CFB51 College Football Fan Community
The Power Five => Big Ten => Topic started by: Cincydawg on February 03, 2019, 06:06:51 AM
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My guess is most of us here can cook at home pretty well, and of course it's a LOT cheaper. I was discussing this with the wife over dinner last night. We do enjoy dining out. Right now it's preferred because our kitchen is missing (not having a sink is a pain, we're washing dishes in the half bath sink, which isn't easy).
Of course, at times we do it for convenience, we have a time commitment, or we're traveling, etc., but I'm thinking about when we're at home and have the option to dine out.
My own take is to avoid steak when dining out. We have a small electric grill, they don't allow gas or charcoal on the decks here, and it works "OK", I can get it pretty hot, about like using the broiler in the oven (which we don't have). Yesterday, while we were out walking I stopped by a butcher shop and got a tenderloin cut as a steak about 2" thick. It was very good, easy to fix. Same with burgers, even from some "upscale" burger shop, it's easy to fix a burger.
My own preference is for "foreign food", stuff I can't easily prepare at home, Thai, Japanese, French, quasi-Mexican, Spanish, not German. We have a Spanish tapas place not far that has always been tasty and fun and not too pricey. We don't have many places with "English" food, though there are a couple self styled Irish Pubs nearby (they are so so). (I've had English food at an English home and it was excellent. The pub food in London is boring.)
And of course dining out can be an "event" as well, a "date" where perhaps you talk to your SO more than at home?
What is your favorite restaurant? Why do you go there? Can you cook as well at home?
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When we go out, it's generally for Chinese or Tai (takeout), or one of several favorites. There is an Argentinian place about a block away that we love, although I can make just about everything on their menu. Lots of times we'll go into Chicago to go out to eat. Fancy isn't always better. To the North, you have the supper clubs. Can't beat that.
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A big thing for us is time. Not lack of time in the kitchen, but actual time without kids around. It's nice to just go sit, pace yourself, and get a couple hours of quiet.
As far as food choices, usually it's international cuisine, stuff I wouldn't make, or would be unnecessarily expensive, because of the number of ingredients I wouldnt have on hand, and will likely never use again if I bought them, if I could find them.
Spice tolerance is the other thing. I love spicy foods, my wife has to chug milk if she eats a BBQ potato chip. So it allows me to order stuff that I could make, but know I'd be the only one doing so if I did.
We don't have a "place", because I would rather try a new place every time. We both love Italian, so that's a lot of what we cook, so I rarely want to go out for Italian. She's the opposite, she doesn't understand why, if there is an Italian restaurant we both love, we don't frequent it.
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I don't eat out a ton. We have access to pretty good international grocery stores so it isn't too hard to get exotic ingredients. But I do make an exception for deep fried foods - I think they are a pain in the ass to make at home so chicken wings, fries, cheese sticks, what have you, I don't feel bad buying those.
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Yeah, we go out maybe a couple of times per month because I really like to cook. As for wings, yeah, they can be a pain for sure. But, I have a fryer so it's not that bad.
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I cook wings on a grill, after some soaking in sauce. Folks seem to like that in my experience.
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I cook wings on a grill, after some soaking in sauce. Folks seem to like that in my experience.
Yes, that's a good way too. I always brine my wings, so they can stand up to a long cook. I find using a foil pan on a low indirect heat really makes the skin get crispy, and then I finish them on high direct heat. It's a longer process, but worth it. About 30 minutes on indirect and to your preference on high. Then back in the pan with a good wing sauce and you're good to go.
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I forgot to mention this little German place my brothers and I meet at once a month on Thursdays. We don't go there for German (it sucks - I make my own) but that night any burger is $5.00. Comes with tots or fries. And it's ANY burger. Bacon-blue is my go-to but sometimes I get the patty melt too. They do a really good job and you can't beat the price.
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I eat out once or twice a week
it's more about the socializing than the food
many times it's happy hour after work so wings are a regular choice - I do make good wings at home in the oven
I grill a mean steak, but there is one place that has dry aged steaks I visit regularly. The little place in a small town has a James Beard award. I don't have easy access to dry aged steaks.
http://www.archieswaeside.com/home (http://www.archieswaeside.com/home)
and yes, of course exotic foods such as Thai, Mexican, BBQ, seafood
but, it's the social aspect that gets me out of my kitchen
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I eat out once or twice a week
it's more about the socializing than the food
many times it's happy hour after work so wings are a regular choice - I do make good wings at home in the oven
I grill a mean steak, but there is one place that has dry aged steaks I visit regularly. The little place in a small town has a James Beard award. I don't have easy access to dry aged steaks.
http://www.archieswaeside.com/home (http://www.archieswaeside.com/home)
and yes, of course exotic foods such as Thai, Mexican, BBQ, seafood
but, it's the social aspect that gets me out of my kitchen
?? I thought Mike was back in business?
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I like the getaway and the social component as much as the food sometimes . I fully support ordering food I can't or won't produce at home.
Last night: fish dumplings app. is a perfect example of this. I could receive a $100k grant and six months and I'm sure I'd still struggle to execute such a perfect dumpling.
Also, cheeks. Whenever cheeks are on the menu, get them. The pork cheek pot roast was a great main last night. Looking forward to seeing Halibut cheeks later this spring but only at a restaurant.
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Hate doing dishes, don't like eating leftovers, and my freezer is broken.
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Hate doing dishes, don't like eating leftovers, and my freezer is broken.
Hard to believe that after a decade (more??) of posting here you haven't succumbed. It's like half of what we talk about for God's sake. I'm sure there is a recipe or two around here that you could do.
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?? I thought Mike was back in business?
didn't happen for some reason, If I see him at the SB party today I'll ask.
and his locker of choice didn't do dry aging
dry aging is becoming more popular here, some Hy-Vee meat counters now offer dry aged blocks
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Hate doing dishes, don't like eating leftovers, and my freezer is broken.
