I'm a broke college kid that spends more money on good food than I should. Text books? Pffft. Duck confit fries and a Korean burrito? Essential.
The fourth ingredient listed, what is it supposed to be? It just says 20 grams. Of course, I'm not the sharpest knife in the block, so if I missed an obvious answer, I apologize haha.
Bud's Famous Eggnog would have blown these out of the water. Just sayin. I think it's just available in California though. Either way, it's good stuff.
I heartily support @Nicole Vee's addition of a ninth milkshake to this list. The banana shake at the Falafel Drive in is nothing short of heavenly. It's easily one of the best shakes in San Jose and could stand up to the SF shakes too.
What's the big deal? I like weird, over the top toppings on my hot dogs. I'll take two please!
What's the big deal? I like weird, over the top toppings on my hot dogs. I'll take two please!
Oh no! Kenji I am so sorry for your loss! As someone who has lost a furry companion I know how bad you must be hurting. My deepest condolences to you and your wife.
The lobster roll off Sam's Chowdermobile in San Jose was amazing!!! Huge chunks of lobster, like whole claw pieces, tossed in butter, and stuffed into a toasted roll. I can't think of anything better. Except for maybe the Shrimp Po'boy off Sam's too. That shit was insane. Juicy fried shrimp, good bread, with some hot sauce? Oh yeah. I'd scarf that truck's offerings all day.
The kimchee and short rib quesadilla off of the Mogo BBQ truck was amazing too. The service is fast, the prices are as good as the food, and the trucks vibe is great. The short rib tacos were really good too.
Treat Bot has some really good ice cream too. The Mexican hot chocolate ice cream sandwich was sooooooo good. Kinda smokey, and with a hit of cinnamon. But the 408 flavor was the best. It's hillarious watching people use the trucks karaoke machine . . . Kinda painful too though. Not everyone should sing, hahhahaha.
As a Northern Cali/Silicon Valley native these chains are my go to's:
Happi House; udon and tempura are not at all bad, and the salmon teriyaki is always a good option. Oh and the brown rice is yummy.
Erik's Deli; Pilgrim's Progress, with a Root Beer, and some Salt & Vinegar chips . . . That's a damn good lunch right there. I love their wheat bread and sprouts, and the fact that they use sliced bread instead of baguette type breads. And their clam chowder is pretty okay too.
Hobees; Breakfast items are good, coffee cake is awesome, the rest of their offerings are okay. I really only like coming here for their breakfasts. Their hash brown items are very tasty, so is their sweet stuff.
Foster's Freeze; I like their burgers, which are just good drive-in type burgers. The crinkle fries are great. And their vanilla cones are awesome! So big, so creamy, just great. I tried a brownie sundae here once and it was alright, the fudge sauce was good, but the brownie was bland. Their pineapple banana shake is delicious. As are their grilled cheeses and BLTs.
Stacks; I'm not sure if this is a regional chain, but I love em anyways! Best breakfast for a chain. Bacon waffle, and the bacon skillet. Everything is delicious.
In-n-Out; This is a no brainer. It's freakin In-n-Out.
I think that covers all my favorites.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; The scene with the candy meadow is my favorite and leaves me craving anything sweet.
Willy Wonka; I want to live in the factory and dive into the chocolate river.
Chocolat; I actually have to eat at least a bite of chocolate when I watch this. The hot chocolate she makes looks absolutely divine!
Ratatouille; I've always wanted to try ratatouille and even more so after this movie. But the way it's made in this movie looks so elegant and delicious!
Tortilla Soup; I'm always left wanting nopales, tortilla soup, and porcupine cookies. And everything else too!
Hmmm, secretly? No. Openly? Hell yeah. I like food from chain restaurants, oh gawds the horror! I must be an American with an underdeveloped palate, and no sense of fine cuisine! Pfffft. I don't see what the big deal is; people get their knickers in a twist over such silly stuff.
There's good stuff in chain places, and it's usually for a nicer price than a non-chain. A Double Double, animal style, with a coke from In-N-Out is just glorious. The Magarita Grilled Chicken at Chili's is a great flavorful meal, and a healthy alternative to their other options. Super Taqueria (does it even exist outside CA?) carne asada tacos, with a huge jugo de piña is the shizz.
Don't be ashamed fellow chain restaurant lovers! Say it loud, say it proud. There's no need to stay in the closet about this. :)
Burnt to a crisp. I like that burnt sugar taste and then the gooey interior. Sooooo good on a s'more; especially when using chocolate studded with nuts and toffee bits. :)
My thinking is that good food is worth sharing.
With family we always share, but I do ask first. When it's the older members of my family it's all about respect; I won't just dip my fork uninvited. With the younger generations it's pretty fair game. Sometimes I ask first, sometimes I don't. My cousin and I are a divide and conquer sort, so eating from each others plates is a norm.
I do have some friends who I won't I ask to try their food at all, because we just aren't on that level as far as how close we are. However I do have one friend who, when we go out to eat, knows we're gonna snatch food from each other's plates.
