Jaymes

I would have to agree with you there Maggie. The whole point of a fried egg sandwich is the runny yolk, it's the gravy/sauce. Lightly toasted bread, a little ketchup then eaten over the sink. ← The problem is very little actually stays in the sandwich. It's wonderful for something like eggs benedict, which is eaten with a knife and fork, but a sandwich is supposed to be picked up and eaten. ← It's all in the technique. Just like any sandwich (or wrap, or taco, or pita, or gyro, etc.) with a sauce, you hold it so that the 'sauce' side is up. Not only is it not true that "very little actually stays in the sandwich," I've gotten good enough at it so that often none escapes at all. And what does is yummily swabbed up with the last of the bread - you know, those little bits on the corners that usually have nothing. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it's the only reason to have a fried egg sandwich. Without it, you might just as well have a scrambled egg sandwich. Or a sliced hard-boiled egg sandwich. Or an egg salad sandwich. Just like Prawncrackers says, the runny yolk 'sauce' is the whole point of the fried egg sandwich. I'm not particularly interested without it.

This used to be my favorite sandwich as a kid. There's a knack to the 'fried egg' thing. You have to cook it enough so that there's still some liquid in the yellow, but not too much. Then you put a lot of mayo, salt & pepper on your bread. Lay the fried egg on one slice, then prick it just as you add the other piece of bread. You eat this whilst leaning over your plate so that any yellow that drips off gets caught on the plate and you can swoosh it up later. And frankly, a really fresh, cool and crunchy slice of iceberg lettuce somehow does blend well with the hot egg and mayo and bread. In fact, I still like that simple combo better than the more typical bacon, cheese, etc.

Another exception, as far as I'm concerned, are the "Salmon Bakes" held at various touristy areas throughout the state. Yes, they are really kitschy and touristy, and the sides are pretty awful, but the barbecued salmon and (especially) the deep-fried halibut can be absolutely dreamy. I kinda hate to recommend them because every time I do, somebody comes back and talks about what a tourist trap it is and how horrible the cole slaw and baked beans etc. are, but that's not why you go. You go for all-you-can-eat salmon and fluffy white pillows of deep-fried halibut. When we lived in Fairbanks, we took our family of five to the Salmon Bake at least once a week (they're only open during the summer tourist season). I tell you, two teen-aged boys can really get their (okay, my) money's worth of all-you-can-eat salmon and halibut. It's generally accepted that the best food in Alaska, by far, is at the Gustavus Inn at Glacier Bay, and although I've been to Glacier Bay several times, have not been lucky enough to stay at the Gustavus Inn. Something I plan to remedy as soon as I win the lottery.

So, here's a little bit about my background. For some three decades, my father owned and operated a cattle ranch in the Ozarks, a few hours south of Kansas City. He raised Black Angus and Whiteface beef cattle. It was something he absolutely loved and he did quite well at it. But then, about 15-20 or so years ago, he ran into trouble. Artificial additives like growth hormones, etc., hit the market. Although my dad couldn't exactly explain why - they were supposed to be safe - there was just something about them that he didn't like. He didn't want to give them to his cattle, so he didn't. But when he took his yearlings to auction, he found he couldn't compete with the ranchers that were bringing in fatter, heavier, better-developed cattle due to the artificial additives. He struggled to compete with them for a time, but finally had to give in. He simply couldn't earn a living at it any more. So he started feeding the additives. But he didn't want his own family eating them, and he always kept a couple of cattle aside for our use. But he was very uncomfortable selling something into the food chain that he wouldn't feed his own family, so after about three or four years of that, he just completely gave up. He said he was really kind of old and tired anyway, and it was probably time to retire. He sold his herd - except for a few of his favorites that wandered around the back 40 until it was time to go to that great pasture in the sky. I tell you this so that you understand I am basically on your side. As I said, you champion a worthy and important cause. It was simply your tone and manner in how you presented it that I found upsetting.

