Toliver

I read about a recipe for French Onion Soup Bread Pudding (obviously, a savory recipe) somewhere on eGullet. I couldn't find it in RecipeGullet. The Food Network has a similar recipe posted on their site, too. Bacon or ham sounds like a great addition to your recipe. I'm wondering if you couldn't dice up some skinless chicken breasts for the protein.

It depends on whether the tomato plant will flower all the way through autumn. Usually, there's a burst of flowers at the beginning and then they trickle off or the plant will start withering. Yes, you can still get tomatoes in October but not in as large a number as you did from the first 60 to 90 days of life for each plant. By planting in stages you should get a continual crop harvested throughout the growing months. Of course, the harvest point and amount harvested will vary with each type of tomato. My brother always starts with something easy like Early Girls since they bear fruit within 60 days and are pretty dependable. The problem with tomatoes like Early Girls is that they're bred to produce fruit quickly but they don't always have the best flavor so he has slowly moved into heirlooms and has had mixed results with them. Some heirlooms produce beautifully, others end up as disappointing runts. He uses large planter pots for his tomatoes that he places on the side of his house where they get a lot of sun. He has about 16 pots but not all are for tomatoes (some are used for his chile pepper crop). He mentioned that plucking off the "suckers" on a tomato is very important and he's pretty vigilant about it. And of course, the dreaded "May Gray/June Gloom" in San Diego always presents a challenge to tomato gardeners (or gardeners in general). This is when the marine layer comes in and doesn't go out again for about 30 days. This will sometimes delay tomato production as the plant will seem to stall during these sun-less days.

You must have upscale Fuddruckers in your area. The Fuddruckers I've dined at call out your name on a loudspeaker when your order is ready (as an aside, we always gave unusual names when we ordered. "Keanu, your order is ready" ) Sure it does. Subway & Quizno: They deal in high-volume. The ingredients are pre-assembled. The sandwiches are made to the customer's order while you are standing there and the completed sandwich is then, in a relatively short time, given to the customer who then pays for it. Fast Food. Not in my Pizza Huts. The pizza may be delivered to my table, just as my food would be delievered to my table in a Carl's Jr restaurant by a staff member, but the staff member doesn't get my drinks, doesn't refill my drinks, doesn't come back to ask how everything is and doesn't get a tip since they're not waitstaff. See "There will be exceptions, of course." Hence, the point of this discussion...to determine what makes a Fast Food burger or restaurant just that. Not getting your point. Pizza is either carried out in a box or when dining in, brought to the table on a serving platter (substitute "tray") by an employee. The original poster in this discussion who brought this up gave the example of taking the Fast Food meal 5 blocks from the Fast Food restaurant back to the workplace. This is a lot more reasonable than stating "...try an hour-old...meal". Perhaps customer intention should be brought into this discussion, then. We don't go to a Fast Food restaurant and buy food that won't be eaten until an hour later. We go there specifically to quickly buy quickly made food and eat it quickly. And if it can't be eaten until you get 5 blocks away, then it is still quite edible at that time. Again, your Pizza Hut experiences are quite different from mine. At my Pizza Huts, you pay up front when you order from the counter. And my buffet experiences are also quite different from yours. About 99% of the buffets I've dined at require payment at the end of the meal, not up front. Of course, there are always exceptions. I've already agreed on this point. It's already been mentioned that when Fast Food restaurants originally came into existence, you didn't special order Fast Food. You got what you got and that was it. "Having it your way" is a more recent Fast Food phenomenon and is exactly what FF restaurants like Subway & Quizno's are all about. And this "Having it your way" trend is also why we now have salads and non-buger-ish Fast Food items on FF menus. The pendulum swings both ways these days. My listing of the defining characteristics of Fast Food was just a courtesy to board members following this discussion to summarize what had been discussed here so far. It wasn't meant to suggest that these are the Fifteen Commandments to determine what is or isn't Fast Food. I thought they'd be easier to discuss being grouped into one post. You're welcome.

I agree. Fuddruckers is not Fast Food. It is a chain without dedicated table service. But you usually have a considerable wait for your burger and then you have to dress your burger to your liking. It's food that takes time to receive and to prep (by the customer). There's nothing fast about it except for eating it.

If she bugs you that much, the next time you're at the restaurant ask to be seated in someone else's service area. They should be able to accommadate your request. I have friends who are diehard Diet Coke fans. Whenever we eat out, they always, always, always, order Diet Coke. So I'm thinking perhaps this waitress normally gets a large number of orders for Diet Coke and rarely for regular Coke. She may be just trying to confirm that you do not want Diet Coke. Take a deep breathe and reiterate, "No, just Coke, thank you." Save your shoes for the real pains in the posteriors in life.

