Screw You Frenchy!

I’m just going to add this to the long list of reasons why I hate the French. 

Those damn uppity-bastards had the gall to ban ketchup from their lunch menus.

Seriously,  to quote DeAndre Cole: “Ohh Wee What up wit dat? 

Their argument is that french kids use ketchup to mask the flavors of the food that they are eating.  The French are concerned that their cuisine will become “westernized” if they don’t properly teach their young eaters about the quality of the french cuisine and it’s recipes.  Yeah, like any 7-year-old want s to chow down of escargot and frog legs. 

Another argument I heard was that the French were concerned that their youngins were becoming fat off the condiment.  Now I agree that it has too much sugar but real ketchup has many healthy benefits including tons of antioxidants and all the vitamins that tomatoes have.  Yet they still allow mayonnaise to be served in cafeterias which I believe actually has some negative effects on the body, but I may be wrong.

Now I get it, they are probably still pissed off at us for the whole “freedom fries” fad last decade and frankly they had a right to be.  That idea was so freakin’ asinine because it had to do with the cut not the country (but that’s what happens when you let rednecks dictate national culinary policy.)  They are looking for a little get-back.  Did you know that behind America and the UK, that France is McDonald’s biggest consumer.  I would think that they would want more ketchup to mask the taste of that crap.  What do you put on burgers?  What do you put on meatloaf?  I don’t, but some people put it on hot dogs? 

In a quote from the French Food Minister he said “France must be an example to the world in the quality of its food, starting with its children.”  That’s fine, but don’t you want your children to be cultured and worldly.  If your cuisine is soooo good, then what re you worried about?  Wouldn’t kids just tend to gravitate to what they like the best?  If the French thinks their food is great, what’s the worry?  Oh, wait, kids may not like traditional french food on its own?  So instead they ban foods and only allow “their” kind of eats?  You know what that is called?  Foodism.

That’s right the French are a bunch of foodists.  Yeah, I went there.  What the hell they going to do about, roll over and let me walk all over like they do with everyone else?  I say screw ’em.  Let them ban ketchup.  You know what, maybe they just do us a huge favor and ban all things American like tourism dollars. 

Hey France, next time a country comes rolling down the Champs-Elysees don’t call us.  We’ll be out having a cookout with burgers, dogs and plenty of KETCHUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Humpday Convo: Favorite Hot Dog

Figured I will keep a theme going with summer fast approaching.  Last week it was your favorite hamburger.  Today, we talk about its cousin in grilling goodness. 

I love a good hot dog.  Natural casing for that nice pop.  All beef preferably but I have come to the point that if I don’t ask it won’t hurt me. 

Now for me to order a hot dog at an actual restaurant it better be an extraordinary wiener.  I much prefer small roadside shacks, a ball field, the golf course or from your own backyard.

I’ve had some great dogs.  A hot dog at the turn playing 18 on a summer day with a cold beer is simple nirvana.  Nothing can get a backside movin’ like a little stuffed meat.  My fave was the infamous Banner Dog.  That is what we lovingly called the dogs we served at Banner Lodge in East Haddam while I worked there during the late 90’s.  Whether you grilled the Rosol dog or steamed it, they were always great. 

There is a little hot dog trailer that parks itself on rt. 66 in Portland that also has some great ones.  You can’t miss the place.  It’s a hot dog shaped trailer towed by a NYC taxi cab.  The price is cheap and the dogs are great.  Steamed buns cap off the whole experience.  I recommend the onions or the spicy Cajun sauce to go on top.  Along those lines is the Capital Lunch dog in New Britain with their special sauce. 

These are all great but there is something that all these have in common: they are not Fenway Franks.  That my friends is hot dog heaven.  Are they the best dogs in the world, no.  I have had better quality dogs but when you add in the ambiance and history there is no beating it.  Add a little guldens mustard some kraut or relish, onions and you have the perfect dog.  There’s just something about a hot dog and a game at Fenway that brings a smile to my face.  That’s my favorite dog and second place isn’t even close.

Love to hear your favorite but there is one caveat:  if you put ketchup on your dog you are automatically disqualified from this conversation.

Humpday Convo: Best Burger

This is a tough one:  What is the best burger you ever had.  Not best burger place but best burger and yes it is possible that your favorite burger did not come from your favorite burger joint. 

