The Food and Drink Thread

Topic

Bon appetit and salut!

The Texas grocery store chain, H-E-B, has a Mexican Hot Chocolate ice cream from their store brand line. It is fantastic.

Replies

First time have my it and it was pretty good:

These guys made good chocolate, they made a lot of effort to guarantee there is no slavery involved in the production:

I think it’s available in the UK and the US.

https://tonyschocolonely.com/us/en/our-mission

Making for the first time the Ethiopian dish Doro Wät’, though I’m not using the most traditional methods.

RonnieM wrote:

I have a Rye P.A. beer (an IPA made with rye) that I just brewed and bottled crashing in the fridge tonight. Hopefully it turned out well.

Tried my Rye P.A. earlier this week and it tasted like homebrew. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but I’ve ran into the issue that a lot of my homebrew (no matter how different the recipe is) comes out tasting kind of samey unless it’s a radically different style (pale ale vs stout or something like that).

I just tried a piece of the Doro Wät’ chicken (I made it for our sabbath). OMG, it is so good! It tastes like chicken cooked in mix of hot sauce. bbq sauce, sweet and sour sauce and some kind of oil with Shwarma spice.

I made chicken with lentils and tomatoes in a bolognaise kinda sauce. Scrump-diddly-umptious.

My 95-year-old father told me that a woman from his church gave him a container of her homemade lentil soup yesterday. I had to explain to him what lentils are.

njerry wrote:

I had to explain to him what lentils are.

It’s that movie with Barbra Streisand, right?

Don’t tell him the cruel ways they treat and slaughter those cute little lentils.

“In Jewish tradition, lentil soup has been served at times of mourning; the roundness of the lentil represents a complete cycle of life.”

Hakuna Matata!

Miqque wrote:

“In Jewish tradition, lentil soup has been served at times of mourning; the roundness of the lentil represents a complete cycle of life.”

Hakuna Matata!

It’s also serve on the Sabbath of the Torah reading of Toldoth (Genesis 25:19-28:9), in two weeks, because Lentil Soup is mentioned in it (25:34)

It was the first time I think I made something with lentils myself. I think I had lentil soup in an Indian restaurant once.

It was in a vegetable mix, pre-cooked I think as I just had to heat it. Aren’t you supposed to cook them for something like 20 hours if they’re raw?

Indian food uses lentils a lot for sauces under the name ‘dahl’.

So…… Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was actually written by Roald Lentil?

I think a lot of this chart is very wrong but I just liked that Fosters gets its own category below ‘piss’.

Carlsberg above Peroni and San Miguel? It’s like living in Bizarro world.

Yes his admiration for Carslberg is a mysterious one.

Calling Bud Light, Budweiser, and Coors Light “piss” is far too generous a compliment.

Now imagine how bad Fosters is.

garjones wrote:

I think a lot of this chart is very wrong but I just liked that Fosters gets its own category below ‘piss’.

Pretty much the only beers I would drink on that chart are Guinness and Boddingtons.

As lagers go Kronenberg 1664 is my favourite mass produced one, Stella and Peroni are decent.
.
They have a level of flavour that most off the pisswater brands don’t. I don’t know if they spread to the US.
.
I like Leffe, the brown one.
.
When I was working in India the pubs had a choice of two beers, Fosters and Kingfisher. Fosters as we’ve explained is below the ‘piss’ category but Kingfisher is the only beer that gives you a hangover while drinking it. I gave up and drank cheap whisky and coke.

garjones wrote:

As lagers go Kronenberg 1664 is my favourite mass produced one, Stella and Peroni are decent.

Amstel’s alright too. And I quite like Moretti (not pictured).

I’m going to Antwerp next week. There will be beer! I made a list of good pubs, I really want to find some of the rare Krieks, like Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen.

garjones wrote:

As lagers go Kronenberg 1664 is my favourite mass produced one, Stella and Peroni are decent.
.
They have a level of flavour that most off the pisswater brands don’t. I don’t know if they spread to the US.
.
I like Leffe, the brown one.
.
When I was working in India the pubs had a choice of two beers, Fosters and Kingfisher. Fosters as we’ve explained is below the ‘piss’ category but Kingfisher is the only beer that gives you a hangover while drinking it. I gave up and drank cheap whisky and coke.