Thank you for the explanation. I'll admit I did find your initial tone condescending, arrogant and offensive. And disrespectful and perhaps even ignorant of the history of these people and their restaurants. As I read your post, I just pictured myself sitting at the table at one of those 'joints' chatting with one of the legendary, and elderly, pitmasters, something that I've often done. I can't help but imagine how it was for them when they were young, thinking about how badly they must have wanted their own businesses, where nobody could dictate to them, give them orders, fire them on a whim. So they started out, some of them in pushcarts, or in shacks out behind churches or other businesses, and slowly built up to where they now have earned a good living for themselves and their families, and a great deal of respect, even fame and adulation in the bargain. They took tough cuts of meat that the wealthy eschewed. They built their businesses in the "wrong" side of town, catering to a poorer clientele, often working classes that grabbed some 'cue on the run and got back to doing some sort of difficult, back-breaking, unpleasant, thankless job - a clientele that hardly had time to worry about "sustainable beef" because they were too busy worrying about how to "sustain" themselves. And to imagine these pitmasters now, taking a break after a lifetime on their feet, or bending over a hot fire, sitting in their restaurants with their aging newspaper clippings clinging to the smoke-stained walls, and you come in and tell them some prettied-up version of: "We've given you a pass for too long..." "We don't know why we 'accept' it from you when we won't 'accept' it from other restaurants..." and "you serve 'something I would never serve myself'" is, to me anyway, offensive to the max. You do champion a worthy cause, of course. So if this discourse has influenced the way you present it, it will turn out to be beneficial for everyone.

My curiosity is piqued. Can you generalize about the differences among the 4 and explain why NewMexMex is your favorite? ← Yep. But that'll have to wait for another day. It's late and I'm kinda tired and I have two more states to go... Apronless - will you be checking in from time to time as you travel? If so, I'll finish up tomorrow.

I realize it's a little late for you and your party to do much research on the tribal lands of the various Native American groups through which you'll be traveling, but you're really passing closely by some remarkable sites. As far as the food goes, be sure to try some fry bread, and the famous Navajo taco. The first, just west of Albuquerque and south of I-40, is Acoma - Sky City. Zuni Pueblo is directly south of Gallup. And north of I-40 at Window Rock AZ is the tribal headquarters of the Navajo Nation and the Navajo National Museum. You're leaving in the morning, and I don't really have time to go into the pros and cons of each of these places, but I would suggest you select one of them for a quick visit. I also don't know anything at all about your traveling group, so should point out that reaching each of these destinations involves a pretty boring drive of about a half-hour or so from I-40. If you're with young adults, they'll be like totally like OMG like awesomely totally bored. And they might not like it much better after they get there. These places are not Disney-esque, prettied-up attractions. They are dusty, dirty, impoverished communities. But they are a remarkable part of the history of our nation, and are what makes the southwest special. I suppose that if I had to recommend one, it'd be Zuni. It's a quick jaunt south. Stop at the visitor's center. It's on the main drag. There's a small fee to get a guide to see the interior of the mission. It's one of the most special places I have ever been. In the town of Zuni, there's also a bakery where the folks bake bread and pies in a traditional old clay horno. Every time I go, I get some bread and delicious apple pie to take with me. Here's a pictorial essay that somebody did after their visit to Zuni: Visiting Zuni NM Farther west into Arizona is the Hubbell Trading Post, the nation's oldest continuously-operating trading post. It's a good place to stop for a soft drink and a look around. Of particular note are the large spools of brightly-colored velvet and other rich fabrics that the Native Americans use to make their colorful outfits.

Interrupting the travelogue for a quick moment to talk about the food. Not sure where y'all are from, and don't know how much traveling you've done, but you're taking a culinary tour of what we in the US all call "Mexican food." I've lived in every single state that borders Mexico, and spent a great deal of time in Mexico itself. If you're traveling with native Texans, they'll probably bitch about the "Mexican food" that you find along the way. At least my family of native Texans always do. TexMex is quite different from NewMexMex, which is also different from ArizonaMex and CaliMex. Of them all, New Mexican "Mexican food" is by far my favorite. I know I'm making assumptions here about your traveling companions but if they start to complain, you might remind them to keep an open palate and learn about the differences. Of course, easy to say. And I should add that this approach never worked with my family.

