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Regional Fast Food Chains
Bojangles is hands down the best. sweet tea and biscuits.. French fries with special seasoning... oh man. Not to mention their chicken. Sonic is too commercialized for me to really enjoy it. Although they do have good cherry limeades. Biscuitville is great. 5 Guys is really good too. Has anyone mentioned Steak n' Shake or Cookout? They're definitely regional specialties but their milkshakes and malts are so good!
H1N1 Virus appears to stay on Fruits n Veggies for weeks!
is there anyway to get rid of this poster? seriously...
Cook the Book: Eugenia Bone's 'Well-Preserved'
my Nana cans the best southern green beans every summer. she also makes some amazing apple butter. i'd love to attempt to follow in her footsteps...
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
Atlanta Eats?
oh wow i had no idea that there was another doc chey's anywhere but here in NC... how interesting!
Regional Fast Food Chains
Bojangles is hands down the best. sweet tea and biscuits.. French fries with special seasoning... oh man. Not to mention their chicken. Sonic is too commercialized for me to really enjoy it. Although they do have good cherry limeades. Biscuitville is great. 5 Guys is really good too. Has anyone mentioned Steak n' Shake or Cookout? They're definitely regional specialties but their milkshakes and malts are so good!
H1N1 Virus appears to stay on Fruits n Veggies for weeks!
is there anyway to get rid of this poster? seriously...
Cook the Book: Eugenia Bone's 'Well-Preserved'
my Nana cans the best southern green beans every summer. she also makes some amazing apple butter. i'd love to attempt to follow in her footsteps...
Sprinkles, Shots or Jimmies?
In NC we call them sprinkles- both the chocolate and rainbow kind. And its always the soft little cylindrical kind. I never really ever see the hard little dots around here.
Help me remember this breakfast cereal
its gotta be puffed wheat or puffed rice. i think all the other options have been negated. when my dad gets all nostalgic and talks about the foods of his childhood he always mentions eating puffed wheat for breakfast... he always added like 5 tsp. of table sugar though because it wasn't "sweet enough"...
What’s Your Favorite Weird Snack Combo?
frosty and fries! peanut butter and anything. mixing mustard and ketchup as a french fry dipping sauce. banana sandwiches with mayo.
my roommates and i make graham cracker sandwiches spread with vanilla frosting. one of my roommates grew up thinking that the normal way to eat cheese tortellini was in a bowl of milk with butter and salt. seriously that is the only way her mother ever served tortellini or cheese ravioli.
Why do college students love pizza?
pizza is pretty much perfect in college. don't get me wrong, i love to cook and make something relatively tasty and healthy. in fact i do on a regular basis. but when its late, or you're mid-way into pulling an all-nighter to pass your bio exam, or you've been out drinking, or your team just won the national championship (UNC!) then pizza just fits the bill... :)
Five Guys Burgers
Five Guys is very popular where I live. Their fries are out of this world and everyone loves them. I don't eat meat so I don't personally know what the burgers are like but all my friends rave about them as well.
Why are there no March Madness foods--and what would they be?
All the food around here turns a lovely shade of Carolina blue during MM... We've got Carolina blue cupcakes, gelato, and tar heel shaped cookies. And I wholeheartedly agree with the comment about MM being too gut-wrenching to eat a lot... we do however have several aptly themed Carolina drinks such as "psycho T" margaritas and something my roommates and I call "Carolina blue drink" which has a generous dose of blue curacao, pineapple juice, rum and some other yummy ingredients.
Do you love to cook or to eat?
cooking wins over eating. although i do love to eat as well. but i really enjoy cooking even if i'm making something that i personally won't eat, like meat.
What is your "give up" meal?
normally pasta. its just so darn easy. two nights ago i got back into town after having flown to D.C. and back for a job interview all in the same day. i was exhausted but starving (airport food is a no-no imo) so i made fettuccine with a pesto cream sauce (i.e. pesto, heavy cream and a little parm all melted together). took me like 15 minutes tops and was just what i needed on a chilly, rainy night.