Getting back to the original topic...so what determines whether something (a hamburger) is fast food or isn't? So far we have (listed in order of posting in the discussion): 1. How it's ordered (order food at a counter, stand and wait for it, then leave with it) 2. How it's made: High volume pre-prepared food, quickly assembled when ordered and quickly given to the customer 3. Limited menu items 4. Cheap food but good value 5. No waitstaff/table service 6. Possibly having drive-through service 7. Fast Food is made for quick consumption by the restaurant 8. Fast Food is quickly consumed by the customer. In a Fast Food restaurant, the customer doesn't linger. The food is consumed quickly and then they leave. 9. No eating utensils needed/Fast Food can be eaten out-of-hand - "A burger difficult to pick up and eat is not likely to be a FF burger" 10. Fast Food isn't determined by the food itself but by the restaurant selling it - the restaurant determines whether the food can be labeled as Fast Food through the food production/assembly, how it is sold and how it is consumed 11. Fast Food is always served ready to carry (in a bag for "to go" orders - on a tray for dining in) 12. Fast Food is portable without general loss of quality 13. Generally speaking, Fast Food comes from a chain restaurant 14. Fast Food is paid for up front when ordering 15. Fast Food is generally not cooked to order There will be exceptions, of course. Does anything not really belong? Is something still missing?

"Cooked to order" isn't a disqualifier for fast food since In'N'Out Burger does just that and they're definitely Fast Food...albeit a Fast Food restaurant with a bench by the ordering counter where you can sit while waiting for your burger to be cooked. I still think the entire Pizza Hut=Fast Food equation is a red herring/"The Emperor has no clothes" argument. They can dub themselves Fast Food and the industry can lump them in the category of Fast Food but, as a consumer, most pizza joints whether they're a chain or not do not serve fast food. It's not made quickly, it's not served quickly unless it's been pre-made and you're getting a slice to go. It certainly qualifies if you are using nutrition as your yardstick. It's just as bad for you, nutritionally speaking, as what you can get at other Fast Food joints. But the argument "because they say it is" doesn't hold up for me. edited to tidy up

How did your garden fare with the heatwave we just had in Southern California? I heard it got up to 100°F in the Santee/El Cajon area. I know you already planted your tomatoes but if you're looking for more (for later in the year) on Sundays there's a great tomato plant booth at the Farmer's Market by the uptown DMV (Hillcrest-NorthPark). My brother, who has been blessed with a green thumb, raves about the tomato plant guy at that Farmer's Market. The guy sells a huge variety of heirlooms and told my brother he will be selling his "second wave" soon (my brother plants staggered crops of tomatoes since it takes about 60 days for the plants to bear fruit. He times his plantings so that he ends up with tomatoes clear through October-November). The tomato plant guy at this Farmer's Market is getting ready to sell his next wave of plantings. My brother says the guy is also a veritable fountain of knowledge about tomatoes. So if you have gardening/tomato questions, he's the guy to ask.

Can it be agreed that pizza should be taken out of this discussion? I don't care that the industry itself has tried to pigeonhole it as fast food. It's not fast-made food and it's not fast-received food...unless you're eating at Shakey's Pizza Parlor's lunch buffet where the pre-made pizza sits under a heat lamp, well then you deserve what you get for eating there in the first place. But pizza is not fast food. Do you think pizza is being classified as fast food because it's hand-held when eaten? You don't really need eating utensils in order to eat it. It has that in common with burgers, tacos, burritos, etc, which are all typical fast food items. Maybe fast food is prepared food that can be made quickly, purchased quickly and eaten while driving or walking.

It's here already and is called In'n'Out Burger.

KFC's past non-fried chicken offerings weren't much of a success (rotisserie chicken, anyone?). However, from the articles I've been reading on this new effort, KFC seems to be a little more serious this time in that the grilled chicken is made using special ovens (and the ubiquitous guarded "secret recipe") and these ovens are being installed on-site throughout the chain. So they seem to be putting their money where their mouths are, so to speak, with this version of grilled chicken than they had with any past offering of non-fried chicken. It will be interesting to see how this new chicken flies... I also wonder if they can tailor the new grilled chicken spices to fit in better depending upon the country it's in. For example, adding lemongrass and ginger in asian countries, adding cumin and cilantro in latin countries and so on.

I also think of a fast food restaurant as being a place without waitstaff. Granted, the inverse doesn't mean it's a fast food place (lots of Mom & Pop restaurants have no wait staff but they can't be considered a fast food place). But generally speaking, I think having no waitstaff can be one descriptor of a fast food restaurant. While the local Carl's Jr. will hand me a number and then deliver the food to my table (when I'm eating in the restaurant), the worker who brought me the food isn't waitstaff. Carl's Jr. is still considered fast food. Compare this to the Farmer Boys chain which I consider higher end fast food (meaning similar fast food fare but costing you more). They also give you a number and a staff member will bring the food to my table. But they will also refilll my drinks, bring extra napkins, bus the table, etc. They work for that tip. So is it the time from ordering the food to receiving that food the deciding factor as to whether a restaurant is a fast food joint or not? Or are the menu items the gauge? That being said, doesn't Keller serve his version of a fast food burger that can't really be called fast food though it imitates it?

Apparently sales are down for KFC. Funny how McDonald's can be doing so well in this economy and KFC isn't. In a side note, KFC is debuting a new grilled chicken and are offering a free piece of grilled chicken at participating locations on April 27th. Here's the announce ment on their website: UnthinkKFC

I completely agree. While the regular Cheez-Its are good with their cheddary tang, the White Cheddar Cheez-Its have a buttery cheesey taste that's quite unique and addictive. I just noticed the vending machine here at my work has the White Cheddar Cheez-Its. I have no will power and will be buying some for an afternoon snack.

