Cookin again

[Zaukrie]

Smoking a boston butt......as usual, I probably did NOT start in time. Oh well.......one can hope to eat by 8, I guess....

 

[Zardnaar]

D&D night. Satay chicken burger, sweet and sour pork+ fries.

Very rarely eat deep fried stuff now and had a craving. Fries had a beautiful seasoning and one if the best sweet and sours I have ever had.

I had the pork, she had the burger and split the fries.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

When I was in my second year of college, our dining facilities started using a different oil for derp frying French fries, onion rings, tater tots, etc. I don’t know what it was, but it was supposedly “healthier” than the oils they’d been using before. All I know is that, while the fries had a nice texture, absolutely no seasoning would stick to them. You could drag a freshly plated fry through a mound of salt, and it would just taste like a hot, unseasoned potato.

(And since they weren’t using something fancy like Yukon Golds, that’s pretty much the dictionary definition of bland.)

So I started making a french fry dipping sauce from the available condiments. Originally, it was catsup, yellow mustard, A-1 steak sauce, and tabasco and black pepper to taste. It was damn good, and was quick adopted by several of my friends.

Eventually, though, I settled on a 1:1 ratio of A-1 and yellow mustard, and cut out the catsup. I still use a bunch of Tabasco & black pepper.

I have occasionally had to substitute other ingredients when A-1 wasn’t available. Heinz 57 was reasonably good, and I suspect most thick steak sauces would work. (Not Worcestershire- too thin.) BBQ sauce worked alright as well.

In extreme circumstances, I have even been forced to sub blue cheese or ranch dressing for the A-1 (and more Tabasco & black pepper than normal) and found the results to be decent, if not exactly scratching the itch.

All that said, I do occasionally just use malt vinegar on my fries, especially if I’m eating fried battered cod or some other fried seafoods, like clams. The Brits got that combination right, IMHO.

 

[Zardnaar]

Salt and vinegar has almost died out here on fish. At least locally. Alot more common when I was a kid. The fish and chip shop wrapped in newsprint so you could rip the package open and grab a squirt bottle of vinegar on the counter.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Just had fish and chips for lunch today, with vinegar, thank you very much.

 

[Zardnaar]

Just had fish and chips for lunch today, with vinegar, thank you very much.

Nice. In the US you have to go to a restaurant for them?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

There are a couple that do a good job. Today was a seafood chain called Fish City Grill. They have a set menu with daily specials. Usually, I eat the specials. But today, I wanted their F&C. They have a fancy seasoning for their fries, though, not just simple salt. And their cod is a tad on the small side. The food all tasted good though, and that’s the important part.

(Actually, been wanting some for a while, but hadn’t been anywhere near a place that served it.)

The other place that does a decent job is Cotton Patch, another chain, but aimed more at southern comfort foods. How F&C wound up on their menu is a mystery, but they handle it well. As I recall, they use Shiner beer in their batter, and have nice, big pieces of cod.

 

[Zardnaar]

There are a couple that do a good job. Today was a seafood chain called Fish City Grill. They have a set menu with daily specials. Usually, I eat the specials. But today, I wanted their F&C. They have a fancy seasoning for their fries, though, not just simple salt. And their cod is a tad on the small side. The food all tasted good though, and that’s the important part.

(Actually, been wanting some for a while, but hadn’t been anywhere near a place that served it.)

The other place that does a decent job is Cotton Patch, another chain, but aimed more at southern comfort foods. How F&C wound up on their menu is a mystery, but they handle it well. As I recall, they use Shiner beer in their batter, and have nice, big pieces of cod.

I always go for quality over quantity with F&Vs. Can always order more.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I always go for quality over quantity with F&Vs. Can always order more.

I prefer quality, too, but I have my limits.

Both places are good, but the place with the smaller portions is also the more expensive. 2 entrees, one soup, one appetizer, and one extra side veg was $50. My meal was probably 50% more expensive there than the cheaper place, for about 60-70% of the cod. The appetizers was also about half as big as the other. (Sides are about the same size.)

 

[Zardnaar]

I prefer quality, too, but I have my limits.

Both places are good, but the place with the smaller portions is also the more expensive. 2 entrees, one soup, one appetizer, and one extra side veg was $50. My meal was probably 50% more expensive there than the cheaper place, for about 60-70% of the cod. The appetizers was also about half as big as the other. (Sides are about the same size.)

Yeah depends on perceived value. If the more expensive and smaller portions taste better in usually happy.

If they don't probably won't go back.