Chris Hennes

It's clear that you and I do not share a taste in fast food burgers! Out of curiosity, though, which burger did you order at Wendy's?

It's going to be a long time before either chain makes it to Oklahoma, I'm afraid.

What's your #1, Jane?

Have you had Wendy's burger recently? It's my understanding that this "Dave's Hot and Juicy" thing is new-ish, and based on my experience I'm surprised to see them so far down your list. I've never eaten at a Bob's Big Boy, but maybe I'll check them out next time I'm in that neck of the woods. Which burger are you rating at BK, by the way? The Whopper?

OK, I finally made it to Wendy's yesterday for lunch, and I agree with the others in this topic: of the Big 3, Wendy's clearly has the superior burger. It's not much of a contest, really. Honestly, I'm not at all sure it's not better than In'n'Out (maybe I am just overreacting to the massive and undeserved I'n'O hype, though). I think my current list goes something like this: Freddy's Smashburger Five Guys There is no number four, there is a gap here. Braum's Wendy's In'n'Out Whataburger McDonalds Burger King Sonic Carl's Jr. Am I leaving anyone out? What are your lists?

Peter, are you arguing that in ScottyBoy's position you don't think he should be worried about how his coat looks?

Jaymes, have you tried making that with fresh sweet potatoes? Is it critical to use canned ones?

A few people have written in to note that the software update disconnected their Twitter updates from the eGullet feed: if you would like your Twitter status updates to be shown on the sidebar on the front page automatically, have a look at your settings page and make sure the box titled "Update my Forum Status with my Twitter status (Import a status)" is checked. You can also push your updates from eG to Twitter by checking the "Export a status" option on the same page.

What you are describing is very much like what you get in a technique such as Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (eG-friendly book link), where you add just a tiny pinch of yeast to a very wet bread dough and then give it a multi-day ferment in the fridge. It's a technique that yields some of the very best bread I've ever had.

Please pardon my ignorance: what are these things?

Have you no respect for the five second rule?! Or are you just really fast?

I was just reminded of the existence of avocado oil by this topic on rancidity: I don't usually have any on hand, but I've had a vinaigrette made with it at a restaurant, and I think that's it for my experience with the stuff. What do you all do with it?

Well, it might just be nasty. I've had some olive oils that weren't rancid: they were just gross.

You might also want to read through this topic on rancidity: it's a specific type of spoilage that takes place over time. Oxidation begins the moment the oil is produced: at some point it crosses a threshold at which it can be tasted, and we call that "rancidity." We've also got this topic on Detecting Rancidity in Oil.

Rancidity is typically a pretty easy smell to recognize, but it's hard to describe if you've never experienced it. Have you used this avocado oil before? Do you know what it's supposed to smell like? If it was exposed to high temperatures during shipping or storage, or was just mishandled, etc. it's certainly possible for it to develop some rancidity before its (somewhat arbitrary) "best by" date has passed.

First, happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there. And second: kids and spouses, are you cooking for mom this year? What's on the menu?

OK, since I'm not a doctor or pharmacist or anything of the sort (obviously), I don't quite understand if your dad needs glucose, or if any sugar will do. If any sugar, what about making a relatively stiff fondant? It's solid, can be flavored a zillion different ways (I'm partial to mint), and will dissolve pretty readily when he eats it.

I just baked them, but these were the "Extra Crispy" variety of tots: they were crisp coming out of the oven, they just didn't stay that way when added to the dal and peppers.

Does it have to be candy? What about making it into a beverage instead? Say, a tablespoon of glucose, a cup of water, and a few dashes of one of the many cocktail bitters available these days.

Here's the recipe slkinsey is talking about: Beacon's Lamb Meatballs

McDonald's soft serve really is amazing good, considering how not-awful-for-you it is. I vastly prefer it to Dairy Queen's, for example.

That's a whole different ballgame: my Saturday morning ritual includes a stop at Starbucks for a Mocha (grande, one pump, nonfat, no whip... sometimes they even get it right!). And I agree that VIA is an acceptable "coffee of last resort" when the next option is McDonald's <shudder>.

If you thought my earlier hashes were abominations, behold this gorgeous specimen: Yep, those are Tater Tots. In my defense, the potatoes I had intended to use turned out to be past their prime. Also, I like Tater Tots. The "meat" in this one is actually whole urad dal and jalapenos that I use as a nacho topping. And yes, those are over-easy, not poached, I know. So basically it contains no traditional hash ingredients at all. The Tater Tots were not a 100% successful substitute for actual potatoes here: they didn't retain as much crispiness as I hoped they would. Not a total failure, but there's no need to run out to buy Tots for your next hash.

I got nuthin'. Lots of egg cartons, but residential sized, not commercial. Do restaurants ever use the 12-egg cartons?

How do I connect my Twitter and Facebook accounts so my updates show on the eG home page? You can set up Facebook here, and Twitter here. Once set up, you can use your Twitter and/or Facebook logins to log in here, you can (optionally) update your status by clicking on your name at the top of the screen, and your current status will be updated on the homepage. Syncing was broken earlier this week, but is fixed now.