This began rolling around in my head on Sunday after a rain-drenched 18 holes at the Traditions in Wallingford.  We were in the bar for a well deserved beer or three and lunch.  They had on the menu what they were calling an Irish Pub Burger.  It consisted of a 1/4 pound patty, irish stout cheddar cheese, corned beef, onion hash and fried potato strings.  It was a glorious burger.  The flavors were fantastic together and it tasted even better after washing it down with a Guinness.  A friend of mine got the same thing and he said it was the greatest burger he’s ever had.  Now I wasn’t ready to go that far, I mean it was good, but the best ever?  Now that’s where I begin.

I do consider myself a bit of a burger connoisseur.  Outside a great steak, it may be my favorite meal.  I believe that I make a damn good burger but I don’t consider mine the best I’ve had (I have an ego, but not that big).  The bison burger from Rookies in Cromwell is a great simple burger.  No fancyness,  just lettuce, tomato and good bison meat.  I do love the burgers from Harry’s in Colchester but I think that they are good because of the setting.  The New Englander at Plan B is exceptional but I feel you can put lobster on anything and it becomes exceptional.  The one I had on Sunday surely ranks up there.  Max Burger has a couple great ones, the Kobe and el Diablo are must eats.

All those are great burgers. My favorite though takes in all aspects of the burger.  Price, simplicity, toppings, ambiance and of course taste.  With all those factors, my choice is the Ranchero Burger at Eli Cannon’s in Middletown.  A burger with crumbled blue cheese, chipolte sauce, sautéed mushrooms and cajun rings.  I love everything about the burger.  It also helps that it is at my favorite bar.  Bar, not burger place, see how I got around that. 

Of course you can’t go wrong with any answer.  All that matters is that you love it.  It doesn’t matter if it’s fancy or not just as long as you love it.

Your turn and happy eating.

Humpday Convo: If I Could Have Dinner Anywhere…

Emeril’s

Well, since I haven’t been everywhere in the world, I will have to limit my responses to places I have been. I could go outside the box, but I want to make sure I eat at a restaurant that I know I will enjoy. So, with that said, my choice would be Emeril’s in New Orleans and my dining party would be Nikki. Love the restaurant and love the city. I would order the andouille sausage app, the gumbo of the day, the truffled gulf shrimp salad and the cowboy ribeye. For dessert, the chocolate peanut butter pie. I’ll take a gin and tonic for my 1st drink, a great bottle of red wine for dinner and a glass of great irish whiskey or scotch for dessert.

Your turn.

Humpday Convo: The Last Supper

Not to sound morose but what would be your choice as a last meal?  C’mon, you know you have thought about it.  If you had one last chance to eat the food you love what would your choices be?

Mine would start out with a pre-app of chips salsa and guacamole.  For an appetizer a bowl of lobster bisque and some Maryland crapcakes.  My main entrée would be a bone-in rib-eye (24 oz) cooked medium rare, garlic and cheddar mashed potatoes, a caesar salad, sautéed mushroom and onions in a reduced red wine sauce, creamed spinach and a fresh tomato salad.  Hey, it’s my last meal and I am starving.  For dessert a piece of my cheesecake and a piece of my wife’s caramel apple pie with a scoop of Guinness ice cream from the Old Lyme Ice Cream Shoppe.  A few more things, you can’t have a last meal without something to wash it down.  I’ll start with my homemade margarita.  A kettle one martini, extra dry w/ 4 olives next.  Followed by a glass of realllllllllllly good red wine and a Guinness and top the night off with a glass of 18-year-old Jameson and Johnnie Walker Blue.  Wow, I just made myself very hungry and thirsty.  There it is, that’s my meal and a little glimpse into my soul.

Your turn.

Lasting Memory

OK, in the aftermath of Super Bowl XLV, we’ll remember for a time that Green Bay beat Pittsburgh 31-25.  We all know that Aaron Rodgers was the MVP, but in a few months who’ll recall that.  Sure, some of the commercials will stay on our minds a bit longer because we’ll see ’em all over the boob tube.  In my humble opinion, I think there is one lasting image that will carry on well past the settling dust of the game itself:

Soak it in Yankee fans, that’s your third baseman getting fed popcorn by Cameron Diaz.  It’ rare seeing an actress lose all credibility as a human being live on TV, but last night it happened.  Why would anyone stoop so low to feed a grown man like that at a public event that only 150 million or so watch?  It was like a mama bird feeding her baby bird.  What A Rod can’t get his overpriced hands covered with a little butter?  Yep Yankee fans that’s your 3rd baseman, makes you proud don’t he.

