FistFullaRoux

And be warned, the story on CNN.com right now has at least one spoiler in it. I read up to the point the first ingredient was named, then sat here stomping my feet. My officemates think I'm nuts. Anyway, fair warning...

New Years week = Sugar Bowl. 100,000 screaming college football fans, probably from out-of-state. Bad idea. Christmas week should be OK, though. I guess it depends on what convention is in town, what part of town you are staying in, and what your plans are while you are there.

A stainless steel mixing bowl set we got from Wally World for 6 dollars. A stainless steel ladle that was .50 more than the cheap plastic one. And everyday dishes, 4 settings in a box for $20. Microwave and dishwasher safe. Can't beat 'em.

That sounds incredible. I read this and my mouth started watering.

Note, these are the ones that I have been in (but please note that it's been a while). And you did ask about bars, not lounges, clubs are anything else - Yes, there is a difference. I'm assuming you mean a neighborhood hangout. There is usually a pool table, possibly foosball. Almost guaranteed music on the jukeboxes - Bob Seger, Tom Petty, The Eagles, Travis Tritt, and quite possibly Skynard (though I know places that purposely don't put them in because they don't want to hear Freebird... yet again). you know you are in a "locals only" kind of place when you see Johnnie Taylor and Clarence Carter on the list. I don't know of many bartenders who have used up an entire bottle of gin. Not a real popular choice. Bourbon, whisk(e)y, vodka, tequila, and a schnapps assortment tend to be the main choices, add Jagermiester and 151 rum for the college kids. Lots and lots and lots of beer. Coors Light, MGD/Miller Lite, and Bud/Bud light would be about all you would have to stock. There are brewpubs, and those that have microbrews, but for the majority of folks, it's the list above. Don't order wine. They probably keep a few bottles of zinfandel, but that's about it. Mixers are orange juice (predominately screwdrivers), Coke (Jack/Crown/rum and Cokes), 7Up (The 7&7), maybe cranberry juice, and very rarely milk (Colorado Bulldogs and White Russians). I have never seen anyone order a mint julep in a bar. I do not know a bartender who has ever had to make one in a bar. That's one usually reserved for home, if they are made at all. Kentucky may be a completely different story, but they are not popular in Alabama, Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Unless maybe in a country club.

Not to stick my nose in where is doesn't belong, but when an ex-con has his hands in the money, I believe it is a legitimate concern.

I can see the owner's POV. However, as I was reminded last Sunday at an All You Can Eat Chinese place, you may not want to eat all that was on your plate. I did my usual light serving first pass. Everything was horrid. The egg rolls smelled of sulphur, the green beans had sand in them, and I could rant for hours about the rest of the "food". The place was full of smiling people happily gorging themselves, and I'm thinking that this would have to be the only place open in a hundred miles before I would come back. I ditched the first plate, with only a few bites taken from it. I got a second, trying different items. The only thing the didn't screw up was the fruit. I normally don't waste food. At least on purpose. But when the food sucks, and the rest of the customers aren't complaining (flippin heathens) then it must be me, right? I wasted a bunch of food that day, but I'm not going to eat crap. I left there and hit the drive through at Burger king for a meal. And was much happier with that.

Have you seen the graphics that FN has starting spreading all over the 'net? Trying to make it look like a Quentin Tarentino Movie.

The Restaurant certainly has it's share of yelling, cursing and double-crosses But gritty realism? Ah, on TV, yelling, cursing, and double-crosses are gritty realism...

That's it! I found a way for Mama to retire. Rocco needs about 6 of these things. They're magical! It says so right there on the box! I missed Monday's premiere episode. I forgot it was on. Normally, I would skip the rest of them, but now, after reading this thread, I am caught up. I can watch Monday and follow along. I follow that up with The Shield, and my night of yelling, cursing, double-crosses, and gritty realism is complete.

One pizza place I worked in did not do "staff meals" per se, but we were allowed to help ourselves from the salad bar (within reason), and any pies that were made wrong (like putting olives on a "no olives" pie) was sliced and put in the break room. Cokes were free. The draft was for after hours. He didn't sell a lot of beer, so we did our best to make sure they didn't waste a keg once it was tapped. We rarely went without. It is incredibly easy to screw up a pizza. And the crusts were pre-cut and docked, so at the end of the night, the crusts that were about to be thrown out became fair game. You wanna know where cinnamon/sugar sprinkled pizza came from? I was making it 20 years ago... This owner was extraordinarily cool, though. As long as you didn't abuse it, it was there. No one who worked for him went hungry, even on their days off. I worked at another place that had free staff meals, but we had to prepare our own. And not get in the way. And not use the expensive stuff. But we had our fair shot at everything else. The chef would look over our shoulders as we were doing it, offering suggestions, and observing. Occasionally, he would sneak a taste. Several staff made meals made it onto the menu. Or at least were sold as a special.

And for the Seinfeld fans, muffin tops.