Once you reach Albuquerque and turn west, you'll be following pretty much along the route of the old Route 66. Don't know how old your fellow travelers are, but if any of them are "of an age," they'll remember it well. When I'm on road trips, I like to play CDs that have some connection to the region. I know it's getting close to your departure time, but if you can manage it, get a copy of that old theme song about getting your kicks on Route 66 to pop into the CD player. Maybe your mom could run out this afternoon and pick up one. If you want to get a feel for what it must have been like, when you travel through Albuquerque, get off of the interstate and take old 66. It's well-marked, and a real time warp. Sort of sad in a way to see all those kitschy old motels that in their heyday were the bees knees, but that now sit in various stages of neglect and disrepair. Everybody hurries right through Gallup. Everybody but me. Here again, I get off of the interstate east of town and take old 66 through. There's a historic hotel here, the El Rancho where I always stop for the night. They've got a wonderful dining room, where I get bowls of green chile, and soak in the ambiance. And I like poking around in some of the many pawnshops and Indian souvenir stores for turquoise and silver. There are quite a few good places to eat in Gallup. Here's a list of restaurants, with reviews. Restaurants in Gallup. I like all of the ones mentioned, but I've got a strong emotional attachment to Earl's. Now officially and more grandly renamed "Earl's Restaurant," in the old days, it was Earl's Truck Stop - or as everybody in town called it, the 'tuk sop.' Gallup is kind of the unofficial capital of the western US Indian universe and each August, it's the site of the Inter-tribal Indian Ceremonial celebration. I know it's a nothing little dusty town, but I love it. Although admittedly, I don't know exactly why. I do think, though, that it has something to do with the elderly Native American couples that shuffle gracefully along holding hands, the silver streaks in their coal black hair matching the turquoise-flecked silver in their belts and bracelets.

Now up the interstate to Albuquerque. There's not a lot along that road. But if you've got a few extra hours, I'd consider a jog up 70 to White Sands National Monument. It'll take you about three hours - 45 minutes or so travel time each way and an hour to drive into the park far enough that all the vegetation disappears and all you see are blazing white gypsum sand - but it's a sight you'll never forget. When we lived there, my kids were small, and we'd take old flattened cardboard boxes for the kids to slide down the dunes. If you decide to try this, call ahead. Sometimes they close the park due to windstorms or an occasional missile shot at White Sands Range. If you do that, you can take 54 north out of Alamogordo, but it will cost you time, and there's not much else over there that's worth it with your schedule (otherwise, a stop in Ruidoso would be terrific) so I'd probably just head on back to I-25. Albuquerque is a terrific city to visit and I love it there. I'll point out here that I'm not one of those tres sophisticated folks that avoid all things "touristy." A tourist is, in fact, my very favorite thing to be. I mean, why not? I'm on vacation, seeing and doing things I've not done before, having a fabulous time. I do not avoid tourist attractions. After all, there's got to be a reason why half the planet has traveled untold hundreds and even thousands of miles to tromp through something. And I feel that way about Albuquerque's Old Town. It's lovely and picturesque and well worth a hour's wander. I wouldn't eat there, though. My love for touristy things definitely does not extend to restaurants. For New Mexican food at its best, go to Garcia's Mexican Kitchen. Again, here I always order the green chile and cheese enchiladas. Get them made with blue corn tortillas if they have them, and I like an egg fried over easy on top. And again like at La Posta, they're stacked in the traditional New Mexican manner. As an aside: now that you're in New Mexico, you'll notice every time you order Mexican food, you'll be asked that quintessential New Mexican question: "Red or green?" I love green the most, although in cold weather sometimes the homey heartiness of red is more appealing. If you can't decide between the two, say "Christmas" and you'll get a little of each. The number one tourist attraction in Albuquerque for my money, though, is the Sandia Peak Tramway. It doesn't take that long to go up and back and you really get a feel for the place. It's my 'do not miss' for Albuquerque. There's a restaurant up there, but the food is pretty average and kind of expensive. You can get a coffee or hot chocolate and sit out there on the deck and gaze westward for a few minutes, but you're probably better off to just head on back down the mountain. Next is Indian Country.