I have a dishwasher and enjoy leftovers
freezer is almost as old as I am, bought it 30 years ago for $25, still running
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I can and do make my own food. Don't really enjoy it though. Sandwiches, tacos, etc. Maybe a batch of chilli if I'm feeling a little adventurous.
I'm sure as hell not going to purchase and maintain all of the obscure cooking devices and exotic ingredients that one would need in order to prepare a lot of the nonsense that you fellas are always going on about.
Hard to believe that after a decade (more??) of posting here you haven't succumbed. It's like half of what we talk about for God's sake. I'm sure there is a recipe or two around here that you could do.
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I have a dishwasher and enjoy leftovers
freezer is almost as old as I am, bought it 30 years ago for $25, still running
You run greasy pots and pans through your dishwasher?
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You run greasy pots and pans through your dishwasher?
The pots shouldn't be greasy if you do it right. Deglazing is where it's at.
Cast iron never sees soap or any dishwasher. Mortal sin.
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See this is why I don't like to do a lot of cooking. O0
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You run greasy pots and pans through your dishwasher?
nope handwash
only takes a few minutes, doesn't take a college degree
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Yeah it doesn't take a college degree. But it certainly does suck.
No kid aspires to be a dish washer when they grow up.
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It's not the best part of cooking, but I guess I see it as part of the process and the good outweighs the bad
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Yeah, I'll do it of course when I make something at home. Not that big of a deal.
I'm sure as hell not gonna do it three times a day, seven days a week.
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going to the kitchen now to start the SB chili
trying smoked brisket cubed today along with a can of beef broth
gonna try to tone down the heat for these yankees, half a tablespoon of habanero chili powder
gotta get Pandora going with some solid rock & roll for cooking!
BINGO!
The Wind Cries Mary (Live 1967)
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Yeah, I'll do it of course when I make something at home. Not that big of a deal.
I'm sure as hell not gonna do it three times a day, seven days a week.
that's cool
just don't tell us that you eat fast food
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I eat out more than most people for several reasons.
- I hate cooking and am bad at it (so I'd risk ruining my meal). It's too time-consuming and just cooking for yourself isn't as efficient or cost-effective, anyway. I also don't own a car so shopping is a hassle, since the nearest grocery store is 5 blocks away.
- I can afford it. I'm quite frugal otherwise. I'll even be able to max out my retirement accounts this year (401k and Roth IRA), so I'm hoping the market will crash sooner than later. Even then, I try to order things that are on special or relatively cheap (I don't go to high-end places, either, as I'm not a foodie). If I can't finish my meal I box the rest, too.
- It's probably the most social thing I do. I've met some interesting people that I wouldn't have otherwise. Dining alone actually isn't that unusual in DC, though I also meet up with people for dinner, as well.
I'm sure this will change if I can finally get into a serious relationship (especially once you live together), which I'm actively pursuing now that I finally have some stability in my career.
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that's cool
just don't tell us that you eat fast food
No, not very often.
Really haven't had much of an appetite lately. Not sure why, but it saves time and money and I'm back under 200 lbs so I'm not complaining.
I'll eat something tasty for lunch and then maybe a peanut butter sandwich in the evening just to say I had dinner. That's about it.
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chili is in the pot and the kitchen clean before Pandora can ask if I'm still listening
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I find peeling fresh garlic is much more tedious than washing pots and pans
but, it's worth it
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Hard to believe that after a decade (more??) of posting here you haven't succumbed. It's like half of what we talk about for God's sake. I'm sure there is a recipe or two around here that you could do.
Alright, in pondering the time frame I would say that I probably started posting around 2010. So not quite a decade, but a pretty good guesstimate nonetheless.
One of the first things I learned was to steer clear of the culinary threads. Those are aimed at posters that are already quite passionate about some gourmet cooking. That's like skipping algebra, and going straight from long division to calculus. Certainly not a great launching point.
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I find peeling fresh garlic is much more tedious than washing pots and pans
but, it's worth it
Now THAT I do know.
crush it a little in the center with the handle of the knife, and the casing slides right off. Takes two seconds.
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I find peeling fresh garlic is much more tedious than washing pots and pans
but, it's worth it
I used to do that. Peeling and mincing fresh garlic. Now I just buy the minced garlic from Costco. I swear we go through one of those big jugs of minced garlic about every 3 weeks or so...
For as much garlic as we use, I like it. I do think the way it is packed makes it a little less pungent, but it gets the job done.
Alright, in pondering the time frame I would say that I probably started posting around 2010. So not quite a decade, but a pretty good guesstimate nonetheless.
One of the first things I learned was to steer clear of the culinary threads. Those are aimed at posters that are already quite passionate about some gourmet cooking. That's like skipping algebra, and going straight from long division to calculus. Certainly not a great launching point.
I get that. The key is to start with what you like. When I started cooking in earnest, it was mostly smoking and grilling. Start with what you know and like, and move on from there.
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<br />(https://i.ibb.co/vVxfW3C/IMG-20190203-151358.jpg) (https://ibb.co/vVxfW3C)<br /><br />(https://i.ibb.co/WpvcHh2/IMG-20190203-151407.jpg) (https://ibb.co/WpvcHh2)<br />smoked brisket Super Bowl Chili
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Incidentally, I was 16 years old before I ever had pizza. I was 17 when I tried (quasi)Mexican for the first time. There is a Thai restaurant near us that claims to be the first in Atlanta and opened in 1977. When I was in college, nobody knew anything about "Chinese food" that I knew of beyond Chef Boy R Dee. Italian food meant spaghetti, and that was a novelty itself. Spaghetti night at the cafeteria was as close as I thought I'd ever get to Italy. French cuisine? Maybe there was one place in Atlanta, or two, and hyper-expensive, like $10 for a meal. I'm serious. I do recall a bar in Athens that featured "German food" of a sort, sausages and kraut mostly and dark Schlitz beer, which was a novelty. Coors beer was extremely rare and "imported", literally. No beer was remotely as good as Sam Adams. Bars served Bud or Miller or Schlitz or PBR. Miller Lite came out when I was in grad school. It tasted like watered down Miller.