I think you may be looking at a tumbler. Looks kind of like a cement mixer. It keeps everything moving so you dont get clumps of sugar or chocolate. The downside is, besides the cost of the equipment, is that you lose quite a bit of the coating to the inside of the rotating drum. It's how jawbreakers, Lemonheads, Boston Baked Beans (the candy), Jordan almonds and jellybeans are done. It's also called "panning".

The well-done dried edge pieces on a lasagna or a pan of brownies. The coating of a honey-roasted peanut. And chewing the leftover ice at the end of a fountain soft drink.

Note that in New Orleans, it can and does rain heavily with no prior notice all year round. June - September means unpredictable weather (up to and including hurricanes) and nearly oppressive heat. 90-100+ during the day and 80's at night, with near 100% humidity. It's at it's worst after the nearly daily afternoon thunderstorm. October and November can vary between 30 and 80 degrees, with a fair amount of rain mixed in. December and January (aka winter) means highs somewhere around 50, with lows down as far down as the 20s. Variations of up to 30 degrees throughout the day can be expected. But it is the one time of year there are no mosquitos. February is usually Mardi Gras - yes, that is a season in iteself, and the weather has little to no effect on it, so the temperature does not matter. March through May are good bets, including the aforementioned JazzFest. Expect temperature variations of 30 degrees or better between evening lows and midday highs. The highs can vary from 80 to 95 or wider, with lows in the 60's. Edited to add: The food is superb all year long, though.

I wish I could use it. If I hadn't seen it in neon, I would have thought Phaelon'd made it up and then it would be okay. Grrrr. I even have a neon font. Oh, phoo-phah. I just can't do it. (Can I?) Do a trademark search. If it's not trademarked or otherwise spoken for, go for it. You may even want to copyright/service mark/trademark it yourself...

Atlanta GA, Charlotte NC (and the surrounding mountains), and Memphis TN would fit the bill, I think. Of course, this is the grits and BBQ tour, but there are actual luxury hotels and great restaurants of every variety in these places.

Ummmmm.... At this point, I'd like to remind newcomers to this thread to go to the beginning and work their way back. Otherwise, it may seem a bit... odd.

"It's not jitters. You're just too slow." (From M*A*S*H) "That'll put hair on your saddlehorn." But I think these pale to "Caffiene saves." Brilliant. And even better in neon.

I just opened this food blog, and I have been doing myself and this site a disservice by not looking in on more of these. Beautiful. I think I'm a little more excited than I should be about this As far as photos, I'm not using my ImageGullet account at all at the moment. I would be happy and proud to share some of my allotted bandwidth and storage with you. Provided that is allowed. It's heartbreaking. My wife had surgery, and now the smell of food nauseates her. I'm forced to eat out every night, because she can't stand even the smell of a frozen pizza in the oven. I can eat at home if it is cold cereal, and I am in the computer room when I eat it. And then I see this. I shouldn't have looked. Pure torture... Please. Don't stop. I know it's not good for a man to sound desperate, but don't stop.... Edited becuz I cant freakin spelll

Do any of these posted links include spoilers? If so, tell me which one. I don't wanna know...

You mean you can turn yours off? And about the whole calorie counting thing, I don't normally do it. I'll try to avoid certain things, and the blooming onion falls into that category. Most chain places appetizers do, honestly. Except for stuffed mushrooms. Anytime I go somewhere with stuffed mushrooms, the little voice in my head starts jumping up and down yelling and screaming and whistling and bouncing and making so much racket that it can't be denied until I just have to.... ahem. But I'll pass on the onion thing.

But what about the Aussie Cheese Fries? A veritable mountain of fries, gobs of ooey-gooey Jack and Cheddar, lots o'bacon, served with Ranch dressing for dipping. Enough fat and cholesterol for the whole table for a week, all in one appetizer! The fries thing is 28 oz, and can honestly be thought of as at least 4 portions, the whole thing is (gulp) 2900 calories and 182 grams of fat. That breaks down to 720 calories per serving, while the bloomin onion is 845 per serving. AND THESE ARE THE APPETIZERS!!! /rant

much different than the same amount of onion rings made in a similar way? Actually, yes. Far more surface area for the batter and grease to stick to. And lots of little spots for it to settle into. Not to mention the sauce. Onion rings 400-600 calories per onion (depending on the recipe) Each onion will make 3-4 "servings" Bloomin onion - 1690 calories per onion (2130 with the sauce) Each onion serves 2 people. And it's the appetizer at a steakhouse. Throw a ribeye in on top of that, and I couldn't even do it. I'll stick with the bread, thank you. And I'll have the butter too. I'll still come out ahead.

The only item on any menu (including the fast food places) that really scares me is the Bloomin Onion. The nutritional info will simply blow your mind. I'd rather just eat the 2 pounds of cookie dough, which is the approximate caloric and fat equal to this thing. It's the only time I ever felt sorry for an onion. The rest of the food is fine by me, especially if it's a hang-out-with-friends kind of deal.