Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Road eating is tough for me. I have to stop anywhere and everywhere that sounds interesting to me (like you, I'm paranoid that I may not pass through again). I've found that just because I buy it, doesn't mean I have to eat it all.

I look at it this way:
I'm going to stop at Rutt's Hut while I'm in New Jersey next week. I want to sample the four different levels of done-ness of the hot dogs they serve there. If I cut the four hot dogs in half that makes two whole hot dogs. If you're with a friend give the other half to him or her. If you're alone, pitch them. Most people would probably say you just threw away four bucks worth of hot dogs. I, however, look at it like I just bought a pound of fat that I won't have to lose for four bucks, rather than needing to diet or exercise it off.

If you could buy a pound of lost fat from your frame, what you'd you pay? $5, $10, $20? Nothing says that you have to eat the whole thing, but Hot Doug's does give me pause for thought.

Pizzeria Uno serves up something similar called the Uno Deep Dish Sundae...same concept, amazingly good. The have introduced a Mega Sized version for when the regular just isn't enough. I share with my husband, but prior to eating it, I have learned to draw a line in the cookie, separating it into "his and hers"...if I don't do that, he will eat his half so fast that he begins to encroach upon my ice cream/cookie space...a big no no.

We did the author even bring up metal spoons? Yeah, if you're in a restaurant where you're less likely to walk off with or throw away the spoon, then by all means give 'em metal spoons. Why aren't we talking about glass dishes? Because it's just plain stupid, that's why.

The question should be "Which do you prefer plastic or biodegradable?" If your answer is plastic, then there's nothing I can do for you. I'm with the others, if you're not eating a sundae, then get a cone.

I think what I really enjoyed about this episode was how all of the chefs had such respect for each other, although it did suck a little bit that Michael was purposely stuck without any fish.

I also liked that Roy left his ego at the door and fessed up to the fact that improvisation isn't his forte. How many times have you seen on TC where people blame lay blame on other things or people.

I'm guessing that this is going to be a two part finale? I was really hoping that they'd squeeze three or four more episodes out of this (a semifinal round of 3 each, and then a finale).

From an entertainment standpoint I'm glad to see Art Smith make the final.

The hot rumor is that Susan Boyle is going to host the next series so people will stop complaining about good looking, physically fit, women hosting the show.

I'm more of a Peet's kind of guy. I'm simply not cool enough to drink Blue Bottle's coffee.

Whenever I'm in NYC I'm stopping at La Colombe, love that stuff.

That ain't right.

Am I the only one or is it odd that it's named "Dr. Oetker"? I don't know about you, but I usually think of hygiene when I think of Dr. so and so's (insert product).

My absolute favorite frozen pizza is the Trader Joe's pizza from Italy. I love those damn things.

@annabanannas
I, too, was not a fan of Jamie throughout the better part of the show. I can't tell you how glad I was that scallops weren't one of the six dishes presented during the dinner.

Concerning Toby,
Most people didn't like him from the beginning, I didn't really mind him because I didn't think Gale added all that much to the show either. In the last episode I thought he was clearly getting on everyone's nerves. I think what it comes down to is that he comes up with these mean spirited comments, yet has no cooking chops himself. Padma may make a comment but it's typically benign and she defers to those with more knowledge than her. Toby is no more valuable than a heckler at a comedy club.

I received "On the Line" for Christmas and it is truly a great book that is half behind the scenes interworkings kind of stuff, the other half recipes.

Barring any kind of catastrophic event I have to believe Leah will be gone in the next couple of episodes.

@Remander,

Absolutely hilarious. Thanks for the laugh.

As far as Kitchen Nightmares, I'm partial to the UK version. I can't stand the narrator in the US version (who I think is the same one from Hell's Kitchen). It just makes it seem so contrived.

Dijon Mustard, period.

@ PerkyMac- totally agree with the Sidekick. When I saw it I thought to my self, "Is it possible to get that thing any closer to the camera. It was damn near up against the glass!

Well, it took 6 episodes but we finally found someone who had a hard enough exterior to not succumb to Fabio's Charm. He was no match for Martha Stewart. The charm bullets didn't have make a small dent. They simply hit and dropped to the floor.

Is it wrong that I enjoy:
"And the winner of our quickfire (or elimination) challenge is......wait for it........SOMEONE OTHER THAN JAMIE!!! Uh-oh. Lookout. She's pissed!

Last week I wondered if she could cook anything that required a fork. Now I'm wondering if she can cook anything has legs.

Is it me or were Natasha Richardson's boobies holding on for dear life at the party? I was glad to see her change for Judges Table.

My man Eugene is not endearing himself to these judges.

Jeff's fallen back into his old ways. It would appear the self editing button is malfunctioning, again.

I think this was the first episode where I really noticed that people were really struggling with the actual airing of the show (Christmas time) with when the taping took place (late summer). It can't be easy to get into that mindset when it's still warm outside. The last thing I want to think about when it's warm out is ten drummers drumming.