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Looking for Asheville area suggestions
I'm going on vacation there is a few weeks and almost posted the same question. @Kari - Have you tried either of these yet or have another suggestion to add?
Do you twitter?
eatlocallondon is exactly right. People think Twitter is for talking about the boring parts of your life. Yeah, you're all right - no one wants to know if you're sitting on the porch. However, if you are running a business, blog, etc. then it can be useful. The Zappos CEO does a great job of mixing business and personal. @zappos if you're interested.
@shamefree - my name, mostly music stuff but of course some good food stuff thrown in also. :)
Recap: City Flavors Couple-It Feast at Blackbird in Chicago
I wasn't there for this event, but a pastry chef friend of mine took me to Blackbird a few years ago and it was INCREDIBLE. One of my top 5 meals ever. Period.
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
Top 5: Daniel Zemans' Favorite Burgers in Chicago
I went to Kuma's last month and we got there at 5 pm on a Friday afternoon and just barely beat the rush. I had a Motorhead and my boyfriend had the Slayer and while the Slayer was good but not really an interesting flavor profile, the Motorhead was unbelievable. The pretzel rolls make a great sturdy base for what can really turn into a mess of a burger. Yes, they are a little overcooked, but so damn good I'll just have to look past it.
Looking for Asheville area suggestions
I'm going on vacation there is a few weeks and almost posted the same question. @Kari - Have you tried either of these yet or have another suggestion to add?
Do you twitter?
eatlocallondon is exactly right. People think Twitter is for talking about the boring parts of your life. Yeah, you're all right - no one wants to know if you're sitting on the porch. However, if you are running a business, blog, etc. then it can be useful. The Zappos CEO does a great job of mixing business and personal. @zappos if you're interested.
@shamefree - my name, mostly music stuff but of course some good food stuff thrown in also. :)
Recap: City Flavors Couple-It Feast at Blackbird in Chicago
I wasn't there for this event, but a pastry chef friend of mine took me to Blackbird a few years ago and it was INCREDIBLE. One of my top 5 meals ever. Period.
Video: Frank Bruni Reviews the Choco Taco
lol @chinolam
Yeah, the waffle cone "taco shell" isn't so good.
Bruni was dead on with the making junk food worth it thing. How disappointing when you realize you sacrificed multiple hours at the gym for a Whopper only to get something mushy and disgusting, when you should have just eaten the Luna bar that's been smooshed at the bottom of your purse for two weeks. Fail.
You truly do get what you pay for
Alcohol, Seafood, Milk, Meat. For these items It's just not worth it to me to eat/drink garbage. I'd rather not have it at all.
Cheese however, while I do appreciate a good blue, I'll eat a hand full of shredded Kraft Colby Jack and not think twice...I can't help it. ;)
A 'Guide' to Understanding the Food Network
Watch it GingerSnap. I'm from Kentucky and I can tell you, we marry cousins not siblings. ;)
Would You Go to a Chain Restaurant on a First Date?
Some people leaving comments need to get over themselves. I think ag3208 hit the nail on the head. Maybe they're just playing it safe. If you don't know someone very well, you certainly don't want to take someone who loves Beenie Weenies to a sushi place. I'm going to be catty for a minute, but maybe this is why so many ladies are single. Perhaps these ridiculous initial standards of, "If he doesn't take me somewhere clever and unique he must be a total loser, " is keeping them from meeting a great guy. My boyfriend is a HUGE foodie who cooks better than I've had in most restaurants, and our first date was coffee and the second was Waffle House just because he wanted to keep it simple. Just saying...
City Flavor Guide: Cincinnati
Cincinnati food is overrated. From it's Chili, to its pizza to its ice cream. It's all fair, but nothing outstanding. @ChloeA is exactly right. Cincinnati is pretty conservative an very much so about tradition. I lived on the Kentucky side of the river for 5 years but worked in Cincinnati and when I travel there now, there is not one restaurant I am just dying to visit. I even have a hard time making recommendations to people who assume I would know loads of great places to eat after living there. Sadly, if I do suggest something, I always feel the need to qualify it with, "But this was 4 years ago, it might not be any good now."
Video: Sandra Lee 'Delicious, Delicious, Delicious' Montage
Vodka, vodka, vodka, vodka, lush = hilarious.
'What We Eat When We Eat Alone'
I usually have the "scavenger dinner" which consists of random things from the fridge that are about to go bad, either combined into some sort of monstrosity or by themselves.
Video: USB-Powered Mini Microwave in Action
I'm with sandmansd. I don't know anyone who eats enough baked beans to warrant having an entire appliance attached to their computer to cook them.