The term "Buffalo wings" didn't exist outside Buffalo, that I know of. Fish was apt to be fried and catfish, or some nondescript white fish of uncertain origin.
If you ever have some time in the ATL, check this place out, and look me up:
https://www.citytap.com/location/atlanta/
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Yeah, the canned garlic, for as much as we use, is the only way to go. I have never been able to tell a difference. We rub real garlic on the bread to make bruschetta. I honestly think that might be the only thing we use it for
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I've heard mixed things about the garlic in a jar. I should try it. I look forward to the farmers markets when you can get hardneck garlic.
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I eat out far more than I would like to, due mostly to the fact that I'm frequently reffing basketball in small towns an hour or more from Rochester. To add insult to pocketbook injury, the only things open after 9:30 PM outside of downtown are Taco Bell and Applebees.
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I use fresh garlic, as noted, I smash it a bit first with the flat end of the knife after trimming the base. It peels easily then. The wife buys some garlic in a jar but it smells kind of nasty to me. A long time ago I used dried onions a lot in things like chili but no more. I love onions, the wife does not.
Both onions and garlic contain fairly high levels of some interesting chemicals that might make you live longer (or not), like disulfides and associated compounds.
The chain restaurants (with few exceptions maybe) use the same ingredients cooked the same way at every outlet, I'm talking Olive Garden or Seasons 52 or Capitol Grill. The gives you consistency, but the cooks in the back are just going through specified motions. The only art is following directions.
If you go to a "one off" where there is an actual chef with some training, each experience will vary a bit, at times by a lot. It's more interesting. I like places where the menu is dictated by what the chef can buy tat looks good and is in season rather than what he has to buy.
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I used to do that. Peeling and mincing fresh garlic. Now I just buy the minced garlic from Costco. I swear we go through one of those big jugs of minced garlic about every 3 weeks or so...
NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
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I've heard mixed things about the garlic in a jar. I should try it. I look forward to the farmers markets when you can get hardneck garlic.
NOOOOOOOOOO!!!
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We go out to get away from the things that distract us at home, to feel pampered, and to eat food that is different than what we make at home.
We've never gone out a lot, but with SFIrish having more things at night and both of us really, really busy, we've been going out a little more than we used to. Thinking about that, it's actually the inverse of what we should be doing--going out generally takes longer than staying in, but it feels like less effort, which is what is in short supply (remaining effort, that is). When it's the two of us, we go to nice restaurants. Feels special.
When we're with the kids, we go to nicer burger and pizza places as much as anything, because they consistently deliver things the kids like. Seems silly, but one of ours isn't very adventurous, the other is a pescaterian. A month or so ago we went to one of our favorite places in Sonoma (wine country) and the youngest--the not adventurous one--really disliked it because he couldn't get the same bland things he normally loves. Even the plain-ish pasta wasn't to his liking. Pretty silly to spring for a great dinner and not to get true enjoyment from it. On top of that, the food SFIrish and I ordered wasn't especially good (meaning, it wasn't way above average, just a little)--a departure from our prior visits there. Such is life.
I like all kinds of food, but SFIrish likes continental food, so we don't often go for Asian, Mexican, or South American varieties, but sometimes. We have a great Indian place in town--our only immediately local Michelin starred restaurant. SFIrish likes that place.
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When I had kids, I'd dine out for dinner fairly often if I just felt tired or whatever. Bob Evans was one favorite place. I think it helped teach the kids how to behave in public.
I had canvassed which day of the week which restaurant would feature "free kids meals" or whatever. There was a local "Italian place" (LaRosa's) that had 99 cent all you could eat spaghetti for kids Monday and Tuesday, and the adult version was $5. That location went out of business. We would go to the pool in summer for an hour and then down the street to LaRosa's . We all drank water, no Coke. Blue Ash Chili was another option back when the Greek couple owned it. They hadn't changed their menus in like 20 years so a 5 way was still $2.20. The boy was eating two of those by the time he as 10 or 11.
Sometimes, you just want a break. Do something a bit different, get out and try something new. I was lucky to have the financial means to go out when I felt like it.
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I've been eating out a ton since moving back to civilization and have gained mucho pounds. I'm exhausted after work and either get something on the way home or after a nap. It's weird, I eat crap and don't work out and I gain weight. Who knew?!?
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I've been eating out a ton since moving back to civilization and have gained mucho pounds. I'm exhausted after work and either get something on the way home or after a nap. It's weird, I eat crap and don't work out and I gain weight. Who knew?!?
Well, you obviously know better. I can tell you that weight you add slowly when you are young clings to you like an alien when you are my age. I have finally gotten down to 100 kg, which was my initial target. It is not easy. Try to find something you can get quickly that is healthier, duh. Good luck.
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Having grown up in South Dakota and Nebraska mainly in small farming communities, we never really went out for dinner and our meals at home were mostly of the meat and potato variety, with the occasional German dish (mostly sauerkraut) done once in a while. Sundays were always pot roast for dinner and soup / grilled cheese for supper - quick and easy before sitting down to watch Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, Walt Disney and the Ed Sullivan show. Otherwise it was casseroles for a change of pace. Always the same buttermilk German Chocolate cake for birthdays and once in a while an apple or cherry pie for dessert on special occasions.
