NulloModo

Methinks your confusbining Tommy DiNic's at the Reading Terminal Market and Tony Luke's on Oregon right by I-95. In either case, both make great Pork sandwiches. ← Err, yeah, that is what I meant.

Oh, I see. Hmm, I would love to try horse someday... along with those poodle burgers from that other thread... Heh, maybe I have some cajun in me... eat anything that walks, crawls, grows, swims, or slithers on this earth...

What are horsey cutlets?

Take them to Tony DeLuc's for a roast pork sandwhich, the Italian Market for a great red gravey dinner, and, well, whatever your favorite cheesesteak place is. Haute cuisine is the same in NYC, Chicago, Philly, or LA. If you want a taste of the local flavor you eat where the blue collar crowd eats.

I've always loved these and was sad to see them go (I still miss the Beefy Tostada, maybe they'll bring it back someday). I was thrilled to see them back on the menu, and I agree they taste about the same (although I miss the three black olive slices, too). I always order one when I go. ← This was our all time favorite munchie food. I think I'll stop in taco bell, I didn't know they were back. guess I'll put my own olives on. Wonder if they'll taste the same without being under the infulence????we'll see!! ← Unfortunately, nothing tastes the same whilst not under the influence... Also unfortunately, I doubt it appropriate to show up at the French Laundry with the munchies... though, it would make for an interesting post if anyone is game...

Close, it was En Vogue who sang this song, with help from S&P.. ← Oh no, thanks adegiulio . And I would like to nominate another alleged uniquely American dish and one that I love, but know that makes others want to hurl: scrapple. The perfect marriage between cornmeal and select pork parts which has it's origins in Pennsylvania. Fried until crispy, with a couple of eggs over easy, hash browns and hot buttered toast. As defined at Culinary Sleuth: Must add that on my mother's side of the family this dish was made after hog butchering in the fall along with another alleged uniquely American dish: pork pudding. ← Scrapple is really the perfect breakfast food in the same way as buffalo wings are the perfect any other time of day food (actually, cold buffalo wings make a nice breakfast too.... especially when combined with a hangover and a bit of the hair of the dog). We truly need to embark on a quest to get all of the scrapple uninitiated to try this delectable item. We'll just uh... not tell them what is really in it until after they have eaten a serving or two ;) (after all, who can eat only one slice of scrapple?)

I checked out the box more carefully. The brand is "St. Dalfour" and apparently the tea itself comes from Sri Lanka. The bags are 2 grams each. They have a very nice 'cinnamon apple' flavored green tea that is great in the morning with a couple drops of Stevia for sweetening.

Dear nullo modo: very thank you for your reply. so i know that you like the green majorly,can you tell me the green tea's price that you often drink? do you think the masala chai and herbal tea (kaka kaka root tea)are popular in your country? i'll be appreciated if can tell me some about it. thank you ← The green tea I usually use is pre-bagged (easier to figure out when I'm still half asleep in the morning) but is organic, and comes from France somewhere. Well, at least it is packaged in France, not sure where it is grown. I think it costs around $3.00 for 20 teabags. Chai is getting more popular over here, though mainly as an overly sweetened chilled starbucks type beverage. I personally prefer it hot and with minimal sweetening. Kava Kava root tea is an underground thing at the moment, though it is supposedly quite popular in Hawaii.

I also vouch by a paula wolfert recipe for perfect salmon, but it is a different one - i can't remember specifics, but you basically heat up a pot of olive oil (enough to cover the salmon completely) to around 325, infuse the oil with a little garlic and some herbs of choice, and you poach the salmon in the oil.

What was the type of place at which you were dining? Was it trying to be a fine-dining joint or was it just a local greasy spoon? In my experience the best places to dine (well, as far as balancing your risk goes) if you are unfamliar with the area are bars. It is really hard to fuck up bar food. Plus, I love bar food as much as fine dining on any given days. I mean, when I visited london I had some great fine dining moments, and some great dinners at Indian joints, but what sticks most in my mind are steak and kidney pie and bangers and mash at random pubs along the way. (I will try to forget about the pub in Bath which served lukewarm hotdogs and obviously canned beans as 'bangers as mash' (where he hell was the mash?)).

mizducky - Wow, you have certainly been around the nation. Your post makes me regret having spent so long in one state... As wonderful as DE is (and it is truly wonderful in many ways) I suppose I need to buy a harley and become a drifter for a while and truly experience what this country has to offer...