LaRosa's: A Tradition Cincinnatians Should Not Be Proud Of
lol @ archie45
I lived in Cincinnati for 5 years and was never really impressed with most food from there. I will say though, I've had La Rosa's a few times that it was actually really good. If they would stop serving it at Kings Island and The Zoo where it sucks royally, it might not gross me out as much now. Either way, I learned to except mediocrity out of most things from Cincinnati. Sorry guys, I still love you but Louisville is so much better. haha ;)
The Organic Milk Business Has Gone Bad: Are You Buying Less Organic Milk?
I won't drink milk if it has any sort of 'smell.' I don't mean the normal smell after it's been open a couple days; I mean any smell. I know, it's strange. I used to buy 2 or 3 of those small containers of regular milk so it would always be fresh. I started buying organic and not only does it taste cleaner, but it last so much longer that it's worth paying a little bit of a premium.
Mixed Review: Dr. Oetker's Double Chocolate Mousse Supreme
Another nod for carriebwc. I don't always want to take all day to make something completely from scratch. Sometimes I want something quick and crappy.
Also, I missed the comment about how someone shouldn't cook at all if they don't make their own chicken stock - that may be the most obnoxious thing i've ever read on the internet.
Good eats in Lexington, KY
I grew up about 20 minutes from Lexington and these are some of my favorite places. Enjoy!
Joe Bologna's - don't miss the giant bread sticks in the garlic butter.
Tolly Ho - this place is about as un-fancy as you get. Open 24 hrs, greasy college food - great burgers.
Johnny Carino's - this is a smaller regional chain but they have great lasagna and killer tiramisu. If your friend doesn't mind a fruity, alcoholic beverage - the peach bellini can't be beat.
Thai Orchid - I haven't been here but I hear it's amazing.
Video: Sandra Lee 'Delicious, Delicious, Delicious' Montage
How can you not be a Sandra fan after that. That's more entertaining than any "competition" on foodtv.
Video: Sandra Lee 'Delicious, Delicious, Delicious' Montage
Oh you di-int!! Thanks Adam, you really took one for the team.
Top 5: Daniel Zemans' Favorite Burgers in Chicago
Kuma's has changed their fries to waffle and they are not as good. They used to have med-thick cut potatoes which were much better. I can never go, either, due to the wait times. But the handful of times I have gone over the past few years I've never had an overcooked burger.
Do you twitter?
I just started Twittering (tweeting?) and find it a little redundant since I'm using the same material from my blog and Facebook. But it does reinforce the topics I blog about and reach a different audience. I find more organizations and businesses tweeting now.
Do you twitter?
I have a twitter account and don't have the faintest notion of wth to do with it. At first, I thought it was for use with phones, then I saw people using computers, then I just realized I'm spread too thin as it is. I've pretty much bailed on myspace because my non-code-friendly friends won't touch it.. I use my page to contact a few hard core ms friends who refuse to come to FB.
FB, IMO, is a treasure chest of friends from nearly every era of my life - all in one place. I've enjoyed catching up with old friends, some of whom I had lost all hope I'd ever know again. It's been a joy for me. I can live without all the Mafia wars and Farmtown bullshit and wish there were a way to permanently block those annoying "apps." FB is like a rolling bulletin board where any of your friends may tack a virtual post it note to your "wall."
Between coming here to SE, FB, filtering through e-mail and other hobbies and clubs to which I belong, my time is non-existent. I'm not sure if frequenting twitter is really necessary.
Do you twitter?
I started on Twitter pretty reluctantly, but I (here comes the self-promotion...) wrote a cookbook that just came out and I was advised to be on as many forms of social media as I could stand. What I've found though is that it's fun -- I'm following some of my favorite bloggers on Twitter and I've gotten to know them much better as people, which is really great.
Do you twitter?
You don't have to Twitter only about what you're doing, you know. I rarely do. Often I'll use it as a sounding board for ideas, or a place to wonder (food-related) things aloud and often get responses from people who know what they're talking about (I follow a lot of chefs). It's also decent for promotion of my art and my blog, and quite honestly if it weren't for Twitter I wouldn't know any of the totally awesome people (fellow food bloggers) I've met (in person and all) since I moved to New York. It's pretty invaluable for food bloggers (or any bloggers, probably) in that we can get to know each other much quicker than we would have by just reading and commenting on each others blogs over several months.
Do you twitter?
I twittered for about two weeks. For me, it got that old that fast. I had originally only gone on to follow Ruth Reichl anyway.
City Flavor Guide: Cincinnati
@bareneed Warsteiner = beer, Wertheim's=lousy
The Hofbrauhaus in Newport, the Munich-style beer house is a replica of the Hofbrauhaus in Munich. This used to be the only Hofbrauhaus in the U.S. until they built one in Pittsburgh. Hofbrauhaus and Mecklenburg Gardens are Cincinnati's better choices for German food. (Or come back for one of the many Oktoberfests).
