A study For bringing Mediterranean Food to MC
Posted by Ronn (+36) 11 years ago
Hello Everyone,

Do you believe it is a good idea to offer Mediterranean food in town?

This will really help planning.


Thank you
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Posted by Red Neck Girl (+57) 11 years ago
What sort of food is it?
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Posted by mckee (+387) 11 years ago
Yes what is it? Why not KFC again or Dennys.
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Posted by kcu (+301) 11 years ago
website please to check it out...we are in montana LOL! Always looking for good food.
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Posted by Bob L. (+5104) 11 years ago
I don't live in MC, so take this with a grain of salt.

I think good Mediterranean food would work anywhere.

I'm assuming we're talking gyros, falafel, hummus, baklava, etc... in the definition of Mediterranean food??? Many towns in NoDak have Pita Pits, which are a sad facsimile of good Mediterranean food. They all do very well.

Check it out... http://www.pitapitusa.com/home.php

All my friends said hummus was gross...until they tried my hummus.
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Posted by Levi Forman (+3710) 11 years ago
I will certainly eat it! I always wish for more ethnic food in MC and I think that the success of Mexico Lindo is proof that people are willing to deviate from the meat and potatoes. If it's good, people will be there and all the oil field workers in town should help it get established.

An Introduction to Mediterranean Cuisine

I usually think of it as a mixture of Southern European, Middle Eastern, and Northern African food. Usually they will have some pasta in addition to the stuff that Bob L. mentioned. They sell Gyros at discovery Pond and I think a Greek salad as well so you could try that if you want to get an idea. Think olives, feta, olive oil, tomatoes, lamb, etc. If you lean more on the Italian side it might be less of a jump to what people in are used to.
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Posted by Ingird Emilsson (+220) 11 years ago
Denver has Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill http://www.eatgarbanzo.com/home.php among others which is quite tasty. Their hummus and Baba ghanoush are fantastic.
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Posted by Bob L. (+5104) 11 years ago
Mmmmmmm. Baba ghanoush.

I even like saying "Baba ghanoush!"

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Posted by Denise Selk (+1668) 11 years ago
Yes, please! In addition to the wonderful taste, the health benefits of Mediterranean food are many.



And I second Levi's wish for more ethnic foods in M.C.

[This message has been edited by Denise Selk (2/8/2012)]
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Posted by Gunnar Emilsson (+18634) 11 years ago
Do you believe it is a good idea to offer Mediterranean food in town?


Sure, if you want to start a restaurant that will close its doors in six months.

Bob and Ingrid live out-of-state, and Denise and Levi are outliers. The first two posters who asked, "What is it?" and "Why not KFC or Denny's?" are representative of 90% of the population of Miles City.

The only way I could see you making a go of it, is to have a couple of billboards on the interstate. That way, you might attract enough of the traveling/non-peasant crowd.
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Posted by Bob L. (+5104) 11 years ago
Gunnar's probably right.

Then again, I never thought a restaurant like Mexico Lindo would get over in either.
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Posted by Bridgier (+9526) 11 years ago
You know who eats Mediterranean food? Muslins, that's who. Why would any red-blooded american sully their taste buds with the food of Allah?
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Posted by Staci Peterson (+70) 11 years ago
Please do!!!!!
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Posted by Gunnar Emilsson (+18634) 11 years ago
Dang Muslins, wearing their dang muslin cloth....its UnAmerican!!!
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Posted by cj sampsel (+477) 11 years ago
Uh, Bridgier like Gunnar says muslin is like a cloth. I don't think
it eats but moths might eat it. MUslims ,however eat middle eastern which influences meditteranean as Levi said. Man if you only eat indigenous AMERICAN food all that amounts to is corn, squash, pumpkin, beans ,venison (all kinds),native fish and birds.
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Posted by Stewart (+147) 11 years ago
Yes please! The people of MC seem to eat out a lot based on what I see in restaurants any week night and we need diversity.

Provided it's open for evening and offers some atmosphere (and advertises appropriately...something a number of businesses in MC are terrible at)I think it would do very well. I personally would eat at such a place on a regular basis and I think many others would, too.
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Posted by Red Neck Girl (+57) 11 years ago
If you can put ketchup on it, I'm all in!
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Posted by Bridgier (+9526) 11 years ago
I bet you could make a hell of a kefta out of nothing but Allium canadense, Pecari tajacu and Capsicum annuum, with a little Eryngium foetidum for the dipping sauce...

If you can put ketchup on it, I'm all in!


Somebody better check on Gunnar - I believe his brain may have just infarcted.

[This message has been edited by Bridgier (2/8/2012)]
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Posted by Levi Forman (+3710) 11 years ago
In addition to Mexico Lindo, there has also been a Chinese restaurant in MC for 15+ years now despite the fact that the food there is pretty bad.

