Natalie

Monday In Aruba, 2005...

I have always been bothered by the story of Aruba and the disappearance Natalie Holloway. So much has been said and so much has been written on this subject, but allow me to offer a different spin – not on what happened, but what should have happened.

There were 125 members of the Mountain Brook High School senior class that traveled to the beautiful Caribbean island of Aruba. Only 124 returned and we have heard so much about the story surrounding the tragedy, and it still remains a mystery. In all likelihood, it will be an unsolved mystery forever.

I happen to believe that one can travel anywhere on the planet, and there are people out to get you. So many blamed it on Aruba, but in my mind, the blame belongs someplace else. These were high-school kids having fun and not surprisingly, there was alcohol involved. More to the point, there was a single bar involved, and in this bar, Natalie had the unfortunate experience of meeting one of these guys that “are out to get you.”

My following statement has nothing to do with hindsight because I know precisely what would have happened had I been there. There would be no way on this earth that she would have walked out that door with three guys and jumped in a car that was heading for the beach. Chaperones have a responsibility in terms of just being chaperones, and if you are in your hotel room sleeping, it's possible that somebody is going to get into trouble.

I have been in Aruba, but I wasn't there that night, and maybe it's totally unfair to blame the adults that were on this trip. I only know what I would have done. It's possible that there would have been a confrontation, but one thing is for sure -there is absolutely no way that these kids get into that car.

It's not all that complicated, but for whatever reason, the adults were not there when she needed them. In my mind, this is the real tragedy.

Jimmy and Michael

If anything in this life is certain, if history has taught us anything, it is that you can kill anyone.” — Michael Corleone, from the Godfather


Michael eliminated Sollozzo and Captain McCluskey at Louis’ Italian/American Restaurant in the Bronx (home of best veal in the New York). It was a nasty scene and a good place not to be dining on that particular evening.

My thoughts turned to a recent conversation with Chef/Owner Jimmy Bradley (The Red Cat and the Harrison in New York) and his discussion on the “Anticipation and Recovery” service concept. This is his ongoing staff training exercise that addresses all kinds of things that can go wrong in a restaurant, and how one reacts to each situation. I’m guessing that the owner of Louis’ in the Bronx had to do more for his guests that night than just complimentary desserts.

Maybe the Corleone example is a bit over the top, but this column was inspired by a real letter from a restaurant customer who orchestrated a birthday party in a local restaurant for his mother-in-law. It was a party of twelve in a familiar Italian spot where his guest of honor was a regular customer. While the servers were bringing their entrees to the birthday table, an older gentleman seated directly behind them passed out and some understandable panic took place. Some members of the waitstaff attempted to revive the man and eventually the rescue squad arrived and took him to the hospital.

At this point, it is fair to say that the birthday party had taken a turn for the worse, and they finished their meal and left the restaurant with no apparent reaction from the management. The man who wrote us the letter (email) was simply wondering about the protocol of a restaurant when something like this happens.

It’s a party of twelve, and a difficult decision to pick-up his check, but maybe a gift certificate would have been in order. At the very least, an owner or manager should have visited his table and made some type of statement. Who knows what happened – we weren’t there. The real question goes back to the anticipation and recovery issue. How many restaurants actually have a plan to react to a possible crisis in their establishment?

Of course, the really interesting question is what would Jimmy Bradley do during those horrific moments after Michael returned from the men’s room?


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Mr. Brown

I happen to believe that a chef/owner is the absolute key to this business. Show me a restaurant owned and operated by the chef and invariably, it's a very good restaurant. Having said that, show me a restaurant with an owner present (chef or otherwise) and chances are that it's going to be a positive experience.

The Food Network people get tons of press, which is just one of the perks of being involved at this level. I caught something that Alton Brown had to say in a recent
interview, and in my mind, it's worth repeating. Herein is what Mr. Brown had to say...

"The rules of hospitality have not changed. In the end, you go into a restaurant or any place where the owner is there, and that is going to be a different kind of experience. You are going to be fed differently—better—by people who own the place, who have invested of themselves in a place. I have found that to be true absolutely across the board."

"I can walk into just about any restaurant now in America and know 'the owner is here' or 'the owner is not here.' There is no way to replace that in a corporate restaurant in any way, fashion or form. And I don't care if it's a hot dog stand or a three-Michelin-star restaurant. If the owner is there, it's going to be a very different experience, and I would say it's going to be a better experience, and that's what hospitality really is."

Food - An Interview with Chef Alain Braux

Alain Braux is a classically trained French Chef as well as a Macrobiotic Chef and a Nutritherapist (whatever that means). More to the point, he makes sense and that’s all you have to know. America does so many great things, but our food culture is somewhat in shambles. We enjoy some of the best medical care in the world, but we might be the unhealthiest nation on the planet. Fast Foods are no longer fast enough and we are so busy being busy that we don’t take the time to enjoy life’s simple (and most important) pleasures. His book includes simple recipes that combine real food that is both healthy and delicious. Chef Braux resides and works in Austin, Texas.


BB: The Book is called “How to Lower your Cholesterol with French Gourmet Food”. The title has us thinking about the infamous Atkins Diet where one loses weight by eating steak and fried foods.

Chef: I do believe that one should avoid fried foods, but red meat is another issue. The word here is moderation - and I strongly suggest you select grass-fed beef or free-range bison and enjoy meat maybe once per week.

BB: That answer is going to upset a lot of people who love meat. Once a week is not going to cut it.

Chef: It is very important to understand what my book is really about. Our society is burdened with the predicted fallout from not eating properly - heartburn, digestive problems, hypoglycemia, type-2 diabetes, weight gain, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart problems, strokes and cancer, to name a few. We feed our body junk and as wonderful a living machine as it was created, it starts breaking down due to the abuse we subject it to. If you fill your car with regular gasoline when it’s supposed to run on premium, eventually your engine will start to malfunction and will eventually break down. It amazes me that the vast majority of people in this country maintain their cars but not their bodies. And they wonder why they get sick!

BB: Are you actually suggesting that French gourmet food is the answer?