Recap: City Flavors Couple-It Feast at Blackbird in Chicago
Darn, sounds like a great event, how could the food NOT be fantastic at Blackbird? I guess I have to pay more attention to the posts here at SE......
City Flavor Guide: Cincinnati
People go to Skyline because it's all they know, but it doesn't compare to the real chili parlors in Cincinnati -- Price Hill, Camp Washington, Blue Ash and the 30 or so other independantly owned mom and pop legitimate chili parlors in town. Judging Cincinnati Chili by going to Skyline (or Goldstar) is like judging Hamburgers by going to McDonalds. Or judging New York City by going to Times Square. Or judging America by listening to Paris Hilton.
You truly do get what you pay for
FOOD IS MY LIFE ! My wife has found me napping with my chin and shirt dripping wet with drool dreaming about FOOD.
FOOD is the one place that I don't try to save by using inferior products and having to live with severe dietary restrictions we make the most of the cards I've been dealt. I have found that incredible dishes can be created with a few quality ingredients and keep inside my diet restrictions also they can be served to company without them even aware, I've had very sophisticated paletes have seconds and even thirds.
I hunt and harvest our own venison [ elk, deer, moose, caribou ], antelope, wild desert sheep and goats, wild boar and wild turkey. We do buy bison and some free range organic poultry though. We catch our fish [king/coho salmon, halibut, snapper from Alaska and yellowfin tuna, albacore, bluefin, humbolt squid [whatever gets in the range of San Diego over-nite and multi-day tuna boats]
We buy whole grain artisan breads and farmers market produce whenever possible
The pantry is chauk full of various ethnic ingredients as well as the good old stand-bys. 7 types of salt so-far, 4 types of peppercorns, 6 sugars and so-on.
Various types of olives California artisan, Italian, Spainish, Greek Turkish etc. Cheeses wonderful cheeses homegrown natural artisan cheeses and various european varieties.
Asian food is my fav so we have a large selection of Thai, Indonesian, Chinese proper, Viet Namese, Korean, Japanese, some Indian, etc.
The pantry also holds contiental, mediterranian, latin and pacific fusion for lack of a better term.
I LOVE FOOD !
You truly do get what you pay for
Organic milk and eggs. I eat them by the dozen. Daily. (No joke.)
Grass fed meats. Worth it by a mile!
Wild fresh fish.
And farmers' market veg.
You truly do get what you pay for
I know I’m suppose to keep kosher but I can’t give up hanging prime beef, even if the average cost is around $15 per pound and more importantly from a real butcher.
Farm fresh eggs, because I have no fear of making mayo
Damn good Olive oil, just because I deserve it
Free trade coffee – I refuse to live life without it and I seriously don’t care how much it costs
Good balsamic vinegar – just because
Imported Italian canned tomatoes, no tomato sauce should be without them
00 Flour – this is not me, my sour dough starter has expensive taste, Ok it also makes kicken pizza dough
Marco Polo tea from Mariage Freres – if you ever had any of these tea’s you would understand
Scharffen Berger and Callebaut organic Chocolate – come, on you would actually make a chocolate dessert without using one or both of these…what would be the point
Cheese goes without saying my current addition in is d’Affinois
Fish – gotta see the eyes and I live in an area where you buy the live fish in tanks
@ meravaleh – I bake between 150 to 225 doz cookies during the holidays and have for 20 years and I get the butter flavored Crisco thing, don’t know why but it just works with large batch cooking baking – try Nestle chocolate chips
You truly do get what you pay for
Chocolate is a biggie for me, though I'm not saying that I don't enjoy a Hershey's bar now and then!
You truly do get what you pay for
Maldon Sea Salt @ $7 for an 8.5 oz. Box. Maldon is the King of salts. Nothing else compares to it. It is so much better than Fleur De Sel or anything else.
You truly do get what you pay for
I have made and donated at least a 1000 dozen cookies a year for the past 3 yrs and there are definitely things I swear by! Butter flavored Crisco, large double yolk eggs fresh from the Farmer's Market every week, and Mexican Vanilla that my flight attendant friend bring me. Oh, and good pecans.
You truly do get what you pay for
Tomatoes - I want fresh, vine ripened tomatoes that are not picked by slave labor in Florida.
