Toliver

Doritos 1st Degree Burn Blazin' Jalapeño Another winner! I'm not a fan of the yellow colored bag, but the image of a melted bag of Doritos on a bag of Doritos is kind of funny. First off, the jalapeño flavor is most excellent. It's quite bold and got me thinking of what dishes I could crumble this chip into to take advantage of that flavor. The second thing is when they say "Blazin'" they ain't kidding. I am an avowed chilehead and this chip got me sniffling. It has more than a kick to it. This chip is not for the wusses out there. Thumbs up!

I once had a "pot roast" burger at Red Robin that was quite delicious and total comfort food. It certainly didn't qualify as a true hamburger, but oh my, it was pure genius. Alas, it's no longer on their menu in my area.

Once a month, my 80 year old mother lunches with her lady friends at a local restaurant chain called "Jimmy's" that serves a mean broasted chicken. My mom has dreams about that chicken. After they lunch they move to the back room and play Skip Bo. Though not quite the adventures everyone else in this discussion seem to be having, their group is growing as there seem to be a lot of Skip Bo fans out there. Go figure.

This is interesting... I stopped by a local MickeyD's for breakfast to find that they were no longer selling the chicken biscuit for breakfast. It's still listed in the official menu on McDonald's web site so they must be available somewhere. Is it still around at your McDonald's?

Kent, I'm surprised no one has piped up with suggestions. I would have suggested a place with fish tacos since it originated just over the border but you don't want Mexican food. I don't know how it compares to LA but have you ever had Guamanian food? Islander Grill is on Park Blvd. and is two (big) blocks down from the zoo and qualifies as a dive. My brothers and I enjoy their hot sauce condiment (fina'denne) that's quite fiery. Some of the dishes remind me of Filipino food (Chicken Kelaguen, lumpia, etc). It seems to be a mom & pop place so their hours can vary and service sometimes suffers because it just seems to be family members doing working all positions. But that being said, we've liked the food.

Thanks for the warning. I have a dear friend who returned from a trip to Egypt where she went wild in a spice market and didn't know that she was buying an extraordinarily large amount of saffron. The bill floored her, to say the least. She gifted me a half a small spice jar of saffron which is a huge amount. I've never used or tasted it before so I am eagerly absorbing the comments in this discussion.

I think it's the Taco Bell Syndrome. Reconfigure the usual ingredients you have on hand into something different and call it "new". Sometimes it works...but not in this instance.

It's not fair. My mom in San Diego has already ordered hers. A coworker said her sister in Oklahoma has hers. But they're not on sale here until next month. I hear they're doing something different this year in that you get your cookies when you order them...no waiting. If true, that's quite an improvement in satifying that Girl Scout Cookie jones!

If berries are in season, they go in my smoothies. Out of season, I use frozen berries/fruit. I've been using a banana, kefir and some pomegranate juice (the tartness provides a good balance against the sweetness of the fruit) as a base. The rest varies depending on what I have on hand (or is on its last legs, so to speak).

Case in point: The Veg-o-Matic. If you do a search for one on eBay today it can cost up to about forty bucks. Or you can buy the new Williams-Sonoma version for about the same price. Everything old is new again...

There is help available.... I didn't think there was room for such a high horse in a discussion about the Hall of Shame for food. That being said, I, too, consume hot dogs with ketchup on them. So there... I have also been known to add tuna to my blue box mac and cheese and once in a rare while will get a hankering for those horrendous tamales in a can and eat every last one of them.

Once I've cut open the avocado, if I am going to mash up the avocado meat, I use a regular table knife to pre-dice it in it's "shell". Because my table knives have a rounded tip (unlike, say, a steak knife), I can slice the avocado without worrying about the knife cutting through the skin and into my hand as I hold the avocado. And yes, I do have knife skills but have found that using a table knife is my best way to deal with avocados.