Chef: When American people think of French cooking, they tend to think about rich food loaded with butter and cream, the way the old-fashioned “grande cuisine” used to be. Although there are still a few French restaurants of that type out there,
one major trend and one regional way of eating has moved modern French cuisine away from that stereotype. For more than thirty years, the major trend in French cooking has been the Nouvelle Cuisine created by a group of young and revolutionary chefs in the 1970’s - Chef Fernand Point and his pupils and followers, a group that includes Michel Guerard, Roger Verge, Paul Bocuse, Alain Chapel and the pâtissier Gaston Lenotre. They believe that good food should not be loaded with dairy products or heavy sauces. Good food (lightly cooked) should stand on its own by the quality and the utmost freshness of its ingredients.

BB: When you talk about “quality” and the “utmost freshness,” you are also talking about expensive.

Chef: Let’s talk about what’s really expensive. We have been trained to believe that the only way to stay healthy is to trust the modern medicine way of healing through chemical medication and physical surgery. I believe that it is the wrong way to look at it. If we feed our body’s healthy food to begin with, we are less likely to need these harsh treatments. I prefer to spend a little more money now while enjoying good-tasting healthy food than spend all my money later in expensive supplements, health insurance premiums, doctor’s treatments or hospital bills. Why not enjoy life
and the good health provided to us by nature, and prevent disease in the process?

BB: Your book is very personal because you admit to spending years making serious nutritional mistakes.

Chef: I was a pastry chef for thirty years and I literally overdosed on sugar. Not surprisingly, I developed a problem with my cholesterol. My job was damaging my health and I knew it was time to make some radical changes and develop a new way of living. My book is about my journey and what worked and continues to work for me.

PP: You mentioned an overdose on sugar. Isn’t America basically a country totally hooked on sugar?

Chef: The average American consumes some 150 pounds of assorted sweeteners per year. An American child consumes twice as much, mostly in the form of soft drinks. Sugar is an addictive substance and can increase cholesterol and it can even cause atherosclerosis.

PP: What about America’s unrelenting love for fast foods?

Chef: My advice is as follows - Never, Never, NEVER eat at fast food establishments - (notice, I did not use the term restaurant) as their food is almost always fried and very unhealthy for you. If you’re curious to know more, watch the documentary “Supersize Me” by Morgan Spurlock. This movie will open your eyes to the dangers of fast (fried) food.

BB: You prefer butter over margerine.

Chef: For decades, nutritionists, physicians, and health publications have sold the public on the idea that margarine is “heart smart”. Margarine is a product of
hydrogenation and is far more dangerous to your health than butter. The fats it contains are not compatible with human body chemistry. They have a higher
melting point than body temperature, which means they will not melt inside your body, so they circulate in your bloodstream as a solid fat.

BB: Is it time to throw away the microwave?

Chef: The short answer to that question is yes. Our fast-paced lifestyle forces us to eat on the run, swallow fast food and reheat convenience industrialized
meals loaded with chemicals and artificial flavorings, colorings and preservatives. Let’s be honest about it: many commercially-prepared foods are woefully low in nutrients. Heating these foods in microwave ovens can further reduce what little nutritional value they began with. We are eating nutritionally-dead food and we wonder why we are hungry two hours after eating a meal.

BB: What is it that differentiates the French approach to food?

Chef: For French people, food is appreciated for its own goodness and the pleasure it can bring. Unlike Americans, the French typically do not care so much about nutrition. They don’t count calories and they don’t analyze every single molecule in their food to find out if it’s good for them. If it’s fresh, well prepared and tastes good, that’s all that counts. We should not have to obsess about our food; healthy food can and should be one of life’s pleasures

BB: You suggest that people eat less meat and even avoid fast foods, but that’s not about to happen. Smoking can kill you, but millions still smoke. Can your book make any difference?

Chef: Healthy dining is up to the individual. You give them the information and they make their own choices. As a chef, I have a responsibility to share information that I believe will help people live better lives. I can’t force my views on anybody, and my words probably won’t change the food culture in America. Having said that, I intend to keep preaching about what works for me and what I believe is right.

www.alainbraux.com - (his book can also be ordered on Amazon.com)

Jean-Louis Palladin 1946-2001

"Some of the people who come to my restaurant don't want to try anything too unusual, but I also want to be ready for those who are willing to be adventurous. It's like putting a piece by an unknown composer on the program between Bach and Beethoven. I'm very encouraged when people tell me that I have helped them learn about food"
... Jean-Louis Palladin

Most people believe the Food Network was the real catalyst in establishing the way we view the subject of food in America. It most certainly was and is a major factor, but I believe the real turning point was the arrival in 1979 of the great chef,
Jean-Louis Palladin. In 1974, at the age of 28, Jean-Louis became the youngest chef in France to earn two Michelin stars, and that's a big thing. Five years later, he arrived in Washington, DC at the Watergate Hotel, and food in America was about to make a major change.

Some words from my interview in 2001, just weeks before the great chef died at the young age of 55.

BB: So you arrive in America at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC. What is going through your mind?

JL: The truth is that I wanted to get back on the plane and return to France. I was overwhelmed by what I saw in America. This was 1979, so we are talking about many years ago, but I saw the frozen lobster, the frozen chicken, and the snails in
the can. I knew this was not acceptable. I started spending my early mornings exploring the seafood and produce markets of Washington, and I started having all kinds of fresh products delivered from all over the world to the restaurant. In those early days, I made some enemies with local purveyors and other chefs, but gradually, most people came around to my way of thinking. I found the necessary ingredients, and ended up staying at the Watergate for 17 years.

BB: In terms of ingredients, it seemed that you had to go a lot further than just the DC area.

JL: It was something that I had to do, and perhaps at that time it was a new approach to running a restaurant. In terms of finding what I wanted, I saw my market as the world as opposed to just the local area. I got on the phone and products were flown in from everywhere. It was very time consuming, and of course, very expensive, but that thinking helped us build a truly great restaurant.

BB: Many years have past since your arrival in America. How do you see the state of food in this country today?

JL: Oh my God, there is no comparison. Everything is so much better, and that's the way it is supposed to be. We have been educated, and our chefs are so much better, and certainly our restaurants are better. Our customers know so much more, and they expect so much more. 1979 seems like so many years ago, but when you look at the picture of food in America, we're really talking about a short period of time. The progress has been amazing, and I feel lucky to have been a part of this.

BB: You were so instrumental in altering the perception of food in America, and in so doing, contributing so much to our food culture. With all our progress, we have become a nation literally addicted to fast foods. What does this say about us?

