Fast Food Guide
While in Berlin a few weeks ago I ate at a restaurant called Mine. Perhaps I shouldn’t say this, but it was the best Italian food I ever had! I’ve been to Italy, and had some amazing pastas and seafood, but this was above and beyond those. The pasta dishes my companions had were amazing, and the sea bass I ordered just melted in my mouth, and that’s a good thing. So I should not have been surprised when returning to our hotel my daughter says the restaurant was Michelin rated.
Yes, Michelin is the tire company and in 1900 they begin to publish small guides with local maps, information on changing a tire, and a list of local restaurants and hotels in France. For twenty years this guide came free of charge with any Michelin tire purchase. The new, expanded Michelin Guide was released in 1920 and cost seven francs. In 1926 the Guide began rating up to three stars for fine dining restaurants. In 1931 they began the system known today of rating up to three stars worldwide.
Mine, the restaurant that is, is not rated by Michelin, but it is “Plated” by them. This means “fresh ingredients, carefully prepared, a good meal,” and “simply served, good food.” It is mentioned in the guide online next to starred restaurants and it is among the 80 restaurants in the guide for Berlin. I do not know about those 79 other places. All I know is it had the best food I have ever tasted at Mine.
I write all of the above information to get to my point, finally. A restaurant chain needs to start tire rating service. Let us use In N Out, one of the first drive-throughs and the first to use to a two way radio system. Shouldn’t In N Out want to tell us what tire is best on which to drive to their drive-through restaurant? Instead of stars, they would rate up to three “burgers.” “Hamburger” would be the lowest, because that is basically a salad with a slab of beef. It would be like a Q rating in tires in which the maximum speed rating is 99 miles an hour. “Cheeseburger” is next highest rating because at least there is melted cheese on your salad. A cheeseburger would be for tires with a rating of up to 149 mph, like a V tire rating. Now if In-N-Out had bacon that would be the highest rating because, well, bacon is the best. Next to bacon though there’s a “double double.” Two hamburger patties and two slices of cheese can only mean a Y rating of up to 186 mph. A high-performance burger-rating for high-performance tire.
For those tires that do not achieve an In-N-Out burger-rating, but still get you to their drive-through in fine form there is “animal style” rating and for those who want to get there on budget tires there’s a “grilled cheese” rating. Yes, these are off the menu items, but like these tires they satisfy and will get you where want to be, just a little slower and with more maintenance - for the tires, that is, In N Out is always fast and fresh.
If my idea gains traction and moves ahead, I do not need credit for the system. In N Out can just go with it. What I am driving at is I just want them to add bacon to their arsenal. I would definitely buy “double doubles” for my car to order a double double with bacon at the drive-through. Even if it has to be an “off the menu” item.