When I got married to my first husband we were so broke that eating out never even crossed our minds. Lots of cheap meals of pasta (or rice)mixed with burger and catsup. Stayed that way after our divorce since I did not get alimony or child support, so whatever I could make for myself and three kids on $114 a month in food stamps. Whatever I could do to stretch it out. I read a lot of cookbooks to try to come up with easy, cheap meals. I still have most of the cookbooks now, but I have branched out over the past 30 years since I married again. I learned how to make a mean meatloaf and this year I finally got the hang of making lasagna that doesn't fall apart out of the pan, yet is not dry either. Otherwise, my sister and I go online and check out various recipes to try and since I retired, I've had the time to experiment more. We still can't seem to get away from what we always ate as kids for the majority of meals with a new recipe thrown in once or twice a month.
Now, my husband will take me out for dinner for our anniversary or my birthday every year or two and our family usually gives us gift cards to Red Lobster (his favorite) or another local restaurant. We both prefer staying at home since he works nights and so the big meal is at noon before he leaves for work and then I tend to snack in the evenings. Our idea of a fun night out used to be going to play pool but now it's more going to see a movie and then going home, lol. Couple of old fuddy duddies, ha ha. We'd rather play computer games than go out.
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NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
Ed Zachery!!!
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My answer is mostly restaurants make foods I'm not willing to.
I used to eat out a TON. I do it less because I'm pretty content with the small roster of meals I make at home, plus often eat at the significant other's home. I still like the experience, but I'm somehow getting cheaper in my old age.
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it's very expensive
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We went out last night to a Thai place we like. It's quite good (IMHO), quiet, relaxed, not too expensive. We both had water, not alcohol. Both meals were $12 and we had a $7 appetizer (jeeb, which is delicious). Still ended up near $40.
We went to Kroger after and I bought two tenderloin steaks for tonight for $14. We don't have a kitchen right now, so we're microwaving veggies, bought some asparagus. Was thinking how cheap it is to eat at home even with pretty good steak. I probably will open a bottle of decent wine so that throws the math out the window.
I can recall back in grad school eating the cheapest stuff I could manage, somewhat like the nice lady describes above, but no kids. It "builds character" to be poor a bit in life, perhaps.
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We eat out pretty regularly, pretty much every Friday night. We usually go with friends and it's social, but we also tend to get Tex-Mex which I can cook well, but it takes enough time that I'm also happy to let someone else do it.
I often dine out and get things that I can't or won't make at home. As mentioned earlier, things like dumplings that I love but require technical proficiency I haven't taken the time to master. Or pho broth which no matter how many times I've attempted it, I can't do as well as my favorite Vietnamese restaurant.
On the other hand, items like steak and fajitas I can cook at home easily, make it as well as or better than any restaurant, and it's considerably less expensive to do it myself. I couldn't tell you the last time I ordered either one while dining out.
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I can recall back in grad school eating the cheapest stuff I could manage, somewhat like the nice lady describes above, but no kids. It "builds character" to be poor a bit in life, perhaps.
no wonder I have so much character!
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Cooking a meal is one thing.
When I go out to eat I also want to be served and value that someone else does all the clean up.
Therefore, I really don't understand the idea of take-out orders at decent dining spots. Why pay really nice money to pick up something at the door in Styrofoam, not as hot and fresh as possible to eat in your vehicle or take home and deal with the mess?
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I just don't enjoy cooking and rarely find the time to try. If I cook at home, eating well means I grabbed some "just put in the oven" cuts of fish or meat from the grocer's deli case (often stuffed with seafood or wrapped in bacon). And I really don't enjoy gathering all kinds of ingredients at the market, so sometimes I'll order a few meals for a week from that "Hello Fresh" subscriber. Of course, then I have to do the cooking which can consume an hour or more, but the meals are fantastic, filling and because the full meals come with dietary labels, I can keep track of calorie arithmetic to guarantee I don't overeat.
Needless to say, I eat out a lot. Time spent, disprefering the work of making a meal, but still wanting to eat good things are the reasons.
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We went to Kroger after and I bought two tenderloin steaks for tonight for $14. We don't have a kitchen right now, so we're microwaving veggies, bought some asparagus. Was thinking how cheap it is to eat at home even with pretty good steak. I probably will open a bottle of decent wine so that throws the math out the window.
My problem sometimes with cooking at home is that I ended up "saving" money only when you compare the steaks I buy to what they'd cost at a high-end steakhouse. At my butcher shop, tenderloin is $32.99/lb right now. It's AMAZING, but it ain't cheap. I don't usually buy steak there except for special occasions, but damn...
Honestly, the bottle of decent wine costs less than several glasses of much lower-quality wine at the restaurant. Our "best" wines from our travels are pretty well all under $50/bottle. That's $12.50/glass. But again those are mostly special occasion wines. Our "typical" nice wine usually isn't more than $20-25/bottle. Glasses of wine at restaurants around here range from $10-16 on average, and they're nowhere near as good as those bottles. On a date night, my wife might have 2 glasses of wine and I'll have 2-3 beers, and that right there is ~$40+, compared to ~$15 at home.
I often dine out and get things that I can't or won't make at home. As mentioned earlier, things like dumplings that I love but require technical proficiency I haven't taken the time to master. Or pho broth which no matter how many times I've attempted it, I can't do as well as my favorite Vietnamese restaurant.
Yeah, I do a lot of Asian food, but dumplings are a skill I have not quite gotten yet. I want to learn to make Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings) since my wife has a poultry allergy and they pretty much universally use chicken stock in them at restaurants. But my dough skills are NOT up to it just yet.
Pho is another thing I make at home because we worry about cross-contamination with chicken out at restaurants, so I can't take her to pho joints. But pho seems like one of those things that becomes MORE expensive to make at home than to get out at a restaurant. I swear making 4 servings of pho costs me $60+, where it'd be around or even under $40 at the restaurant.
Therefore, I really don't understand the idea of take-out orders at decent dining spots. Why pay really nice money to pick up something at the door in Styrofoam, not as hot and fresh as possible to eat in your vehicle or take home and deal with the mess?
Yeah, I get that. I don't typically want takeout from "decent" places. Usually if it's takeout it's from a takeout joint.