JL: In my hometown of Condom in southwest France, people didn't have refrigerators, so everything we ate was fresh, and of course, this had a tremendous influence in how I approach the subject of food. I wish everyone would learn to appreciate the value of eating freshly prepared foods with quality ingredients. This is never going to happen, because people have to eat, and in many cases, it's an economic consideration. It is a shame that people are so busy that the convenience of fast foods is so appealing. I believe that every responsible chef is concerned with this, and I will tell you that it is a major concern of mine. I'm not sure what any of us can do about it.

The great chef died of cancer in November of 2001. One of the most interesting statements from Jean-Louis is frightening, but certainly understandable ... "You need to say to your wife (if you have a wife) 'I'm sorry, but you will need to be second in my life. Being in the restaurant 10, 12, 14 hours a day, that's your family." The man was interesting.

September 11, 2001

by Bob Bickell


The restaurant known as Windows On the World was on the 106th and 107th floor of the North Towers. Magnificient floor-to-ceiling windows provided their guests a celestial view of some eighty-five miles. It was one of a kind, and on this day Windows of the World literally disappeared along with a host of employees listed below. They were real people just doing their jobs, and reading the names one-by-one helps to understand the enormity of this tragic day in our history.

In Honor of Lives Lost...

Stephen Adams
Sophia Buruwa Addo
Shabir Ahmed
Antonio Javier Alvarez
Telmo Alvear
Manuel O. Asitimbay
Samuel Ayala
Ivahn Luis Carpio Bautista
Veronique Nicole Bowers
Jonathan Briley
Jesus Cabezas
Gregorio Manuel Chavez
Luis Chimbo
Mohammed S. Chowdbury
Jeffrey Coale
Jaime Concepcion
Annette Andrea Dataram
Nancy Diaz
Luke A. Dudek
Doris Eng
Sadie Ettz
Henry Fernandez
Lucille V. Francis
Enrique Antonio Gomez
Jose B. Gomez
Wilder A. Gomez
Tambi Gonzalez
Norberto Hernandez
Ysidro-Hidalgo-Tejada
Clara Hinds
Heather Lo
John Holland
Francois Jean-Pierre
Eliezer Jiminez Jr.
Howard L. Kane
Eugene Kniazev
Abdoulaye Kone
Victor Kwarkye
Alan Lafranco
Jeffrey Latouche
Yang-der Lee
Orasri Liangthanasarn
Jay Magazine
Charles J. Mauro
Manuel Emilio Mejia
Antonia Melendez
Nana Akwasi Minkah
Martin Morales
Leonel Morocho
Blanca Morocho
Carlos Mario Munoz
Jerome Nedd
Juan Nieves Jr.
Jose R. Nunez
Christine Anne Olender
Isidro Ottenwalder
Jesus Ovalles
Leobardo Lopez Pascual
Manuel Patrocino
Victor Paz-Gutierrez
Jose D. Pena
Alejo Perez
John F. Puckett
Moises N. Rivas
David B. Rodriguez-Vargas
Gilbert Ruiz
Juan Salas
Jackie Sayegh
Khamladai K. (Khami) Singh
Roshan (Sean) Singh
Abdoul Karim Treore
Jupiter Yambem

Whatever Happened to Greg Bonham?

This piece is really about the miracle of the internet. Young people tend to take things like the world-wide web and cell phones, and even flat-screen televisions for granted. People who have been around tend to think of it more in the "miracle" category. The web allows one to reconnect with friends and acquaintances from years gone by.

For Jim Sanford, it was as simple as typing in a name on a search engine to find his answer - He quickly discovered that the colorful and multi-talented Greg Bonham is alive and well and still rockin!

The emails...

Dear Greg,

I hope you remember me, but it has been a long time. I certainly remember you. We go back to 1986 in the Catskills of New York. I was with Sid Bernstein and helping Bobby Rock with his career. After that you invited me to Atlantic City where you opened for Don Rickles. We went backstage and met with Rickles, and that night you signed a picture for me. I had it framed and it has been on all the walls I've lived in since then.

I have no idea why we didn't keep in touch but I guess we all had our own roads to travel. Whenever people admired my wall of pictures they asked about you. After explaining our meeting I always said,"This guy is one of the best entertainers I have ever seen. I have no idea why he isn't a star. He certainly is in my book." Last week I put your name into Google and to my surprise there you were as big as life. I watched your video and you proved to be as great as I've been saying all this time. I was elated at your success. It would be fun to get together again and I hope to hear from you soon.

Jim Sanford
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"Soon" became only a few minutes and as we learned later, Greg Bonham carries a Blackberry and is a participant in the miracle of the web. Jim immediately received the following message...

HI JIM:

What a pleasant surprise to hear from you, and what strong and wonderful memories you brought back. The Catskills and Rickles, and Sid and yourself ... Wow! Thank you so much for your positive and supportive comments, and I am still working and enjoying a pretty full and successful career. I now reside in Las Vegas with my wife (yes, the same one) and our daughter, Rebel, who owns and runs a successful modeling agency in Vegas (metromodels.info). I am happy to say that the business has been kind to me Jim, and I have been enjoying the ride. Not boasting, believe me, that is not my style, but we live in a wonderful estate in Vegas ...maybe a little pretentious ...but it also may make for a nice picture (Aussie Farm Boy to the "American Dream" type of story).

Best wishes,

Greg

A conversation with Greg:

PP: When you think about it, there is so much talent out there and so few make it. For every Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty, you literally have thousands and thousands of talented people who never made it happen. You can understand why Jim assumed that you were part of this process.

Greg: I totally understand, and all I ever hoped for was to be like Sammy Davis Jr. Of course, that would be an impossibility. While I hardly place myself in the category of the world's great performers, I am who I am; a farm boy from Down Under who loved the world of music and discovered a way to take that passion and make a living. You do the TV appearances and the cruise ships and the clubs, and the corporate events, and whatever it takes. I know where I came from and I consider myself one of the luckiest individuals on the planet. I love what I do and as long as I can find an audience, I will find a way to get it done.

PP: One thing is for certain - you still have the accent.

Greg: That is something that will never change. I am from Australia and I will always be from Australia. In fact, my family is planning a trip to my hometown
of Beckom in early October to celebrate the town's 100-year birthday. Australia was always good to me and I feel that it's very important to be there.

PP: In terms of life, it is fair to say that luck (the good and the bad) inevitably plays a major role especially in something as competitive as the entertainment
business, and it seemed that you wasted little time getting started and you instinctively knew that music was your future.

