My server just sneezed in the bread basket

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While eating Cosi take-out yesterday, I lunched with women from various organizations to discuss the latest happenings in the Work/Life field. We mulled over a grossly offensive Supreme Court ruling, the current lack of attention on women and family issues from the presidential candidates, and the need for paid sick leave.

This being a food blog with a (slight) conscious, I’d like to highlight the plight of the under appreciated server.

Restaurant workers rarely are granted paid sick leave. If they “choose” to come to work when sick — so they can make a living — this act not only hurts their health, but it will probably spread their germs on to you, the customer.

The Healthy Families Act “would provide full-time employees with seven paid sick days a year to be used for their own medical needs or to tend to the medical needs of a child, spouse or parent. Part-time employees receive a pro-rata share of paid sick days.” (BPW/USA)

You can find out more about the lives of your servers, such as their inadequate pay, here.

It’s not only important to tip well, but to support your server’s right to be sick, stay home in bed, and get paid.

ES Trend Alert: “No Mayo” is the New Mayo

Maybe Shania was on to something in I Heart Huckabees when she kept telling Jude Law “NO MAYO.” I am not one to hate on gooey, mayo-loaded traditional side salads – simple, tasty and unhealthy – I can’t think of anything more American. But inspired by gansie’s previous posts about mayo-free pasta salad and tuna salad, I decided to try my hand at Kim OD’s recommendation, which gansie pointed us towards, for mayo-free potato salad. I brought my very lemony version to my cousin Moira’s family BBQ last night. In a perfect twist, the host made a more traditional mayo potato salad as well, which ignited much discussion on the great mayo debate of 2007 (Moira did use fingerlings, so she still gets some edgy points.) My recipe after the jump.

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