Salami
Liquor (beer also - but I live in Germany so, I don't have to splurge to buy beer. Its the best in the world and its dirt.cheap)
Free range eggs
Coffee - must be fair trade AND taste good
Wine - I don't buy extravagant but I will pay a few extra euros for a decent bottle (again, this is also something that just isn't expensive here anyway)
balsamic vinegar
Ice Cream - its got to be worth the calories!
fair trade Sugar and Chocolate
Yogurt
For most things though - whether or not I decide to splurge really depends on what I am using it for. And for many things here in Germany, there just isn't much quality difference in the various products (there isn't much variation in most grocery products at all) so I don't feel like I often have to splurge to get the quality that I insist on.
You truly do get what you pay for
as someone who should truly have a budget, i try to buy everything on sale.
I got a $20 bottle of organic extra virgin olive oil for $10. I used to buy the huge tins of them, but then realized i was pressed for time to use it all.
i buy vegetables on a weekly basis based on whether i'm going to have time to cook/ if i'm going to be in my apartment at all. i live in brooklyn, but i haven't slept there in over a week with dogsitting in the UES, catsitting in Greenpoint and leaving NYC for the weekend to go hang out in Long Island. some veggies last longer than others so I try to get string beans that'll hang on for a week in the fridge, potatoes can hang out for a while, eggs can as well.
my staples:
- good olive oil
- potatoes
- greenery (green beans, legumes)
- good ramen (myojo chukazanmai)
- organic frozen foods (corn, okra, peas)
- natto
- white rice (koshihikari)
- pasta
- canned tomatoes (for pasta sauce)
-garlic
I love my carbs! Cooking for one is also proving to be difficult even though i've been doing it for almost two years now.
You truly do get what you pay for
Definitely cheeses, and while I don't have to have Rogue River Blue or Humboldt Fog all the time, there'll be no "cheese food products" except perhaps Bon Bels. Got addicted at an early age, but aged gruyere will always win out.
Beer. After I found a local brewery- High Point Brewing company- I never went back to mass produced beers. Samuel Adams is the only large brewer I'll buy from. Abita, Dogfish Head, Flying Fish, and even Brooklyn Brewery all make great craft stuff and are easy to find.Though I like hunting down the smaller batch stuff too. Made a bad mistake trying the Trader Joe's "craft beer" once to save a buck. Ugh.
Seafood and meat of course. Savings here is often at the expense of flavor, healthiness and environmental factors. I don't always go for the organic grass fed free range, but it pays to be finicky here.
Organic milk just tastes better and lasts longer. Eggs seem fresher from the firmness of the yolk and white when raw. It's worth the extra.
Breads too. None of that gummy stuff with an ingredients list a mile long.
As for fruit & veg I go for local vs. organic. I don't care if it was grown organically, by the time it gets here it doesn't taste as good as local.
If it's the difference between savoring every bite and swallowing it down, it's worth it to me. Not every meal needs to be a feast, but even mechanical meals can be tasty and healthy for a few pennies here and there.
You truly do get what you pay for
Cheese. Unfortunately, there are two versions of cheese in the house. The cheap stuff (my hubby prefers) and the "good" stuff (I prefer). The only one we agree on is the parmesan.
Veggies - I go out of my way to get fresh produce from the farmers market. So much better that way.
Steaks - I will scrimp, to a degree, on certain cuts of meat. But steak? Has to be grass-fed, free range, organic. YUM.
Eggs - I just can't go back to grocery store eggs, not even the best the store has to offer. I get mine from a local farm that raises happy chickens.
You truly do get what you pay for
I would say that my splurges, or rather where I spend the most money, would be on seafood and alcohol. There is nothing worse than stinky fish!
Stephanie- The Long Island Grocery Examiner
You truly do get what you pay for
I have ethical standards about dairy and eggs, and so end up spending more on those. I have taste standards about coffee.
I also like to eat some foods that just aren't cheap, like mushrooms!
Here's a trick I learned somewhere: buy cheap olive oil for cooking with, and then a nicer version for finishing dishes, where you'll taste its flavor strongly.
You truly do get what you pay for
I also grew up on the coast but have since moved to Toronto. I only buy frozen seafood. If you're not on the coast it's not fresh fish at the fishmonger so the next best thing is having it frozen when it was fresh.
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About Shamefree
Website: http://www.shame-free.com
Location: Louisville, KY
About: I write about music but man, do I love food.
Favorite foods: Italian, Sushi, Thai, Mexican, anything my mother cooks.
Last bite on earth:
I went to Kuma's last month and we got there at 5 pm on a Friday afternoon and just barely beat the rush. I had a Motorhead and my boyfriend had the Slayer and while the Slayer was good but not really an interesting flavor profile, the Motorhead was unbelievable. The pretzel rolls make a great sturdy base for what can really turn into a mess of a burger. Yes, they are a little overcooked, but so damn good I'll just have to look past it.