However, the "mess" of a styrofoam container, even if you put it on a plate, is not exactly the same thing as the mess of cooking.
I think a lot of the people doing that might also have kids, too. If it's just my wife and I, the difference between getting takeout vs actually going to the restaurant is minimal. If it's us and the three children, it's a much bigger production to take them out. Granted, we typically just cook at home when we have them, but if we didn't cook so much I could see takeout as an option more often.
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The heat of the take-out/delivery food doesn't bother me, that's easy to fix, but I don't like how the stryofoam and plastic is needless waste.
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It's a gorgeous day here today, supposed to hit 77°, a few clouds, so we went for a walk through the park on to the Belt Line, which is a coming thing around here. We walked further than we usually do and came across New Realm Brewery and decided to stop for lunch on their patio.
https://newrealmbrewing.com/restaurant-ga/
Ordered a flight of four beers, waiter's choice, shrimp tacos and some pizza. Sitting outside in the sun made it probably taste better than it was. They have a very large outside seating area and more upstairs over looking the Belt Line, right next to a gaggle of new apartment buildings all advertising "Belt Line Living!!!!".
Dining outside is for us a main thing to do. Fortunately, our condo has a deck on each level overlooking the park.
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Tried Three Taverns Brewery out yet? It's based in Decatur. A couple of friends are investors in it. I've enjoyed their beers.
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no one is dining outside here today.........
5 above with 25 mph winds blowing around the 3-5 inches of snow from last night early this morning. Wind chill is brutal. Schools have let out early (after lunch so they can call in a full day and not made to make it up in the spring)
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Tried Three Taverns Brewery out yet? It's based in Decatur. A couple of friends are investors in it. I've enjoyed their beers.
Not yet, this appears to be a brewing mecca. We will try it sooner or later, right now we mostly go places to which we can walk. Traffic around here can be entertaining.
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Not yet, this appears to be a brewing mecca. We will try it sooner or later, right now we mostly go places to which we can walk. Traffic around here can be entertaining.
Probably not worth going to the tap room. Pretty sure its served in plenty of places around town. If you're into Belgian styles, it's worth a try.
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I don't drink a lot of beer and Belgian usually is among my least favorite types. I don't like fruit flavored beer much. I'm not much for stouts nor IPAs that are nearly all hops. I like balance, in beer and in wine. Balance is very hard to achieve. A lot of beer makers want to "stand out" and announce their presence with authority.
The best wines, to me, are those hard to describe beyond being really good. Same with beer, quite trying to be cute, I'll just drink Sam Adams and be fine.
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Then don't go out of your way to try Three Taverns. :-)
They do Belgian well, but if that's not your thing then don't waste your time on it.
I'm not a fan of IPAs; I've caught on to that trend. I like Bass (a pale ale), but never the hoppier stuff. I have always enjoyed heavier beers, stouts, porters, and cloudier ones, like saisons, but I agree that it's not worth it when they get too cute. I don't like fruit in my beer. I do like Spotted Cow, but it has to be in managed doses.
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I love big, bitter, hoppy IPAs. Granted, I drink black coffee, love dark chocolate (the darker the better), enjoy all manner of bitter green vegetables, and I'm weird in that I like the taste of orange peel. Just raw orange peel. Delicious!
They say you are what you eat, and I'm also extremely bitter. :38:
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I love big, bitter, hoppy IPAs. Granted, I drink black coffee, love dark chocolate (the darker the better), enjoy all manner of bitter green vegetables, and I'm weird in that I like the taste of orange peel. Just raw orange peel. Delicious!
They say you are what you eat, and I'm also extremely bitter. :38:
I'm not sure if I disprefer balanced drinks/food, but I absolutely prefer to be kicked in the mouth. IPAs, intense salsa, eye-blistering curry, and espresso by the mug full fit the bill just right for me. And maybe I've never had a dish that's too salty.
If I am what I eat, the answer is excessive. The only kind of moderation I favor is moderation in moderation.
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I don't like sweets much, so I enjoy strong black coffee, espresso, dark chocolate, brussel sprouts, spinach, intense salsa, Habanero wings, eye-blistering curry, stouts, & porters, but........
really don't like very hoppy bitter IPAs or the sour beers. Since I don't like sweets I can drink fruity beers. How bad could scurvy be?
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I'm not sure if I disprefer balanced drinks/food, but I absolutely prefer to be kicked in the mouth.
+1
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I love big, bitter, hoppy IPAs. Granted, I drink black coffee, love dark chocolate (the darker the better), enjoy all manner of bitter green vegetables
I'm on board with the black coffee and green vegetables.But friends don't let friends drink IPA's - smooth,malty goodness is the way to go
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I don't like sweets much, so I enjoy strong black coffee, espresso, dark chocolate, brussel sprouts, spinach, intense salsa, Habanero wings, eye-blistering curry, stouts, & porters,
Not bad sans the the chocolate and hot wings
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I don't eat much chocolate, but I'm a hot wing eating machine.
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I don't eat sweets in general. I save those calories for beer and wine.
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Amen!
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I presented a talk at a French wine conference a few years back on differences and similarities between American and French wines. My near opening comment was "In American, the concept is if some is good, more is better.". And it's significantly true I think.
The zinfandel makers started trying to outdo one another on alcohol content, making some pretty nasty hot wines. Chardonnay makers tried to one up each other on oak and butter. Cab and merlot makers tried to one up on fruit and oak.
This was a marketing success in general, which fed into it, but some are trying to get back to making balanced wines now in the US. There usually is a significant difference in taste between a Bordeaux and an American wine made with the same grapes for various reasons. I find it interesting.
The wife tends to like American wines better than French now, and I'm usually the reverse of that.
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I don't like overly oakey wines... Generally for chardonnay, if it's got even a hint of butter/oak, I'm out. Cab has a little more backbone to stand up to the oak, and I don't pick up the butter, but cab's not really my favorite either.