Greg: Right from the beginning I was lucky because my parents supported my interest in music. Even at a very young age I saw myself as a musician and certainly not a farmer. Most parents working a sheep farm would not be too excited about a young boy more interested in playing the piano and the trumpet rather that working the farm. Without their support, I have no idea where I would be today, and it would certainly not be living and performing in Las Vegas. I picked-up a trumpet and figured out a way to play it, but it wasn't until a local resident by the name of Fred Butcher took the time to teach me how to read music and really play the trumpet. I honor him for this, and call it what you will, luck or divine intervention, he helped make my career in music actually possible. Fred Butcher was also the kindest man I have ever met.

PP: You also took the opportunity in honoring your father by writing an emotional piece called "I Am My Father's Son".

Greg: I'm a family man who appreciates the people who helped me. It's who I am and the song was easy to write and one that is near and dear to me.

PP: So it all started in Australia and somehow, someway, you found a home in Las Vegas. It does beg the question, how and why do you end-up in America, and it is interesting to note that Florida played a role in getting you to the States.

Greg: It's a good question and relatively simple to answer. Of course, it began in Australia, and at the ripe old age of eleven, I was performing in our family
dance band (the Bona-Tones) with my two brothers and two sisters, and at sixteen, I won a prestigious national television talent award that jump-started my
professional musical career. I did the Sydney clubs and I had over 150 television appearances in Australia. It got me on my way until such a time that I literally
had to make a move. A performer needs a stage and the stage in Australia was simply not big enough for me to make a living. I love Australia and again, it will
always be a part of me, but I needed more opportunity and my first major stage (if you will) was in England. I was there for six wonderful years before I was
invited to come to the United States.

A Miami club owner by the name of Steve Mallock and his wife, Christine Lee saw me perform at the "Talk of London" and invited me to Miami to perform at
his establishment in North Miami Beach, called Christine Lees. I fell in love with America and eventually Las Vegas became a natural destination for what I was
doing. I spent eight magical months at the Sands Hotel at the legendary Copacabana Theater where the famed Sammy Davis Jr. and the Rat Pack played. I now perform for corporate bookings on the strip Hotels with Paris, Venetian, Flamingo Hilton and Mirage being my most regular venues. I am waiting for the correct venue and a deal to present my (non-corporate) show on the strip again, but the scene has changed somewhat with superstars like Bette Midler, Barry Manilow, Cher, Elton John etc, plus huge Cirque Du Soleil production shows.

PP: Let's go back prior to your introduction to the U.S. Somehow you managed to actually sell some 14 million albums in of all places, Russia. How is such a thing possible?

Greg: It was amazing, and I will call it just a part of my journey. I was at the right place at the right time. It was a relatively new thing in Russia to have these
kinds of shows. First there was Elton John, Boney M and then came along an Aussie guy (ME) who was "just right" for marketing and it simply took off. I toured from Moscow to Siberia and in a twelve month period I did about two-hundred concerts. It was called "The London Show" and I can tell you that no-one was more surprised than me. The first album was recorded live at the Rosia Theater in Moscow and we sold three million copies. There were further live recordings and many singles and I sang some original songs in Russian in the concerts and on television. Everything worked! I had a huge tour bus in which I would ride with the promoter and his wife along an with an interpreter...and the band had their own bus that would follow. It was total madness and at the time, I just didn't realize how wonderful it really was.

PP: That's a great story, but I'm guessing the weather in Las Vegas is a tad better than in Russia.

Greg: You might be surprised to know that I actually got the best tan of my life during a summer in Siberia in a place called Novorsibirsk.

PP: Russia notwithstanding, you are still enjoying the great ride, and I hate to ask you about the end game, but simply put, is it something you think about?

Greg: We all think of the end game. When you do something that you love for so long, you never want it to end. I will always have my music and that is comforting. As long as I can continue to hit the high notes and continue to please my audience, I will do what I'm doing. When I can't get it done (and I will know before anyone else) I will hang it up and enjoy whatever is left. It's that simple. For now, I will continue to live a dream.

PP: And the good news is that it sounds like you are many moons away from hanging it up. You even wrote an amazing patriotic song called "Who Will Stand". Where did that inspiration come from?

Greg: I am a great believer that people like me who arrived later in America develop an even more intense love and respect for this great country. In plain
words, it's my way of honoring the United States and it has become a big part of every one of my concerts.

When you speak with Jim, tell him to keep that photo on the wall and let's all get together in Vegas.


www.gregbonham.com

A Chef at War....

It was almost ten years ago that we (Restaurant Report) were ranting and raving about the subject of childhood obesity. We knew then that we were systematically raising an entire generation hooked on fast foods. We knew then that both the parents and the schools were failing miserably as they sat back and watched this happen. We knew then what was going to happen, and after all these years, the problem has gotten progressively worse.

Our article stated the following... "Our kids have become psychologically and even physiologically addicted to a diet that is unto itself, blatantly unhealthy". We called upon the chefs of America to get involved in some type of effort to educate the public regarding the dangers inherent in a steady diet of fast foods, and to develop some type of program to teach the importance of good food and healthy dining. All these years later, things have gotten progressively worse to the point where our medical community is now busy treating young children for Type 2 diabetes and even heart disease.

The reaction to our plea would not be characterized as overwhelming, and even today, the parents and the schools continue to do virtually nothing when it comes to something so critical as the health of our children. Having said that, we did hear from Chef Christopher Daly. At the time, he was Chef de Cuisine at Petrossian in New York, and he was ready to fight the battle. The good chef included the following in his response... "It is a terrible thing to think of the scope of damage being done in the name of convenience and fast foods. Our youth is being commercialized; their health is in danger, and their future is being placed in jeopardy".

The real story here is that Chef Daly did more than simply write a letter. He single-handidly started an organization that he calls "HIP FOR KIDS" (Hospitality Industry Professionals for Kids), and guess what - it's still going strong today and this chef hasn't backed down one inch. Most of the country could care less - Chef Daly is making something happen! We might be losing the war, but the chef is winning the battle. His recipes and his programs for fresh, healthy food have been adopted in schools all over the country. It's a great story and I don't believe Chris Daly thinks we're "losing this war".

The man is actually saving lives, and based on his performance to date, he will continue to do so. His site is hip4kids.org and this chef deserves our interest and our help. One man unto himself is not going to beat this devil. Having said that, it's comforting to know that someone actually cares.

www.Hip4Kids.org
www.restaurantreport.com

Take these chains from my heart and make me free...

