Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Mmmmm. Fried baloney with mayo on white bread.

Popcorn ("with real butter!") at the movies (The Young Victoria). Dinner has all the requisites: Keilbasa, black eyed peas and sauerkraut and potato peirogies. Thanks, MIL for those tasty pasta pods!

That stencil is on the wall in Houston's Cafe Pita+ also. Which he already featured on one of his shows. It's good advertising for the restaurant, but in this case, I can't agree with him about the Bosnian food. I'm sure it's good Bosnian food, I guess I prefer American hamburgers to Bosnian hamburger.

@sailordave: Alton is a fraud and a car mechanic, not a cook. His gimmicky show gives me hives. His camera shots make me hate him. The sound effects are repetitive and annoying, like the glugging sounds on Three Sheets. Just cook, man. And that sister and nephew? Actors.

Oh, and I forgot Batali, Gwyneth, Mark and Claudia, "Spain, On the Road Again." Best series ever. Need to buy the CD if it's available.

Oh, and I forgot to change my SE name...

For years we've stayed in on NYE and made Dagwood sandwiches washed down with champagne and watch New York welcome the new year and most often, call it a night then at 11 p.m. It's just not our night to go out, much like Valentine's Day isn't. But tomorrow, we'll shop for roast beef, ham, turkey, pastrami, cheeses of all kinds, bolillo rolls, mustards, shredded lettuce and spinach leaves, sweet onions, green onions, jalapenos, pickles and anything else we see that might make our sandwich happier. It's a fun night of games that the kids liked when they were young. But they are grown up now and going to a "BLT" party tomorrow night or a "Black-tie, lingerie and toga" party. Where did I go wrong.

FN "dredged up" those photos long ago when they put together their chef biographies.

Foie gras (and Joeqboo, you should try it!) wasn't at all what I was expecting. A really luxurious mouth feel and taste of butter. Exotic: grasshoppers (chapulines), blue corn (essentially molded), octopus.

And boobird, some people think force feeding geese to harvest the foie gras is cruel. Chicago briefly outlawed it in what must have been a particularly slow legislative session.

Go to Xoco for hot chocolate and a churro. Eat at one of the other two.

We were in Chicago for a mere 48 hours in September and our "big" splurge was at Publican. The food was great, but the restaurant is loud, very loud. We had the necessary dog at Portillo's, the necessary pizza at Gino's (very good) and wandered lots on foot. We stayed at the Drake and had cocktails in the historic lounge there and some seafood appetizers at the restaurant bar also. Tried to do it all, and had to fast once home again. The city is fabulous. The people are amazing. We were discussing the Great Fire on a street corner and a lady asked us if we needed any information. She confirmed the date of the fire, not that long ago! Have a great time. We can't wait to return.

My father also, did and still does, ice his milk. Don't knock it until you try it with a warm brownie. Again, you gotta drink it fast.

Sailordave, I had to read your post twice because I thought mine eyes deceived me. What rot indeed! Poor form, GF.

I recently discovered the Colorado chain of Chipotle, which has actually been in my area for some time. I am so enamored of the burrito bowl with rice, grilled chicken, black beans, double scoop of pico de gallo, cheese and sour cream. I fancy it is somewhat healthy. And it's enough for two meals, although I have ignored that silly notion on occasion.