jhlurie

Dude, it freakin smells like Elizabeth. Which part of Elizabeth? {rimshot} Try the fish. I'm here till next Tuesday!

I wonder if the business fall-off has affected the ingredients they can afford? That makes a certain kind of distrssful sense.

I'm pretty sure I've seen Masterchoice in A&P as well. But I know that America's Choice is the main house brand. Which of course makes no sense in Canada, so maybe the "lower" level house brand is called something else. "North America's Choice" maybe? Ah... click here. This explains some of it, although not the details of the Canadian market labeling. BTW: re: Whole Foods - here's the same for them (clickity). Target's Food brand is a bit harder to pin, 'cause they never refer to it on their website.

Do tell. There can NEVER be too much info on Peeps.

A&P's house brand is called "America's Choice", so for a moment I thought you were referring to that. "America's Choice" is spotty--some excellent items (especially in dry goods) and a lot of crap. Whole Foods' private label is very impressive. It's usually called "365" or if certified properly "365 Organic", although I've also seen items labeled as "Whole Foods" brand. Which is kind of confusing when you've got "365", "365 Organic" and "Whole Foods" EVOO sitting next to each other on the shelf. And the next aisle over? "365", "365 Organic", "Whole Foods" brand and "Whole Kids Organic" brand Peanut butter. Target's private label(s) have some surprisingly tolerable items. This (click here) is--for some bizarre reason--only about Private labeling of frozen pizzas, but it gives a lot of private label names for various chains.

Yeah, Kansas City, St. Louis, Memphis and some good part of Texas seem like another trip--all somewhat connectable too. Of course, those places have food traditions other than BBQ as well, so that future trip can be varied if you want.

This dish was awesome; I was surprised at the lack of enthusiasm people displayed for it. I personally consumed approximately half our table's ration. I was surprised to. I was frugal with taking it to leave enough for other people, but this dish is awesome. If I'd noticed a trend of people not taking it I would have grabbed more. In fairness to the restaurant, it has to be pointed out that the cut is INTENTIONAL. They believe that the fat of that cut is what gives it all that flavor. You don't eat the fat of course (although I can't speak for people in China--maybe they do), but the idea that Lean Pork is "good pork" is not their belief. I may have gotten lucky (especially since I didn't relish the idea of a fish eyeball floating in my soup), but I didn't see that many actual fish parts in my soup. I suppose its luck of the draw based on the serving. Again though, to try and put a "chinese" interpretation on things, I'll bet that they seek out those parts and its probably very "western" of us to be trying to avoid them. We'd probably accuse them of "dumbing down" the soup for the tourists if they yanked them out completely, on the other hand I suppose its a bit much to expect us to see us enthusiastically picking up the fish heads and sucking the brains out like they do. I've been trying to think on this a bit. Steven is right that, by nature, this is an item that might seem bland to us at any of a million different dim sum places. I'm kind of used to the ones at C46, so I've never really contemplated how they could be improved. You've made me think, although I haven't found an answer yet. Since these are supposed to be savory items, I doubt we are going to see them pop up anywhere with anything TOO spicy inside.

Okay, for the record, the Durian smelled nothing like fecal matter or unwashed socks or the NJ Turnpike, no matter how fun it is to describe it that way. Realistically, it smelled like a combination of rotting bananas and rotting papayas. I neither loved it nor hated it. I was somewhat easily amused by playing with the spikes on the outside, but that was my fun for the night instead of thinking up bad things it smelled like. Our local expert--a Vietnamese chef--said it was a bit under-ripe though, so the smell was probably weaker.

Depends on whether you are looking for cow or pig.

Is that supposed to invalidate this thread? Its just a joke.

We ate food. It was good. I had a beer. We stood outside and stared at the seedy motel next door. The End. (Sigh. There goes my imminent career as a food writer.)

The thing to be careful of with Penang is that there are several competing franchises with the exact same name which don't have the same people running it. Perhaps, discreetly ask in these locations if they are under the same ownership as the East Hanover and Edison versions of Penang. Please note that the website for the Penang franchise I eat at does NOT currently mention either Philadelphia or Princeton, although its certainly possible that they simply haven't updated the website. Or its a different Penang. That said, its certainly not a better suggestion than the Pig roast. Its just something to consider putting in the long-term queue.