Ketchup on Hash Browns: Way or No Way?
way. all the way.
Babaganouch without tahini - is that possible?
here's a recipe that doesn't call for tahini although personally i think tahini adds a great flavor and consistency to baba ganoush
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/saucesdipsspreads/r/fatfreeganoush.htm
Vacation Cooking
Just got back from a week on the gulf coast with 6 friends. we did simple and fairly quick meals like shrimp scampi, roasted chicken and potatoes, sandwiches, pancakes and waffles (breakfast for dinner was a huge hit), etc. Since I was the main cook I tried to find things that would leave me with minimal clean up... after all you're on vacation!
Anything special going into your menu today?
I'm making shepherd's pie and Irish soda bread with the roommates. and going out for a green beer afterwards :)
Cook the Book: 'Beyond the Great Wall'
I studied abroad in Botswana in sub-Saharan Africa and had the amazing chance to stay in a Basarwa (indigenous people of Botswana) settlement village in the middle of the Kalahari desert. I remember waking up in my tent at dawn when the roosters would crow and having my Basarwa host mother make me tea with fresh goats milk and at least 5 tsp. of sugar. Not exactly the way I take my tea but it helped me warm up from spending the night in the below-freezing desert air and the gesture was incredibly heartwarming and generous.
Spinach: Way or No Way?
Way. Anytime, anywhere, anyway you wanna serve it. Its my second favorite veggie (zucchini is #1).
Chick-fil-A
as previously posted their waffle fries with Polynesian sauce are amazing...
Cook the Book: 'Kneadlessly Simple'
pumpkin bread and banana bread
Cook the Book: 'On the Line'
sushi hands down my favorite. grilled white fish or a quick shrimp scampi tend to be easy dinner favorites at my house. both are super quick to make and pretty healthy too.
What are your favorite products from Trader Joe's?
basically everything. 99 cent herbed pizza dough, cheap but quality goat cheese, cat cookies for people (the chocolate variety), thai red curry sauce, stir fry sauce, cheap organic produce, frozen sweet potato fries, 2 buck ($3) chuck, free samples, good cheap chocolate....
Cook the Book: The Essence of Chocolate
flourless chocolate torte with warm chocolate sauce on top. yum.
College Eats!
i like to think that my roommates and i eat quite well in college. we all love to cook and i love to experiment with all sorts of baking concoctions. (Examples of the various dinners made at my house tonight include pasta with homemade vodka sauce (me), broccoli feta pasta (roommate #1) and onion baked chicken (roommate #2).
We do spend a fair amount of money on cheap wine and beer but with trader joe's around cheap doesn't necessarily equal bad. I will admit to making large pots of soup or beans and having to eat variations on a theme for a week on end... that does suck sometimes.
What's the strangest thing you have had/crave for breakfast?
about to go eat some leftover veggie chili and a piece of cheese bread... perhaps with a cookies and cream cupcake for dessert. but this only gets to happen on the weekend. during the school week its grapes or an apple with some toast or a granola bar. your typical breakfast-on-the-go foods.
Do You Put Ranch Dressing on Pizza?
How do you get a white trash girl to suck your d**k?
Dip it in ranch dressing.
Do You Put Ranch Dressing on Pizza?
I don't put ranch on anything! Gross tasting stuff.
Do You Put Ranch Dressing on Pizza?
Amen "omnomnom"! (I'm from Mich, too. Same area)
Do You Put Ranch Dressing on Pizza?
