@ForkReport - Hour 2

Neil talks Junk Fees, Phonesbeing banned in Restaurants, Mexican Cuisine in Fullerton, and Jack in the box!

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey, it's Neil Sevedra. You'relistening to kfi EM six forty the four
Report on demand on the iHeartRadio app. Happy to be with you on this
lovely, slightly windy yet sunny Saturdayafternoon until five three hours that we get
to hang together every single Saturday tojust celebrate food. So we also celebrate

(00:25):
Mother's Day this weekend, which iswonderful. I invite you as always to
stick around at five o'clock for Soulcol Saturdays with our friend Touola Sharp.
So go nowhere. And also don'tforget that I'm on the morning show now
from hanging out from Monday through Fridaywith Bill Handling, the Gang, Amy
King and Producer and and of courseCono and the like. So join us

(00:50):
there. Won't you always a goodtime in the craziness there in the mornings?
All right? Before we get intojunk fees, there are a couple
other specials I wanted to tell youabout. For Mother's Day. Panda Express,
you can use the code thanks Momto get a five person family meal
for thirty bucks when you order onlineor through the Panda Express mobile app.

(01:12):
Until May twelfth, Red Robin momscan enjoy a four dollars milkshake, so
that four dollar Mama's margarita, ora five dollars wine time glass of house
wine on Mother's Day at participating RedRobins locations. All right, So now
California a lot going on here.Junk fees is a problem. Now,

(01:36):
junk freeze. Having junk free feesall over the place is a pain in
the arse no matter what. Whenit comes to restaurants, though, they
were starting to pop up all overthe place. This fee here, quality
of life fee here, and itgets obnoxious. It gets to the point
where you just want to pay whatyou have to pay. It doesn't change

(01:57):
anything. You know, you're stillpaying for these things, so you might
as well know about them upfront.So California has this new rule to make
prices as clear as possible for theconsumers, specially especially especially when we eat

(02:19):
out. So the law says thatbusinesses can't add extra fees on top of
what they show on menus or onads. This is restaurants, this is
hotels, this is concert venues.It's just getting to be too much.
And it's not that I feel theywere being hidden in most cases or that

(02:43):
they're trying to pull one over onyou. There is just something about seeing
the cost of something and going,okay, that's the cost, and then
you kind of in California, youthrow ten percent on that because you know
we have such high taxes, andthen you move on with your big business.
But when there's all these other thingstacked on, it makes it very
difficult to know what the night,the evening, or the experience is going

(03:07):
to cost you. So starting inJuly, it will be against the law
for businesses to show one price andthen add extra fees later. So,
for example, restaurants won't be ableto add service fees or health and wellness
fees on top of the menu prices. This doesn't affect tips because those are

(03:31):
voluntary, so you're not going tosee those added on. I know doesn't
feel like they're really voluntary, butyou get what I mean. Some restaurants
are worried about this new rule.Why well, they think that it might
as they have to raise their prices, that that's going to cause people to
not come in. They may evenhave to close down. Now, the

(03:53):
thing that bothers me about this isthat it doesn't change the pay I still
have to pay all those fees,they're just separate. So we have to
get it through our through our mindas the consumer that those prices are rolled
in. Now, it doesn't changewhat we pay. We were already paying

(04:15):
for them. It was just nickeledand dimed. So I'm not sure why
places would have to close down.And if that is the case, then
we're being played. It's a psychologicalgame because it doesn't change what we have
to pay, we're just knowing itup front. So it came as a
surprise to some that this law appliesto restaurants too, because originally we were

(04:39):
all cheering it, cheering it onfor like ticket Master or buying tickets,
and you remember, they have allthose weird fees that pop up and it
just becomes unbearable, sometimes double ormore the cost of whatever you're buying.
So there was confusion about whether restaurantscould keep their current prices and just add

(05:00):
fees on the menu, meaning thatit had to be visible. You'd have
to be able to see them andknow ahead of time. But that's not
the case. Many people don't likethese extra fees at all. Studies show
that seventy two percent of people hatethem, but some restaurants add them anyways
to cover things like higher wages,which we know here in southern California.