The Republican running for Governor of Pennsylvania suggested that it is time to privatize the State-run liquor stores. A politician will suggest anything that will help him get elected, so we all know what this is about. Having said that, it is way past the time to remove the chains and let the independent stores do their thing.

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) is trying everything imaginable to modernize the process. They introduced Sunday hours in a number of selective stores, and they introduced wine tastings in their "Specialty" stores. Believe it or not, their latest venture is allowing the public to purchase wine through a vending machine. In,all due respect, it's like putting perfume on a pig.

The most embarrassing part of the Pennsylvania story is regarding the sale of beer. One can visit a host of beer distributors, but your only choice is buying by the case. If you want a six-pack, it's no problem finding a bar that will allow you to purchase a maximum of two six-packs at a time. You will pay a ridiculous premium for their kindness. The purchase of one bottle of beer is next to impossible.

It's a joke, and everyone knows it, but the system lives on and on. It's etched in stone, and the man running for Governor knows it.

My argument is a simple one. It happens to be 2010, and and the controlled states are yesterday's news. There are two big cities in Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh and Philadelphia) and on a national basis, they will never be seen as great restaurant destinations as long as the State remains in the business of selling alcohol.

And while the educated wine buyers continue to support New Jersey and Delaware, be advised that bringing a bottle of wine across State lines is illegal. I'm not certain of this, but it might be punishable by death.

The Tragedy at the Inn Continues...

"Only The Good Die Young"
....Billy Joel

The story involving the death of Chef Jim Webb will never go away. His business partner, Chef Guy Sileo, was found guilty of the murder and received a sentence of life in prison. We now learn that his sentence has been vacated and he will receive a new trial. I followed the events of this tragic story mainly because I got to know Jim Webb very well. I could see there were issues early on and I knew their business was going to have serious problems, but I had no idea that anything this horrific would occur.

It is interesting to note that I had a friend in the local police department and I called him shortly after the murder and simply asked him about the crime. He immediately told me who murdered Jim Webb and I was understandably shocked. Of
course, it's one thing to know what happened and a very different thing to find that party guilty. The murder took place in 1996 and Chef Sileo didn't go to trial until 2001, and here we go again.

The General Wayne Inn was opened in 1704 and is said to be haunted by the ghost of a Hessian soldier who was murdered in the restaurant and who still hangs out in the basement. I lived in the area and knew the previous owner (Bart Johnson) so I was familiar with all the ghost stories regarding the Inn. My familiarity with the restaurant was part of the reason that I stopped in to meet Jim Webb when he and Guy Sileo arrived in October of 1995. We met several times after that and he told me everything I had to know - in my mind, the restaurant was never going to make it.

The two chefs were the former owners of the popular American Bistro in Morton (Delaware County) and the only thing in common with the Bistro and the Inn was that both were restaurants. The Bistro was a small (second floor) BYOB while The General Wayne Inn was gigantic, very old, and needed tons of work which translates to tons of money. It was further complicated by the fact that the General Wayne Inn needed a whole new audience. Most of the devoted guests of the Inn were either deceased or well on their way. The Inn was basically Lawrence Welk - the new Inn had to be Bruce Springsteen. They needed major marketing dollars as well as all kinds of upgrades both inside and outside the restaurant. The expected crowds failed to materialize and the pressure on the owners was clearly taking its toll.

It is important to note that Jim Webb was an incredibly hard worker who constantly worked late at night and often slept in his office. Guy Sileo (or very few of us) could ever match his work ethic and that became an issue. Having said that, it was Sileo's father who helped the partners with a much needed influx of cash which played a major role in the motive for killing Jim Webb. If something happened to Jim, the insurance policy ($650,000) dictated that Guy Sileo would be the benefactor, and his father could be repaid immediately.

The thing that really bothered Chef Webb was an affair between (the married with children) Guy Sileo and a twenty year-old sous chef by the name of Felicia Moyse - a recent graduate of the Restaurant School in Philadelphia. It was possibly the main reason that Webb was ready to call it quits and walk away from this challenging restaurant endeavor.

On the morning of December 27, 1996, Chef Jim Webb was found murdered in his third floor office with a single bullet wound to the back of his head. On February 22, 2000, Felicia Moyse committed suicide. Shortly after the official sentencing, Chef Sileo suggested that a despondent Felicia Moyse murdered Jim Webb over his dissatisfaction with their affair. This is actually the basis of granting a new trial as the original judge dismissed this motion and the jury never heard this particular allegation.

I only spoke with Guy Sileo about three or four times and one of those was at the funeral. I don't know the man, and I will allow the courts to decide his fate. Jim Webb clearly ran the restaurant and I admired his talent in the kitchen and most of all his passion for trying to make the General Wayne project a success. Jim Webb was only thirty-one when he was murdered and that unto itself is a major tragedy. He also had a devoted mother and father, two brothers and a sister, a son and a daughter, a loving wife and many friends.

I still have the coffee cup he gave me during one of our meetings. It was inscribed with the following message: "The General Wayne Inn Since 1704... IT'S ALIVE". The Inn is still there, but for me personally, it's anything but ALIVE.

The Robots Are Coming...

"You gotta be pretty desperate to make it with a robot". -- Homer Simpson

I can remember the fascination of watching a robot make hamburgers at a New York restaurant show. It was amazing to watch a machine make perfect hamburgers every single time and even clean the stove after each batch. The robot worked for hours on end and never missed a beat. There were zero visits to the bathroom, no complaining and no coffee or cigarette breaks. It was fascinating and also a bit frightening at the same time.

Now I read that the Japanese have developed an electromechanical sommelier capable of identifying dozens of wines, cheeses and hors d'oeuvres. This robot can even talk (the head swivels and the mouth lights up when it speaks). It is not clear whether or not it can actually open bottle of wine, and it is yet to be determined if this sommelier can accept cash tips for services rendered. The inventors point out that all foods have a "unique fingerprint" and the robot uses that data to immediately identify precisely what it tastes.

All of this is to suggest that eventually someone will develop an electromechanical executive chef. You can visit your favorite restaurant and be certain of a perfect meal on every occasion. It's even possible that there will be celebrity-chef robots that will appear on television and do all the things that real chefs are currently doing. It will even be possible to clone these celebrity chefs as a restaurant opens additional locations.

