Factlets (21 & 22)

  These factlets are food-related, although beverages are also involved. The first has to do with what is now the largest fast-food chain on the planet. The name of the company begins with the letter "M" and it is not McDonald's. The second pertains to one small restaurant in Washington. Washington, Virginia, not Washington, D.C. If you are interested in finer dining, go directly to the second one.

MIXUE

   The company name is pronounced this way: ME-shway. It sells soft ice cream, sugary drinks and bubble tea. Those products are sold in over 50,000 red (really red) establishments scattered throughout the world. McDonald's has around 43,500 outlets. 
   Mixue's Ronald McDonald is "Snow King", who looks like a snowman. Apparently the stores' Muzak plays a song with these lyrics, "I love you, you love me,: Mixue, ice cream and tea, to the tune of "OH! Susanna." 


   The chain was started in 1997 by a student, Zhang Hongchao. His brother, Hongfu is the CEO and the boys are reportedly worth $8.2 billion each. They can afford to eat at the next place in this post, where there is a lot less red and much more ambience.
   According to the company website the full name is Mixue Bingcheng, which in English is"Sweet Snow Palace." For sources see: "Forget McDonald’s. This Chinese Fast-Food Chain Is Now the World’s Biggest: Mixue lures cost-conscious customers with ice cream and drinks under $1 during China’s economic slump," Stu Woo, Wall Street Journal, Mar. 3, 2025 and from the Washington Post: "The World’s Biggest Fast-Food Chain Lands in the U.S. Here’s How it Tastes," Ethan Beck, Feb. 23, 2026.

THE INN AT LITTLE WASHINGTON

   This place is a little nicer and I am sure it is "Worth a Pilgrimage", as they state on their website. The related factlet here has to do with the corkage fee charged by this establishment, about which someone complained - $200 per bottle. I was unable to verify, that, but it may actually be $300.
   You have not wasted your time. Enjoy the rest of your evening here: The Inn At Little Washington. There is a lot to see and there are many dishes to savour, such as, "Carpaccio of Herb-Crusted Elysian Fields Baby Lamb Loin with Caesar Salad Ice Cream Domaine Figuière, Première, Rosé, Côtes De Provence, France (2024).
   As for the wines, if you don't want to pay them a few hundred bucks to open your own plonk, they have plenty to choose from. Here is a random pick which is found on p.66 of their 92 pp. wine list.

Sources:
   The corkage complaint was also found in the WaPo. Unfortunately this is the last day I will be able to present such valuable nuggets from that publication. I have cancelled my subscription and will probably post about it, since I won't be spending the time reading the Washington Post.
  For those who are curious, the first factlet related to the Gee-Gees.

The Bonus:
More Fine Wines at  L'Auberge Provencale Inn & Restaurant 
   Late last year you may recall that two people dined at another restaurant in the Virginia countryside. They then asked to see the wine cellar and tried to remove from it, some valuable wines. They were chased outside and the British woman was captured. Her Serbian partner was not, and he was last spotted at the John F. Kennedy International Airport. Some of the pinot noirs taken are still missing.
Some Cancon: The British woman wanted to look around because she was working for a "Canadian client who was evaluating venues for a potential event."
(Once again, the source is from WaPo: "Tricked-out Overcoat Linked to New Charges in $38,000 Wine Heist A Suspect in a Virginia Theft Case is Accused of Slipping Six High-end Pinots Into Interior Pockets of His Coat," Dan Morse, Feb. 6, 2026.)
  The restaurant/inn is L'Auberge Provencale Inn & Restaurant and it is not too far down the road from The Inn at Little Washington, if you want to have a nice long weekend. Very nice. Supposedly the cellar has around 5,400 bottles. To have your cork popped costs $55 at L'Auberge Provencale. Their wine list is only 70 pp. and here is a sample page from it:

Given that the price for one bottle on the page above is $18,000, perhaps the Virginia marketing people should change the state's slogan to "Virginia Is For Wine Lovers."

