I don't think I've ever written a restaurant review before, but since I'm waiting for Dobbs to change the oil in my car, and this was the first place I found within walking distance with a free wi-fi connection, here we go.

This is the first and only location of Sammy Scott's, at Olive & Mason in Creve Coeur. They aspire to be a chain, however, if the employee conversations I overheard are any indication. You have to admire their entrepreneurial spirit -- they opened a sandwich shop six doors down from an established Jimmy John's. Risky, but hey, maybe they have what it takes. The proof is in the pudding, er, sandwich.

I ordered the Cuban, which was very good, although a little small for the price: $5.50. It's about half the size of a $5 Subway footlong. For $2 more, you get to choose from a fairly long list of sides, and a drink. I went with potato salad and lemonade. Plus a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie, that was delicious and almost as big as the sandwich. Total damage: $10. They are proud to tell you that they bake their own bread and roast their own meats in the store. They also serve breakfast before 10am.

Overall, a good meal. If you're in the Creve Coeur area, you should check them out.

Ignoring for the moment the complete absurdity of giving a third-grader detention for eating a Jolly Rancher, let's explore this story a little deeper. In other words, follow the money. Because the real story here doesn't appear until the tenth paragraph, when the school district superintendent, Jack Ellis, says, "failing to adhere to the state’s guidelines could put federal funding in jeopardy." There it is. The federal extortion racket is at it again.

If you watched any of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, you know that he ran up against this same nonsense, except the logic there was reversed. At the elementary school in Huntington, West Virginia, where he was trying to eliminate chocolate and strawberry flavored milk (because, as he put it, they contain more sugar than a can of "fizzy pop"), it took several attempts before the school district finally got "approval" from state authorities to remove a food item that was bad for the children's health.

So in one state, the extortionists punish a child for eating sugar, and in another state, they punish the school for trying to reduce the sugar intake of their students. But in both states, the root cause is the same: fight the system and lose your funding.