That looks tasty, but just for your benefit: both liver and cheese are Atkins friendly. Hell, I have been on Atkins for almost two years, and I certainly wouldn't do any diet that denies me my organ meats and cheese...

I usually drink green tea due to the health benefits and the low caffeine content (I am trying to cut out caffeine, also for health benefits). However, I love a good masala chai, and I will sometimes break my green tea habit for black tea with the proper spices. I am also a bit of a fan of herbal tea, especially kava kava root tea, now that is incredible stuff, very relaxing.

I once invented a beverage called the "thirst quenching head" which consisited of a cup of beer and a shot of fresca. Darn good stuff.

Ahh geeze.. I walked in there and wasnt too impressed.. I looked at the grill and just saw pre-sliced meats sitting in a cooler by the grill.. They were like pushing corned beef.. I passed the place up.. I know for next time.,. ← For the ultimate of Fry loaded sandwhiches you need to hit Daffy's Deli in Newark, DE. I reccomend 'Da Bomb' which included buffalo style chicken fingers, mozerella sticks, french fries, hot peppers, hot sauce, blue cheese dressing, and melted cheese on top. Wow, all that sandwhich and not a vegetable to be seen (unless you count the hot peppers, which I don't, they are more a neccessity of life than a vegetable). Hey, if one of your road trips ever brings you through DE look me up, I have to salute someone like you with a couple rounds of drinks.

I agree, great top 10 article ;). As for my own top ten list: 1. Scrapple 2. Cheesesteak 3. Shooe Fly Pie 4. Americanized Red Gravey Style Italian 5. Yeungling (better than Newcastle Brown, which is the closest thing IMO) 6. Buffalo Wings (how could these be forgotten on the original list?) 7. Tex-mex combo plate (can't pick just one, have to have the rellenjo, the enchilada, the burrito, a taco, and hopefully a tostada as well, with the refried beans of course) 8. Blue crabs loaded with old bay 9. Big (1/2 lbd or more) overloaded American style cheeseburger, rare or course 10. Gumbo, the ultimate in cajun cuisine So, yeah, my list is Northeast-centric, but that is where I have been exiled for the past 15 years.

Wow - Crack Neighborhood ribs, now that takes some dedication. (not that I haven't endulged in a crack neighborhood steak dinner, but that is another story)... I love this thread, and all of your roadtrip threads. hehe also you are damn lucky to have a girlfriend who appreciates this kind of endulgence and risky ;) By any chance, does she have a sister?

My mom eats butter straight from the fridge! She just stands there at the kitchen counter, slicing butter and popping it in her mouth. Her eating habits are sometimes just as nasty as mine....heh heh heh. ← how is it that none of you are roughly the size of a house???? I walk by the Krispy Kreme store, and my hips expand by about 5 inches! Seriously, I wish i had that kind of metabolism. I plan to make an entire dinner tonight of guilty pleasures: Roasted garlic smeared on toasted bread with olive oil, fried corn, french fries with gravy and maybe some cookie dough if I'm up for it. "happy heartburn.......happy heartburn......" ← heh, totally. Perhaps such metabolism is only bestowed upon those who the gods feel are worthy ;) I know if I had that kind of calorie burning ability I would rent an apartment right outside of Tony DeLuc's and spend my days chowing down on cheesesteak after cheesesteak (with an occasional (ok, more than occasionaly) roast pork sandwhich thrown in). Perhaps it is a gift for those of us who can show culinary restraint from time to time, or else we would manage to eat up all of the US and Canada's foodstuff reserves...

Oh man, did you just hit a vibe with me. Cherry pies, I remember those back years... they got rid of them too fast. Whoppers with Qp meat were just the beginning though. We had the deep fried quarter pounder, the half pounder, and eventually the pounder... with varrying amounts of cheese. Also the MBX pattie and mcchicken filet sandwhich, beef and fried chicken all in one, who could ask for more?

