FistFullaRoux

It's almost overkill, but ribeye works well too. It's a good use for the odd shaped end parts of a rack. Other than that, pretty much whatever's on sale. You do want a certain amount of marbling in there though. I don't see why you couldn't cut up a roast to accomplish the same...

Look up Alton Brown's technique. In short, screeching hot cast iron pan, 30 seconds on each side to sear, pop the whole thing into a 500 degree oven for 2-3 minutes per side (depending on the steak) for medium or so. Use the horseradish and the parsley with some lemon juice, salt, pepper, and some mayo or sour cream for a little dipping sauce. Yummy. When's dinner?

Well, somebody throws one over the plate, you have to swing at it.... And at least I'll never lose my mind. I know it's always in the gutter And back to food: I'm sitting here eating a Twix bar. I have seprated the cookie from the caramel, consumed the cookie portions, and am now trying to figure out the best way to eat the caramel/chocolate part. I'm tempted to just ball it up and jam it into my mouth..... I'll do it. (3 full minutes later) You never seem to realize that you need a certain amount of empty space in your mouth to be able to swallow. That was an adventure I don't recommend...

I'd not only get my money back, I'd never buy seafood from that place again. Bad mojo, this.

You married?

oops

Absolutely. That is one thing I will go out of my way to do. Every time.

I like the following variation - half pork/half beef, ground. Dried chilis, a bit of onion, a bit of garlic, chicken/beef stock. spiced with cumin/cayenne/fresh hot peppers. I like the beans. I occasionally like tomato. (Edited to add - I don't mind tomato paste. Not a big fan of the "dump a can of tomatoes into it" style.) The keys here are the cumin, the peppers, and the fact that it is slow cooked. There are fast chilis, but I don't care for them. They have no subtlety. They taste like tomato, or pepper. No combination that can only be obtained by a couple hours over low heat in a big pot. Chili should not be cooked fast. Chili should not be cooked in small batches. Other than that, I'm willing to give anything a try.

If it is something dangerous, like not listing an ingredient that certain people cannot have (sugar for diabetics, peanuts, etc) then it must be brought to the manager's attention. Otherwise, I think people who are going to operate a restaturant ought to have a clue. If they aren't on top of their game, I'm not going to pay AND serve as an unpaid consultant. I get paid $30 an hour for that. I just won't be back. For example, the wife and I went for an early dinner Sunday at a not quite brand new coporate owned steakhouse. First time we ate there. She can't have sugar. Ordered the kabaobs, which arrived coated in teryaki sauce with some pineapple stuck on for good measure. She couldn't eat it, sent it back, didn't order anything else, since the waitress waited 20 minutes to come back and check on us, and I was nearly done eating. I ordered a 10 oz ribeye. 5 oz of it was fat and gristle. I left half of it on the plate. Her entree was comped, mine was not. We paid our bill (finally, after grabbing another waitress, since ours dropped off the bill and disappeared for another 20 minutes), and left, never to darken their door again. It's corporate owned. If they can't get their act together, I'm just not going back. I don't like to complain. I know restaurant people don't often make much money. But I'm not going to tell a corporately trained manager and staff what is wrong. They are paid to notice it before I do, and take care of it. That's their job. If they won't do it, then screw 'em.

The issue really boils down to: was it a splinter caused by something the restaurant did or didn't do (ie; maintenance staff repairing something else and dropped a hammer), or was it a splinter that was caused by the cowboy who ate just before you and his belt buckle? Sweaters are notorious for finding things to snag on. But I would try to contact restaurant management (if it is corporate) or the owners (if it is local), and explain what happened. Know the replacement or repair cost when you contact them so they can see that you aren't trying to shake them down for an outrageous amount of money. Splinter in the eye? Different story altogether...

I think during earlier discussions of the stuff, we discovered that (besides tomato and vinegar) the main flavoring seems to be allspice. Allspice is not out of place in a fruit pie, so the tartness of the vinegar, and the different sweetness of the tomato are not really out of place either. I'd think it was a very thin line though. It would probably be very easy to overdo it. Like nutmeg.

Please don't take my Twinkies away.... They are evil little things, but they define comfort food....

Spaghetti sandwiches... I'm feeling you there. Also, who chews the ice at the end of a fountain drink?

OK, again with the Pop Tarts (aka Britneys...) I eat the unfrosted areas first. That way, I'm left with the filling and frosting to the end. I also (I did not do this, but watched in horror) saw someone take a whole stick of butter from the fridge, dip it in a bowl of sugar, bite off the end, chew, swallow, and repeat. The entire stick of butter. Once a day for at least the 10 days I had to be around him. Dude was 6 ft tall, and weighed maybe 200 pounds.... My arm tingled just watching him.

Edited to say: Never mind. I'm a dummy.

PICTURES!!! Well, OK, technically A picture.... Click here to see the Flora Bama now Click here to see more photos than you would want to of Ivan damage

Oh, man... I fondly remember the National brand root beer. Best bargain root beer ever on the market. One of the best period. I remember stocking up for spring break, in addition to the multiple cases of corn flakes in a can, there was always a couple of cases of that root beer. Good for what ails ya the next morning... How I miss those... Would Shasta count as a generic? I know it's not strictly a store brand, but it's usually priced between store brand and name brand....

You sure you weren't thinking of The Good The Bad and The Ugly??? Or maybe Reservoir Dogs...

I know there are phones and add-ons for phones that flash... Which strikes me as a bit odd, until I remembered TDD... The Silent Call stuff that Katie found may be the best bet, though it is expensive... There is this, (The Vibra Light watches on the last half of the page)which may work. This one may work as well. It shouldn't take too much to create something like that. At the minimum, it should be fairly simple to write a bit of software to run on a laptop or PDA. The screen itself should blink, but there should also be a way to connect an external light bulb/LED assembly to allow it to be placed remotely.

The Flora Bama does have a website. It's not updated, and probably won't be for a while. One bit of advice I can pass along is... Don't look at the pictures

I found out some specifics about the Flora-Bama today. When it was built, Baldwin county, Alabama was dry. No booze could be sold. Neighboring Escambia county in Florida allowed alcohol sales. So it started as a liquor store on the Florida side, and a place for bands and hanging out on the Alabama side. Still don't know why they started throwing fish...

The famed Flora Bama lounge was among the many buildings completely destroyed by Hurricane Ivan as it made landfall just up the beach at Gulf Shores. http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/ind...12575140130.xml Will it be back? Too soon to know... Big O's Seafood Grill survived with minor damage, as was able to open Thursday, operating without running water or power to feed rescue and news crews on Gulf Shores. Any other info about restaurants and such from the Ivan zone?

Outstanding! This owner deserves every molecule of whatever gets thrown at him. Arrogant popcorn fart that he is... Ripping off customers, then unsuccessfully arguing his point with a guy who knows the truth? I want to track this story too.

It is kinda like head cheese. All of the scrap parts of the pig, plus some livers, simmered with cornmeal, then formed into loaves, chilled, cut, sometimes breaded or floured, then fried. Usually for breakfast. With maple syrup. Yum?

Eat outside. Spit the seeds wherever. Cultivate any that sprout. Repeat.