Spicy, peppery zin is my go-to. Been really digging syrah a lot lately. When we went to Paso over NY weekend, their region tends to produce a lot more GSM blends, and I was digging those. I don't drink much white [in hot weather when I want a cold drink I usually grab a beer instead], but when I do I like a more clean, crisp white. The wife gets this Pinot Grigio from Costco, I think the brand is Trentino, and that hits the spot.
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The Kirkland brand wines at Costco in general are great values.
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I presented a talk at a French wine conference a few years back on differences and similarities between American and French wines. My near opening comment was "In American, the concept is if some is good, more is better.". And it's significantly true I think.
I'd agree with that. In many fields, probably. For example, it also explains the successful marketing and proliferation of many supplements, including vitamin tablets, which - in a well nourished person - at best produce expensive urine and at worst can cause hypervitaminosis, "paradoxically" (per conventional logic) worsening health.
Dangers associated with excessive supplement use:
Vitamin A (liver damage, heart valve calcification, others)
Vitamin B6 (neurotoxicity)
Vitamin B3 (hepatitis-mimicking symptoms: jaundice, elevated liver enzymes in plasma)
Vitamin D (hypercalcemia, atherosclerosis, malignant calcification, generally increased mortality)
Vitamin E (hemorrhage, prostate cancer, elevated risk of death in general)
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The Kirkland brand wines at Costco in general are great values.
Definitely great values, *if* they agree with your palate. My wife loves their prosecco, and I think the sauvignon blanc as well. We tried their malbec, and neither of us thought it was something we'd want again. I know a lot of Kirkland is just rebranded from other producers, so it's a great value compared to the original label, but only if you liked the original label in the first place.
Trader Joe's sells a Dry Creek Zinfandel for about $10, and that wine is excellent.
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Kirkland is all rebranded something. Costco sells more wine in dollar value than any retailer in the world. If some winery finds it has excess, they can call Costco and relabel it and get it off their inventory quickly while making little money on it.
The problem is they sell out of something and it's gone, usually. The wife loves their prosecco for $7.
I found a Bordeaux they have that I like right now. I need to get up there and get more, it's $8. The wine prices in GA are a LOT lower than in OH. I'm saving a ton.
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The Costco wines are good, but they aren't consistent year over year because they mostly buy surplus. So their 2015 cab doesn't necessarily have much, if any, connection to their 2016 cab. Good value, but we find that buying in the same price range for wines we know we like is still a better bet.
We find French wines don't have the body we prefer in our reds. We don't do the over-the-top California wines, but we do like the California-style body. Can't happily drink Merlot. It just isn't what we like. Pinot is often borderline for us. We've really liked some that come out of the Sonoma valley, but those aren't model pinots. The more true-to-form pinot often misses the mark for us. Fortunately, SFIrish and I have a very similar palate; I like pinot more than she does, and she likes whites more than me, but we trend very much in the same directions. Probably the result of mostly drinking the same stuff together for a few years now.
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I definitely prefer French wine over American wine. As CD pointed out, American wines tend to lack balance and subtlety. In both wine and beer, I vastly prefer the European approach to the American.
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Stopped for lunch at Hattie B's, two greasy thumbs up.
The wife loves it, and she loves sweet tea now, something we really did not have in Cincy (done right). She also likes grits and biscuits, has not had red eye gravy yet.
She doesn't like country ham (yet). She likes that fancy expensive ham from Spain though.
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94 condolences on your friends passing,wishing/hoping the best for the family
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Thanks Mr. N, appreciate it.
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What is the difference in price between dining out and eating a comparable meal at home? Of course, it depends on whether you order alcohol in a big way.
Let's presume you go to a steak house versus eating a similar steak and sides at home. You order an 8 ounce filet, BP, salad, asparagus.
The Kroger near me has Filet on sale for $13 right now, the nearest butcher sells it for $33 a pound for choice and $38 for prime. Let's figure the butcher has meat closer to what a restaurant would have, perhaps dry aged, perhaps not. So, the steak costs $17 at home. My guess is it's $45 at a good steak house, probably with one side. Asparagus is going to run another $5 (it's often $10 but has enough for two). Asparagus at home will be $2 sometimes less. Baked potato is $1. So, about $20 at home versus $50 out, sound about right?
Wine prices out are at least 2x retail. A decent bottle out will be $60 anyway, versus more like $25 at home, so that is where the ding is. The up charge on wine is the same as the up charge on the meal. And of course we haven't included a tip and tax.
We used to go to the same steak house in Cincy most of the time, they had good seafood as well (Eddie Merlot's). I had a wine locker there that allowed me to stock at retail, so that really saved money (it was $200 a year though). We had the same two servers nearly every time we went and that made it very comfortable. They knew our tastes and could recommend specials we might like etc. I was happy for them to pull something out of my wine locker without having to choose.
It would still hit $100 an evening for two of us, easily, not counting wine (which I had paid for separately).
Oddly enough, I grilled two filets at home last night with BP and asparagus, the ones from Kroger. They were quite good. I'm using an electric grill which is all we can have, and it works surprisingly well. The wife had a small filet but didn't eat it all, and I didn't eat all mine either. I opened a bottle of Regusci merlot, my last one, they do nice work there but no longer sell outside the winery. I suspect a lot of the medium high end wines are going this route, they can sell their entire production directly by mail or club or on site.
No middleman.
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Let's presume you go to a steak house versus eating a similar steak and sides at home. You order an 8 ounce filet, BP, salad, asparagus.
The Kroger near me has Filet on sale for $13 right now, the nearest butcher sells it for $33 a pound for choice and $38 for prime. Let's figure the butcher has meat closer to what a restaurant would have, perhaps dry aged, perhaps not. So, the steak costs $17 at home. My guess is it's $45 at a good steak house, probably with one side. Asparagus is going to run another $5 (it's often $10 but has enough for two). Asparagus at home will be $2 sometimes less. Baked potato is $1. So, about $20 at home versus $50 out, sound about right?