(05:23):
In California as a whole covers thosewages or those health costs. And this
isn't just happening in California. PresidentBiden wants to get rid of extra fees
or junk fees is what he callsthem, in other areas too, credit
card bills, airline tickets. Somestates are also working on laws that ban

(05:46):
these kinds of fees. And Ithink that's a good thing. We should
know upfront. If we're paying fora plane ticket, that is the cost
of the plane ticket. Once weget all these fees tacked on, then
it's a little bit here and alittle bit there, and a little bit
here and a little bit there,and it gets to be obnoxious. Tell
me what it costs and we'll decide. So before there was all the confusion

(06:12):
with restaurants, but now the AttorneyGeneral's Office clarified that all fees must be
included in the prices consumers see period. For example, if a restaurant charges
five percent fee for employee employee healthcosts, and I've seen that one on
many times, they have to showthe total price, like twenty one dollars

(06:38):
for a twenty dollars mola in Julata. It has to be rolled into the
entirety of the price. If arestaurant advertises a ten dollars lunch buffet,
which would be great, by theway, with a ten percent service charge,
now they have to say that it'san eleven dollars buffet. You get

(07:00):
how that's working out. Ultimately,I think once we get over there may
be sticker shock at first. Theremay be a time of adaptation and getting
comfortable with it, But I thinkin a long run it's going to be
better for the consumer and better forthe hospitality if everybody knows what they're doing

(07:21):
up front. I actually think thatit will be more helpful for tips.
I think people that go in andget nickeled in dime end up like being
offended by having to tip on topof that. But if you go in
and say this is the price ofwhatever I'm purchasing, then you understand that

(07:45):
the tip is going to be partof that. Now you might get people
squabbling, going I'm not going topay, I'm not going to tip on
a twenty one dollar mollay inchilada.Is that the going price for a mollay
enchilada. Yeah, I would imagineif you're paying twenty bucks for a mole
inchilada, it's got rice and beanswith it, coming with other things,

(08:05):
right, I'm I'm saying, Okay, it's a it's a plate. It's
like you get that one inchilada.That's it. Food inchilada. One enchilada.
Cheese is extra. There you go. But you like, you like
to cook, but you eat outas well, Joe. So if you're
doing the math on that, now, if you've got it all rolled those

(08:26):
fees rolled into an inchilada, nowyou're paying twenty one dollars for it instead
of twenty dollars. Now you're goingto balk at the fact that you're gonna
if you do your tip based onthe food, that you're tipping on those
fees as well. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, I think this is why
I cook mostly. Yeah, thisis why this is why I stop going

(08:48):
out. Well, you enjoy cooking, and I enjoy cooking, but I
also like going out for a coupleof reasons. One to support the local
economy, to get maybe new ideasto cook at home and see new things
but I think after we get overthe initial sticker shock, ultimately it's going
to be better for everyone to knowwhat we're going to have to pay,

(09:09):
rather than scrambling to pay all thesenickel and dime here and there. So
fingers crossed phones at the table.We'll talk about that in restaurants when we
return. So go no where.One of the funny responses I saw to
this, I'll i'll share as well. You're listening to the Fork Report with
Nil Savedra on demand from KFI AMsix forty man. So, my buddy

(09:35):
Dana, he and his lovely wifeKathy. You've met Dana if you've been
out to an event. He headsup security for us and things like that.
While he is going to check outmy two here in Beverly Hills area,
and I'm very excited for them.They're going for Mother's Day and we're
chatting about it and just sounds likea great time. And when you come

(10:01):
across a great place and you recommendit to people, you get kind of
excited, like watching a movie withthem that you love. So I hope
they have a magical time together,and I hope you have some fun plans
with your special people as well comingup for the Mother's Day holiday. Now,
one thing you'll probably see if yougo out to a restaurant is phones

(10:24):
at the table. And this isone of those things that is sort of
controversial because they have brought so muchto the culinary scene, meaning that phones
at the table influencers. Not abig fan of that term, but you
know what I mean, people thatyou follow them, you see their photos,
you go that looks fantastic. Iwant in on some of that.

(10:46):
And so it's been beneficial to manyrestaurants or places. I mean there's places
like Disneyland that encourages you to amusementparks encourage you to bring those things out.
It reminds me people of the excitement, the fun, and the things
that they might miss out on ifthey forget about them. Right. So
some restaurants are now saying no phonesat the table, and that's I think

(11:11):
that's fine as long as it's saidup front, or that it's playful or
I don't know that it's not likemaking you feel bad about things. There's
a way to do it, That'swhat I'm saying. So they're worried that
phones are taken away from the diningexperience, and I don't disagree with that.
So in Italy, you've got onerestaurant that gives free wine if you

(11:35):
keep your phone locked away, andthat may be, you know, based
on many different things, including thetable space there and the things you might
purchase if it's not there. Well, that's the thing. Another restaurant in
Texas makes you put your phone ina bag, and in New York a
restaurant covers your phone camera with asticker. You know, I'm not one

