Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for May 04, 2021

You have to go through the drive-thru to get those.

Maybe it’s time for Stephan to re-tire.

And the waiter is not Bibendum.

Michelin?

In an old radio sketch, Jack Benny tried to sell his old Maxwell car to Fred Allen, and Fred said, “I now understand why the Maxwell people went into the coffee business.”

The Michelin guides are ridiculous. The restaurant is not supposed to know that the Michelin guy has turned up and is testing the place, but how can they fail to recognise him in his strange, pneumatic, suit?

Tread lightly, Pig.

Of course Pig couldn’t get the tires. That a Two Star Michelin restaurant. They only serve motorcycles.

Who pneu…

Perhaps you should have rephrased that, Pig. How about ‘Just gimme that round black stuff that tastes like old rubber’, and I’m sure they would have risen to the challenge. They always do.

Wrong Michelin there Pig! LOL

lol silly pig, michelin is just the name!

they sell stars

Sorry your expectations were deflated, Pig!

Go for the Gruyère Pig, then escape by the window in the toilets.

Pig, you should’ve checked if they had any “Wheels for Meals” deals…

What if I want to order the Gruyère without the deep cheese flavor? Does it come in shallow cheese flavor?

I avoid Michelin restaurants because of the Michelin tire guy. He was scary in Ghostbusters.

Ever notice how the more expensive a restaurant is the less food you receive (and the less palatable it may be).

I always thought they were high-class and fancy, not… tire-related.

The tires probably taste better than the Gruyere Tuiles.

Don’t tell me the meat served there feels like rubber.

They have those?

I’m not tired of the puns.

I dunno… a 30,000 mile meal might probably spoil before you could eat it all.

Take that place out of your places-to-eat rotation.

I was wondering about that myself. Though i cant imagine a. 30000 mile tire getting a very high rating. I have some Michelins about to hit 100k and looking amzingly good yet

I went to a garage sale, but they didn’t have any garages for sale

LOL! PIG, as usual, misinterprets…..

Cooper

He’d been told it was “a very Goodyear”.

Pig was mis”guided”.

do sound like tires and stuff

The tires would be cheaper than the Gruyere Tuiles.

Hey, Stephen — It’s May the 4th: May the Fourth Be With You !!!

those tires have a gummy taste, and you’d think that for being that expensive you didn’t have to chew so much like they were made of rubber or something

Oh gawd you came up with a funny one, Pastis. A laugher. And old as it is, STILL a laugher. Congrats!

What, no Star Wars?

I think Pig would be better off with 4 new tires. And get out cheaper too.

Pig being confused is a deep well.

A Michelin Approved Restaurant: an establishment in which the steaks are as rubbery as their tires.

A restaurant where the portion size is inversely proportional to the price,

What food is the waiter describing here?

May the force be with you <3

Neither is Hawaii.

Do you want fries with that?

Do they serve rubbery chicken?

Weird fact I learned recently. The tire company actually started the restaurant guide. Back in ancient times before fast food and franchise restaurants, the guides pointed travelers to decent food places on their journeys. Eventually, it went pretentious when it wasn’t needed for its original purpose.

Miles?

IT’s so rude to order anything any where saying “gimme.” That drives me nuts.

LOL!

Worst dinner ever

Maybe not you, Pig. But some of us know better.

I wanted to post something clever here but I was too tired.

So this strip started and ended cheesy.

Happy Star Wars Day!! May the Fourth be with you!

Have you wondered how the Michelin star rating came to be…?

Well, as a leading culinary arts school, we thought we should know the whole story. After all, some of the cooks we’re training may aspire to join the ranks of restaurants recommended in the iconic Michelin Guide.

Its origins trace back to the turn of the 20th century and were inspired by a surprising turn of events that have very little – if anything – to do with cuisine.

The invention of the automobile. That’s right.

The first Michelin Guide was compiled in 1900 by French industrialist Andre Michelin, along with his brother Edouard Michelin. They wanted to create demand for automobiles…and therefore, the tires they manufactured.

At the time, there were plenty of bicycles, but there were only 300 cars in France. Not enough for a viable business selling automobile tires…the brothers had a profit motive.

The first print of the Michelin Guide was 35,000 copies and included maps, instructions on how to repair and change tires. It also included a list of restaurants, hotels, mechanics and gas stations along popular routes in France.

It was given away for free.

In less than a decade, the Michelin Guide had gained speed – there were guides available in every Western European country, Northern Africa, Southern Italy and Corsica.

The outbreak of war in 1914 halted production, but by 1920 the guide was back on track. The brothers decided to ramp up the quality of the guide. They eliminated the advertising and started charging for it.

(Rumour has it the brothers decided to put a price tag on them when they visited a mechanic’s shop and found a stack of their free guides propping up a workbench!)

The first Michelin star ratings were given in 1926 – restaurants in France were awarded a single star if they were considered to be “fine dining establishments”.

(To be continued)

(Continued)

In 1931 the rating system was expanded to become the Michelin three-star rating…

1 Star: A very good restaurant in its category.2 Stars: Excellent cooking, worth a detour.3 Stars: Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.

The guide took a hiatus during World War II, and only resumed late in 1939 because it contained maps that were useful to the Allied Forces.

However, the Michelin star rating was reduced to a 2-star system because of food shortages. Quality suffered at restaurants throughout Europe so the yardstick was adjusted accordingly.

In 1955, Michelin came up with a rating system that acknowledged restaurants serving high-quality fare at moderate prices. The Bib Gourmand highlights dining opportunities that are more reflective of economic standards. They are customized by region and country based on the cost of living – and gives diners a chance to eat well without breaking the bank.

The Michelin star rating didn’t take hold in America until 2005 and concentrated solely on fine dining in New York.

Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Macau were added to the Guide between 2007-2008. It now covers 23 countries, with 14 editions sold in 90 countries around the world.

The Michelin Guide only touches on a small number of US cities – Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and San Francisco. If you’re an aspiring chef, you’ll want to focus on these cities after graduation if that’s your career goal.

There’s been a growing trend to reject Michelin star ratings around the world – some restauranteurs even demanding that their star rating be removed. They feel that the expectations of the star system are unreasonable and restrict a chef’s creativity in the kitchen.

https://www.escoffier.edu/blog/world-food-drink/a-brief-history-of-the-michelin-guide/#:~:text=The%20first%20Michelin%20Guide%20was%20compiled%20in%201900,but%20there%20were%20only%20300%20cars%20in%20France.

Oh, they are what I’d think, Pig (not that Michelin star restaurants are so attractive to me, even assuming that I could afford them). They’re just not what you would think, if you thought about it….

this joke is so tired

Completely separate issue, but the Michelin tires sold in the USA have warranties of 75K miles or more.

They are one of the most expensive tires sold here but you get what you pay for.

That’s only one special. Are you trying to cheat me?