I bumping this to mention that I re-visited Khan's for the first time in about seven or eight months, and its just as good as ever. Heck, its been there... like 30 years... so they've definitely got it right by now. The stuff they feed you even BEFORE the "all you can eat" stir fry is spectacular. The dumplings are the Shiu mai type, and as good as any I've ever had. The salad is basic lettuce, but prettily julienned and in an absolutely delicious vinegarette with crunch peanut fragments to give a textural contrast, and probably some horseradish in there, since there is a different kind of bite as well underneath the vinegar. The shrimp they give you at the head of the meal are very lovely, and the Hot & Sour soup is one of the best ones I've had. Oh... also unlimited amounts of ANY of this stuff (also: pretty good ice cream or sherbet for dessert). Really. When you get to the actual "stir fry" bar, things only get better. Aside from the phenomenal freshness of everything (volume is everything!), there are also items I've only seen at this particular "Mongolian" place. Rice noodles in addition to the wheat noodles you always see at these things. Cilantro--buckets full of really really fresh cilantro. Ginger. REAL fresh ginger and not just the ginger water. Good tofu--not half-assed stuff. Fresh hot peppers. Lemon water--which is actually as much lemon as water. As well as the "usual" stuff for a place like this--the various meats (chicken, beef, lamb, pork, shrimp), scallions, water chestnuts, baby corn, onions, tomatoes, pineapple, cabbage, and at least seven or eight others I'm not remembering. The sesame buns they bring during the meal--a bit tight for stuffing but certainly useable for this--are so good you will want to ask for more from the beginning of the meal, since they initially only bring you about 1 each. If you walk out of Khan's even only having eaten half the appetizers and a single bowl of the "BBQ", you are ahead of the game. If you double that, you are getting one of the best food deals in the area. I wish this topic was in the NJ forum, because I know many of our members are in Bergen county. Well, if you live in Bergen, drive your ass across the state line and go here already!

They could hire Bernie Mac and do "we put the Mac in Bernie Mac".

Well, its hardly Princeton, but there's always Penang--Malaysian cuisine. Two excellent New Jersey locations. Actually I've only been in the East Hanover one, but I've heard that the Edison one is good and that's certainly not outrageously far from ANY of us--its kind of smack dab in the middle, right?

It's a day later... still not lovin' it. {beat} nope. not now either. Sorry Ronald McDonald, you dumb old clown.

Maybe he chose a controversial shape, but to give Tony a little credit, at least he admitted he was leaving out Memphis (and I suppose St. Louis too ). I suppose one could argue for Korea if you stretched the definitions of BBQ to legnths which would insult the pit-masters. Me, I love individual items from each locale. For example, I couldn't IMAGINE life without Kansas City style burnt ends, but I can take or leave the pork-based BBQ from KC. I've got to hit Oklahoma Joes next time I'm in KC. I've had fine burnt ends elsewhere there though, although its been long enough that I'd have to call up my relatives there to dig for names. I'd have remembered a combo gas-station/BBQ joint, although I somehow think I may have seen it and driven past.

Isn't the honey just another way to put the sugar back in which you took out by making the "Southern" recipe? It's like a cornbread crutch! (Okay Stone, I'm just yanking your chain)

Wow. My new signature (at least at the time of writing this--I changed approximately a half hour before this article popped up) is coincidentally somewhat related to Mr. Davis' theme. Although it may be taking a different position on this important issue (I'm not really sure), its still a freaking huge coincidence. Just in case I change my sig, here's a somewhat stupid cartoon about drugs and food, although I guess its maybe more about drugs and cooking, and the point not all that clear no matter what.

As long as they leave my Splenda alone I'm fine.

Thanks to Google and this guy's site. EDIT - nope nix the soundclip I'd added here. Dead link.

Have these guys considered the negatives of naming a wine "Super White"? Kind of a public relations nightmare in the American deep south, I'd say.

It just means that the ad agency was feeding Charlie the usual drugs they slip into the catered food whenever corporate executives show up. Its the only logical explanation, since NOBODY could be that out of touch. Maybe young people will be break dancing or something like that in the commercial . Kids will be wearing hats backwards and baggy clothes. Brutha' will walk up to the counter and ask for some "flava". Wait. This would actually all be amusin'. I'm lovin' it.

Carp? He meant to say "belly button".

See, it's the fact that the fake word lovin' is oh so much more modern than the old fashioned real word loving. Because, you know, people born before 1985 didn't understand the concept of droping a letter and replacing it with an apostrophe. Also the concept of smiling is out of date. These days you are expected to grimace so that they understand that you appreciate the food. Grimace? Get it? If you are lovin' it and think its funny please don't smile.