People who are stingy and prissy about sharing their food irk me. I mean what's the big deal? Sharing is caring. :)
I got a hummus craving while reading this, so mid post I ran to my fridge to get some. The only hummus I've ever really loved comes from this guy, who has a Mediterranean food stand at my local farmer's market. It's to die for! Creamy, but not like butter. Lemony, garlicky, delish!!! I dunno what it is but the hummus from stores just doesn't do it for me.
I was only in line for 15 minutes and my scoop of Oatmeal Cookie Chunk was not ony delicious bit big too! I love Free Cone Day.
@Charity
I saw that on White Collar too! Haha, I love learning random things off of TV.
I loved the old SE, but I'm getting used to the new one. Honestly, I'm not sure why the redsign was even needed though. I thought it was great the way it was. Oh well.
My only gripes are the little article snippets and smaller pictures. Oh and that single ginormous photo is a little annoying too; takes forever to load and occupies more space than it's worth.
In my house the Super Bowl is like a holiday and We end up inviting some 15+ people over to watch the game. And like any other holiday at my house, we seriously EAT! The day before is spent marinating the truckload of meats and grocery shopping. The day of means an early start, cooking up until kick off, and snacking the entire time. And once everything is set up, we FEAST.
Appe-teasers: chips, dips of all kinds, WINGS, jalapeño poppers, pita chips+hummus, loaded potato skins,
Mains: grilled meats, grilled shrimp, grilled oysters, grilled veggies, grilled tortillas
Sweet Stuff: cheesecake, brownies, assortment of cookies, ice cream
So this is what's been missing from my life all these years. Oh the joy of finding true love!!!
@capndesign I agree; this question is evil. How can a person have only ONE pie preference??? It's absurd!!! And where is the Lemon Meringue option? Where's the Chocolate cream pie option? Not only is this question evil, it's flawed too.
One of the worst cooking mistakes I ever made had to do with donuts. I accidentally swapped the salt for the sugar in my donut recipe and thus I ended up with salty donuts. The situation was mildly depressing at first. But oh how I laughed when I took my botched donuts to school and surreptitiously left them in the teacher's lounge. Ahhh, memories.
And my little sister used to think bagels were salty donuts since they have the same shape; kids, LOL.
Microwaves are really just about convience. I have a lot of people in my home and two younger siblings who are always running around and always hungry. Now, do I want to wait for my oven to heat up when the kids beg for a hot pocket and want it instantaneously? No. Do I want to wait for my stove to heat up when five minutes later my lilttle brother wants some warm milk? No. In these cases a microwave is a godsend. In my life there just isn't enough time to wait for ovens and stoves. If I didn't have a microwave I would have to do things the old fashioned way. In a home with lots of people, not a lot of time, and rushing around, the microwave becomes an essential tool in the kitchen. But this is just my situation. I never grew up without a microwave. Depending on what your home life if like I think that you should try and live without one for a while. If you end up missing it you can get one for $25-$50 easy.
I really like the ice cream idea. That sounds great. Thanks @LizLemon. Maybe I can try a makeshift ice cream maker, since I don't have a real one.
@sadispix, the romanoff idea sounds tasty. I bet my mother would really enjoy that one.
Thanks for the ideas everyone!
I crave Jack In The Box when I'm drunk; specifically a Sourdough Jack. But I also usually crave fries, onion rings,spicy ramen, udon, and fried rice. I tend to avoid dairy things (except cheese) when I'm in this delicate state and go for greasy, fried, or spicy confections of goodness.
I bought a set of the Komachi knives at Costco and I've had them for about 5-6 months. They still work just as beautifully as they did the first day. I have 3 different paring knives, a chefs knife, a bread knife, and a santoku knife. These are the best knives I've ever used (so far, haha).
I've got a thing of crème fraîche and a carton of strawberries in my fridge. I'm compelled to combine the two into something amazing.
I did a search of recipes on epicurious but didn't find anything that "wowed" me. So do any of you SeriousEaters know of a good recipe?
I have always been curious as to how chefs feel about customers who walk into their restaurant half an hour before closing and stay an hour after closing. Admittedly, more than once I have been said customer, and each time I felt a slight pang of guilt. The last time I did this was at a hole in the wall southern italian restaurant in San Jose, and the vibe was a little weird. Although, the only customers left were my family, so perhaps that is why. I have it in my head that chefs like most employed people, don't want to have to work longer than is necessary. And it would probably annoy me if someone came to eat only minutes before the kitchen was supposed to close. On the other hand paying customers, no matter if they walk in five minutes before closing, are still paying customers. Either way, I'd love to know what you serious eaters out there have to say on the subject.