(12:01):
of those people who take pictures ofmy food. I just want to eat
it. But I have friends whoare like, wait, wait, wait,
wait, we can't eat till I'mlike, ugh, I it's part
of my job. Oh no,I mean, like I said so,
but I don't wear a button thatsays, hey, this is part of
my I mean, I guess ablue beard when you're fifty four and a
stupid hat pretty much screams that.I'm I didn't say it, yeah,

(12:22):
but you thought it. I couldfeel it. Yeah, so boom.
So it's like one the scientists inthat story also said boom, yeah they
do, because that's important. Butone of the things that I was dying
about is and we'll get into thewhole you know, the issue with it.
But phones can be filthy. Yeah, so you and I have had

(12:43):
this conversation, Joe Kwan about shoesin the house and how they can be
how they can be filthy. Sohave a separate, you know, pair
of house shoes. When you walkin and you keep your nasty shoes on
the outside of what have you'll bringthem in clean. So here we go.
They can have germs. I loveto beat a food show talking about

(13:05):
this stuff. They could have germsfrom things like poop, and so you
put them on the table and nowit's near your food, and so people
don't think about it. I'm veryregular about cleaning my phone, taking cleaning
the pull out of the case.Oh gosh, I may do it once

(13:26):
every two weeks. I'd say alittle bit of germs will make your immune
system better. I do think that. You know, they did this study
about people who had or used dishwashersgrowing up and how they tended to have
more allergies and more issues with germsbecause it sanitizes the plates basically, whereas

(13:50):
people like me, even though wehad a dishwasher, be pretty much hand
washed. Yeah, we used itas a dish rack. Yeah, we
almost never used the dishwasher that Ican remember. We use ours here,
but I also hand washed a lotof dishes as well, because there's only
the three of us. But Iwill tell you that I believe in that
the germs are helpful. It's justis a little nasty when you think about

(14:15):
your phone being up there if itdoesn't need to. So using your phone
at the table can be a distraction. That's another concern. It can make
you eat more, which could begood. Plus it can make the meal
less enjoyable to some not only you, but to people sitting next to you.
And some chefs notice this happening intheir restaurants, so they came up
with ways to encourage and I likethe term encourage rather than just banning to

(14:41):
put their phones away. For example, one restaurant in Manhattan put a cigar
a different cigar boxes on the tablesand inside there's a little note asking people
to unplugged by putting their phones inthe box. Yeah, it's kind of
nice. So many customers like thisidea and chose to use the boxes put
it in there. Not all restaurantsare against phones. As I said,
Some actually want you to use yourphones at the table. They know that

(15:03):
people like to share pictures of theirfood on social media, so they make
their dishes look extra pretty on Instagram. So using your phone at the table
has pluses and minuses. It canmake it harder to connect with the people
you're eating with. Sometimes restaurants needto use need you to use your phone
because during the pandemic, you remember, we were all switching to those one

(15:26):
menus. Always call me old,but I'm always Can I get a real
menu? I like, uh,I do not? I mean, I
get it whatever. Menus are thedirtiest thing. The menus in your chair
are the two dirtiest things at thetable. By the way, sorry,
because those are the two things thatdon't get washed all the time. Okay
with it, But I like themtoo. I like to hold them in.

(15:48):
I like to keep a menu atthe table in case there's something else.
So I'm with you. So,even though phones can be useful,
they can also get in the way. Some restaurants are trying to bounds that,
So be respectful. If you walkinto a place, don't be all
you know, sassy, or maybeyou can if you want to do your
an influence or something, or havea food blog or like me, have

(16:11):
a food show. You just talkto them say hey, can I come
in at a time where it wouldn'tbe a problem. Or what I do
is I always ask the server doyou mind if I take some pictures?
Oh? Ask? Yeah. Itry to just say, hey, do
you mind if I picture of myfood? Well, I don't want to
be a douche. I'm in thereto support them, but I also don't
want to ruin anybody's experience. Andthen there's times where the setting of the

(16:34):
restaurant is just so beautiful that ifI don't think I can get a shot
without a flash, then I justdon't do it. Yeah, you know,
I'll take a picture of the signoutside and say I had this great
meal here. So if you eversee that, I didn't feel comfortable taking
a picture of the food because Ididn't want to disrupt people. I guess
I don't mind the food pictures.But I see people who are at the

