Jason Perlow

I think that Manischewitz would do best by perhaps re-branding some of their stuff for sale during the non-holidays, and perhaps updating their box artwork to look more modern to attract a younger demographic. Their logo still looks totally early 1960's, and if I may quote Jackie Mason -- "Too Jewish". I still buy a lot of Manishewitz stuff during the holidays, especially Passover. Their Passover junk food, like their potato stix, absolutely rocks. "Everything" Tam Tams... was a better cracker ever invented? I say no.

There's a place that was at Taste of the Nation a few months back -- its called The Energy Bar and its in Montclair. http://www.kheperfoods.com/energybar.html Its not high end though, its primarily wraps and salads. http://www.kheperfoods.com/Menu.doc

Tikiroom is a great site, I joined it recently myself. Its run by this software designer guy who did interface work on the ReplayTV, if any of you guys remember what that was. It's the veritable eGullet of Tikis stuff.

Ok, I'll take that under advisement.

There was more than one Chan's Dragon Inn?

I haven't been to Lee's yet (but planning to go shortly) but I've heard good things about it. The new Lee's location BTW is in Lyndhurst on Stuyvesant Ave, the Clifton location closed due to a fire in 2003. 768 Stuyvesant Ave Lyndhurst, NJ 07071-3037 View Map (201) 939-3777

A bunch of us guys had some guy food in Chicago recently: http://offthebroiler.wordpress.com/2006/07...g-fogo-de-chao/ All this place needed was a firing range, a cigar menu, and a couple of go-go girls and we would have been set.

That browning doesnt come from cooking it longer. It's from the use of a type of dark soy sauce that comes from Hong Kong. I'm not sure what specific brand is used but it imparts a characteristic flavor that is different from the fried rice you might get at other Chinese places where they will use something like a commercial Kikkoman. I buy various brands of dark soy from the Chinese supermarkets but the flavor is not the same as what is used at these kinds of places. It might also have to do with the professionally-made roast pork that they have that flavors the dish as well.

MJP, at these places, its not just about the food (although the food is different than most standard American-Chinese places -- its "retro" American-Chinese cuisine.) its about the experience and the atmosphere. I can't say I like to have this kind of Chinese food all the time, but its enjoyable nevertheless.

CustardThing! Cafe 100 N Washington Ave, Bergenfield, NJ (201) 439-1818 Summer nights are all about the ice cream, and I like to keep a number of different parlors in my rotation. One that I like to go to a lot, and not just because it’s only a few minutes away from where I live, is CustardThing! in Bergenfield. CustardThing, like many other modern-style ice cream places is big on “mix-ins” like you would find at Maggie Moo’s, Cold Stone Creamery, or the long gone Steve’s. But the ‘Thing has a twist — its got a unique method of doing the mix-ins. Instead of having scoop monkeys throw your ice cream onto a cold slab and then fold in your nuts, candy, or wet toppings manually, they take a frozen block of either chocolate or vanilla custard and insert it into the mixing cup of this diabolical-looking machine that looks like a cross between a concrete mixer and a drill press, which then shreds the ice cream and toppings into peices, creating a smooth, creamy, concrete mixture of ice cream and topping flavor. Sort of like a Dairy Queen Blizzard, but thicker and able to stand up to gravity, like Carvel soft-serve. The evil custard press.

And a nice one, too! Gotta love the music- that's a lounge version of Elvis' "Are You Lonesome Tonight", no? Perfect... ← Yeah, they have a soundtrack playing in the background with various Hawaiian-ized versions of old favorites from movies ("Somewhere over the Rainbow" etc.) and popular culture. I wonder if its an 8-track or its on CD or MP3.

Tongo: Don't miss the video. Definite proof of hawaiian shirtage.

