Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Frank's is good, but I prefer Texas Pete and Crystal when making hot wings.

'I don't own a grill, which is nice"

No way! There's nothing nice about that at all. A charcoal(not crappy gas), grill is a wonderful thing. Most everything tastes better when prepared over wood coals. Grilling is not limited to only red meats, and when you finally become a master of one, you'll look back at the quoted statement and realize it was all crazy talk.

"Having first opened in 1983"

This says it all. Yea, yea, 1983 isn't 1953, but if a mom & pop restaurant of any kind can make it well past two decades, they've gone far beyond beating the odds. It proves that not only do they make food that people enjoy, they also manage their business well on all fronts. It tells me that I best try this place out.

Great review. I would much rather read about these sort of places over the fancy pants over thought-out raw burgers being passed off as THE standard of true quality. Not that I don't enjoy those reviews as well, but it's so much better reading about burgers that normal people eat in places where the locals go.This site needs more of this. It gets old seeing decent reviews tanked by complaints that their burger wasn't served nearly raw, and that the foie gra clashed with the smoked bacon and fancy cheese.

Please take no offense to my rant, raw burger connoisseurs. It's just one man's opinion asking for more reviews that non-connoisseaurs can enjoy as well.

@ mwainer: Always leave your exit vents wide open, so the smoke can escape freely. You don't want any stale smoke circulating back around your meat, as it can ruin the flavor. It's kind of like the stale smoke some people leave behind in a bong when they smoke the wacky lettuce. Harsh and nasty. Not that I would know anything about that, I'm just sayin'.

I've slow smoked a lot of meat over the years, and keep the intake vents shut a little over half way(I use a chimney starter for my starter coals), and the exit vents wide open. It's advice given to me by a champion smoker who knows his BBQ.

We had 16 people over this year and everything went so smoothly that I almost wish we could have done it again today. What blows my mind, is that everything got devoured with happy faces, and we have barely any left overs what-so-ever. Even better, one of my nephews was in attendance for the first time in a few years. He had been stationed in Japan with the navy and we've missed his presence as well as his excellent gravy making skills. Not that my wife and I don't make a good gravy, but he is a truly great cook having spent several years working his way up the line in a fancy pants restaurant. The kid has mad skills and plans to further his culinary education now that he is out of the navy.

Sadly I have no pics to share, as I didn't take any of the food. It was a great day and I'm thankful for the great time I had with our family and friends.

That is a huge Whoopie Pie, and it makes me miss my grandmother every time I see one. I am not being biased when I say that she made the best Whoopie Pies I have ever laid my hands on. I always enjoyed our summer trips to Maine, but have never been a fan of lobster despite getting to try it as fresh as it can get. A friend of my grandfather was a lobsterman, so when we went to visit him, we would ride out and set and pull his traps. I was always rewarded with a tasty steak diner while my father feasted on all the fresh lobster he could handle. I've got to get back up there some day.

"This week, the good guys will be defeating the unclean beasts from Oakland by a score of 41 to 17."

The good guys? The Patsies are hardly the "good guys" and easily one of the most hated teams in football thanks to being so damn good, it just pisses the rest of us off.

I'm not going to make any predictions, but to think the Raiders will only put up 17 points against the NFL's 32nd ranked defense, is laughable. This could end up being another wild game for the Patriots, and the way both team's offenses are playing, it's possible the scoreboard might break down. All I know, is the H.O.T. will be rocking and Big Sey will be head hunting that pretty boy QB. Grab your beer, fasten your seat belts, throw those stinky deviled eggs in trash bin, and grab your popcorn. It's going to be one hell of a show.

Raider Nation!!

After watching an eye opening documentary called "The Water Wars", it was very interesting reading the first two articles. Water is being sold as a corporate commodity now. Blue gold. It's time we start asking where our water comes from, who's profiting from it, and where it's going. It won't be long before we're all asked to cut back.

I love Peanut Chews!!!!!!!!! Someone mentioned Bit-O Honey a few posts above. They are a favorite of mine as well, but sadly they're getting harder and harder to find in my neck of the woods.

I'm the one paying for the meal, and I'll have it any damn way I please. If the place is too snooty to make a few minor changes, they don't deserve my business. More often than not, I ask for subtractions, as I'm a picky eater. My meal requests end up benefiting the establishment more than it does me. When asking to substitute something, I feel I'm very fair in what I ask for.

Great article!

I mainly grill my steaks, but from time to time I do use the cast iron skillet method. I do like the idea of adding butter at the end of the cooking process, but my worry is how it will effect the sauce I make with the "tasty bits" left in the pan. Same with adding oil. They can have a negative effect. (For reference, I like to add a little red wine to the "tasty goodies" left behind, render it down a bit, then add a little beef broth and a pinch of salt. I makes a very tasty sauce to dip your steak in if you prefer to do so. Not that it's needed, as the steak is good enough on it's own.)

I like your salt experiment, and would love to see a continuation of it, but instead of a skillet, use a charcoal grill instead.

Wow, the pictured pepperoni slice failed the sag test in epic fashion. Not only that, none of the pics make me crave a slice of their pizza, which isn't a good sign at all.

Take note, I'm not nearly as picky as most of you guys. No offense meant towards Blondie's, as I am sure they're much better than the chain run locations in their town. We might as well face it, most everywhere has a few truly awesome mom & pop shops. Problem is, finding them among the rather average family run shops in between. Either way, your still getting better pizza than say, ordering Pizza Hut .

My main gripe is when they don't include the prices. Sometimes I like to study the menu before dining out, and part of the research I'm doing, is based on price. I'm a cheap bastard, so I like to pick out something tasty and cheap, so I can have no complaints if my wife wants the most expensive meal on the menu.

When it comes to the phone number and address, Google is your friend as long as you know the name of the place.

PDF files don't bother me, but I can fully understand the complaints of those who don't like them.

I'll also join the group of those who hate annoying flash sites with crappy music, sound effects, and cute animation. All I want a little info, a menu with pricing, pics of the food, and pics of the ambiance being offered.