That was exactly my point. As another example (after reading the Rob Walsh Tex-Mex book) apparently 'enchiladas' used to mean only 'covered in chiles' or something to that effect. Now it refers to the dish of tortillas wrapped around something covered in a chile sauce, the word has evolved, and now enchilada is an accepted proper term for what we now know as the dish. Milagai - I never said that masala chai was "anything goes" in India, just that there were variations, which is pretty much the same thing you said. Also, I'd bet serious money that in many Indian homes people aren't measuring out exact quantities of each spice to fit a certain recipe for the stuff, they do what they have grown up on, maybe suited to individual tastes, and the beverage continues to evolve. A customer would think that 'spiced tea' could mean 'just anything' because it could. All it requires are tea and spices. One could take green tea, load it up with ginger and allspice, and call it 'spiced tea'. Chai, on the other hand, brings a certain specific beverage to mind because what is known in India as masala chai has already been accepted in the US as simply 'chai'. I suppose one could call it 'Indian spiced tea' but Chai sounds somewhat more authentic (even if the usage of the word in that way isn't). There is nothing disrespectful about borrowing and adapting terms from other languages. I'm also positive that those of us in the US aren't the only ones in the world who do it. As for cultural appropriation, what is wrong with it? That is a big part of what we do around here. As a melting pot culture we find things we like, perhaps adapt them a bit to suit local tastes, and run with it. So maybe some words get changed, some ingredients shift, and the methods of preparation aren't authentic, who cares? The authentic stuff lives on where it originally came from, and we can enjoy our adopted and adapted version. If you want to order authentic masala chai I am sure there are a number of Indian restaurants in the US and even more in India and other points around the world where you can do so. Copying and playing with a concept doesn't diminish the original in any way, it adds to it by exposing more people to it. Calling it chai instead of just 'spiced tea' or 'Indian spiced tea' is a nod of respect to the original dish.

I agree that southern style is the best prep of green beans. No need to snap them into 1" pieces though, I've met very few true southern cooks who do that. Take your green beans, toss them into a pot with ham hocks (bacon or neck bones will do in a pinch), cover with chicken stock, some salt, pepper, a little cayenne, and a tad of vinegar, and just let them simmer until they are a nice army drab color (several hours never hurts).

Daniel - Some advice regarding the potential avoidance of future speeding violations: no matter how fast your car can go, it isn't faster than police radio.... Umm, yeah, that one comes from experience.

what's so difficult about saying "tea" and "spiced tea". that's what chai and masala chai translate to.... if it is sooo hard to remember / pronounce / etc. milagai ← I don't think there is anything difficult about using either, but neither sounds as exotic as 'chai' and exotic (to a degree) sells. Also, there are lots of way you can spice tea. I am sure that in India there are a multitude of variations on chai masala, but when most people hear 'chai' they think of clove, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, etc, the spices common to chai masala blends. So, in this case saying 'chai' gives the potential customer a much better idea of what they are ordering than just 'spiced tea' which could be anything.

I think it is more likely that we already have a word for tea - that being tea. When 'chai' was introduced big time into the US market (through Coffee Beanery, Starbucks, and the like) it was masala chai. However, there being no other chais around that the average consumer would no about, and the marketing people probably wanting to make it easy to remember, and not sound too foreign, most likely just shortened to plain old chai. By now if your average US consumer asks for chai, they expect masala chai. If they want plain tea, they as for tea. Again, just the way it has been adopted into the language, no real reason to change it...

Personally none of these terms bug me. Actually, it does kind of bug me when people decide to be grammar nazis about them though. If you are in Italy, then by all means, order a biscotto, or pronounse bruschetta as 'broo-sketta' (or however it is properly pronounced). If in France, don't say with au jus. I mean, there is no reason to butcher the local language when amongst the people. However, certain foreign terms, au jus, biscotti, bruschetta, etc, have been more or less adopted into the english language, and their being transformed a bit makes sense to me. We haven't gotten used to saying just 'jus' we have come to understand that sort of 'gravy' to be 'au jus', and it isn't proper grammar in English to say "I'll have the turkey gravey" you say "I'll have the turkey with gravey". Therefore, a roast beef sandwhich with "au jus" makes perfect sense. Now, if the menu is entirely in the foreign language perhaps it is different, but when it is just an add on to an english language menu item, whats the big deal? Au Jus in French can mean with gravey, au jus in English can mean just the gravey part. Same with entree, let it mean what they want it to mean in other places, it means main course here now.