Coming through El Paso, you absolutely must stop at the H&H Car Wash. It's a legend in these parts and when you tell folks you've passed through El Paso, everybody asks if you stopped at H&H. They've got a small coffee shop there that serves delicious Mexican food. It's kind of a mixture of authentic Mexican, and Tex/Mex, and my personal favorite, NewMex/Mex. They have great breakfasts as well as lunches and they open at 7am. Next up the road is Las Cruces, and a place I absolutely adore and never can drive by without stopping: Old Mesilla, New Mexico Not sure how your timing will work out, but this historic pueblito, with its charming plaza of shops, restaurants and galleries, is utterly delightful. There are several restaurants there, but I love La Posta. Much of the reason why might be the atmosphere, but having lived in New Mexico for many years, I like the famous stacked enchiladas that they serve at La Posta. I always get the Green Chile Enchiladas (it's not on the menu - you have to ask for it) and despite the fact that I've been ordering them for some 35+ years, it never disappoints. If you're traveling with kids, they'll get a kick out of the fish tank of piranhas in the lobby. I try to spend the night at Mesilla so I can get in two meals there - lunch at La Posta, and dinner at the Double Eagle. Even if you don't have time for a stop and meal at the Double Eagle, you absolutely must tour this gorgeous and historic home. Don't worry about feeling uncomfortable wandering through - the staff is quite accustomed to sightseers, and they'll accompany you, pointing out items of particular note, and explaining the many legends, including all about the two young lovers that still haunt the place.

Heading west on I10, there's not much, but you really do zip right along. Lum's BBQ & Deli is pretty good in Junction City and in Ft. Stockton, I recommend Bienvenidos Cafe for Mexican food. Sometimes, depending upon what distance I'm coming from and the timing, I stop here for the night. If you're coming from Austin or Fredericksburg, however, you'll make such good time that you'll probably hit this area around lunchtime. So I'd probably press on to Fabens and the Cattleman's Steakhouse at Indian Cliffs Ranch for the night.

If I were you, I'd plan my first overnight stop at Fredericksburg. Of course, I'm assuming you live in Houston and get up to Austin fairly often, so I probably wouldn't do a lot there on my first leg of a long journey. I'd wait until later and get up there over a long weekend. Actually, several long weekends. You've got a lot of ground to cover and Austin is pretty accessible. And I wouldn't take 290 to Austin. I'd take 71 so that I could stop at Weikel's Bakery in La Grange, to fill up the car and buy some kolaches for breakfast and some more for the trip. Not sure if you're familiar with Weikel's, but they also have great sandwiches. It's the same family that used to own the legendary Bon Ton Cafe. And then I'd scoot right on to Fredericksburg. I'd stay and eat at the Hill Top Cafe. I'd try to get there early enough to take the tour of the LBJ Ranch. It's not a long tour, and if you haven't done it before, it's very, very well worth it. And I'd definitely pick up some Texas peaches from the fruit stands along the way. Be sure you've got a cooler, and those peaches will come in handy the entire trip.

Having lived in Alaska for several years, and being pretty intimately familiar with the quality of the food, my heartfelt suggestion to you is to not hold out hope that there are going to be any "undiscovered gems." Everybody in town will know exactly how many restaurants there are in Dutch/Unalaska and what's on the menu and how good it is, and so will you after two days. If food is important to you, be sure you've got a place with a kitchen, and take with you whatever spices, herbs, seasonings, sauces, etc., you like that are even slightly more exotic than garlic salt and oregano, and take advantage of the fresh seafood available (especially the halibut), and the wild berries that should be ripening about that time. Keep in mind that anything approaching "variety" has to be flown or shipped in. Food, for the most part anyway, will be basic and expensive. And although Dutch has gotten some considerable publicity over the last few years due to the filming of "Deadliest Catch," it still isn't really on the tourist trail due to its extreme isolation, so don't expect much.

You say, "immediate future." When? I've driven that route many times, and as a matter of fact, have lived in several spots along the way. I can do a little research, if it's not too late.

I honestly think they're best as is - on an antipasti tray, with crackers, cheese, charcuterie, etc.

