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The Ten Most Recent Comments By mschlock

From Required Eating

What to Eat on a First Date

Well, it depends, 'cause on first dates (or first meetings) I like to go out for milkshakes in lieu of coffee. Hey, I don't drink coffee. I'm weird like that.

Once the object of dating has made it to the "let's actually try dining together" stage, one thing I like to do is go somewhere you can get food pretty fast, instead of staring at your empty plate for 20 minutes should you not hit it off. For this, dim sum lunch is ideal!

I also like going to family-style places for dinner -- figure out how good you are at compromise...

mschlock at 12:17AM on 07/23/08

From Required Eating

Sourdough Doesn't Always Mean 'Good'

I am not a fan of the sourdough and make a point of rewarding restaurants who DON'T serve it by default in all their bread baskets. Much prefer a soft focaccia-type bread with some olive oil and balsamic...

mschlock at 4:22PM on 06/27/08

From Required Eating

Beautiful Mustard Jars with Die-Cut Labels

Must...resist...poop joke...

mschlock at 8:25PM on 06/19/08

From Eating Out

Where To Find Fried Pickles on the East Coast

I believe they have them in California at The Counter (a couple of locations in the Bay Area and a few in Southern California, I think). I have never tried them, though, 'cause I don't like pickles. The horror, the horror!

mschlock at 4:40PM on 06/18/08

From Required Eating

Cooking With Kids: School Lunch Revolution

I can't be the only one who glanced at the title of the article and wondered when Lunch Lunch Revolution was coming out for Wii...

mschlock at 6:05PM on 05/26/08

From Required Eating

Cocoa Powder FAQ

My Callebaut Dutch-process cocoa makes insane brownies (I use Alton Brown's recipe). Tried the same recipe with Ghirardelli and it was middle-of-the-road. I suppose next I should try natural high-fat cocoa powder and see how it compares...

mschlock at 10:16PM on 05/25/08

From A Hamburger Today

On Smashburger and Smashed Burgers in General

Johnny Rockets smashes their beef too, and they also have a nice crust. It seems the timing of the smash is crucial to the tastiness -- smash when still mostly raw!

mschlock at 6:52PM on 05/07/08

From Required Eating

Serious Easter Artisanal Chocolate Egg Giveaway

Cadbury mini-eggs of DOOM!

mschlock at 5:42PM on 03/17/08

From Recipes

Spring-Inspired Ice Cream Sauces: Raspberry Sauce

Try raspberry sauce used as a ribbon in The Perfect Scoop's cheesecake ice cream -- that stuff is seriously evil. Last year I added strawberry sauce and blueberry sauce for the 4th.

My favorite raspberry sauce technique is from Rose Levy Beranbaum's raspberry sauce from The Cake Bible -- gently squash frozen berries until you get a certain amount of juice, then reduce the *juice* in the microwave while leaving the berries uncooked. Run the berries through a food mill to get seedless pulp, which you then mix back into the reduced juice with sugar to taste and a little lemon juice. It doesn't have nearly as much cooked fruit flavor as most fruit sauces do.

mschlock at 4:25PM on 03/07/08

From Required Eating

What's the Best Mac and Cheese Cheese?

Sharp cheddar for flavor, Monterey Jack for creaminess, and a little bit of American for its stabilizing power (I get a chunk of it at the deli, usually Land-o-Lakes, not Kraft Singles). My current favorite recipe also uses evaporated milk, which has additional stabilizing power -- net result, it's the only homemade mac & cheese I've ever made that actually stayed creamy in the oven without destabilizing or getting grainy or totally seizing up.

But: I also make half boxes of Kraft Dinner (three cheese & shells) quite often. Diverse tastes.

Aha, here's the recipe I like. I forgot about the Parm in the breadcrumbs!

mschlock at 2:31PM on 03/04/08

Responses to Comments by mschlock

From Required Eating

What to Eat on a First Date

Oh god. Sunchokes/jerusalem artichokes. My nemesis. I made them on my first come-to-my-place dinner with my boyfriend and...the "end results" were embarrassingly hysterical. And they weren't even that good!

But we're still together, for what it's worth. :)

onalark at 1:47PM on 07/23/08

From Required Eating

What to Eat on a First Date

I don't see anything wrong with Sushi, that is probably the perfect size thing to eat on a first date. I totally try to avoid salad because I am a tall and slim drink of water, so I never want the guy to think I am "watching my weight."
I've been a vegan for awhile because I was testing how it would enhance my triathlon performance, but when that guy orders a steak or a burger I am salivating over it and I know Vegans hate me!
I definitely avoid coffee because that is the worst breath.