AGEISM

Banning Those in Gen Z and a Few Millennials
   Most arguments about ageism involve attitudes toward the elderly and old age. I noticed recently an example of discrimination involving young people. I will leave it to you to debate the legal and ethical implications of not allowing those under the age of 30 to enter a restaurant. Here are some examples:

"A D.C. Cafe is Banning Patrons Under 30. Is It Legal?", Emily Heil, The Washington Post, Dec. 17, 2024.
"For years, the owners of Café 8, a Mediterranean restaurant and hookah bar in Washington’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, have wondered how they could keep their patrons’ noise down around their establishment, which backs up to a residential neighborhood.
“They park on the front, they blast music, they party in their cars and all those things,” says Elif Sam, who manages the restaurant for her family. Finally, last month, they decided to take a step to attract an older clientele, rather than the younger, rowdier crowds. So they adopted a policy banning patrons under 30 after 8:30 p.m."
As for the legal part, it's complicated as most legal things are and the arguments around age discrimination are numerous.

"Still, while the family introduced the policy to help keep the peace, it might run afoul of D.C. law.
Under federal law, age is not a protected class in service settings the way it is when it comes to employment. And laws that do apply to public accommodations, such as eateries, ban discrimination when it comes to race, religion, national origin or disability status — but not age.
In D.C., though, the Human Rights Act expands the kinds of traits that businesses can’t discriminate against, including age over 18, personal appearance and political affiliation.
“It’s pretty straightforward,” said Andrew Kline, principal of the Veritas Law Firm, who frequently works on cases involving D.C. restaurants. He noted that the D.C. law includes a clause granting exceptions for “business necessity,” such as allowing establishments to ban patrons under 21 to prevent underage drinking. But he questioned whether Café 8’s new rule would meet that standard. “I think making the case that there’s a business necessity for keeping [out people over 21] would be troublesome,” he said."

There are other cases of exclusion elsewhere in the country. For example in St. Louis:

"A Restaurant Wanting a ‘Grown and Sexy’ Vibe Bans Diners Under 30:

At Caribbean restaurant Bliss outside St. Louis, age limits draw support and condemnation," The Washington Post, June 10, 2024.

"When Marvin Pate and his wife opened Bliss, their Caribbean restaurant outside St. Louis, they were aiming for an upscale, luxe vibe. They put jollof rice and tropical cocktails on the menu, offered hookahs for patrons to enjoy — and banned diners under the age of 30.

Since opening its doors in May, the restaurant has operated with an unusual age restriction, allowing in only women at least 30 and men at least 35, rules that the owners have been defending as necessary to maintain the kind of “grown and sexy” atmosphere they’re aiming for. “This policy is in place to ensure a mature, sophisticated, and safe dining environment for everyone,” the restaurant said in a Facebook post."

Some additional examples are offered in the article, but I have not found any Canadian ones, although child-free condos and adult-only developments exist here. 

"Legally, restaurants have the right to impose age limits, because age is not a protected class in that context. Controversies around age restrictions usually have cropped up when restaurants have banned children. Last year, Nettie’s House of Spaghetti in New Jersey was both rebuked and praised when it banned kids under 10, citing the noise and “crazy messes” they brought.

It’s far less common for such rules to target adults. But there are exceptions: In San Antonio, Horizons & More bills itself as a 30-and-up destination “for the grown & mature.” And in New York, the Auction House cocktail bar imposes a 25-and-up policy on Fridays and Saturdays.

Two years ago, two TikTokers shared a tale of being turned away from Melody Bar & Grill in Los Angeles because they weren’t old enough for the establishment’s 30-plus night. One response to the video seemed to come from someone who appreciated the idea of a 20-something-free zone: “I know it hurts right now, but when you are 30 you’ll understand.”

  Lately we have noticed, when dining out, that restaurants are far too noisy, but generally that is not because of the age of the customers. Still, I am in favour of keeping out noisy people, even those over 30, especially if they carry phones. It also would be great to be able to keep out obnoxious people. I am not sure how one does that, but I am certain that in Canada denying some the right to dine would be problematic, although years ago women were denied entry into many bars. Where I grew up, people of a certain colour could not eat in most restaurants in our small town. I suppose it is best to simply succumb to the self selection process and assume and hope that people of all ages will segregate in a restaurant they choose to be in and that the others won't want to join them.