I absolutely love ranch on my pizza. Granted, I am a middle-school student (though homeschooled), and got the idea from my (middle school, homeschooled) friends after we started dipping French-Fries in Ranch (that's justified in Mich--here most of the fries are way too greasy or way too dry). We decided to try it on our pizza--and it's great. Only Hidden Valley (tm) works though. Deep dish pizza doesn't need it, fortunately. A group fave for us is cayenne pepper, fresh black pepper, ranch, and tabasco sauce. I agree, if it's good pizza, it doesn't need condiments, but (1) pizza in metro-detroit isn't that good, and (2), it doesn't matter if it needs it--if ya want it, I say put it on unashamedly!
What’s Your Favorite Weird Snack Combo?
I used to go to the LA Reader office on Friday mornings to collect my mail, then I'd stop in the chain drugstore nearby to pick up a piece of beef jerky, and a package of vanilla creme sandwich cookies, which I'd eat while driving to my day job. Not together, just back-to-back. Can't remember if I ate the jerky or the cookies first, nor why I thought those would make a good breakfast.
What are your favorite products from Trader Joe's?
Is the Pomegranate Glaze really discontinued? My mom tried to buy it in Atlanta but they didn't have it. Can it be found elsewhere???
What’s Your Favorite Weird Snack Combo?
Frosty and Fries (not weird)
Dunking Chocolate chip cookies in Orange juice... YUMM!
Cook the Book: 'Kneadlessly Simple'
French bread!!! YUM!
What are your favorite products from Trader Joe's?
My top 5:
Chicken egg rolls
Frozen Naan
All of the curry sauces are amazing
Peanut butter pretzels
Booze, especially the Hofbrau
After reading this, I need to try that pumpkin butter.
Regional Fast Food Chains
I know I'm late to the party, but a Delawarian here to chime in...
@janaatwg: You took the words out of my mouth. I was going to say Capriotti's too!! However, wasn't sure it qualified since there is no drive thru. It's a call, place an order, and pick-up type place. I also didn't know they had locations in PA. I did hear about the Vegas location though-I thought that was funny...I WANT A BOBBIE RIGHT NOW. But then there's the Capastrami too...Mmmmm
Wawa's are great! They have great breakfast sandwiches and hoagies...Not to mention they also make salads now as ordered on the touch screen. They have everything. And their coffee is good too!
We really don't have any local fast food with drive thru's though. The only other places I can think of were already mentioned: 5 Guys and Cluck U. We also have Wings to Go which is good, but that's about it.
Wait, there's an old joint called the Dog House...Great Hot Dogs and other items too. Pizza, subs, etc...
Regional Fast Food Chains
@bgwell - them is fightin' words to a Canadian - we have Tim Horton's on every street corner, coast to coast - I have been to a couple of American franchises especially along 1-75 in Ohio - please do not discount Timmie's until you try one in Canada! It doesn't taste the same.
Regional Fast Food Chains
@Heart - There's a Perkins here in Raleigh.
Regional Fast Food Chains
Do they still have Ground Rounds, Bennigan's or Perkins anywhere?
Regional Fast Food Chains
Oh, how I miss Culver's. Sometimes all I want is a butter burger and some good, fresh custard. Stupid California and its stupid frozen yogurt.
Regional Fast Food Chains
@Martini Me: I'm with you on Kopp's being better than Culvers in terms of custard (more butterfat!), but I personally have to go with Culvers for burgers and fish sandwiches. Kopp's burgers are always so goopy and fall-apart-y when I eat them. It never occurred to me to consider Kopp's a chain... I guess three locations qualifies it.
Regional Fast Food Chains
Wow, well over 100 comments and no mention of Runza, the pride of Nebraska. Just had some on a SF-to-Chicago roadtrip, and was surprised at how decent it was. Plus, their "frings" -- fries and onion rings in one pouch -- is a brilliant idea.
Regional Fast Food Chains
I lived in Columbus, OH for a few years, and have since moved back east, to Boston, MA.
While I'm thrilled to be back in the land of Dunkin Donuts (Tim Horton's coffee is absolute crap, their donuts are very mediocre, and their apple fritter is awful, espeically in comparison to the lovely apple filled at DD), I admit to missing Steak n Shake. . . DH and I would end up there after a show or other outing, and would get two different melts and share 'em. . .shoestring fries. . .and really good malteds. . .
