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New Columns appear each Tuesday. 09MAY06 Doral Chenoweth writes about the business of restaurants and the food industry in the Columbus, Ohio, Metro area. Reader comments are welcome by telephone. 614-538-1822. Email the Grump: thegrumpygourmet@wowway.com Send food stuff here: iPLATE@grumpygourmetusa.com Send weird stuff here: alferd_e_packer@wowway.com E-mail messages must include name and telephone for a reply. |
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09MAY06 ORA Alerts Restaurants On Credit Card Scammer Here's the latest scam report. Ohio Restaurant Association has sounded the alarm about a guy, unknown at this writing, calling restaurants seeking information by claiming to represent VISA/MasterCard. Warning: He's a fraud. The caller says the processing system is down and that the restaurant's terminals are showing transactions as approved. ORA communications chief, Dolores Bennison, says in her notice, they are not legit. The caller gives the manager a telephone number to call to get "verbal approval" on credit card transactions. The scammer says the call has to be made so that money can be transferred to the business account as usual. Bennison says it is an obvious attempt by the scammer to get credit card numbers and identity information. She advises all who have been pitched to call ORA, 616-442-3535. Or send details of the incident to info@ohiorestaurant.org. |
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Patrons Have a New Credit Card Worry One hot sub chain is being watched for new credit card scam. There's a new card validation system that permits quicker service by the cashier. Cards can be quickly swiped and the card holder is not asked to sign an authorization receipt. Hey, cousin, watch it. Cases are being reported of double swiping - you get your receipt, the house palms the second one. About the only solution for the double billing is for the card holder to scan his monthly statements to see if two equal transactions appear. |
 READER BILL HARRISON sent this along with a note that grilling season is upon us. Since it involves the grease factor, we are posting it for consideration. He dubs it the HOBO BBQ. (Source: Unknown other than the Internet Black Hole.) |
Grill On the Cheap, Harrison Suggests It had to happen. The Internet is the answer to all things screwy. Making the rounds way out there in space and back down to this time zone, reader Bill Harrison is through reading the Kroger, Home Depot, and Sears ads about expensive BBQ grills. When (even) Kroger gets into the grill act with a $449.90 Omaha stainless steel grill on the same page with a $64 Weber, it is time to look elsewhere. Harrison spotted the ultimate, a HOBO BBQ grill in apparently working order. It appears to be in a hobo jungle, something out of the Depression years. Problem is, the Harrison model did not exist in the 1930s. His e-mailer to this Website suggest they could be picked up at the following locations: Target, Giant Eagle, Kroger, A&P, Whole Foods…and the list goes on. It is a timely suggestion. Over the weekend one of the TV stations specializing in puff, had two boatloads of OSU students doing good deeds. They pulled up some four tons of debris from the Olentngy. Prominently, the camera paused when they drug up ….well, it was a HOBO BBQ grill, a bit rusty. |
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Street Rumble: Short North to Get Classy Mexican One thing the restaurant-heavy Short North does not have is a legit Mexican restaurant. That may change soon. Once all those little lease letters are dotted, a real pro operator will announce he is expanding with a Mexican sit down, white linens. Reservations and scratch pours of Margaritas. Nope, it is not to be in the closed Zola location. |
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Crave Time Cook Off Seeks Recipes If you have a recipe using a stack of White Castles, Slyders to the informed, do a little kitchen research on your own, experiment, come up with something unique beyond turkey stuffing for Thanksgiving, and you could be a winner when that august body of judges convenes on Aug. 17 to come up with their final blessings. Deadline for submission is nearing - July 6. Do it online: www.whitecastle.com/_pages/cook_submit.asp?section=cookoff by Doral Chenoweth 614-538-1822 |
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