Chad

Hmm, surprised no one has mentioned this one yet, but I've seen restrooms in "country-style" restaurants labeled with pictures of dogs -- Pointers and Setters. Chad

The best part of this review, for me, is that Suzanne is not known for being kind or gentle to cookbooks. She picks them apart like Perry Mason dismantling a shaky alibi. This must be one extraordinary cookbook to have recieved such high praise from her. I'm not much of a dessert maker, but I'm thinking of picking this book up. Do any of you pastry types have this one? What do you think? Chad

I'm a huge fan of Snapple's Peach Tea. However, it's too damn sweet! I generally end up cutting it 50/50 with water and splashing in a little lemon. Damn, if they'd only cut back on the corn syrup, I buy that stuff by the five gallon bucket. Chad

Like eGullet's own Diogenes, Suzanne Fass is always on the lookout for an honest cookbook, one that delivers what it promises -- a rare find indeed. But she's found one in A Passion for Desserts. What do you think? +++ Be sure to check The Daily Gullet home page daily for new articles (most every weekday), hot topics, site announcements, and more.

Oh, c'mon! I don't even get an Honorable Mention for "Mackerel Snackerel?'' Chad

When headed through the drive-through I do generally try to keep things as simple and straightforward as possible. Think of it as programming a computer. The computer expects certain things in a certain order. That's just the way it's wired. So you think your way through the problem and give the computer what it wants in the order that it wants them, and everybody walks away happy. I actually made a game of it for a while -- working out, without seeing the touchpads, how the POS system was set up just by the questions asked by the burger jockey. Turns out most of them are pretty similar. You give the standard order (by number, most of the time), mention any deletions, then any additions, and the drink. Then (and only then) do you add the SuperSize/Biggie Size addendum. It's a single button, and apparently the system isn't designed to handle it in the midst of everything else, so the order-taker has to remember. Or ask you again . I've been on the other side of that drive-through. A lot of customers are assholes. So are a lot of fast food employees. Add to that the fact that fast food employees are generally not encouraged to think creatively -- or even think at all. They have little buttons for everything. Sometimes with pictures. And the systems aren't very flexible. So you're stuck with a disgruntled 16-year-old -- dealing with a mind-numbing ordering system -- who can't figure out how to add Thousand Island to your Mackerel Snackerel without starting a major electrical fire. It pays to keep things simple. In my opinion, the desire of franchises to make things as simple as possible has instead made them rigid and inflexible. Chad

Wooohoo! I've been waiting for this one. I know it's not gonna happen, but I'd love to see Alton and Jimmy Kimmel deep frying a bunch of stuff. Chad

Hmm, cretin that I am, I'd pair a big paint-stripping red with that menu. With chili or spicy foods, I usually want something that will stand up to the most potent thing on the plate. My picks would be Taurino Salice Salintino, Marques de Caceres Rioja or a rough and ready Cotes du Rhone. Chad

Or use something like this plunger measuring cup. Very handy for stuff like shortening, peanut butter or honey. Chad

Sausage Chad

Or rent those Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom tranquilizer rifles. They could sell the darts to parents for a dollar a pop . <Marlin Perkins voice>"While Jim wrestles the giant rat to the ground, I'll be having Mai Tais with Jenny the waitress and teaching the parents to shoot." Chad

Great! Take along a digital camera, if you've got one so we can drool along with you. Chad

From 20 Years of Rats and Pizza Chad edit to remove some wandering punctuation

Al, those links are great. I really like the Rat Wisdom one And yes, Chuck E. Cheese is probably the greatest form of birth control known to man. Thinking about having kids? Spend an hour in a Chuck E. Cheese and see if you're ready. As for the rat? I've never given it much thought. But it does seem to be an odd mascot. Ok, yeah, he eats cheese. He also spreads disease. I don't think "A Little Bit o' Plague in Every Bite!" is a viable marketing slogan. It would make a cool jingle, though . Inspired by all of this, I'm off to start my own chain of parental hells -- with my mascot Herman the Vermin. Chad

Now now, let's not go putting our noses in the air. I'm not a big fan of "advertorials," but I have written them, though never with a byline. I've been a PR/marketing/advertising weasel and freelance writer for 15 years. Sometimes the lines get a little blurry. With something like restaurant reviews, y'all are absolutely right. You've got to trust the reviewer. You have to believe he's honest and above board. You have to trust his judgement. Writing advertorials will kill that immediately. However, a writer's got to write. It's how we put food on the table. If somebody is offering Chris's "friend" good money to write, great! My whore-like advice: write 'em, but don't put your name (or anyone else's) on them. They are advertorials, they're not supposed to have bylines. Chad

Latest news on the Columbus Circle opening in todays NY Times: Read More Here Chad

Yup. FNTV is part of my cable package. Fine Living is not available here. It's all up to the local cable company, but the fact that there are some great food shows out there that I can't see really bugs me. Chad

It could be that Fine Living is following the same model that Food Network did. Let's call it the "drug dealer method of viewer acquisition." The first taste is always free. Keeps 'em coming back for more. As someone mentioned during one of our interminable discussions of the downward spiral of FNTV, this is a pretty common practice in cable networks. Come in with high-quality, high-production-values, high-cost shows to capture a viewer base. Then, once a base is established, begin cutting costs, offering cheaper-to-produce shows and discontinuing the pricey material. That's why we have "Best Of" and "Top Five" instead of "A Cook's Tour." Chad

Emphasis mine. Chad

NASCAR. It's a stock car (and truck, I believe) racing series. It is one of the fastest growing spectator sports in the US. from NASCAR for Dummies.Chad

Snackies at the racetrack? Boogity, Boogity, Boogity Will the winner have a loving cup of Duncan Hines mix poured over his head? Chad

Say you have a couple of wine lovers over for dinner. The conversation hits that uncomfortable lull where everyone just stares at one another, trying desperately not to look at his watch. What do you do? Whip out the Winerd Game. Winerd Game Chad

Grrr! are you rubbing it in? You really should consider that one. I purchased my Hattori from the same seller. Read the conditions down below -- she doesn't rule out shipping outside the US, just asks for an email first. Not unreasonable. And that's a damn good price for that knife. Chad

Didn't know if anyone else has mentioned this but MSNBC has a quick blurb pointing to Rachel's article in the Test Pattern section. Scroll down to the Jan. 9th entry. Way to go, Rachel! Chad

Jon, I think the pizza that Pan and Docsconz are referring to is Neapolitan pizza -- as it's found in Naples. Pan made the remark that the pizzas he had in Naples didn't lend themselves to the NY fold-and-eat-standing-up treatment. They were more suited to knife and fork. Damn, I'm getting hungry. Chad