Oh, and Waffle House. . . it's difficult to get good grits up here in New England. . .
Regional Fast Food Chains
Oh my god, the Maid Right gum wall! I remember going there as a kid and how I loved their pickles. I haven't thought about that place in ages and ages. We'd go after school (Greenville Junior High, represent) or on the weekends. They sold T shirts.
Wow, sure brings back memories.
Regional Fast Food Chains
Not sure if anyone's still monitoring this thread, but I thougth I'd chime in about Seattle.
Radish: You're right, Ezell's has the best fried chicken anywhere. I work in downtown Seattle, and we have them cater our office lunch functions once in a while.
As for Dick's I think you have to have been born here to "get it." I moved here about 20 years ago, and a friend insisted we go there immediately. It tasted like every other fast-food hamburger I've ever had. Not impressed.
For quick lunches, I like the fast-food fish taco chains we have up here - Blue Water Taco and Taco del Mar. Blue Water is my favorite.
Regional Fast Food Chains
Jreck's Subs in central and northern NY makes a good sandwich at a resonable price. Basic sub fare with a very cheap "daily" special. I patronize one in Ogdensburg,NY.
Regional Fast Food Chains
I thought of a 'kinda' regional joint. It is Capriotti's. Or it was regional until it landed in Vegas. There must be 20 stores around here in the DE. and Pa area. Family is from here. They must have liked the shows and fun in Vegas!
Regional Fast Food Chains
@ skizziks - Rocky Roccoco is still rocking the Casbah here in Wisconsin in fact they just opened another location within the last year. I think they are plotting a comeback. Their Nacho Breadsticks leave me crying more, more, more, like Billy Idol.
@ Paula Maack - We still have one authentic A&W drive in here in Wisconsin. I too remember back in the day eating off the trays. My dad would always order a gallon of their Rootbeer to take home. I used to love drinking floats out of their frosty mugs…. Ahhhhhh memories.
Regional Fast Food Chains
@ hkydiva - OMG! We used to have a Weinerschnitzel here in Wisconsin YEARS ago. My family ate there alot and we were devastated when they closed. I never knew it was a chain restaurant. I still remember the A frame building with it's green lights.
I am agreeing with all the Portillo's votes. I can never get enough of them.
Here in Milwaukee I nominate two local chains. Kopp's which blows Culver's out of the water as far as frozen custard and butter burgers are concerned. Culver's is just embarrassing themselves here. Also Suburpia Subs. Oh so good. They give you the sub right in a plastic bag without wrapping it. Totally janky.
Regional Fast Food Chains
@skizziks - Made Rite has quite the following in these here parts (South Western-ish Ohio) During the Darke County fair the line goes around the block .. and then some!
Oh yea, and Skyline is across the street from where i work, and i never go because while i loves me hotdogs, i don't like Cincinnati style chili -bleck. I also have a Culvers around the corner and IMHO is one of the best fast food restaurants EVER!
Regional Fast Food Chains
Chicken Express! I think they're only in the south, but here in Texas they have awesome chicken tenders, but even better is the sweet tea. And they have "Dublin Dr. Pepper", Dr. Pepper made with cane sugar and not corn syrup, straight from Dublin, TX!
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About vanillapudding99
Location: NC, USA
About: Recent college grad raised in the South. My approach to cooking: lots of trial and error, finding bargains on expensive ingredients, reading SE and other sites for inspiration and being blessed with roommates who will always try my latest concoction.
Favorite foods: cheese of all sorts, smells and types, really into asian-inspired food right now, sushi for sure, dark chocolate, basil pesto in anything, does red wine count as a food?
Last bite on earth: gawd. I couldn't even begin to answer that question.
oh wow i had no idea that there was another doc chey's anywhere but here in NC... how interesting!