I can get good filet here from the meat counter for $12/lbs or $6 for an 8oz. Big Russet potato for less than 50 cents. Asparagus about the same.
But I'm in flyover country, dining out prices a bit less as well.
I'd guess after tip I'd spend 20-25% of the price of dining out for a steak dinner. Probably much less than 20% for a pasta dish with chicken at Olive Garden for example.
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Kroger potatoes run about a dollar here and asparagus was $2.99 a pound. It drops down in season a lot. The filet was on sale for $13 a pound, but it was not the same quality as the butcher's in our opinion, it was still quite good. I am assuming a good steak house is getting good beef, I'm not talking Longhorn. Kroger prices here are the same as they were in Cincy, though wine is a LOT less here, probably 60% the retail in Ohio.
The French restaurant we dine at offers things I can't cook at home, at least not without considerable bother. We can all grill a steak.
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Brutus might have trouble grilling a steak.
because of lack of interest
I have a handful or so of friends that enjoy coming to my kitchen for steaks. They will bring the steaks or the drinks. I'll prepare some easy sides, salad, vegetable, tater. Quick, easy, little mess, 20% of cost for all. Entertaining.
I enjoy cooking for friends. I may have inherited this from my grandmother, who lived through the great depression, ALWAYS offered any visitor to her home something to eat.
Beer, wine, drinks are expensive dining out, but there's not many times I'm willing to opt for the free water while enjoying a meal
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Probably much less than 20% for a pasta dish with chicken at Olive Garden for example.
The wife and I have started making our own pasta. So a cup of flour, 3 eggs, and half of a Costco pesto container, and we have 2 big plates of fettuccine with pesto.
I'd say that was less than $5 for 2 dinners, with ample portions.
(Obviously no meat in there, but adding something simple like chicken is extremely inexpensive.)
Another plug for Costco BTW... We buy the frozen individually-wrapped fish and chicken there. Pretty much anything you buy "fresh" at the supermarket is previously frozen, so I'd rather buy it frozen and defrost it under my own conditions. I think we get salmon about $25/3lb, mahi about $27/3lb, cod about $18/3lb, and I don't know what the chicken costs but my special needs son has become a chicken aficionado, so the ability to just pull out and defrost a single chicken breast for him is SO easy. But on weeknights, the wife and I can just defrost some fish, throw together dinner with some vegetables, and it's easy and quick.
For those of you who say you don't like to cook, things like this are easy, delicious, and inexpensive relative to eating out.
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one of the downfalls to living in the middle of nowhere
nearest Costco is 90 miles
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I learned to cook simple quick things having to feed three kids back in the day. I focused on meals that minimized clean up.
That serves me well right now as we have no functioning kitchen, no stove.
The folks redoing the kitchen have pretty well botched their scheduling, every step is delayed and takes a week to get something small done. I'm not impressed with them.
The wife wanted to go with a private contractor instead of a Lowe's. Big mistake.
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one of the downfalls to living in the middle of nowhere
nearest Costco is 90 miles
Yeah, I probably have 10 Costcos in a 25 mile radius.
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We have three about equidistant, maybe 8-9 miles. One has liquor, but their prices are not exceptional for liquor.
Looks like there are 8 in the metro, but one is labeled Costco Business Center, so it might be operations only.
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We have three about equidistant, maybe 8-9 miles. One has liquor, but their prices are not exceptional for liquor.
Looks like there are 8 in the metro, but one is labeled Costco Business Center, so it might be operations only.
There's a Costco business center that opened last fall in NE Minneapolis. The stock there is basically all restaurant and office supplies. Also, there's a large cage of cigarette cartons that represents the most cigarettes I've ever seen in one place. Unsurprisingly, it was under lock and key.
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Costco business center can be a great place to get big slabs of meat that aren't easy to find elsewhere. I.e. Bone in prime rib I can only find at the local Costco in December. I think the business center will stick that sort of thing year round.
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I doubt we'll go, it's a fair drive south. But thanks for the info.
I've had good luck with beef from Costco, but their fish has been a more variable experience. The last steelhead trout I got there was very good, but often it's in amounts we can't really use. The wife really likes that "trout". It's less greasy than the Atlantic salmon they farm raise.
I used to do pork tenderloins a lot. Kroger would have them at $2/lb at times and I'd do them on the grill with offset cooking. That was a great way to feed a slew of folks. My little electric grill just has a coil that covers the entire area, so it's only good for grilling. It does a surprisingly good job.
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Restaurant Depot is a great place to get meat like that as well, if you have one in your area. Beef short ribs off the plate are relatively hard to find even here in Texico (beef short ribs from the chuck are far more common), but Restaurant Depot just about always has them.
Really good butchers can get them for you, too, but it can be prohibitively expensive.
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I regularly get boneless pork loins for less than $2 per lb.
Iowa slaughters more hogs than any state.
I usually grill chops, but this time of season I like to put a loin roast in the crockpot
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Yeah pork loin is a really good value.
And I especially love to BBQ pork tenderloin as well. Relatively inexpensive, quick and easy, and people go crazy for it.
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one of the downfalls to living in the middle of nowhere
nearest Costco is 90 miles
Well in 10 years you'll have one near you along with a StarBucks and a Wal-Mart.Provided you haven't skedaddled to Austin already.I hear they're welcoming new residents,left and right down there
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In August my wife and I went to Vegas. We hit a couple of our favorite places to eat. But this time we decided to pick a place highlighted on Dinner's Drive-in's and Dives. Osaka was the best meal we had over the 4 days. That will become a go to place for us when visiting.
We love great food we cannot make ourselves or do poorly. We like new experiences. We like trying out new restaurants and meeting new people. That is our preference, and yet... this will sound weird... but we have a couple places were we are known (we know the owners via repeated business). So if a place is great, we become repeat. If it is just good, we are happy, but continue to try other experiences.
