Jason Perlow

Maybe in France, but in the U.S., they were served at the 1904 World's Fair. Nathan's opened its hot dog stand in Coney Island in 1916. ← And actually, there were other hot dog stands that preceded Nathans by at least 40 years -- Nathan Handwerker himself worked at one before he started his restaurant. According to This site and This site Charles Feltman invented it in the late 1860's-early 70's, and opened Feltman's restaurant, where Nathan learned the trade and later opened Nathan's.

The Odd-Job: Grilled Marinated Korean Bulgogi Beef with Scallions and Spicy Napa Cabbage Kimchi in a wrap. (I stole it from Sara Moulton) Zorba the Greek: Sliced Leg of Lamb with Tzadziki Sauce, with fried zucchini and Skorthalia in a Pita, with lettuce, tomato, bibb lettuce, red onion, and crumbled Feta. The English Bastard: Rare Roast Beef, Melted Sharp White Cheddar Cheese, Spicy Horseradish/English Mustard Mayo, Raw Onion and Chutney on Pumpernickel. Le Saigon: Grilled Vietnamese-marinated Pork Loin, Peanut-Hoisin Sauce (Nuoc Leo), Romaine Lettuce, Fried Shallots, and Pickled Vegetable Salad on toasted French Bread. Also, Le Saigon Beef Flank Steak, Le Saigon Chicken.

I would make an artisanal domestic Rhum Agricole, on a Louisiana sugar plantation. Using copper stills. For total rum geeks.

That's fighting words, Jack.

Its kind of a tie between the Schmiero and the Jersey Breakfast.

Come on, I've only been there three times so far.

Some new AHD photos: Just out of the fryer Who are you looking at? And this is how hand cut fries are made. The BLT dog and the Hawaii-Five-O. Hawaii-Five-O closeup -- be sure to order some of the home made Chipotle Sambal sauce with this one.

I know this sounds wacky, but artisinally-made kimchi as well as Korean dumplings are being made in the deli / coffee shop adjoining the Motor Vehicle Commission. A Mr. Jun, along with his wife, who own the coffee shop, has quietly been making all sorts of no-additives or preservatives kimchi, both fresh and long-fermented, for a number of years, in the basement of his coffee shop. His customers apparently come from far and wide, entirely by word of mouth, including Koreans who visit the US and take his product home back to Korea. Mr Jun was an agricultural engineer in his homeland, and is a nut about purity and quality. He even makes his own soy sauce and fermented soybean pastes (Gochujang and Saemjang). If you've been buying your kimchi from local Korean markets, and you think that stuff is good, you owe it to yourself to give this stuff a try. He's got other kinds of things he makes there, so you need to inquire within.

All politics aside, Kim Jong Il and Winston Churchill. Just for the extremes of conversation and foodie bent, although arguably they have similar taste, so perhaps Elvis Presley instead of the Glorious Leader. But I'd probably go back in time to eat with The King, like at the Fontainebleu Hotel Miami Beach in 1965 or so, as opposed to picking a modern setting. Or maybe do a personalized binge eating tour of his favorite spots in Memphis.

I see that LCBO has Flor de Cana, Cruzan Estate and some limited Jamaican bottlings, in addition to El Dorado. All very good rums.

Well, then go uptown!

I'd put myself in Qing's hands and let him order for you. Definitely Dan Dan noodles, Definitely Ma Po Dofu.

Stickeys, without question.

In Ontario, you should have access to the full range of Havana Club rums, which are embargoed for US consumption as they are Cuban. Both Anejo Reserva and Anejo 7 Anos are excellent drinking rums, although I prefer the reserva. There are also special bottlings of Havana Club you might also have access to.

You can make Tom Yum soup with noodles. Its a variation found pretty frequently in Bangkok, actually. Tom Yum with Noodles http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/p/m/10a15a/

I know half of them are deceased, but since this is imaginary .... .... The Two Fat Ladies! SB (I'd watch!) ← I dont think either of them would put up with his crap. The one that smokes would have kicked him in the head and run over him with her motorcycle, while the other one would beat him over the head with a large rutabega or something. They were nice ladies on the show, but somehow I get the feeling that they kicked some serious ass in their younger days.

Well, if it's "E-V-O-O" or Chef Boy-ar-dee, we'll know the fix is in!The Ray/Lee vs. Dispirito/Ramsay challenge sounds like mighty compelling TV. The suspense would be whether Ramsay de-bones the other three or himself first. ← Yeah, I'm guessing the first thing he'd do is grab the Masamune and commit hari-Kiri. Not before berating his sous chefs and foaming at the mouth, cursing like a sailor and turning bright red like a freshly steamed Normandy lobster, of course. Who would you pair with Ramsay to torture? Rocco? Sandra? Rachael?

My guess for the secret ingredient? Cheez Whiz. ← I dunno, I think Flay could probably make a pretty mean cheesesteak.

I would like to see a tag team of Rachel Ray and Sandra Lee versus Thomas Keller and Ferran Adria. Or better yet, throw Rocco and Gordon Ramsay into the mix and do a remake of Enter the Dragon, chef style. The losers get beheaded by the Chairman using a 800-year-old Masamune sword, and have their heads displayed on a pike at the nearest Hibachi chain restaurant.

Please remain on topic, people. I've had to remove a number of off-topic posts. This is not a general dating issues site. If you guys can't keep this food related we're going to be putting this one to sleep shortly. Thanks.

I was kind of hoping that Rachel Ray was the secret ingredient.

I would like to remind everyone in this thread to please consider being a bit more sensitive to the practices of other cultures and to maintain civility. This is an international web site, people. I've had to pull a few posts because things started to get a bit nasty. Keep in mind this is a hot button topic, so what little thing that drives you crazy and is a "deal breaker" could in fact be a personality trait or mannerism of someone reading this thread. I'm already a bit disgusted and personally offended by some of the things I am reading here.

So I've tried the Diet Coke Black Cherry Vanilla to compare with with the regular version -- and I like it better. I think that the vanilla/black cherry combo on the regular tends to make an already sweet drink sweeter, whereas on a diet, it smooths out the diet aspects and make it taste more like a regular soft drink. Its interesting how with the new flavors, Coke is still staying with the tried-and-true Nutrasweet/Ace K combo for their sweetner system. While I think Splenda improves certain products, I have to say that compared with Coke Zero, which is Nutrasweet/Ace K based, Diet Coke with Splenda is underwhelming. The cola element in Diet Coke Black Cherry Vanilla tastes more like Coke Zero than Diet Coke's to me, which is a good thing.

I tried the regular Black Cherry Vanilla Coke today -- its not bad, but I'm waiting to try the Diet version next before I completely pass judgement. Generally speaking I feel that Coca Cola does a better job with their Diet flavors then their regular ones, at least in the last 3 years or so.

Squirt in the US *used* to be grapefruit soda IIRC. It even had bits of pulp in it. It's now in the Cadbury-Schweppes owned Dr. Pepper/7-Up stable of brands that are, at least on the East Coast, rather poorly distributed- I don't see it (or many of their other brands) in New Jersey. The Mexican Squirt I can get at local NJ bodegas in Bergenfield and Englewood no problem. I think it might be a grapefruit flavor or some combination with lemon and lime.