JacquelineS at 12:18PM on 07/23/08

From Required Eating

What to Eat on a First Date

My friends and I have a long list of foods to avoid on a first date, just because we've eaten them together and have seen how unattractive we are: tacos, soups in breadbowls, anything with poppyseeds or other bits that get lodged in your teeth, sushi (the single bites make for awkward conversation), and creamy or milky things (risk of a phlegm attack). Now that I've been with the bf for a while, I'm not worried about looking messy because he's across the table doing the same thing!

LiveToEat at 10:48AM on 07/23/08

From Required Eating

What to Eat on a First Date

Had my first date with my (now) wife at the Corner Bistro. She dug in to the burger with gusto. Points for that.

We later went back and saw a woman on an obvious first date eating her burger with a knife and fork. My wife asked what would have happened if she'd eaten it like that. I told her flat out there wouldn't have been a second date.

crackblind at 9:18AM on 07/23/08

From Required Eating

What to Eat on a First Date

@MadelynRodriguez: If the rolls are that big, they're going to fake Americanized sushi place or a bad "Asian" sushi place - like Sushi Rock (or similarly named places) where the rolls are so huge it takes 2+ bites. Well-made rolls are supposed to be small, such that your average Japanese female can eat it in one bite without looking like a porker with their mouth full.

I suppose if no one can decide -- a very nice buffet is a safe place, so there are no arguments of what someone can and can't eat (unless someone's a vegetarian and you go to a churrascaria :). You get to weed out the rubbish. Is he one of those people who go for the crab legs all night long? Does he eat like a pig? Concentrate on shoveling food versus conversing? Have self control? Tip well? :)

I've found my men and told them where I want to go. If they didn't like it, they should have said something.

Cassaendra at 7:39AM on 07/23/08

From Required Eating

What to Eat on a First Date

@dbcurrie ~ aren't three strikes in a row a perfect bowling frame?

I remember one first date where he took me to an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. He must have been a very hungry boy. He filled his plate, put both elbows on the table, head down and shoveled. Lost track of his refills. When he took me home, I had the garage remote in my hand, so I could get away fast - no walking me to the front door!

PerkyMac at 7:17AM on 07/23/08

From Required Eating

What to Eat on a First Date

@dbcurrie: Cute!

Adam Kuban at 3:15AM on 07/23/08

From Required Eating

What to Eat on a First Date

Last first date I went on was a looooooooong time ago. We went to a movie that the next day was reviewed in the newspaper as being a really funny movie, but not appropriate for a first date.

Then, he made reservations at a restaurant that neither of us had ever been to, but it seemed to be a place "everyone" went to, and reservations were allegedly hard to get. The place had an odd concept. There were three buffets, one hot, one cold, and one dessert. Not cruddy buffets, but good stuff, and a lot of seafood. You also got your choice of steak or lobster as your main dish. We both ordered lobster. Lemme tell ya, wrestling with a whole Maine lobster is not what you want to do if you want to look all prissy and polite. We had a lot of laughs over that.

Next dining adventure, he again decided on a place neither of us had been to, and people had told him to ask to be seated in the garden room (or something like that). Well, it turned out that the restaurant they told him about was two blocks away from the one we were at, and this one had no garden. The host said he'd be happy to seat us in the parking lot, but that was about the best he could do in terms of gardens.

Yup, three strikes in a row. What else could I do but marry the guy?

dbcurrie at 1:32AM on 07/23/08

From Required Eating

What to Eat on a First Date

Back before I met the gf, I used to avoid pasta—or at least dishes with long noodles (spaghetti, fettucine, etc.)—because I tend to make a mess of myself with those things. Also with Asian noodle soups—slurping in that last bit of noodle, it usually wiggles around and flicks broth on my shirt. These are the same dishes I avoid ordering at business lunches or lunch meetings. Anything I know I might make a mess with.

Adam Kuban at 12:56AM on 07/23/08

From Required Eating

Sourdough Doesn't Always Mean 'Good'

i love sourdough... actually I didn't like it when I first tried it, too tangy for my kiddy tastebuds at the time. But, now that my pallate has evolved, the ones I've had recently are not even as tangy as I remember the original being... they just taste like regular white bread.

I don't know how this rates with Bay Area dwellers, but I liked the Boudin sandwiches I had the last time I was in SF.

MadelynRodriguez at 5:21PM on 07/01/08