... maybe that only makes sense in my head.
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Triple "D" joints make perfect sense in my head - only had one bad experience
that was in Oklahoma City at a BBQ joint - I blame Bobby Stoops
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Yeah pork loin is a really good value.
And I especially love to BBQ pork tenderloin as well. Relatively inexpensive, quick and easy, and people go crazy for it.
the guy at my golf course does pork loin on the Big Green Egg - very moist and tender - great sammiches!
and I'm not waiting 10 years to move to Austin
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I've had good luck with beef from Costco, but their fish has been a more variable experience. The last steelhead trout I got there was very good, but often it's in amounts we can't really use. The wife really likes that "trout". It's less greasy than the Atlantic salmon they farm raise.
I used to do pork tenderloins a lot. Kroger would have them at $2/lb at times and I'd do them on the grill with offset cooking. That was a great way to feed a slew of folks. My little electric grill just has a coil that covers the entire area, so it's only good for grilling. It does a surprisingly good job.
I find the same with their fresh fish. The kids like salmon, so we'll get a 2#+ salmon typically every weekend we have them. Although that might start getting a bit small--the 11 yo ate double my portion last night!
But that's where the frozen stuff comes in. Granted, I haven't seen trout, but we regularly buy the 21-25 ct shrimp, the salmon, the mahi, and now cod. They have tilapia and halibut as well. Generally it's still better prices than supermarket fish, and they come in individually vacuum-sealed portions, so when you want them, you just drop them in cold water for an hour to defrost and they're good to go.
If you eat a lot of fish [and we're trying to do so], it's FAR more convenient than making multiple supermarket runs each week.
I also am a big fan of tenderloin. It's a little more expensive around here (usually about $3.29/lb at Costco), but that's a great budget meat for us since the wife can't have poultry. Again I like the Costco ones because they come in two attached 2-packs. I can either make half the package (2 tenderloins, about 2.5-3 lb) for the entire family when we have the kids, or we'll plan two meals for the wife and I when we don't, such as a grilled tenderloin one night and a pork stir fry another night.
Restaurant Depot is a great place to get meat like that as well, if you have one in your area. Beef short ribs off the plate are relatively hard to find even here in Texico (beef short ribs from the chuck are far more common), but Restaurant Depot just about always has them.
Really good butchers can get them for you, too, but it can be prohibitively expensive.
That surprises me. I can find them regularly out here in SoCal, and we're not exactly a "beef short rib BBQ" mecca.
My good butcher seems to consistenly stock whole plate, so if I want to throw them in the smoker, I can just trim it, season it, and toss it on. But Costco regularly (about 60-70% of the time) has them cut into individual ribs, off the plate. Usually about 8" long and with a good amount of meat on them. And if Coscto doesn't have them, the butcher [who usually only has flanken cut in his display case] will cut me whatever I need.
the guy at my golf course does pork loin on the Big Green Egg - very moist and tender - great sammiches!
and I'm not waiting 10 years to move to Austin
I do mine on the Kamado Joe. These days I usually do them direct over medium heat. Just enough to get some color on the outside. Typically rub them with olive oil, hit them with Santa Maria seasoning (salt/pepper/garlic) and then herbs de provence.
Get them up to 145 IT, and they're delicious.
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I'm not looking for single-bone ribs, always the 3-bone or 4-bone section off the plate.
As I said, I can find them from a good butcher but they're pricey. RD tends to stock them. Costco and local grocery stores always have the chuck ribs but not always the plate.
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I'm not looking for single-bone ribs, always the 3-bone or 4-bone section off the plate.
Yeah, I get that. I can't get the 3-4 bone rack anywhere but my butcher.
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4 bones better than 3
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Incidentally, Kid #2 is moving to New Braufels this month (stopping by here en route). Big promotion to HQ apparently, which is good.
We'll probably go visit at some point. I somehow missed good dining in Austin last trip out, actually the catering at the race track was probably the best food we had.
That's on me.
Have you noticed that Trip Advisor ranks nearly every restaurant 4 stars? I will glance at them for comments at times especially if a place pretends to be upscale, but they have become nearly useless.
I'm seeing Applebies given 4 stars. Come on now.
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New Braunfels is pretty cool, congrats to kid#2. It's pretty much equidistant between San Antonio and Austin, so there are a lot of good food options in either direction.
Let me know if/when you're coming, perhaps we can hang out. Also, I'll do a better job of steering you to the correct food options, at least in THIS city. :)
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Yeah, I recall when I was there for the Texas game, we had some pretty good food. Just driving around in a new place isn't a good shot really, even with the on line sites (which have become garbage mostly). The wife has a friend who has a large house a bit south of Austin where we stayed last time. The only problem is the friend TALKS ALL THE TIME.
The wife warned me, but it really was something. I did get to drive a 640 hp car on COTA.
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Yes, those are the friends that sent you to some places you didn't like, as I recall?
I promise I'll do better. ;)
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Yes, those are the friends that sent you to some places you didn't like, as I recall?
I promise I'll do better. ;)
The lady did recommend a couple places and we took her out, they were ordinary, not bad, but not notably good. We were down south and found some on my own that were also "so so". I usually have a knack for picking good spots. I may be losing that a bit.
When we moved here, it seemed like nearly every place we tried was fantastic, interesting, novel, tasty, etc., but after going back a few times I realize they are mostly in the "pretty good overall" range, not exceptional. There is a Spanish place near us that we both like that isn't that pricey called Bulla. The other places we like get more pricey.
The place right next door has "tochos" they claim they invented in various types, and one order which is $10 is plenty for both of us. It's a bit overwhelming still, so many options around us. The good thing about not having a kitchen has been getting familiar with this electric grill outside. I'm going to try more things on it from here. It lacks a thermometer outside the grill cover though.