You know, this is quite a reasonable approach and suggestion. And I think it's far more likely to produce results - Rather than using phrases like: "Why do we support these restaurants?" and "...why do we accept less...?" and "Why do we give them a pass?" and "something I would never serve" - all of which have a militaristic, bullying, 'my way or the highway' tone that I think most pitmasters would find insulting, and which, in the long run, would be counterproductive to your goals.

Although the soup and cream cheese ideas sound terrific, I must say that every time we smoke some olive oil-basted peppers on the grill, we just serve them as a vegetable side dish as is. Not only are there never any left, there are rarely even enough to satisfy everyone. So worrying about what to do with the leftovers is a new concept for me.

Absolutely right. Next time you're sitting at a BBQ "joint," look around at the customers. Sure, there are some affluent yuppies in business attire on their lunch breaks, their Beemers and Volvos and Lexuses in the parking lot. Or maybe picking up some ribs and sides to serve later at their backyard party around the pool. But there are a lot more folks that obviously wouldn't be there at all if the food were much more expensive than it already is. And I think they'd advise the "food cause" crowd to get back to worrying about foie gras, and leave their barbecue alone.

I've lived many, many places - with disposals and without, with septic and without. You can certainly put fibrous items into your disposal if you've got one that's powerful enough. I do it all the time. It's true you should never put grease into your disposal, but one reason why you make sure you've got the cold water running instead of the hot is so that the bits of grease you do have congeal and cling to the food. To avoid clogging your pipe with a jam of ground food, always start running your water before you turn on the disposal, and keep the water running for several seconds afterward. I grew up with disposals and find them indispensable. My father did not and finds them unnecessary and superfluous. Right now, he lives in a home with both a disposal and a septic tank, about which he is extremely protective. He tells me that "farm people" don't even put tissue into their septic systems. He also has a compost bin and a burn pile. Even so, there are pieces and bits of food left on plates and after removing the big chunks, he runs the water to send the smaller pieces of flotsam and jetsam scooting down into the disposal. For me, the deal breaker is where you live and how your garbage is handled. If you live in the north and have other methods of disposal for your food - compost programs, etc., and if your garbage is collected twice a week, then fine. You probably don't need one (although I personally still wouldn't live without one). But if you live in the south in an urban setting with no compost bin or burn pile, and the garbage man only comes once a week, that food can start to really stink in the hot weather. And it attracts all sorts of undesirable insects and vermin.

Somewhere we have at least one thread, and actually I think perhaps several, wherein we discuss commercial pasta sauces. I heartily recommend Mom's Garlic & Basil Spaghetti Sauce I'll point out here that I do usually make my own from recipes quite similar to the ones discussed in this thread, among others, but I do like keeping a few jars of Mom's in the pantry, just in case. Here is the list of ingredients: INGREDIENTS: Tomatoes (vine ripened fresh unpeeled tomatoes, extra heavy tomato puree, salt, citric acid), Fresh Garlic, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Fresh Basil, Sea Salt, Lemon Juice, Black Pepper, Vitamin E (source soy). No sugar. No HFCS.

I suspect he'll definitely be messing with Texas. Not only do we love our 'cue, but we've also got Mexican food to contend with. And since three of the Top Ten Fattest Cities in the US are in Texas, I'm sure Jamie is headed our way.

Here's a handy guide with some good tips: Cleaning and restoring glass They say not to use hot water, and I'd never take a chance on pouring boiling water into any of my glass unless I know for a fact it's been tempered.

I don't know what kind of decanters you have, but mine are inherited crystal and I'd never put them in a dishwasher. They have the narrow necks, with the carved stoppers, so brushes don't work well either. I use denture cleaner and rice. Works great. Put the denture cleaner and water in there, let it soak for about an hour or so, then add the raw rice and swish, swish, swish until clean. The rice won't scratch anything. Plus, it's cheap and I always have it on hand. If I don't have any denture cleaner, then I use vinegar or ammonia or Windex. Some of those denture cleaner tabs have chlorine bleach, so don't mix them with anything containing ammonia.

We talked a bit more about these miniature oranges in this thread: Where can I find kalamansi oranges