WWW.RIDESIDE.NET

Posted by cdubrocker on 2006-06-02 17:15:20 +0000

It's at the Avalon Ballroom!

Posted by MF DU on 2006-06-04 02:06:02 +0000

Sounds interesting...

Posted by cdubrocker on 2006-06-05 12:06:49 +0000

It could be stellar or crappy. If I were to put money on it, I'd probably say the latter. I'm not sure yet if I'm willing to chance it.

Posted by MF DU on 2006-06-05 14:25:11 +0000

You sound like you are standing upon the threshold of my nameless employer's cafeteria entitled 'Sebastians'...

Posted by G lib on 2006-06-05 15:45:43 +0000

Wait a minute-- WE HAVE A SEBASTIAN'S, TOO! It's a conspiracy!

Posted by MF DU on 2006-06-06 19:16:25 +0000

lets get Charlie Sheen to weigh in :0 )

Posted by G lib on 2006-06-07 11:39:18 +0000

WARNING-- UNNECESSARY JOKE EXPLANATION AND CORPORATE MONOPOLY RANT FOLLOWS: To clarify, I was trying to press upon the point that most corporate and University cafeterias are owned by Aaramark or some other clone of Aaramark, and they're all the same. I was (obscurely) trying to make the point that they call the cafeteria's Sebastian's or Tony's in order to give them an original, bistro-esque feel, less Soviet and Industrial than "The Caf" that people went to in the 1970s for lunch. However, because employer food service is a monopoly, I'm sure that the names were vetted in multiple marketing and paid phone surveys to groups of people in specific demographics paid to determine if they would rather eat at a place called: a. Sebastian's, b. Frank's, and c. Mike's. And it's kind of embarassing and funny that we both work in a place that has a Sebastian's based on all that research. And finding out about it is kind of like exposing a thinly-veiled Orwellian fraud. We haven't thought about it because we really just don't care-- we only go to these places because they're easy and we're bored. And and and, in fact, the 1970s "Caf" probably was more homemade, healthier, cleaner, had better benefits to Caf staff, and was WAY WAY WAY more original than today's corporately cloned "Sebastian's." So, MF DU-- what do they have for lunch today at your Sebastian's? It's probably the same thing on the menu as mine...

Posted by cdubrocker on 2006-06-07 13:05:33 +0000

Right on, Glib. Bring back "The Caf!"

Posted by MF DU on 2006-06-07 13:25:26 +0000

I'm not sure the man behind the curtain at my caf is Aramark. I know that my Sebastian's is owned by 'FMR corp' (see bottom fine print of their 'About Us' web page) FMR Corp is a profitmaking venture for Fidelity Investments. It does sound like from their website that there are other cafeterias - I know there is one around the WTC / Seaport area (a stone's throw from where the Radiohead show was @ the Pavilion) but I am curious about your cafeteria - where is it?

Posted by pchippy on 2006-06-07 13:41:07 +0000

And why "Sebastian's"? Obviously, unlike "Frank" or "Mike," "Sebastian" is a name that no red-blooded American parent would name his/her child. It sounds much more European and therefore much more sophisticated, cultured. Think creme brulee rather as opposed to apple pie. But then again, why not "Henri's" or "Paolo's" or "Vivian's"? All I can think is that they're trying to evoke the hedonistic aristocratic decadence of "Brideshead Revisited." Are there other famous Sebastians I'm not familiar with who might have influenced the branding of the cafs?

Posted by cdubrocker on 2006-06-07 14:06:37 +0000

It's also a lengthy, soft, pleasant sounding name which hardly takes any effort to say, if enunciation isn't incredibly important. That could be part of the reason why the focus groups so heartily approved of the name. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking Johann Sebastian Bach...or Sebastian Bach of Skid Row. You have both ends of the spectrum there.

Posted by cdubrocker on 2006-06-07 14:13:34 +0000

I think the fact that there are hardly any famous Sebastians speaks volumes for why the name was chosen. It won't remind anyone of any person or anything, except for the meal that they got at the place named Sebastian's. It could be the most innocuous name ever!

Posted by Miriam on 2006-06-07 14:16:56 +0000

It's owned and operated by Sodexo. They used to have a manager there that fired a friend of mine because he was in AA and she should've been but wasn't. I loved their salads and stir-fry bar.

Posted by MF DU on 2006-06-07 14:38:35 +0000

there might be a different sebastains because mine doesnt have a Sodexo affiliation