A related discussion: "3 a.m. party grub, Alcohol-fueled culinary genius"

I had a sun-dried tomato & feta cheese omlette this past Sunday. It was a little on the dry side so next time I'll use more of the tomatoes. I also added a dash of garlic powder and the usual salt and fresh-ground pepper. Overall, it was a winner and quite different from my usual scallion, green pepper and cheddar omlette.

I thought I would bump this topic back up since Yelp has changed their policy and will now allow businesses to respond to Yelp reviews. The change is supposed to go into effect in a few weeks: "Yelp to let businesses comment publicly on reviews"

Are you referring to Robert Falcon Scott? Edit: from budrichard's comment I assume you are. They would've been as frozen as George Mallory's meat lozenges after 75 years on Everest. ← As an aside, while the food within may have possibly still been potable, it probably would have been high in lead content due to the leeching of the lead used to seal the cans which would have caused lead poisoning in those who ate it. The things we learn from PBS...

A five grand comp and the kid is still working there? Unbelievable. Start looking for another job. You don't need to put up with his crap. Life's too short.

New Doritos "Late Night" flavors: "Tacos at Midnight" and "Last Call Jalapeño Popper" They sound like they're aimed at late night partiers. The "Tacos at Midnight" does have that late night Jack-in-the-Box taco sort of flavor upon tasting them for the first time. I'm guessing it's cumin flavor but I can't figure out what other ingredients are there. There wasn't much depth of flavor (he says as if expecting a miraculous Willy Wonka-type of tortilla chip called "JIB Taco"). I tired of the flavor pretty quickly and it left me hankering for a real JIB taco. The "Last Call Jalapeño Popper" were dead on. They had the cream cheese tang and a subtle jalapeño flavor. They had a slow burn/spiciness to them, too. Of the two flavors, I preferred this flavor because it seemed to have more going on with it.

This won't help you but there's a local restaurant that makes this very dish. The shrimp (paste?) in on the top of the little block of tofu and then it's fried. I had never had the dish before and was intrigued by the shrimp being on top of the tofu instead of stuffed inside. I think it had a little bit of garlic and some diced green onion (scallion), too. I believe it's a Cantonese dish. I also struck out Googling for a recipe.

Oven roasted asparagus is great. A little olive oil, salt & pepper, rotate them halfway through the cooking time. Then when they're just about done, add some shredded parmesan on top and continue roasting until the cheese is a little melted. I could eat it for days.

I'm reviving this discussion with a thumbs up for their chicken taquitos. I'm sure you've all had that brand of taquito's (Delimex?) that come 50 in a box that you can buy at Costco and other grocery stores. The Trader Joe's version is much better, in my opinion. With the Trader Joe's version, there are only 10 taquitos in a package. They're a little thicker than the Delimex version. I believe they came in beef, too, but I went with the chicken. They were quite good and tasted almost homemade. I heated them up in the microwave and when I took them out they looked like they were starting to unravel/unroll. While some may consider this a negative, it just seemed to emphasize to me that they were more like a homemade dish. I imagine they would have tasted even better if I had pan-fried them on the stove in a little corn oil. I was also impressed with their (Mandarin?) Orange Chicken. The chicken pieces come pre-battered. You bake them in the oven and then toss them in the accompanying orange sauce afterwards. The batter isn't that thick chewy kind you get in some Chinese fast food restaurants. It's a thin coating that comes out crisp after baking. On some of the smaller pieces of chicken, it was almost too crisp after baking. I was also happily surprised to find that the orange sauce wasn't overly sweet. It had a nice balance between sweet and sour and, again, it wasn't a thick & gooey sauce like what you get with a lot of Chinese restaurant's Orange Chicken. If you don't like your Orange Chicken too crisp I suppose you could always dress the pieces in the sauce and then give it time to soak in. Has anyone else tried either food item from Trader Joe's?

OK - I've gotten the subtle cardamom flavor with the fresh spice from Penzey's last night. Customer wants a bold flavor. Thoughts? ← How about sprinkling some powdered cardamom on the...crème brûlée before adding the sugar and caramelizing it? ← I agree with this last suggestion. Go ahead and infuse your cream with it, but adding it on top might give it a stronger presence if that's what the customer wants. I wonder, though, how it would survive the torching. I suppose with enough sugar it would be enough of a barrier to prevent or lessen any burning of the spice. Or perhaps caramelize the sugar first and then do a light dusting with the spice?

St. Patrick's Day dinner! Last night's dinner was corned beef (in a slow cooker...it was ready by the time I got home from work). I removed the meat from the cooker and moved the slow cooker pot to the stove to boil up some red bliss potatoes, carrots and a little bit of onion in the corned beef water. I didn't make the requisite cabbage because I had some roasted cauliflower from the previous night that I had to finish up. I saved some of the cooking water and will boil up the cabbage tonight to go along with the St. Paddy's Day leftovers.