(16:56):
same table, probably on a dateI don't know, but like not even
talking to each other, just ontheir phone. It's very weird. Well,
maybe they're not interesting. You everthink about that, Well, that's
yeah, okay, but you coulddo that, you know, alone then
and if you see them talking totheir food, you know it's a problem.
Hello my little steak already. No, I'm just kidding. That would

(17:18):
be the weirdest thing ever. You'relistening to the Fork Report with Nil Savedra
on demand from KFI AM six forty. All right, let me let me
just say a couple things to youright now. It being Mother's Day weekend.
I know a lot of people arethinking about brunch. How about a
pink lemonade mimosa you're feeling that.How about a guava mimosa or just a

(17:45):
classic mimosa. How About a saltwater sunset cocktail, pod, confuse soju,
a sie syrup, some oj organicnectar. Oh sounds good, right.
How about a chardonnay. How abouta beer, some modello? How

(18:07):
about an ipa? If all thatdoesn't sound good, mix that up with
a couple of fun, playful Californiastyle breakfasts and burgers. You get a
breakfast burrito. They even have veganburritos. How about an egg sandwich.
One of my favorite things, bythe way, is breakfast or an egg

(18:30):
sandwich, sausage, egg cheese,sandwich burgers, beach bites like a Polish
hot dog with chips, garlic grilledcheese with chips. Now, if all
that didn't sound wonderful enough, wraps, salads, desserts, imagine that on

(18:51):
the beach in Long Beach, SaltwaterDeck you can have food, you have
drinks, you can hang out.And they reached out us and said,
hey, we want to let peopleknow that if they want to be hanging
with them moms, they can dothat right here at Saltwater Deck and come
out. They don't even need areservation. So we wanted to make sure

(19:14):
that you knew about that. Theyare a place where you can get really
tasty food in a super cool environ. So check them out. If you
haven't seen their stuff, you cansee it there at Saltwaterdeck dot com.
Saltwaterdeck dot com. Truly terrific eatsand a unique and lovely California vibe.

(19:40):
So check that out there right thereon Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach. But
a great ways I know, right, So it's like, I mean,
think about that and the vibe.They're right out there right on the beach.
It just has this very cool vibeto it, and so something to
check out if you're looking for somethingdifferent. Another place I want to put

(20:00):
on your radar that I had lunchat recently and I met the owner's family
run, family owned excellent cocktail program. The food was fantastic. As a
matter of fact, I know alot of people go chicken. You know,
if you like chicken, fine,it's really what you put on it

(20:22):
or what have you. They havea chicken dish at Lagos Mexican Cuisine in
Fuller Ten Lagos Mexican Cuisine dot comin Fuller ten, But they have a

(20:44):
chicken dish that is probably the bestchicken I've ever had in my entire life.
And I've had chicken all over theworld. Matter of fact, I've
had chicken right off a farm.You basically point at it. I'll have
that one, please, But Iwill tell you just absolutely spectacular food and

(21:07):
the vibe is insane, just awonderful, wonderful vibe. So the Lagos
Goold Chicken is the one that Iwas talking about. It's a half Judori
roasted chicken, potato, grotten pablanopeppers, queso manchego cilantro cream sauce,

(21:30):
and just phenomenal. They have wagubeef. They have a tomahawk, a
forty ounce tomahawk, a ribbi,a filet mignon, they have they have
those mole enladas. Yes they did, which is what I had. I
think when I was there, Ithink I had that. I tried a

(21:51):
couple of dishes, but it wasphenomenal and the family are just wonderful,
beautiful people. They have tamales oftacos, salads, desserts. Their desserts
were insane. They even have akid's menu. Of course, they have
cocktails, wine and soft drink ifyou're looking for something different. These people

(22:14):
immediately said, I would love toendorse your restaurant because I dug it so
much. So hopefully we'll be doingsome videos and some things for them,
but even if that doesn't happen,they're just awesome. West Santa Fe Avenue
there in Fullerton. It's one ofthose places in Fullerton. Yeah, it's
kind of in the main area whereyou see everything, but you could easily

(22:37):
pass it and not know it's there. Just has the most beautiful vibe to
it. They got it's gorgeous insideand like each room kind of has its
own vibe. So they have kindof a group room that's kind of a
deep warm red with these gorgeous handmadechandeliers and wood features. The main dining

(22:57):
area has these tall ceiling It evenhas an area for a dj if on
an evening vibe, and then theyhave some long tabled private rooms for big
groups, and then they have apatio. It really is one of the
coolest places I've walked into for ina long time. That just promised so