Yeah Leffe is good. I also like Peroni. Putting Amstel and Heineken above those is just wrong.

A good start, but we have many countries represented here. Why keep it domestic?

 

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/68266/all-50-states-reimagined-food-puns?fbclid=IwAR0ri4m4uQB8J0zROpdXfDYRxSrdkeodNAZNGqYE0cuqdSQcW6LVNaDQPSc

garjones wrote:

When I was working in India the pubs had a choice of two beers, Fosters and Kingfisher. Fosters as we’ve explained is below the ‘piss’ category but Kingfisher is the only beer that gives you a hangover while drinking it. I gave up and drank cheap whisky and coke.

Caw roger, this is aaahbsalooot gaaaarbage, Fosters is a true blue fair dinkem nectah of tha gods mate

Anonymous wrote:

garjones wrote:

When I was working in India the pubs had a choice of two beers, Fosters and Kingfisher. Fosters as we’ve explained is below the ‘piss’ category but Kingfisher is the only beer that gives you a hangover while drinking it. I gave up and drank cheap whisky and coke.

Caw roger, this is aaahbsalooot gaaaarbage, Fosters is a true blue fair dinkem nectah of tha gods mate

Oh shit! Tim is having a stroke! Call emergency services!

Fuck me dead wot a furphy  buggah ya cobber ya flamin galah mi thinkin box is a bruce bloody beauty its still goin hard yakka no wuckas mate but sall good

I’m drinking a big ol’ glass of Oban 14yo because it’s a Monday and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise.

 

Also, Jerry made  me

I’m going to make Thai Iced Tea at home:

thai tea?  is it white tea?  no? then you must be a boxers guy because you don’t like tighty whiteys

Enjoying the love:

Hey Todd: Chili today, hot tamale.

 

I had Bacchus Kriek and Sint Bernardus 12 from the tap in Antwerp. Gooooood stuff. Sint Bernardus 12 is supposed to be very similar to the Westvleteren 12, in the past the Westvleteren was brewed in the same brewery.

Sounds like two delicious choices, Arjan!

Is it possible to buy a pack of stroopwafels and eat only one? I think not.

I’ve got a really good, affordable wine from the liqor store, it’s a Spanish wine named “Mucho Mas.” Just a nice red wine.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/dec/28/adam-liaw-on-the-sausage-in-bread-outcry-and-his-favourite-summer-barbecue-hacks

Controversy is to be expected when addressing an issue as culturally defining as a national dish. Even more when you try to improve it, such is the yoke of progress.

 

If you’re reading this outside Australia and feeling confused, here are a few FAQs to bring you up to speed.

 

What on earth is a sausage in bread?

It’s a sausage, in a slice of bread. Usually with tomato sauce and barbecued onions.

 

Is your national dish really called ‘sausage in bread’?

Most of us call it that. Others call it (incorrectly) a “sausage sandwich”.

A sausage sandwich is not particularly confusing me. I’ve always eaten them.

I think the bread hack is a great idea.

Brown sauce better than ketchup.

Andrew wrote:

Most of us call it that. Others call it (incorrectly) a “sausage sandwich”

This is absurd. Every Bunnings ever calls it a Sausage Sandwich.  Sanger, even.

 

I’d forgive this if you were a dirty Mexican or a backwards Querndlander but you’re a bloomin New South Welshmen!

Sausage in Bread! How bloody dare you! What next! Potato “cakes” !?

😡

Those are quotes from the piece; not my words.

Gar, we don’t really do brown sauce. For me, I’d have tomato sauce and maybe some mustard too. I can pass on the onions.

And don’t you dare butter the bread!

Andrew wrote:

Gar, we don’t really do brown sauce.

…..and there we find the inherent problem.

Seems pretty similar to bog standard barbecue sauce based on the key ingredients. Can’t be too bad. They do sell it in supermarkets here, along with HP.

These brown sauces tend to go well with chicken or bacon, but for a sausage I’ll always go tomato sauce.