My guess is that the chef robots will be programmed based on a particular cuisine (Italian, French, seafood, etc.). The competition will be intense and it will be interesting to see if Las Vegas beats Atlantic City in acquiring the first celebrity robot chef. The truth is that I can definitely see robots in the fast food sector, and while jobs will be lost, the basic concept will only go to improve what they are currently doing. In terms of upscale dining, forget about it.

I will allow a robot to build my automobile, and possibly wash my dishes, but I will continue to search out restaurants with real people. They might miss once in a while, but somehow it's more interesting. Maybe it's just me, but I would feel uncomfortable discussing the wine list with a robot. The swiveling head would bother me.

I'm not impressed with the Japanese sommelier thing. However, if you can teach that machine how to do sushi, we might have something to talk about.

September 11, 2001 ... It's the End of the World As We Know It

The restaurant known as Windows On the World was on the 106 and 107th floor of the North Towers. Magnificient floor-to-ceiling windows provided their guests a celestial view of some eighty-five miles. It was one of a kind, and on this day Windows On the World literally disappeared along with a host of employees listed below. They were real people just doing their jobs, and reading the names one-by-one helps to understand the enormity of this tragic day in our history.

In Honor of Lives Lost...

Stephen Adams
Sophia Buruwa Addo
Shabir Ahmed
Antonio Javier Alvarez
Telmo Alvear
Manuel O. Asitimbay
Samuel Ayala
Ivahn Luis Carpio Bautista
Veronique Nicole Bowers
Jonathan Briley
Jesus Cabezas
Gregorio Manuel Chavez
Luis Chimbo
Mohammed S. Chowdbury
Jeffrey Coale
Jaime Concepcion
Annette Andrea Dataram
Nancy Diaz
Luke A. Dudek
Doris Eng
Sadie Ettz
Henry Fernandez
Lucille V. Francis
Enrique Antonio Gomez
Jose B. Gomez
Wilder A. Gomez
Tambi Gonzalez
Norberto Hernandez
Ysidro-Hidalgo-Tejada
Clara Hinds
Heather Lo
John Holland
Francois Jean-Pierre
Eliezer Jiminez Jr.
Howard L. Kane
Eugene Kniazev
Abdoulaye Kone
Victor Kwarkye
Alan Lafranco
Jeffrey Latouche
Yang-der Lee
Orasri Liangthanasarn
Jay Magazine
Charles J. Mauro
Manuel Emilio Mejia
Antonia Melendez
Nana Akwasi Minkah
Martin Morales
Leonel Morocho
Blanca Morocho
Carlos Mario Munoz
Jerome Nedd
Juan Nieves Jr.
Jose R. Nunez
Christine Anne Olender
Isidro Ottenwalder
Jesus Ovalles
Leobardo Lopez Pascual
Manuel Patrocino
Victor Paz-Gutierrez
Jose D. Pena
Alejo Perez
John F. Puckett
Moises N. Rivas
David B. Rodriguez-Vargas
Gilbert Ruiz
Juan Salas
Jackie Sayegh
Khamladai K. (Khami) Singh
Roshan (Sean) Singh
Abdoul Karim Treore
Jupiter Yambem

This one is for Bonnie and it's very personal....

I knew Bonnie from high school and I always considered her someone who was very special. We lost touch, which is to be expected, and our lives went in very different directions. We're going back to the 1960's and the very next time I heard about Bonnie was shortly after the events of 9/11. Bonnie was killed in the attack on the World Trade Center and after all these years, it continues to bother me.

The Bonnie I knew was just a young, great-looking girl with a great personality. For whatever reason, every time I think or hear about 9/11, I think about her. Over the years we lost a lot of people from the high school days and that's just the way it goes, but her death was unacceptable, and it's something that will be with me for the rest of my life. It should never have happened.

The soon to be built mosque near Ground Zero has succeeded in bringing back the horrible memories of September 11, 2001. I absolutely understand the dynamics of messing with the freedom of religion thing, so forgive me when I tell you that I'm not in the mood to think about a mosque sitting anywhere near Ground Zero, especially so close to yet another September 11th. The issue concerning the mosque is one for another time, but some 3000 people died that day and my friend was one of them.

I did learn that she worked on the 93rd floor of the north tower known as One World Trade Center. The tower was hit by American Flight 11 after hijackers took control of the plane. I am told that she survived the impact of the plane and even called her husband on her cell phone right before the collapse of the building. She had two children (who are now adults) and I now discover that her husband later died.

The entire thing is so tragic and all I can really remember are those innocent high school days when we had no clue what was in store for us. If I could speak with her children today, I would tell them that their mother was very special, but I'm sure they know that already.

Lauren

Section Y
Row 17
Seats 5 & 6

By Lauren Hart


From the day I was born, this was the place where so many of the Hart family memories were created. A young mom took her three babies, one by one, to see their first hockey game. We saw the first Stanley Cup come to Philadelphia. There were victories, defeats, and a real loss. The Russian Army team took on the Flyers while the Cold War was actually happening. Brother and sister bonded. Mother and daughter went through the dreaded teens. A son saw his dad hold the coolest job on earth, and friendships were made. Mischievous kids ran through the concourse, hid under the bleachers, and worked on sneaking past the security guards. We watched in awe as our heroes walked like giants through the hallways underneath the building. Nervous boyfriends tried to impress, and a young aspiring singer longed to get a chance to sing on that ice. Proud kids watched from afar as their father grew into a legend and Dad reigned as a king from the press box. Fifty nights a year we cheered our team on as they took the ice, and more importantly, our family grew, connected and learned to dream.

How many times did we cross that bridge from our home in South Jersey and headed to “THE” building? I walked proudly through the parking lot next to my father. I took my seat and watched him make the climb to the press box all the way at the top of the Spectrum. On his way up, the regulars stopped him to talk, or they just cheered him as he made his way. Somewhere in that building, he was always busy holding court.

In between games I saw my first concert (Billy Joel). I thought about running away with the circus and becoming a trapeze artist. I put on my blue costume at the annual Flyers Christmas Skate party with visions of Dorothy Hamill in my head. I hung out with Cindy Lauper and Captain Lou Albana (OK, now who remembers that!) and I got to sing before a Tori Amos concert.