Know who else doesn't live in Miles City? Gunnar Emilsson.
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Posted by Amorette F. Allison (+1914) 11 years ago
If the prices are low and the amounts of food are large, people will eat there. If the servings are tiny and expensive, they won't. Doesn't matter what the type of food is, quality doesn't even matter all that much, what really matters is the price. I'd love fine Mediterranean dining and I do live here, but I don't eat out much. Husband is a FAB cook.
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Posted by Michelle Miller (+25) 11 years ago
I'd eat there if it was good and affordable!
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Posted by Bob L. (+5104) 11 years ago
Levi:

You're lucky to have Mexico Lindo in

It's better Mexican food than anything within 100 miles of where I live. By a lot.
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Posted by Gunnar Emilsson (+18634) 11 years ago
I gotta admit, putting ketchup on baba ghanoush makes me look kind of like this:

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Posted by Gunnar Emilsson (+18634) 11 years ago
If the prices are low and the amounts of food are large, people will eat there. If the servings are tiny and expensive, they won't. Doesn't matter what the type of food is, quality doesn't even matter all that much, what really matters is the price.


That pretty much sums up the Miles City restaurant scene.
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Posted by Ronn (+36) 11 years ago
Ok,Thank you all
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Posted by Levi Forman (+3710) 11 years ago
You're lucky to have Mexico Lindo in


I agree 100%. Quality food, reasonable price, good service, and since their move, atmosphere. You can't beat it. Those guys know what they're doing. I think that restaurant would get plenty of business in Phoenix, Albuquerque, San Francisco, etc. They don't suffer by comparison with similarly priced places anywhere that I have lived.

[This message has been edited by Levi Forman (2/8/2012)]
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Posted by Bob L. (+5104) 11 years ago
Levi:

There was a comparable place to Mexico Lindo in Fargo. Casa Ramos. It was great. You could order the same dish on two consecutive days and it wouldn't be prepared the same way (if that makes any sense?)

Anyway, some cooks got deported and then they got a bad inspection, so the owner decided to pack up and go back to AZ.

[This message has been edited by Bob L. (2/8/2012)]
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Posted by worldmom (+420) 11 years ago
I had falafels, pitas, tabouleh and tzatziki sauce for dinner tonight. I vote yes!
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Posted by worldmom (+420) 11 years ago
I ate at Garbanzo in Denver last month and it was amazing. The food was soo good but I couldn't even come close to eating it all. The prices were reasonable too.
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Posted by Kmama (+102) 11 years ago
I personally love middle-eastern food. Lebanese would have to be my favorite.
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Posted by J. Dyba (+1347) 11 years ago
Between Mexico Lindo and the Airport Inn, MC is really fun to visit for about 3 days.

The Main Street Grind had an awesome burger last time we were in town as well.
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Posted by Richard Bonine, Jr. (+15535) 11 years ago
Does Mediterranean food contain MSG?

I ate once at Mongolian Grill in Omaha. I remember the food being pretty tasty, but I also later that day had an allergic reaction. With food allergies I tend to be very cautious about new types of food.

Knowing what is in the dish is important to me in making a decision about what/where I eat.
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Posted by Levi Forman (+3710) 11 years ago
I don't know what you reacted to, but it probably wasn't MSG. Tons of people think that they have reactions to MSG, but there has never been any causal effect shown for the symptoms that people associate with it. It's just a flavor enhancer, no cuisine contains it traditionally, but it can be added to any food. It's not regulated by the FDA so it's often listed in ingredient lists as "natural flavor" due to the perception that it causes a reaction of some sort. You will find it in "Accent" and probably a lot of other spice mixes if you buy Schilling grill mates, pre-mixed sausage or taco seasonings, or similar.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w..._glutamate

A report from the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) compiled in 1995 on behalf of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded that MSG is safe when "eaten at customary levels" and although there seems to be a subgroup of apparently healthy individuals that respond with the MSG symptom complex when exposed to 3 g of MSG in the absence of food, causality by MSG has not been established because the list of MSG Symptom complex was based on testimonial reports.[12] This report also indicates that there is no data to support the role of glutamate in chronic and debilitating illnesses. A controlled double-blind multicenter clinical trial failed to demonstrate the relationship between MSG Symptom complex and the consumption of MSG in individuals that believed to react adversely against MSG. No statistical association has been demonstrated, there were few responses and they were inconsistent. Symptoms were not observed when MSG was given with food.[13][14][15][16]

Adequately controlling for experimental bias includes a double-blind placebo-controlled experimental design (DBPC) and the application in capsules because of the strong and unique after-taste of glutamates.[14] In a study performed by Tarasoff and Kelly (1993) 71 fasting participants were given 5 g of MSG and then administered a standard breakfast. There was only one reaction, and it was to the placebo in a self-identified MSG sensitive individual.[11] In a different study done by Geha et al. (2000), they tested the reaction of 130 subjects that reported sensitivity to MSG. Multiple DBPC trials were performed and only subjects with at least two symptoms proceeded. Only 2 people out of the whole study responded in all four challenges. Because of this low prevalence, the researchers concluded that the response to MSG was not reproducible.[17]

Additional studies that have looked into whether MSG causes obesity have given mixed results.[18][19] There have been several studies investigating an anecdotal link between MSG and asthma; current evidence does not support any causal association.[20]
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Posted by Wendy Wilson (+6174) 11 years ago
If Miles City had hummus, pita, and falafel my daughter would probably be more amenable to spending time there.
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Posted by tom regan (+3245) 11 years ago
I have to say that my favorite ethnic food is Mediterranean. Followed closely by Tai,Vietnamese,then Indian. That's forehead dot Indian, not feather headband Indian. Sushi is always a treat.

None of these foods would be popular in Miles City.
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