Chan’s Dragon Inn 630 Broad Ave, Ridgefield, NJ (201) 943-1276 I’d like to think that since getting married 11 years ago, and then later on forming eGullet, my tastes in Asian cuisine and particularly Chinese food have matured. I love great regional Chinese food, particularly real Sichuan, Hunan and Shanghainese food when I can get it, and I’m a frequent customer of several the local Hong Kong-Style Dim Sum haunts in the area as well. Still, at the end of the day you sometimes want the Chinese food of your youth, that your parents and grandparents introduced you to. For me, its the sort of Chinese food that was (and still is) served at places like King Yum in Fresh Meadows, Queens (and long-gone venues like Trader Vic’s and Don The Beachcomber) a totally American style of Chinese food that never, ever existed in Asia and is served in such kitschy atmospheres, you’d think you’d died gone to to Tiki hell. Chan’s Dragon Inn is such a place. True to my own memories of King Yum while growing up in Queens, Chan’s is also totally bad-ass old-school Polynesian Chinese, and they’ve been proudly serving knock-you-flat-on-your-ass umbrella drinks and Egg Foo Young since 1965. Walking into this restaurant throws you right into a time warp, where life was simpler back then, as were tastes in food. People wanted to escape a bit in their dining experience, even if it was in a totally faux atmosphere, and the food really wasn’t truly Polynesian. It doesn’t matter — I’m a complete sucker for this type of place. To fully appreciate it, you really need to be immersed in the atmosphere itself Click Here For Video If you’re not old enough to remember what Master Charge, Carte Blanche and BankAmericard is, you’re likely going to be somewhat traumatized by what lies inside. Abandon all hope, ye who orders from this drink menu. You might not be able to find your way back home afterwards. That drink is most definitely on fire. Wonton soup, in a classic American-Chinese preparation with peices of bright red roast pork in it.. Shrimp with Lobster Sauce and Roast Pork Fried Rice. This and Egg Foo Young (below) are the benchmark dishes of any Amercian-Chinese restaurant. Chan’s versions are excellent and retro-tastic. Egg Roll — with both pork and shrimp in it, fried to golden brown perfection.

Yes, the "Buying way too much crap at <blank> and then it went bad" disease is also something which I am sad to say I am afflicted with as well. All too often I will buy produce or a food item at the supermarket, forget to eat it or use it for <insert number of days, weeks, months> and then I'll discover it rotting in the fridge or in the fruit/veg basket.

It took me a few days, but its all here: Podcast #25: Alinea Tour Wrapup and Commentary (Off The Broiler) The Podcast itself is a wrap-up discussion with Grant Achatz after the meal. I've also included links to "Bonus Tracks" which is the actual blow-by blow commentary on the meal itself as it happened. There's a lot of background noise in many parts, but if you're hardcore enough to listen to four 30-minute blocks of audio, its all there and its completely audible. I've pulled out lots of silence and unnecessary stuff in them (banter with other diners, etc) but for the most part its unedited commentary.

After last week's dogs, I don't think I'm gonna be doing any at least for the remainder of the week.

Among the other things I cooked over the 4th of July long weekend, I was tasked with making potato salad for our picnic outing. Well, I went out and bought a 5lb bag of red potatoes, and cooked the whole bag, because I was concerned that we "wouldn't have enough" because friends were coming over to eat with us this week. Well, after a picnic and a cookout yesterday, with friends coming over twice, we -still- got at least 2lbs of potato salad left. I'll probably eat at least 1lb over the next few days, but I'm sure a good amount will go to waste. Rachel is sick of it. Anyone else have this sickness?

The last time I went to the original Gino's East was probably 15 years ago, and I remember it being very, very good. But Ronnie told me that it had seen better days (as well as Uno and Due) and given our mission to hit pizza and dogs in one night, the original Malnati's in Lincolnwood seemed to be a strategic place to start.

Some new Seafood Gourmet shots: Mussels in Garlic Cream sauce special Crab Cakes Halibut / Shrimp / Scallop special w/fried rice South African Lobster Tails w/Shrimp over Capellini Pasta in fresh tomato sauce.