And…..one day I got the chance to sing the Anthem with knees knocking and breathless in the zamboni tunnel while Wayne Gretsky walked by. I certainly never would have guessed what this song and the relationship with this team would eventually become, and I would never have imagined what a building could become to mean to a human being.

I’m sure many other fans have shared these exact same memories. For our family, they were life changing. Time has a way of turning regular moments into legend. Somehow they became larger than life itself. Over the years, my Spectrum memories have been folded and tucked away safely into my world.

On October 1st, the Flyers played their last official game in the building. I was preparing for my final God Bless America alongside the memory of Kate Smith. I heard my father’s voice ringing out: “Good Night, Good Hockey”. All at once I felt the emotion of a lifetime. I wasn’t ready to feel breathless that way again, but I did. The reality of the moment suddenly occurred to me. I was letting go of something very special, and I wasn’t sure the words and the song would find their way. Fortunately it worked, and I felt extremely proud. I felt so thankful that I was able to be the one standing there after all this time.

Adrienne

The Gladiator was one interesting movie because it was based on events that were very real. People actually murdered each other to the delight of stadiums filled with adoring fans. I'm sure it was far more interesting to watch the lions maul the Christians, but give me a beautiful day; a couple of hot dogs and several beers, I have to believe the Gladiators was as good as it gets.

I was thinking about the Gladiators when I heard the news of a Kickboxer killed after a severe blow to the head in Orlando, Florida. This time it was a thirty-four year-old lady by the name of Adrienne Simmons who took the shot during the hotly contested third round of her battle. Sanctioned by the American Kickboxing Association, it was a Muay Thai tournament which is a style that incorporates punches, kicks, elbows, and knees. It's hardly surprising that Muay Thai is characterized as "frighteningly violent".

This is a very tragic story, but please explain to me what Ms. Simmons was thinking about to allow such a thing to happen in the first place (don't bother, I already know the answer).

Maybe it's just me, but I don't want to see women fighting each other. I don't want to see women playing "professional football" (and I might add "professional basketball"). Having said that, I actually think ice-hockey and volleyball are perfectly acceptable.

Bad things can happen when the objective of a sport is to knock-out your opponent. Even the great Mohammad Ali watched his daughter enter the ring knowing what boxing
did to her father. When a sporting event ends in a death (and let's forget about NASCAR which to me is highly forgettable) we are talking about the modern version of the gladiators.

Professional wrestling might be the worse thing that ever happened to the real world of sports, but at least these "gladiators" are faking it. The folks that get permanently injured are far from faking it.

A final thought on the subject... If you find yourself in line purchasing tickets to an event where women are literally trying to kill each other, you have some issues that should be addressed on a rather immediate basis.

Thirty-four is too young to die, and for who and for what? It makes absolutely no sense!

How Many Big-Macs Will it Take to know Too many People Have Died?

One of the unfortunate consequences of the American obesity problem is that too much information is making the problem more confusing than it needs to be. Study after study with all the medical nonsense has helped to cloud the essence of this issue. There is so much information that we are literally boring the public to death.

So much of this information is too ridiculous to believe. Of course, this statement calls for an example, so how about one that just crossed my desk today...

Chocolate Milk Restores Muscle (as seen The Hartford Courant (Conn.) (10/11)

"Chocolate milk can restore muscles following a workout, according to research sponsored by the National Dairy Council and the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board. For the study, male runners drank either chocolate milk or carb-only drinks after exercise, and chocolate milk was shown to be better at rebuilding muscle".

This was sponsored by the National Dairy Council, and of course, the conclusion is obvious - chocolate milk is clearly the one drink that is good for you, especially if you happen to be a male runner.

There are thousands of these things and at the end of the day (or perhaps the end of your life) you are totally confused and in despair. You sit down and eat an entire cheesecake (which also will help you restore your muscles following a workout).

My remedy is the following. Do not read any of this. If one of these incredible studies appears on your television screen, immediately switch the channel. If a friend, or even an acquaintance starts talking to you about the latest study, walk away and do not return.

Trust me when I tell you the following:

If we outlawed Soda, Fast Foods, and Sugar, obesity in America would cease to be a problem. We won't outlaw tobacco, so we are not about to outlaw the likes of soda, fast foods, and sugar.

Allow me to put it another way... AVOID Soda and Fast Foods (you may even have small amounts of sugar) and you and your children will not have to be concerned with the life-threatening thing called obesity.

End of Story.

A Corporate Disgrace

“If customers order the Original Recipe variety, their Double Down will pack 540 calories, 32 grams of fat and 1,380 milligrams of sodium” … KFC

One of the great mysteries of life is America’s love affair with fast foods. It is almost as interesting as people who smoke even though they are aware that cigarettes can kill them. They stand in line to purchase an over-taxed, expensive product that even contains a label warning the buyer that this product can prematurely end your life. Somehow, someway, that rather frightening warning doesn’t seem to bother them.

Fast foods are in the same category although they don’t kill you as quickly. Basically, you and your children become obese and die from heart disease or something simple like diabetes. The government is so concerned they are forcing the fast food industry to display the calories on their menus in an attempt to educate the public to the dangers inherent in what they are feeding their kids. It’s not that the public can’t read; it’s that they don’t seem to care. If it tastes good, you eat it. If it kills you, so be it.

You would think the Fast Food industry would choose to stay under the radar and do as little as possible to awaken a public that continues to ignore the warnings that are basically everywhere. Listing the calories will do little to shake the aficionados of fast foods into any sense of reality. Their reality is in a Big Mac or a Whopper.

And now a new crisis has arisen. KFC has officially (and proudly) introduced the new and exciting Double Down sandwich that includes two slices of cheese, sauce and bacon sandwiched between two white-meat chicken filets. The calories are in the 500 range, but who counts calories when you’re having fun?

It’s obscene but who cares? We already know the parents don’t care, and we certainly know that KFC doesn’t care. We also know that little things like childhood diabetes are not dramatic enough to get people’s attention.

I repeat – it’s one of the great mysteries of life as we know it. KFC should be ashamed of themselves while they brag about a marketing success. Having said that, what else is new?

Pilot Pretenders

“How Many Deaths will it take till he knows that too many people have died”
Bob Dylan – “Blowin’ In the Wind”



Hilton Head, South Carolina – Tuesday, March 16, 2010…

“The kit-built single-engine plane was gliding quietly as it came down for an emergency landing on a beach. Pharmaceutical salesman Robert Gary Jones, listening to his iPod while jogging, likely never saw or heard it before the aircraft hit him from behind Monday evening and killed him”.

