carpetbagger, esq.

that may be, but the question is do you always have the time to make ribs or pulled pork sandwiches? i'm guessing not. the same holds true for most people - the time (and money) element of making pulled pork makes it too bothersome for most people. plus, what about spur of the moment hankerings? i don't think that far in advance to say "i want to have bbq on thursday, so i better spend my entire sunday making it in advance." nope, i'll just pick it up on the way home (or get it for lunch). then there's the money issue - if i just want a sandwich or two, it seems more reasonable to just pick up a sandwich somewhere.

Fast Food items I miss: MCD: McDLT Apple Pie Mint Shakes for St. Patrick's Day (they may still do this but I don't really go to MCD anymore) Taco Bell: Cinnamon Crispas Burger King: the miniburger 3pack FF chains I miss (not here in Tennessee): Mighty Taco - a Western NY chain, but they opened a location in the big mall so that was good for cheap eats while in hs. Unfortunately, the two top food court options - that and saladworks closed. Jreck Subs - they're all over Central NY. From what I remember it was much better than Subway.

delonghi indoor grill, weber kettle, brinkmann smoker. no, but i will eventually (probably a big green egg and a more ridiculous smoker) no - for overkill, see some of the setups on the bbqnews.com forum. okay, maybe not overkill, but they are pretty elaborate and $$$ (particularly the mobile setups).

were you impressed with the coconut cake at peninsula grill?

a bowl seems preferable to a plate for those eating on the road.

Brent, if you wind up staying overnight in Roanoke, check out Tudor's Biscuit world on Market St. for a simple breakfast place. It seemed like the kind of place where there is a large contingent of regulars who go daily to get their hash brown biscuit sandwich.

hmm...i have one or two ideas: 1) The College Inn, located on the corner. When 29 finally hits campus, turn left (assuming you are coming from NoVa). It's basically the main strip where a lot of the bars and t-shirt shops are located. It's nothing special - basically a pizza, pasta and greek place. I don't have a kid (whew), but my gf's stepsis has a 2yr old - he loves pizza. College Inn makes a fantastic white pizza. They also have some cheese breadsticks thta would be kid-friendly. As for you, you should totally hit the chicken parm sammich with a side of onion rings - it's the best in town. 2) Bodo's. Even though I'm not a fan, it seems like a place to get something quick and easy if you're toting a 2yr old around - maybe a pb or cheesey bagel sammich? 3) The Tavern. If you're getting into town in the am, it's an option. they make a mean breakfast. Be forewarned that it is NOT the Ritz inside. Here is a link to some restaurants broken down by area (29, the corner, etc.). I can do my best to answer any q's you have. Note: if you're taking 29 to get on 64, you'll pass by a place called Foods of All Nations, that you might want to check out. It's an upscale/gourmet foods place.

i've heard good things about automatic slim's tonga club.

what are you in the mood for and have you ever been to c'ville before?

i would suggest bookmarking his restaurant's website his wiki says he's still searching for a location and financing...although his myspace page says he's looking the west village area.

I got caught up in the LOST finale last night and missed the TC finale...luckily it was on late this afternoon. thoughts: RE a comment by Tess: "but in my opinion a man would not have been portrayed as a villain for acting the way she did." PLEASE! Tiffani was not portrayed in a negative light because she was a female, a lesbian, or red-haired! It was quite simply her own doing and her own personality. She was a bitch, end of story. There were plenty of women on that show, and none of them came off like her. Besides, IIRC, more men were portrayed as villains - Stephen for sure with his general condescension and candice flamefest, Miguel throwing Andrea "under the bus", and of course Ken. Re the unprofessionalism of Dave and Stephen: I guess what goes around comes around. In the real world, you deal with unprofessional people. In the real world, they could've been canned on the spot and told to go home. Top Chef is not the real world, it's a reality tv show...and all that implies. Tiffani certainly didn't try and forge solid relationships to garner some loyalty. For everyone who thinks that they came off negatively on a public stage, there are probably people who agreed with what they did. They had absolutely no incentive to do more than they did. Tiffani would steal all the glory (dessert) and and pass off all the blame. She certainly wouldn't share any of the winnings, whereas I can see Harold flying Miguel and Leeanne out for a celebratory trip. More importantly, as others have noted, Dave still pulled off what was apparently a ridiculously good dessert. He could've stuck some fish bones in there if he really wanted to sink her ship. I have a feeling they will have plenty of job offerings as a result of this show. Re the panel and next season: Tom says in his blog that he's no Tim Gunn. Duh. Thanks Captain Obvious. Perhaps he should stick with the judging and let someone else play the role of the mentor. Oh, and am I the only one who doesn't believe that the film crew doesn't have video of someone adjusting the oven temps? I find that hard to believe. "back and to the left. back and to the left." The truth is out there. Speaking of blogs, why didn't Katie get one? That girl is as wooden as my end table. Surely an english major could type up some kind of drivel that would top off her heavily medicated speaking style. There simply must be some kind of fresh faced tart who can read with a little more enthusiam than the future ex-wife of Billy Joel. The last thing I would like to see next season is a little more openness with regards to judging. While I think that the scoring on Iron Chef America can be a little bogus at times, at least it's out there. Perhaps people still wouldn't be satisfied if they saw Miguel scored an 87 while Candice scored a 73, but at least the results would seem a little more valid. I think Leeane and Dave probably got screwed somewhere along the way...moreso than the other contestants. I guess I'm done and will pack my knives now. My back has fallen into eGullet's collective knife. (I hope fat guy gives me an awkward and unnecessary "sorry" )

while we're on this subject, how about a bar list? it's incredilby inconvenient to ask the waitstaff if they have x,y or z behind the bar. why? because probably 8 time out of 10 i get a blank stare back because they have no damn clue. so then they have to go check and then come back before i order because. i mean really, how expensive is it to print out a bar list? i'm not a wine drinker (and really not that much of a drinker, period), but i have to imagine that wine lists would get updated far more often than bar lists.