(23:19):
much. I mean, even thebathrooms are gorgeous. Qua I was just
picture. No, it really is. Walk out of that bathroom and that
could be the dining room. It'sreally fancy. I mean it looks but
it has that vibe but really intimate. I don't know. Yes, you've
got to check it out. Itreally is a cool place. And I
know we have a lot of peopleout there in Orange County listening, but

(23:41):
if you're looking for a place,check and see if they have seats available,
whether you're going to go tonight tocelebrate Mother's Day or tomorrow for a
brunch, check them out. LagosMexican Cuisine dot com. L A.
G O. S. Mexican Cuisinedot com. Check out their menus,
check out the vibe. I spentprobably forty five minutes just walking around taking

(24:06):
pictures because I dug the vibe ofit so much. And like I said,
you could pass it. They havetheir own parking lot area and stuff
like that, and you can eventake trains out there. The train depot
is not far from there, andit just really great vibe and I can't
recommend it enough. The food wasjust one of those one of those experiences

(24:29):
that make you go wow. Okay, I'm going to tell people about this,
so check them out as well.Lagos Mexican Cuisine Lagos Mexican Cuisine dot
com. And that might be agreat mother's day place, whether it's tonight
for dinner, tomorrow, for dinneror brunch tomorrow. You know, tell
them I sent you and to checkout there. You know, the whole

(24:52):
family works there, and in themixology department, you've got their son as
well. And he, when Isaid apprize me, instead of giving him
an order for a cocktail, gaveme he picked like one of the most
uh. He gave me a whiskeysour. Not an easy drink to make
and a pretty daring one to offer. Someone like me right off the bat,

(25:14):
and I was very impressed, sovery cool stuff. Can't recommend them
enough. And I'm a sucker forfamily owned and operated places. You're listening
to The Fork Report with Nil Savedraon demand from KFI AM six forty.
Going out to eat, celebrating mom, yum yum, fun all together in
one place. Don't forget our buddy. Tuola Shark comes along at five with

(25:37):
soul Cow Saturdays. I'm waiting forKayla to jump in and make some sassy
remark about you being old. Imissed it. What was it about?
I love Kayla? I love you, Joe? Was it about him being
old? Hey? Oh, whydon't you ladies do that thing where you
shut the hell up? Wow?That's my favorite thing you guys do it?

(26:00):
Oh yeah, it's my favorite.As the mother of this show,
I feel like I should get extrarespect this weekend for Mother's Day. Yeah,
thank you, Joe. Hey,Hey, hey, hey, either
of you have kids? I said, I have a fur like a little
I don't you know? I hada dog. I know I don't have
kids. You have for a baby'sJoe, and I think you're a mom.

(26:21):
And I have four shows so I'ma mom and I should have gotten
a gift. Show show shod youhave Joe? Yeah, Neil Boom boom
done? Yeah? Were you ina boom goes the dynamite? Uh?

(26:42):
Okay, speaking of Boom, Iremember growing up as a kid that Jack
in the Box. You know,they had the Jack in the Box on
the top of the restaurant, sothey'd have the clown coming out of the
box. Well, growing up,probably there in the seventies, maybe early
eighties, can't remember, they blewit up. They actually blew it up

(27:03):
and got rid of it. We'regetting rid of the clown. And then
later they brought the clown back,and they brought Jack back. His name
is Jack Box. He's the popularmascot for Jack in the Box. And
on May thirteenth, they're going tohonor Jack's birthday. So more free stuff,

(27:25):
more discounts, more stuff for youto enjoy. Beginning May thirteenth,
members of the company's Jack Pack rewardsprogram can receive free food, so raging
from a free Jack Rap to afree Jumbo Jack with any purchase of one
dollar. So here's the Rundown Monday. That's this Monday. The thirteenth,

(27:47):
the free Jack Rap, Tuesday thefourteenth, two free tacos, Wednesday the
fifteenth free chicken sandwich, and Thursdaythe sixteenth, which happens to be Expertthday
a free jumbo jack, and onFriday the seventeenth, free fries, Saturday
the eighteenth free fountain drink, andSunday the nineteenth free regular size shake,

(28:12):
so get in and enjoy that.To redeem those free food offers, you've
got to sign up for that freeJackpack Rewards account through the Jack app or
its website, so check that outfor freebies. You've been listening to the
Fork Report. You can always hearus live on KFI AM six forty two

(28:32):
to five pm on Saturday and anytimeon demand on the iHeartRadio app