are often used as a spice

·         Fufu is very common, and is made from peeled and boiled yams which are then pounded with a pestle until reaching a dough consistency.   Fufu is typically accompanied with sauces.

·         Select goat meat portions.

·         Koklo meme, grilled chicken with a chili sauce.

·         Kokonte is a pâté made from cassava.

·         Pâté, a commonly consumed cornmeal cake.

·         Peanuts

·         Riz sauce d’arachide, a rice dish made with groundnut sauce.

·         akume which is a solid food prepared from ground maize.

Fufu and Light Soup.  Looks good!

The Koklo meme sounds good, as does the Fufu.  And that one would be fun to order.  Go on.  Say it out loud.  It’s a fun word.  Almost as fun as Togo.  “I went to Togo and had fun eating fufu.”  Try saying that without smiling!

Anyway, my point is that we will become a magnet to visitors when they have something to visit that they cannot get at home.  People won’t flock to Lansdale for cheesesteaks.  But they do if they want Lebanese food, as The Oasis is a restaurant you won’t find in many places, but you find in Lansdale.

We are a wonderfully diverse area.  With people from all over.  Wouldn’t it be nice for Lansdale to be known as the international dining mecca of the Philadelphia region?

That way, I wouldn’t have to go to Togo for my fufu.

So the recap:

ONE opportunity to shop/eat in Lansdale met.

Let’s see what today brings!