and coming from Raichlen, the King of Barbecuing, I think he must know whereof he speaks! or, maybe not, depending upon what carpetbagger,esq. just mentioned ... ← Well, everyone has their own opinion. I disagree with Holly about the Loveless Cafe...such is life. But I think that the clip you posted speaks volumes about Rendezvous. It IS a landmark when it comes to bbq in Memphis. People go for the experience and to say they've been there. No trip to Memphis would be complete without going there and the Peabody, right? I kind of see it like the Black Dog up in yankeeland. Is it the best dining option? no. but it still packs people in for a variety of reasons. My feelings about Rendezvous are not due to any wet/dry bias when it comes to ribs. I and others at my table thought that the ribs were a little dry. Perhaps on the night they go, they'll get a better rack.

for bbq, Blues City Cafe. I really disliked Rendezvous. After doing a little research, it looks like Rendezvous can be really hit or miss. We had a party of 12, and 11 out of the 12 ordered ribs. I don't think anyone fell out of their seat yelling "omg these are the best ribs ever." I don't know what it was, but they were off that night. It certainly cannot be due to the size of the party we had, as they must be accustomed to large parties. Blues City, OTOH, was excellent. The ribs fell off the bone and the gumbo was't bad either. If y'all decide to go out and party on Beale Street, don't forget to stop by Dyer's Burgers (reviews at Roadfood and Holly Eats). Deliciously greasy and a perfect way to finish off the night after drinking your weight in Hurricanes at Pat O'brien's or Diver's at Silky O'Sullivans. Enjoy.

Thanks for the link...Very funny! I've seen it somewhere (not on line) once before, has it been on TV? ← it was an snl skit.

i would totally get one. in fact, i would go one step further and add some biscuits in there somewhere...either a base or a topping. you only live once...how bad could it be? if i survived domino's and gumby's pizza, i can survive that.

does anyone else feel sorry for that kid?

but just like you know in your head what mcd or bk tastes like, so does he...so why waste valuable foodstops on places he already knows? For example, what if he skipped out on chik-fil-a just so he could go to mcd for a baseline burger? he would have totally missed out on the heaven that is the original chicken sammich from cfa, and could've just as easily compared in & out or whataburger without getting his quarter pounder.

Toliver: try the corndog sometime Brooks: while i agree that sonic tots are good, they're about 100x better when you order the extreme tots. it's a mess, but well worth it.

it also needs to be wrapped in a tortilla, deep fried and served in a commemorative bag.* *for those of you who don't get the taco town reference, see here

yeeeeeeeeeeeeah, i say go with the roast. that spicy peanut soup sounds delicious...must...find...some.

what about using the strawberries in a strawberry shortcake dessert? put it in some nice glass/stemware to fancy it up a bit for the occasion. as for regional cuisine - i think whatever you do must include some old bay one other thing, what about doing something ethnic? with a name like chika, i'm guessing that he's not a wasp. do you think that going through the trouble/effort of making a dish that might be served at a special occasion for his background might be a nice way to finish off such a big day?

You didn't even like Friday fish fries with haddock? Maybe from the Jean's potato chip factory on East Fayette Street or Penisi's? My dad fished in this area less often than yours and although I love fish to this day I was never taken with Northern Pike or bass. I recall having walleye's only a few times and don't think I was enthused. But now that genuine sea bass is endangered I've been informed that the most similar substitute fish for making my favorite Miso Glazed Sea Bass recipe is none other than Walleyed Pike. You really should come to visit soon - William's restaurant out in Rattlesnake Gulch is having their annual "all-you-can-eat" bulhead dinners ← we'd pick up penisi's when we lived in east syracuse, but then once we moved to liverpool, it was off to the euclid on fri night. i typically got something other than haddock and fries. I did have it a few times. when i come back, i pretty much hit up the same places over and over: san remo's pizza (only place for chicken wing pizza now that lorenzo's closed) antonio's erawan bluewater grill blue tusk dinosaur (although i hear it's really going downhill these days) whatever new place has opened that my parents think i'll like (ex. the mission) NOTE THE ABSENCE OF BULLHEAD DINNER OPTIONS!

Fish. I hate fish. I love most shellfish, but I simply cannot stand fish fish. I guess it all dates back to growing up in Syracuse and having a dad who loved to go fishing. When he came home, I would get repulsed by the sight and smell of the various things he would bring home - salmon, trout, bass, etc. It didn't improve when he actually took me fishing. For those of you who have never witnessed the spawning season at the Salmon River in Pulaski or Oswego, NY, thank your lucky stars.

D.B.: Great Chefs of the world is still running on Discovery Home