Tiny Packages

Last week, I attended an educational conference at Palm Springs, CA. We were there to design detailed curriculum for the upcoming school year. A "relaxing" week before going on summer vacation.

The dining experience at the hotel captured my imagination. Condiments only came in ridiculously tiny jars. 1 ounce jars. They were cute, so I snagged a couple. Ketchup is my favorite dipping sauce and honey is too sweet to resist.

These miniscule containers add to a fine dining experience. Everything all nice and neat. It was hardly McDonalds in there, with sauce pumps and paper cups. Still, there was something amiss about serving condiments in 1 oz jars. It felt like portion control. Who wants that?

Really, I had a hard time not laughing aloud every time they served us food. At least the coffee came in decently sized cups.

Big Mike's Burger

If you're ever in Bellflower, you might check out Big Mike's restaurant. They apparently deliver. I caught a glimpse of this truck after I tucked my car away in the rear parking lot off the street.


No photos of the restaurant front.. lots of the guys who ran into me didn't look too friendly, and I would have had a tough time convincing them that the use of my cell phone camera was completely kosher. Some guys don't like having their picture taken.

It's a nice place to eat in the midst of a rough neighborhood. Go there! They serve the Big Mike Burger, decked out with 2 lbs of ground beef and a hot link. Big Mike owns the place and actually took my order. He was really friendly and courteous. I got mine without the hot link, and he even knocked a couple bucks off the price tag. That was cool.


The combo, with fries and a drink, went for $9. It was a good meal. You actually watch them cook it on a huge griddle. And it isn't fast food, either. The two patties took a solid 10-12 minutes to prepare.

As a final note, I found something admirable about the inclusion of store-brand ketchup as a condiment.

Their food was tasty. They don't need Heinz.