lesfen

That looks like every fund raiser meal that I have ever been served, and pretty close to 75% of the weddings that I've been to. The only subs that I've seen have been fried chicken pieces for the roasted halves, and mashed potatoes with that unnaturally yellow chicken gravy ladled over in place of the roasted potatoes. Dessert is usually a sheet cake from the local grocery store. Blah.

What is that "sauce" on the piece of meat at 2 o'clock. Gawd. Of all the spectacular images on this thread, this may be the first one to actually make me gag a little.

Strange. It never would have occurred to me that this was a regional thing. My mom made a batch on Labor Day for lunch. We make them all the time but we take the cheaters way out and use Rhodes frozen bread dough. Thaw, portion, roll, stuff, fold, raise, bake. We also like to brush the inside with a little red sauce (could be fresh, maybe not... might even be leftover spaghetti sauce) and we do like a little cheese on ours. (Mostly because it oozes out and then we get to fight over the baked cheese on the baking sheet. ) When they come out of the oven she brushes them with a little melted butter and sprinkles half of them with parmesan. God they're good. It hasn't even been a week and I've got a jones.

More often than I care to admit. I probably have the fast food variety twice a month but I make them at home... probably once a week. My local grocery store carries a very cheap off brand of frozen fries that could easily pass for McD's fries. My step-son told his mother that I make the best french fries.

I love the flabby ones and the little stubby brown ones that are saturated with grease.

Mmmm... cheeze sauce. Arby's is a whole 'nother story. I usually get potato cakes at Arby's, but if I forget to order them, I dip my fries (curly or homestyle) in Arby's Sauce. Ohhh... Arby's Sauce.

Holy cow... I'd never thought about this before. It really depends on the fries and what they're served with. Waffle fries... cheeze sauce Fresh cut... malt vinegar and lots of salt McDonalds... honey, ketchup, and one or two might find their way into my milk shake Wendy's... just salt Crinkle Cut... salt and kechup Served with steak... steak juice and salt Coctail sauce when available. Friggin' love coctail sauce. I don't care for mustard on my fries, I have yet to try aoli, and gravy is better on home fries so I don't really mess with putting it on my fries.

Ugh. Yeah. I've lost countless storage lids that way.

It was the "Giant Eagle" products. Local grocery chain.

Is it torakris?

Please take lots of pictures!! While I'm up to my armpits in irritating relatives, you'll all be having a killer time and I want to see it! I'm going to need the pick-me-up. Tino27... It's awesome that Akron's going to be represented! You can't have a Heartland Gathering without an honorable delegate from Akron.

Yup... sounds about right to me. My husband asks to go to the local Longhorn for his birthday every year (actually, he asks to go there no matter what the occasion, come to think of it...) and we have never waited less than 45 minutes to be seated. We accept this because we can usually get a seat at the bar and have a giant beer. We only go a few times a year, it's his favorite, and I keep my orders simple enough that they can't really screw it up, so I don't complain. On another occasion we went to Carraba's (sp?) with a group of 12. We called that morning to give them a head's up and we were told that a table would be waiting for us at 7:30. Nope. We weren't seated until 8:40... I think. I can't remember the exact amount of time that passed, but it was far to long for shitty food. No apologies. No gratis. Nada. The bar was packed so we ended up standing outside chatting the whole time. We couldn't even squeeze in to get a drink. The funny part was, I was the only one bitching. No one else batted an eyelash. I was hostile and they were just like, "Eh... yeah. We usually have to wait." Are there other options available? For Italian, yes, and better than you can get at a chain... but for steaks, not really. Not at a reasonable price anyway. I guess I don't really have a point. People that frequent these places seem to know that they're gonna have to wait and they're prepared for it.

Put me down for salmon too. I like it raw or smoked, but I can't handle it if it's "cooked".

I got a Hamilton Beach for Christmas a few years ago. I love it because it's got a snap-on storage case that holds the beaters (two sets, plus a whisk) and the cord. To be honest with you, I've only used it about 4 times but the storage case makes it a keeper in my house. Oh, I just looked at it and it has a sticker on it that claims to have received the "4 Forks Award" from epicurious.com. "#1 Mixer" it proclaims proudly. Not bad.

This show cracks me up. My husband and I like to provide our own soundtrack by doing sad impressions of 70's porn music.

Mmmm... Yes, please!!

How funny. My husband and I were just having this same conversation. The last salad bar that I encountered was at a place called The Amish Door and that was deep in... you guessed it... Ohio's Amish Country. It was really very good but I'm not gonna drive 60 miles into horse-and-buggy territory for a salad bar. The local groceries don't seem to have them either. I mean, every restaurant has jumped on the "big salad" bandwagon, but sometimes I want my own signature blend, ya know? Maybe I want a big spoonful of Jello with my salad. No one I know is offering a "Big Salad & Jello" combo. Seriously... I'd give my right arm for a Souplantation right about now.

Wow... those home fries look killer! Are they coated with something?

Eh. Not a whole lot. The jalapeno flavoring has a pretty unsavory aftertaste that seems to linger for ever. Ick. Aside from salsa fresca, I'd have to say that my favorite hot snack would be a nice jar of homemade hot peppers and cauliflower from someone's garden. The hot mixes in the stores just can't compare... but I'll keep testing them, just in case.

Ha! Sounds good. I'm always looking for an excuse to go to Luigi's. Hell with it... let's just get our own show!

Slim Jim's. Dirty, dirty Slim Jim's.

Chris, you're livin' the dream man. Way to go! Keep me in mind if you roll through the Akron/Cleveland area. I don't have a crew or equipment like rockandroller, but I am pregnant and therefor always hungry AND a designated driver.

My in-laws are coming in from Texas that weekend. As much as I'd like to skip out of them, I have a feeling I'd get in trouble. Please take lots of pictures!!

My 2 cents... Dairy Queen Mr. Misty's are much more potent and "artificial" tasting. Not that that's a bad thing... blue raspberry flavoring has it's place in my book. Sonic's are a little looser in texture and have a nice clean flavor. Yum.

Ok... this may be the pregnancy hormones talking, but I was watching Take Home Chef on TLC yesterday, and it was kind of hot. Ok, so Curtis Stone looks a little like a very young C.C. Deville, but just go with it for a minute people! Picture it... you're shopping at Whole Paycheck, minding your own business, when all of a sudden a hot Australian guy approaches you and offers to take you home and make you dinner. Sigh. I've only see two episodes but in each one the women look like they're constantly on the verge of a giggle-fit due to the relentless flirting of Curtis. Love it. All it needs is bad 70's porn music and we're good to go.