jhlurie

Well that's actually mint oil then, right? Less extra sugar.

Coke with Mint? Ick. I could go for Coke with Orange or Coke with Chocolate, though, ← That's because you've actually tried those. I've been to a Johnny Rocket's with you, Perlow, I've seen it (for those not in the know, Johnny Rocket's has syrups they will mix into a standard soda on demand). Actually, on second thought, Rocket's has orange soda but not orange syrup. The syrups, as I recall, are cherry, chocolate, vanilla and lemon. I favor Orange soda with Cherry, Chocolate Coke, and Vanilla 7Up, personally. Most people wouldn't think those things would work, but... well... they do.

I just spotted Coke with Lime (the new non-Diet version) it at Target, in a relatively expensive single serving bottle, but I stupidly assumed my local supermarkets might have it as well and so didn't buy it at the time. Has anyone tried it yet? Does it live up to the Diet version--which in my opinion is pretty much the ONLY Coke product extension to work in the past decade or so?

Michael, It IS always a good assumption that in the American market, as the years pass, the number of "ethnic" restaurants will increase. I'd go a step further and assume that perhaps the trend will continue of these immigrants heading not for the Northeast anymore, but instead to the Southwest and West. We do need some definitions here though, and they may be impossible to provide. What level of ubiquitousness really equals "mainstream" for example? Does that mean that it will appear in lots of recipe books that year? Or have the hot new opening in Manhattan? Be in the 20 largest cities? Or will there be at least one in every podunk mall food court?

Yes, but it will become a mainsteam item, obviously! I imagine: Ben & Jerry's Broco-Choco Hagen-Daaz Fudge Lima Swirl Breyer's Vanilla Corn etc. Or not.

VEAL parm(esan(o))! The classics never die. Take that, baby cow!

I see Fennel Seed being THE spice of 2009! Actually I'm totally making that up. Okay, let's try again. -Splenda will OFFICIALLY be in everything. -Soybeans will be a bit passe. -Someone will put vegetables in Ice Cream and sell it commercially. -Rocco will NOT have a career rebound. -Nabisco will make one too many product spinoffs and the weight of the useless Oreo and Chips Ahoy variants will buckle supermarket shelves. -Martha Stewart will be the next Martha Stewart

Darnit, Kris. You can't go through life having had nothing from Louisiana but blackened chicken!

Heh. Well, technically there's: 1-way: chili 2-way: spaghetti & chili 3-way: spaghetti, chili & cheese 4-way: spaghetti, chili, onions OR beans & cheese 5-way: spaghetti, chili, beans, onions & cheese I suppose because of Adkins, these days you might be able to come up with some convincing story to get a higher number minus the spaghetti. Maybe.

Cincinnati, Ohio should provide a few culinary assignments for you, assuming you can psyche yourself up for Cincy-style Chili.

Just look for the ugliest gas station/mini-mart combo you can imagine, down the street from the hospital and there you are at Oklahoma Joe's! EDIT - Actually... here's a picture: Stroud's is very good, although there's usually a wait. I've only been to the Oak Ridge Manor location, but there's also one downtown. The best items there are probably the fresh-killed fried chicken, the fried pork chops, and the fried catfish. Actually, well... anything they fry. EDIT AGAIN - Actually here's a photo of that too... Stroud's Oak Ridge Manor, I mean.

This is just a reminder that we also have a lovely Middle East & Africa board, which we hope this Foodblog draws you to further explore. Sneaky, aren't we?

This last part is a valuable statement in this debate. Life puts us all in different places, where what "satisfies us" can differ quite a lot. It's not, nor should it ever be, a value judgement that someone prepared to accept less is "inferior", it's just a case where their priorities are different. This is complicated, of course, by the fact that "less" and "more" are completely subjective. But even if things are subjective, does anyone seriously think that Tater Tots are gourmet food? Of course not. What some think is that its a particular item where satisfaction comes easy for them. There's no shame in that--no stigma--but also there's no barrier placed against that same person also having good judgement about food which isn't a compromise. An affection for one isn't a barrier against the other. People have economic barriers. They have time constraints. They have parents--of which their own reactions to food can either mesh with or be a reaction against. And last, but not least, people have quirks--little pockets of experience which might emotionally attach them to something specific like Tater Tots, despite having eaten in the finest restaurants in the world, or at the other extreme might feed a strong need to never compromise and want the best regardless of effort. It's a big world, and both kinds of people can thrive, heck they can even eat at the same restaurants, share SOME of the same recipes, and inhabit the same webspace.

Let's clear a few things up right away though... I tend to sympathize with the side of the argument which favors diversity, even up to and including the consumption of outright "junk", but I can't in good conscience, as either a poster OR as a moderator, pigeonhole and chalk one extreme of this debate up to "snobbery", any more than the other side would be fairly portrayed as ignorance. I can understand the impulse to look at a bag of Ore-Ida frozen french fries and shudder. Similarly, I can understand Jason's curious life-long obsession with Tater Tots. Those impulses come from different places--some of which are available to all of us and some of which settle on some of us to the exclusion of the other. The very NOTION of comfort food means different things to different people. Some people tuck themselves up with a half gallon of the crappiest ice cream available, and some bake brownies from scratch. Some people take the "comfort" aspect literally and just want to feel like they are indulging with as little effort as possible, while others find comfort in the routine of creating something. We're not going to settle this issue here, because it's unsettleable. We can discuss what it means to subscribe to each approach, we can compare and contrast, we can delve a bit more into the psychology of each, but there isn't going to be a consensus. Let it be our goal that this inevitable result is not going to divide us in other ways, and lets just discuss the pros and cons of each approach rationally.

Good lord that's a lot of kebabs. What's the daily foot traffic in this place, do you know?

1.) Are we sure you are using a comparable cut of meat? For one thing, I know that a lot of Chinese restaurants make a point of actually using non-Prime meat (Choice, occasionally Select) and I recall hearing at some point that this is for more than the reason that it's cheaper. 2.) Is there some kind of tenderizing going on?

Anyone recall the brand sold on the lower level of Yankee Stadium? Whatever those are, they rock.

Egad. Where to start with this? Okay, one thing which makes this tougher, Rosie, is that I don't think Mexican cuisine can really accurately be portrayed as a single cuisine. It's a pretty big, pretty food-diverse country.

I like the whole "Ice Breakers" line of gums and mints, but this one is even a bit better. They're quite strong--much more sour than I'd normally think a sugar free product could achieve. And they are most definitely mints, as opposed to true sucking-candy-like "sours".

A new Chicken Select promotion is being discussed here. This current thread, however, would probably be a better place to discuss actual reactions to the product itself, as opposed to the details of the current offer.

I actually love McCanns, but I suppose the modern age has spoiled me for a breakfast which takes a half hour commitment and just winds up looking er... like that.

BCC ROCKS, in fact. Actually, the whole genre of botanical flavored colas is a trend I tend to like. Cola should include more than just sugar, although if it HAS sugar it should be SUGAR and not icky icky Corn Syrup.

These stocking problems are ridiculous (how does the soda biz STAY in business with inconsistent practices like this?). Most of my local stores seem to have been "Fountain Classic Free" since the first big delivery of them in late December.

The place arguably does ideally need at least one more wait-person on duty during the holidays and weekends. The problem for Cecil is probably that during the rest of the year (especially the dead middle of the week) he doesn't get enough business to warrant it. The solution is obvious--we need to make sure he has more business year 'round.

Karashi has a high percentage of pure mustard seed in it, right? As opposed to being doctored with stuff like most mustard.