Today, I made an improvised tomato-water "Mary" using the liquid leeched off from my making of a batch of fresh tomato salsa for my tostones I made for my BBQ this evening. The salt I added to the salsa rendered a lot of seasoned tomato water (which had chiles, garlic, onions, black pepper, lime juice) in it, which I mixed with crushed ice and a hit of Hendrick's cucumber-flavored gin. I'm not sure what the hell to call it but it was freaking awesome. Beat any bloody mary I've ever had, for the most part. I highly reccomend mixing up a batch of salsa with this method. You get the salsa, and then a nice reward as a bonus. We also made some Pina Coladas, the -proper- way in our Vita-Mix, using fresh pineapple, canned pineapple juice, coconut milk, and Brugal Anejo rum. Those really hit the spot.

Visual comparison: U Lucky Dawg (Fluky's) J's Beef Chicago Dog

In my opinion, J's dog stacks up quite nicely to traditional Vienna Beef places like U Lucky Dawg (Fluky's) http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=89912 I also liked his Italian Beef better than the one I had at Buona Beef.

The last stop on our quest was U Lucky Dawg, which was formerly known as Fluky's, another well known Chicago Dog place. Ronnie wanted me to experience a classic Vienna Beef dog, as Superdawg is a bit of an anomaly because it uses a different type of hot dog (I've been told they are Sinai 48 kosher dogs) and different condiments. Classic Chicago hot dog mise-en-place. Mustard, neon green relish, onions, kosher pickle spear, celery salt, tomato, and sport peppers. A classic Vienna Beef wiener is boiled and the buns (poppyseed) are kept in a steam tray to keep warm. A prime example of Chicago hot dog presentation. If you're not here to watch a Cubs or White Sox game, you can always listen to some classic tunes while having your dog. Pretty much all Chicago dogs are served on Mary Ann bakery poppyseed buns. Multi-billion dollar corporations could learn a thing or two from the work ethic at U Lucky Dawg. Ronnie enjoys his Lucky Dawg.

The narration: I drove in during the evening from the Western suburbs, in two hours of traffic, in order to meet Ronnie in Lincolnwood. Chicago is a megalopolis -- unlike many other cities where you see the reverse type of traffic patterns, many people live within the city limits and commute to the 'burbs where all the office parks are. No amount of traffic will deter me from eating the best pizza in the city. I arrive at my destination, the original Malnati's location in the North Chicago neighborhood of Lincolnwood. Malnati's pretty much has the ultimate sports bar scene, with memorabilia and relics from Chicago's athletic heroes plastered all over the place. Frozen Malnati's pies are made on location to the same specs as the regular pies. Each location is responsible for making their own frozen pies. As I understand, Lou's makes pretty decent Italian ices as well. Jumbo-sized soft drink glasses. As they should be. Note Refrigerator Perry's football jersey in the background. The "Lou's" is a veggie combination that includes spinach and fresh sliced Roma tomatoes. Unlike thin crust pizza Chicago pies pretty much need to be eaten with a fork and knife, or at least start out that way. After two slices apeice at Malnati's (the two pizza pies went into the office to feed my co-workers the next day) we headed to Superdawg. Superdawg is a traditional drive-in that dates back to the 1930's. The current store is 1960's architecture and design, complete with car hops and dancing hot dogs. It's fascinating to watch these guys work and pack each little red box with such speed and precision. The Superdawg Sarcophagus. Everything is nicely packed and just where it should be. Removing the pickle reveals Superdawg, resting peacefully. Superdawg in all his glory. Don't forget the nice thick chocolate shakes.

I'm pretty much opposed to the idea of ridiculously spicy ice cream and frozen desserts. The whole point of having a frozen dessert after a spicy meal is to cool down the palate, in my opinion. I think that certain types of ice cream can benefit from slight spicing, such as a really dark chocolate with cinnamon, or a rich vanilla, perhaps with a little bit of habanero or cayenne dust to add that "Mexican" flavor, but totally over the top spicing like a Dave's Insanity flavor just seems disgusting and pointless.