Sweet Spot

Friday evening we tried out the new restaurant Tribeca Tavern in Raleigh, where the (second) the now closed Michael Dean's was located. It was quite good and most likely, we will go back.

When I received my comment card, I rated everything pretty well. The one thing I made a comment on for improvement? Get rid of the Heinz 57 ketchup bottles.

I can't believe, in this day and age of technological marvels, Heinz 57 continues to make those stupid bottles. Or perhaps worse, that restaurants continue to utilize them. Tribeca Tavern wasn't the first, nor I am banking, is the last to have these on every table.

I am not a ketchup eater but my little Mi-Mi is. And she can't get the ketchup out of those damn things. So I give it a go and god-dammit, the ketchup DOES NOT come out for me. I mean, if it isn't full, you will have a long wait before you see anything appear on your plate. I grab a knife and start using it to help rush the stuff out. I give up because I start thinking about my paragraph #3: why are these bottles in existence?

Remember the commercials for anticipation? To wait for the ketchup to come out?


Tim took over since I was so pissed. The waitress came by and I mentioned my dilemma with the bottle and she said "just tap the 57". What? I never heard such a thing and she looked at us like _we_ were dumb (I write that for fun - our waitress rocked).

So I search for it and sure enough, Heinz themselves put this statement on their website:

To release ketchup faster from the glass bottle, apply a firm tap to the sweet spot on the neck of the bottle— the "57." Only 11% of people know this secret. Now you're "in-the-know."

I like the squeeze bottle, myself. Unlike grape jelly, it seems to work just fine.