The airplane model that killed Jones has a turbine engine; can be built from a kit and can fly up to 370 miles per hour. The "fastbuild kit" for the IV-P model, which has a pressurized cabin, is listed as costing $129,000 and is "fully FAA approved” (whatever that means).

An airplane that is built from a kit? You can’t be serious. Most people can’t put together a bicycle from a kit and I have to believe an airplane is a tad more complicated. Would someone please put a stop to this insanity? There are too many stories of small planes crashing into houses, wires, buildings, mountains, highways, and of course, oceans and beaches.

It’s almost always about something known as “pilot error” and I will only fly with people who do this for a living. My pilot is going to be dressed in a uniform and he is a trained professional working for companies such as USAir, Continental Southwest, and Delta. I happen to believe that flying an airplane is a bit more complicated than driving a car; or even a truck or a tractor. I choose to go with a real pilot and it’s the only way I dare to go.

For me, it started with the deaths of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper who died in their Beechcraft Bonanza. John F. Kennedy Jr. who pretended to be a real pilot, piloted his wife, her sister, and himself into the ocean off Martha’s Vineyard. Singer John Denver died after crashing his experimental, single-engine Rutan Long EZ plane in Monterrey, California. What does one mean by experimental?

It goes on and on and pilot wannabes keep killing themselves along with a host of innocent people (and frankly, it's the innocent people I worry about). I know the argument that cars are more dangerous than airplanes, but any idiot can drive a car. You have to know what you are doing to fly an airplane and quite clearly, too many of these amateur pilots clearly don’t know what they’re doing.

That guy who was just jogging on a beach in Hilton Head died a very tragic and unnecessary death. It’s just not fair.

From Russia With Love...

Ladies and gentlemen…let there be no mistake. In Pennsylvania a new crisis has arisen, and our State Police and our Liquor Control Board are reacting accordingly. In what has to be one of the most shocking developments in many years, it has been determined that certain bar owners have failed in their responsibility to properly register their beer, and God knows, we cannot allow unregistered beer in the State of Pennsylvania.

Someone (somewhere) did the exact right thing by notifying the authorities that certain bar owners (in this case, a husband and wife team) were actually serving unregistered beer in the City of Philadelphia. It has been reported that the United States Marine Corps provided the backup for a raid by a brave team from the Pennsylvania State Police against the perpetrators of this heinous act. The police moved in quickly with such professionalism and precision, the fire power of the Marines was deemed unnecessary.

It is true that the owners in question purchased the beer legally from licensed Pennsylvania distributors, but everyone knows that you must register the precise name of each and every beer (at the registered cost of $75.00 (per beer). The State Police heroically confiscated four kegs and some 317 bottles of beer that were deemed “unregistered”. Thankfully, there were no shots fired. The beer was taken to an undisclosed place where it will remain until all this has been resolved (possibly six to eight months).

It’s important to note that Pennsylvania takes the subject of beer very seriously – as well they should. And please be aware that if you visit a local beer distributor, and you desire a beer, you must buy an entire case. Forget about a six-pack, or even a bottle of beer. You must buy a case and take a few moments to make certain your choice of beer has been duly registered. Also, be aware you can’t buy beer in a supermarket and certainly not in a State Store. In terms of the popular six-packs, only two at a time may be purchased, unless you are buying from an official “beer distributor” in which case the six-packs are not an option.

The State Police know what’s going on and the citizens of this great State are behind them. Unregistered beer will not be tolerated, and in this case, it’s kudos to the heroes at the State Police and of course, the esteemed members of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. We urge all Pennsylvania residents (21 and older) along with visitors to our State to make certain they are drinking “registered” beer.

CIGAR CITY...

Ybor City in Tampa has to be one of the most exciting and interesting spots of all time. Unlike so many totally predictable and boring tourist traps in America, Ybor City is the real thing. Not too much has changed since the 1800s when thousands of immigrants (mainly from Cuba) arrived here to work in the cigar factories. The modern Ybor City (which is hardly modern) is all about great restaurants and a plethora of real-live cigar stores. There is also plenty of bars, tatoo parlors and some unfortunate clubs that make Ybor a definite adult experience. Ybor is not to be confused for Disney - nor should it be. It is a bit crazy and that's part of the presentation.

And yes, there have been some incidents in Ybor and unfortunately, the local media goes out of their way to report every detail. The result is a perception that Ybor is dangerous even though most of the problems take place in the 3AM time-zone. Ybor is anything but dangerous but we all know that perception becomes reality and the local politicians (who could easily fix the problems) remain silent and allow the media to continue their bashing.

Oddly enough, the most recent example is courtesy of a prominent, local cigar magazine. Of all the members of the media, one would think they would go out of their way to help Ybor with its reputation for trouble. After all, they distribute their magazines in their cigar stores.

They actually decided that this would be a good time to feature a story that happened in 1933. It involved a madman who murdered his entire family (including their dog) with an ax. They chose the following headline and positioned it on their front cover - HORROR IN YBOR CITY!

The real horror is that a publisher who is dependent on the cigar industry would reach all the way back to 1933 to help denigrate Ybor at a time when so many are trying to change the public's perception of this classic destination. The murder was indeed horrendous, and one could suggest that it is a legitimate story (which it is). Having said that, publishing a magazine is more difficult than ever, and it's not the time nor the place to attack the very people who are keeping you in business.

I picked up a very forgettable newspaper in Florida and studied one of their very unusal ads. It was a full page so I figured it was important.

The subject matter was "chewing tobacco" - the Company in question was R.J. Reynolds and I'm guessing the sponsor was an organization called BREAK FREE. The copy made no sense to me -
"I Did" Beats "I Will Anyday"

There was one noteworthy announcement that said it all - "Warning, This Product May Cause Mouth Cancer".

Maybe it's just me, but any product that "May Cause Mouth Cancer" is a product that I would undoubtedly avoid. More to the point, what kind of morons purchase something that May Cause Mouth Cancer? I can hear it now..."I bought this product and I love it. And remember, it says that it May Cause, not Will Cause. And even if I get Mouth Cancer, it's definitely fixable."

R.J. Reynolds is a big company that must know what they are doing, and frankly speaking, they are distributing a product that May Cause Mouth Cancer. How is such a thing possible? My guess is they sleep at night because Mouth Cancer just May be fixable.