On a related note, Jonathan Papelbon, Josh Beckett, Dustin Pedroia and Jared Saltalamacchia among other are either down in Ft. Myers early or are on their way to get a jumpstart on the season and to recover from injury. 

Tell me fans, what scenario you like better?

BTW, only 6 days till pitchers and catchers.

What’s the other 65%?

We did a story this morning about some California families suing Taco Bell about what exactly is in their beef.  Now, that sentence alone should frighten you.  Shouldn’t the only thing in beef be beef?  Well, if you run to the border, only 35% of their beef is actual beef.  Now you know why you only rent Taco Bell food.  So you ask, what else constitutes their “beef”.  Well, it is a combo of water, soy products, modified corn starch and an anti-dusting agent.  The anti-dusting  agent is used to increase shelf life. Great so not only are you eating “beef” but you also have no idea how long it’s been around. 

This is one reason I gave up fast-food 6 1/2 years ago.  Yep, that’s right not a bite of anything from Arby’s to Whattaburger and everything in between.

Makes you wonder how other restaurants fill their product like nuggets, filet of fish, rib sandwiches and the like.  Well, eat up and enjoy your lunch.

Creamy or Chunky

That was the debate this morning.  Frankly I never even considered this to be such a big deal.  I don’t understand how there can ever be another answer to this other than creamy.

C’mon, who the hell likes chunky peanut butter?  It tears the bread, it rips up the top of your mouth.  It just isn’t a very logical choice.

Apparently there are more people out there making the wrong choice when it comes to peanut butter than I thought. 

I just assumed that everyone was a creamy person.  Oh sure, we all had that time in college when we experimented with chunky, but everyone did that.  We all quickly realized that it just didn’t feel right.  In our hearts and our stomachs we all knew that smooth was the natural choice.

Chunky is just…….wrong.  I don’t understand why people make this choice.  Maybe they are born this way, I don’t know.  What I do know is that I am not comfortable with this “other lifestyle.”  Who do they think they are messing with the natural order of things.  Next you are going to tell me that they can make a PB&J work with chunky peanut butter.  I’m sorry, un-natural.

It seems though that I am going to have to accept that these people exist and that they are proud of their choice.  You are never going to convince these people to change the way they choose to live their lives.

It’s still wrong on so many levels, but I will live with it.

The Least I Can Do

I have a few different topics I could have chosen today.  There is the 25th anniversary of  “Back to the Future” and how great of a movie series it was but if Eric Stoltz was Marty McFly it would have been a huge flop:

Then there is the absolutely idiotic idea of banning WWE shirts and other paraphernalia from polling places across the state.  How can the Secretary of the Sate actually think that some local yahoo wearing an Undertaker shirt will influence an educated voter?  If you ask me the Dem’s are scared shitless and Bysiewicz is very bitter about her failed candidacy,

How about this finish to a PGA tournament?       Now that’s a way to wrap up a long day at the office.  No one outside of Joe Carter and Bill Mazeroski have had a better ending.

Today though, I am in a sharing type of mood.  Yesterday I informed you of a friends quest for the McRib Sandwich.  Today I am paying it forward a bit.  Or am I paying her back.  I’m not quite sure but I can see myself paying her in the future and I hope you all do too.  Outside of my wife and my mother, Manda is my favorite baker.  The days she brings in random baked goods always brightens up my day.  From her crack balls to her banana bread to pumpkin muffins, I love all her yummy delights. 

Finally she has set out a grassroots business that she is starting from scratch.  Honey Mommy Yummies is the name of her new business.  She has started a fan page on Facebook.  I implore all my readers to give her a call if you need any baked goods made for any occasion.  I promise that you will love ’em. 

This is what I do, I’m a giver!

Friday’s Video

Cause it’s Friday and Friday is Pizza Day.

Thanks to the biglead.com for this.  These two guys set out to make one of the most fattening and unhealthy foods humanly possible.

Mission Accomplished gentlemen.  Your reward: an angioplasty.

Have a great weekend all and please don’t try this yourselves.