I had totally forgotten about Magic Middles!! But I will NEVER forget about Ecto-Cooler and that magic elixir of Crystal Clear Pepsi. As a I child, I drank Crystal Clear Pepsi through a straw shaped into glasses that sat on your face. I can't decide if that is incredibly lame or just really really incredibly awesome.
American television takes everything good about Gordon Ramsay on the BBC and tosses it out to dumb down the concept and increase the drama. It's a total shame. The BBC Kitchen Nightmares is an engaging and intelligent show that doesn't always have a happy ending or a magic solution... sometimes the problem is a overly long menu or a lazy chef or fancy sauces in a town that wants fish and chips. Gordon Ramsay takes a good amount of care to come in, identify the problem, and then set the restauranteurs off in the right direction. The American version is all drama and a free product placement heavy kitchen makeover that will solve all the restaurant's problems.
Breakfast in Paris, because there is no better breakfast on the planet. Those lovely macarons or a buttery flaky pain au chocolat with mind-blowing cafe au lait.
Lunch in Tuscany... I had the best lunch of my life in Tuscany, it was a big perfectly cooked Florentine steak with some powerful SuperTuscan wine in an Osteria tucked away in the hillside near a castle. The meat was enough to fill you up for the entire week.
Dinner in Barcelona, after such a big lunch, you'd need a place that would be open late. All those lovely small plates, mmmm.
If you had a private plane, you might even be able to manage it all in one day. I guess this is about 80 dinners around the world though, but I still would probably choose those three locations.
Anybody remember Sprinkle Spangles? Anybody? It was a cereal made of star shapes, sprinkles and lots of sugar. Beautiful rocket fuel.
I don't think people quite understand. I think it's reasonable to believe that Gordon is a an ass in HIS kitchens and is also a proper, decent human being outside of them. I don't think these are mutually exclusive. If you read Marco Pierre White's memoir, White states with certainty that the environment inside of top kitchens is not friendly or politically correct, and may be considered darwinian if nothing else.
I just found some cookies that are a lot like Magic Middles at a truck stop in Italy. They're called Grisbi. Google them online.
Nabisco chipsters and a glass of chocolate milk made with PDQ.........yummm.....and then for dessert, maybe a Milkshake candy bar.
How come the American talkshow hosts seem to enjoy being "funny" and talk all kind of nonsense and act stupid when they invite Ramsay over to their show? I just watched 2 different talkshows via SE and they were pretty unbearable - the hosts i mean. Gordon Ramsay was genuinely interested in the cooking and they weren't.
Does anyone remember the little potato chips that came in a box? They looked like little uninflated balloons. They were really crispy, and it seems like there was a hot air balloon on the box. They were always near the Bugles. They kind of tasted like Munchos. I have been thinking about these for years.
Had to join up just to add this comment: I totally miss Fizzies, the fruity tablets that you dropped in cold water to make instant carbonated beverages. The chemists couldn't get it to work or taste quite the same after cyclamates were banned in 1969. Although is supposedly reformulated good as new in 2006. http://www.oldtimecandy.com/fizzies.htm
Does anyone remember the Golden Grahams cereal that had the little marshmallows and chocolate pieces in it -- smore-ie goodness!!
Smore's Crunch!!
Also:
tan m&ms
Fruitstripes gum - but only for a minute
Dunkaroos
Heinz(?) purple and green ketchup -- eww
Jolt
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese popcorn cheese topping (powder)
Garbage Pail Kids bubble gum / cards
McD's salad shakers
Little Ceaser's Pizza - Crazy Bread!!
Purplesaurus Rex Kool Aid
Domino's Bubble Gum Pizza
Otto Pops
Koala Yummies
Undercover Bears
God I miss these!!!
Pop Quiz Popcorn!!
Sunshine Hydroxy Cookies! They were much better than Oreos for me. Well, OK ... maybe my palate has changed, and but now I will never know. I would still love to get my hands on some of those cookies. I haven't been able to find them in eons. Probably too many dreaded trans-fats. Such a bummer ...
I must admit that i remeber almost all of these foods, but honestly don't miss any of them! Charlie Chips in the can delivered to your front door was THE BEST. Thye may be available some places, but they are definitely not the same chip. they are not any good anymore. That is my reminiscence.
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