Here at SE Drinks, we like to celebrate each season with milkshakes. (Girl Scout Cookie Time is a season, right?) And since we can't resist pumpkin flavored sips in autumn, we recently spent a (very filling) afternoon blending up this group of deliciously fall-appropriate sippable desserts. More
To freeze the Tots, follow the recipe through step 3. In step 4, remove them from the fryer after 1 1/2 minutes and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Transfer to a sheet tray or large plate in a single... More
My mom's brown sugar pound cake has a big fan base, myself included. I don't have a huge sweet tooth, and while I'll do a sliver of pecan pie or German chocolate cake, it's trusty old brown sugar pound cake that dominates my dessert plate at Thanksgiving. More
This is a four ingredient, ten minute, better-than-homemade-sweet-potato-pie dessert. Could you ask for anything more out of a recipe? More
This beautiful lemon layer cake is accented with blackberry preserves, white chocolate icing, and wafer cookies. More
This beautiful cake gets its flavor from an unexpected source: hibiscus flowers. More
We're huge fans of Mrs. Kenji's four-ingredient, one-utensil-required dessert hack. It's as dangerously edible as it is easy to assemble. Don't believe us? If you can spare 60 seconds, our very own Sweets columnist Maria del Mar Sacasa will don her whitest apron and show you. More
I've enjoyed many delicious salty-sweet desserts, but only a select few blow my mind and make me start inventing words. The Chocolate Caramel Potato Chip cupcake, or "CCPC" ($5), at The Sugar Cube food cart in Portland, Oregon, did just that. More
Crisp, double-fried, buttermilk-marinated chicken teams with fried lemon wheels and jalapenos. More
This breakfast version of a Mexican torta is filled with refried beans, avocados, cotija cheese, chopped white onions, Cholula-spiked mayonnaise, cilantro, chicharrones, and fried eggs. More
Rum-spiked brown sugar walnut cake is layered with vanilla custard, meringue, and sticky bananas foster to make this decadent treat. More
A sweet and creamy take on Vietnamese iced coffee. More
It's a beautiful balancing act: the holey rounds of lightly crispy fried dough act as perfect bookends for the light-as-air whipped cream and juicy strawberry slices which act as filling. More
There are people in this world who eat their oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins on top, then carry on about their lives, and that's fine. The fact that they're eating oatmeal is a good thing, but how sad for them. What a missed opportunity! Oatmeal can, and should, be treated as a canvas for all sorts of inventive toppings, both savory and sweet. More
Notes: Bourbon ice cream is a serving suggestion; you can skip this step and use your favorite flavor of ice cream. Use a stainless steel skillet to brown the butter--a dark-bottomed skillet will make it difficult to see the butter... More
Imagine dozens of cinnamon roll nuggets piled together and bound by caramel and you have Monkey Bread. More
Whoever came up with the idea of using crushed chocolate cookies to simulate dirt on food is a complete genius. Nothing else so perfectly mimics dark, moist, peaty soil, and as a cake decorator, I've had a blast conceiving all sorts of kid's cakes with the stuff. Unfortunately, most chocolate dirt desserts are sort of trashy: layers of boxed instant chocolate pudding, Oreo cookie crumbs, Cool Whip non-dairy topping, all decorated with handfuls of squiggly neon gummy worms. I decided to challenge myself by making this mash-up with some good, wholesome ingredients and a fresh design with adult appeal. More
I like to think of these as a popover-crepe hybrid. You pour a simple, eggy batter into a wide skillet, pop it in the oven, and 20 minutes later you have a puffed, bowl-shaped pancake that's just waiting to be topped with sugar. Some people eat dutch babies with lemon, and sure, I won't stop you. But I like mine New England style—topped with fresh blueberries and a little maple syrup. More
Sidewalks dotted with flowers, blossoms on every tree, the constant chirping of the birds—oh yes, picnic season is officially in full-swing! As we pack our baskets, we won't forget a sweet or two. They may run the gamut from cookies to pies, but we believe a few qualities must remain steadfast. Picnic sweets should be easily transportable, simple to serve, and pleasing to a crowd. More
I've never hidden my love for Mapo Dofu, the Sichuan dish of soft silken tofu flavored with beef and mouth-numbing, citrus-y Sichuan peppercorns. But it doesn't have to be a season-less dish. The past few years I've taken to adapting it to the spring by adding in a few big handfuls of sliced ramps, the ephemeral wild spring onions that how up by the bushel at farmers' markets (or if you're lucky, sister's backyard!). More
Sangkhaya is essentially crème pâtissière albeit slightly runnier. It's made with coconut milk (or a combination of coconut milk and milk) and meant to be slathered on warm bread or served as a dip along with bread and sometimes fried crullers. More
It's not that we're not satisfied with the single shiny, crisp, straight-from-the-freezer, chocolate-mint bite of perfection delivered by an unadorned Thin Mint—but a Thin Mint ice cream sandwich is pretty awesome, too. More
Adapted from The Art of Simple Food. [Photograph: Blake Royer] About the author: Blake Royer is a food writer, photographer, and filmmaker based in Chicago; he has been writing for Serious Eats since 2007. You can follow him on Twitter... More
I found this recipe for the legendary Louisville Hot Brown sandwich (named after the hotel it was invented at) in the American Century Cookbook, the same terrific, historically oriented tome I found the cheese strata in last week. It's one... More
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Great Post! I'm Nica on my mother's side, so I grew up with my maternal grandma stuffing Nicaraguan food down my gullet since I could chew. She usually makes her arroz alla valenciana with Vienna sausages instead of ham. Odd, I know, but I think it was out of necessity from when she first moved to the states dirt poor, and it transitioned into a habit.
I hope to see some more Nica recipes in th future. :D