An umami blast - burgers with a toppings bar of mushrooms, bleu cheese, anchovy aioli, etc., and plenty of red wine.
Ridgewood BBQ in Bluff City, TN (Which I first heard about on here, thank you Mr. Portman). Smoked pork sandwiches with a creamy cole slaw on top. Wow.
Never had Banana Pudding until moving to east TN. Love. It.
The double chopped steak w/cheese, pickles, onions, and mayo at Triple XXX in West Lafayette, IN.
They look delicious. Any chance we can get a recipe?
A Brandy Alexander
My bad. Best intentions.
Family meals for us were always breakfasts. Not being a big family, it wasn't uncommon for five generations to gather, laugh, and spar over eggs, potatoes, bacon, corned beef hash, pancakes, and lots and lots of coffee at the local mom and pop diner.
I can duplicate it, but what I wouldn't give to have my mom again make her meatloaf, mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, and brown gravy. A favorite way of eating it as a kid was to just mix it all up and spoon it in!
Anytime carnitas are on the menu, I'm there.
Bushmills Black
Too many to mention but I will say that having just moved to East Tennessee in the last six months I've been delighted by many new things to try. Perhaps the greatest though is a product I'd only heard rumors about - Duke's Mayonnaise. Ho. Ly. Crap. That stuff is amazing.
This goes back further than many may remember, but having worked nearby I used to stop in after a hard day when in need of a drink. One afternoon I walked in and there were no more than a handful of people including Jack Brickhouse, who was the voice of the Cubs, and Bill Veeck, then owner of the White Sox. Everyone was gathered around them, and after getting a drink at the bar, they waved me over as well. Introductions went around (as they did with two others who came in), and we sat there and listened to these two baseball legends trade stories for about an hour and a half. I've never eaten at Miller's, but it will always be a magical place in my heart.
While I was at UWM my fellow grad student Ljiljana returned from winter break in the former Yugoslavia with a bottle of her family's homemade Slivovitz. You've heard the expression "it could peel the paint off the walls" - this stuff could peel that paint, melt the plaster, strip the building to just the studs, and blow the shingles off the roof. I loved it.
Wine, company optional.
I would have cited Oklahoma Joe's prior to moving to Johnson City TN, and on the recommendation of Serious Eats' very own Jed Portman trying the thinly sliced smoked ham at Ridgewood BBQ in nearby Bluff City. A hazy haven of smoked bliss tucked along a twisty road a few mile off the main drag, this is hog heaven. Just don't try to find a seat when NASCAR's running at Bristol.
I think your volume measurements are off. 1/2 cup flour and over a cup of water will only result in a really bland soup.
"Predominantly nail polish remover, albeit with an admittedly pleasant undercurrent of vanilla" sounds like it should be on a RomCom soundtrack.
Split pea and ham
Last night I had two boneless chicken thighs to use up, and given the omnipresent tortilla packages in my refrigerator, I decided to make fajitas. But for the vegetable component I used onions and kimchi. Delicious, so my answer would be kimchi is my favorite fermented food.
Creme brulee
Butternut squash soup with cayenne or curry powder.
Black, strong, and at times, intravenously.
I know this is obscure, but I start teaching at East TN State in two weeks, in the upper NE corner of the state. Are there any food experiences - restaurants, cuisine items particular to that area, etc. - that are not to be missed? Towns incl Johnson City, Knoxville, and Bristol in TN, and Asheville, NC. Thanks in advance for responses.
I have two nieces, ages 11 and 12, who have been vegetarian for the past two years, but have not yet explored Indian cuisine. This seems like a problem a cranky old uncle should rectify. I haven't lived in the area for 20 years though, so does anyone have good recommendations for restaurants in the Schaumburg/Hanover Park/Hoffman Estates general area?
Thanks.
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A place in Iowa City called George's (formerly George's Buffet). A dive bar from the 1920s, resplendent with flocked wallpaper and Hamm's signs. It was a combination grad student and locals hangout a few blocks off the U/Iowa campus that offered amazing conversations at any time. My friends always went with the 75-cent LaCrosse's on tap, while I loved the $5.25 heavy pours of Laphroaig(!). Add good burgers from an ancient broiler, and the best juke box in the city, and this was my place to kill an entire night.