It turns out Subway may have a secret Rainy Day menu... Subway’s secret rainy day menu special It's nothing official...just a post on a blog. Has anyone gotten this special? I've never heard of it being offered (which makes sense since it's supposed to be a secret )

Hie thee to the discussion: The Tater Tot Topic

"Taco Bell founder Glen Bell Jr. dies" I think it's interesting that Taco Bell and Der Wienerschnitzel came from the same man.

For those who are interested, the eGullet Onion Confit thread: Click here

I have an atomizer filled with a bit of vermouth to help my martinis stay a little on the dry side.

I'm sure others will weigh in but for breakfast, you can't go wrong with the Hash House A Go Go on 5th. There's always a line waiting to get in and the portions are huge. It's a little pricey but good.

I hate it when I get a bunch of celery that has a really bitter taste (it usually has a white core/layer inside the ribs). I find only one kind of celery in my local grocery stores but it's sourced from different areas/countries depending on the time of year.

Two food-related passings of note... Before Sam's Club and Super Walmarts, Costco's and Price Clubs and Gemco's there was the FedMart chain founded by Sol Price: "Sol Price, Who Founded Price Club, Is Dead at 93" I recall as a child going on shopping trips to FedMart stores in San Diego. It was a great concept: Groceries and household goods sold under one roof. Super Walmarts are nothing new to me. Been there, done that, thanks to FedMarts. The other food-related passing of note is: "Curtis Allina Dies at 87; He Put the Heads on Pez" I was never a fan of Pez. That being said, I do have a couple of Pez dispensers sitting on my desk at work. Culturally pervasive little suckers, aren't they?

Insert something here about "laughing all the way to the bank": "It's pancakes. In a can. It's made $15 million." From the article: The new color idea sounds like what Heinz(?) did with different colored catsup (which can't be found on store shelves anymore). Has anyone else tried Batter Blaster?

McDonald's is upping the ante in the morning by adding a breakfast value menu: "McDonald's to expand breakfast Dollar Menu in 2010" I think it's interesting that sausage seems to be the only meat choice offered with the value breakfast items. The article also states that Burger King already has a breakfast value menu. I wonder how the rest of the fast food companies will respond to the McD's breakfast value menu. And will the new breakfast value menu at McDonald's sway you to eat there more often in the mornings?

I think the La Torta in La Mesa is still open. The salsa bar at Mama Testa's rocks. They make their salsas daily and from scratch. The Escalera is my favorite; it would have been the bright, orangish looking, smooth salsa. The bistec tacos are how tacos are served in Mexico. They aren't, however, the best thing Mama Testa does. The Mojados de Carne are one of the best things on the menu and are very good. Your brother chose well. Some of the other things on the menu that are outstanding are the - Empapados (hard shell mashed potatoe tacos, the Asi Yasado (grilled chicken tacos), Tacos de Cochinita Pibil and the tacos with chorizo. Both the pibil and the chorizo are made in house and are not commercially purchased items. There are also some interesting vegetarian options using rajas and nopales. Cesar Gonzalez the owner of MT beat Bobby Flay on Throwdown earlier this year with fish tacos. I'm not a fan of fish tacos in general, but I do know people who like the fish tacos at MT really well. We had played with the idea of getting a round of the steamed tacos (where you can get one of each kind) but thought it would be too much food. Yes, the Escalera salsa rocked. It was an odd color (I'm used to either green or red salsa). My horizons have been broadened!

A longtime friend of mine traveled to Egypt for her 25th wedding anniversary. She made the mistake of visiting a spice market and saying "Give me some of this, this and that" and nearly fainted when she got the bill. It turns out that "some of this" was saffron and she ended up getting a lot of it not knowing what it was. She gifted me a small fortune of it so now I have to figure out how best to use it.

Steven, I agree with your assessment of the hamburgers. One of our Las Vegas highlights was always stopping for a Fatburger on the Strip. They serve quite a good hamburger. That Fatburger offers onion rings and chili fries (even though they're not the best out there) was always a plus for me. The anemic french fries served at In-N-Out are a huge detraction for me. I've never tried them "well done" (one of their secret sodes) which might make them taste better. edited to add: That can't be PJ. He was just a baby! It's funny how kids get older but we don't.