The Drag

This past Friday we took our field trip down to the restaurants on the Drag. I noticed that all the restaurants were grab and go type restaurants typical of college students. The set up of the restaurants were all aimed at college students, hence their placement on the Drag, but I felt a bit sad to note that none of the restaurants were quite like family cooking or actually like places where you can sit down with friends and have a “real” meal with mashed potatoes and dessert and something not inside a pita or two slices of wheat bread. There should be more restaurants like the Cracker Barrel or Jims-type restaurants that promote eating a meal and actually sitting down to enjoy it. Sure there’s Kirby Lane, but that’s just about the only alternative with the exception of a few Asian restaurants. Overall I’d like to see college students relaxing and enjoying meals without having to race as fast as they can to get their food, pay and then scarf it down.

Presenting Arguments in Restaurants

This week in class we’ve been discussing numerous restaurants that we’ve all been to and enjoyed, or are familiar with. But what exactly makes those restaurants both memorable and favorable to so many people with varying tastes? I think it’s all about the presentation: presentation of the restaurant itself, the food, the menu, and the atmosphere.

Restaurant’s existence depend on how well they present their argument. Every restaurants proposes an argument to consumers to inform them and persuade them of why their restaurant is better than all others and why consumers should chose to spend their well-earned money there. From the moment the consumer pulls up to the restaurant they are viewing a presentation put together by the restaurant. There may be a loud flashy neon sign proclaiming that food and beer is available 24 hours a day, or there may be velvet ropes and valet workers in tuxedos giving the restaurant a classy high-end touch.  Once the consumer enters the restaurant they face a wast multitude of arguments being presented before them. The attire and attitude of the staff can give a lasting impression, such as when you walk into Olive Garden and are greeted by a friendly staff neatly groomed and dressed in crisp white shirts and ties, which greatly varies from the staff at Dick’s where the waiters wear T-shirts and jeans and are instructed to be rude to consumers and embarass them by making them wear large paper hats with humorous yet vulgar remarks written on them. Olive Garden argues that it is a classy restaurant where you should be willing to dress up and spend a little more cash, while Dick’s argues that it is a restaurant that with a crazy memorable atmosphere where you can be loud and show up in ripped jeans and stained tees. Each of these arguments comes through to the consumer simply by the presentation of the restaurant with the combined efforts of the staff, the menu and the decor.

Presentation is a lasting memorable aspect of a restaurant and any arguments. Restaurants become famous and well-publicized  for the way they they are presented. Just as with restaurants presentations we should be aware of how we present our arguments in everyday life and writing because it also creates a lasting impression and conveys the points we are trying to make without stating them explicitly. 

Can You Define That Please?

Sure Webster’s Dictionary is a convenient tool to get an widely accepted formal definition, but its definitions aren’t the final say-so when it comes to defining words. Language is a rather complex subject and one concrete definition per word just won’t cut it in a world where everyone has different opinions about what a certain word means to them. Chapter 8 of Everything’s An Argument pointed out just that when it explained that making a claim of definition is a valid way to formulate an argument.

Arguments of definition can arise in just about any situation. In Chapter 10 of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Kingsolver questions the definition of the word local when used in relation to the “local” food she was eating at a diner. In her situation, the owner of the diner she was eating at clarified  that local strictly meant “an hour’s drive.” In other cases, local may mean straight from the neighborhood, or even within the boundaries of an entire state. I feel that it’s safe to say that finding the “right” definition of a word depends primarily on the situation.

In Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma, an argument of definition was also brought up when dteremining the meaning of the word organic.  In this case, Pollan concluded that the word organic was rendered meaningless. Organic, like so many other words, can take on a wide variety of meanings. Pollan was more intent on defining organic as a way of producing vegetation or live stock in a manner that was free from pesticides, commodity corn, antibiotics, environmental damage, or rather anything unnatural. Large scale industrial organic producers would be more likely to define organic as abiding by the minimal requirements and guidelines set by the USDA.  As you can see, the word organic can be stretched to mean just about anything. Webster’s Dictionary defines organic as “Of or relating to, or derived from living organisms.”  (That seems to clear everything right up.) I have nothing against Webster’s or anything, but I feel that it should be used primarily to get an idea of a word meaning rather than a solid definition or you’ll find yourself on one end of an argument of definition.

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