In British parlance HP and brown sauce are one and the same.

It’s a dull, grey, British winter so I went shopping for some old school comfort food; I decided to make steak and kidney pies.

Most shops were open and beef was easy to get, so were mushrooms and onions etc. The kidneys though, were absent. even in a shop that had liver; no kidneys. I finally found some in a Chinese supermarket.

I found it odd that all the other meat was in stock, even other offal, but not kidneys?

I don’t think I’ve ever seen kidney in the stores here. Liver yes, but no kidney. The AH also has beef heart.

At synagogue for the Sabbath Afternoon meal, they served Blue Moon as the “beer”, but it’s really an American knockoff ( Coors) of Belgian Witbier. I realized that I don’t like beer because of hops, but even though it’s an American knockoff, it made me want to try real Witbier, if there’s a kosher version of that.

I’m making one, but with no ice as I don’t have any right now.

Anonymous wrote:

At synagogue for the Sabbath Afternoon meal, they served Blue Moon as the “beer”, but it’s really an American knockoff ( Coors) of Belgian Witbier. I realized that I don’t like beer because of hops, but even though it’s an American knockoff, it made me want to try real Witbier, if there’s a kosher version of that.

There’s plenty of witbier here but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a kosher version. What about beer is un-kosher?

 

The best witbier I’ve had is from Sint Bernardus and ‘t IJ brewey.

Takeaway two nights in a row. I blame that between-Christmas-and-NYE laziness. But I really should make an effort on eating more healthily in the new year.

The Belgian witbier that is most likely to be available in the US is Hoegaarden I think. It is a commercial brand. It’s got a very smooth taste, it has hops but they aren’t very bitter. Witbier is mostly seen as a summertime beer over here.

We picked up a case of Belgian beers for Christmas dinner with the family, consisting of 12 bottles of Stella Artois, 6 Leffe, and 6 Hoegarden. The only one that I personally enjoyed is the Hoegarden. The Stella tasted as bland as Corona or Budweiser.

Those are very commercial brands from Inbev (the owner now of Budweiser). Not the best ‘taster’ for Belgian booze.

The Leffe brown version is ok for me but miles away from the best of the Belgo.

 

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

At synagogue for the Sabbath Afternoon meal, they served Blue Moon as the “beer”, but it’s really an American knockoff ( Coors) of Belgian Witbier. I realized that I don’t like beer because of hops, but even though it’s an American knockoff, it made me want to try real Witbier, if there’s a kosher version of that.

There’s plenty of witbier here but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a kosher version. What about beer is un-kosher?

 

The best witbier I’ve had is from Sint Bernardus and ‘t IJ brewey.

Isinglass may come from a non-kosher fish. Other finings may be an issue, too. Most alcoholic drinks, except for wine, don’t have  certification on the bottle, but certification groups have lists of approved drinks available.

garjones wrote:

Those are very commercial brands from Inbev (the owner now of Budweiser). Not the best ‘taster’ for Belgian booze.

I really liked the De Koninck beers I’ve tried, but I haven’t seen them outside Belgium and the Netherlands.

garjones wrote:

Those are very commercial brands from Inbev

I admit I’ve become a bit of a snob regarding beers. After discovering craft beers, especially on tap, I am reluctant to buy a six-pack (let alone an entire case) of one beer. I would rather try something new instead of having a second bottle or can of something I’ve already tried, even if I really liked it. It’s more expensive that way, but life is short.

There’s a Belgian Beer Cafe here that has a wide range of imported European craft beers (mostly from Belgium as the title suggests but some others too). It’s expensive but I love trying different ones out too.

I have a couple of beers that I drink often, sometimes I get sixpacks. Currently those are Duvel, La Trappe and Chimay. And sometimes I try something new.

njerry wrote:

Stella tasted as bland as Corona or Budweiser

Stella is Budweiser just with a British label. i have no proof of this though.

njerry wrote:

am reluctant to buy a six-pack (let alone an entire case) of one beer.

I agree. I have almost completely stopped drinking at home for that reason(except of the occasional growler). the local market(Wegmans) have a Pick Six though where you can grab six singles but the selection usually still leaves a lot to be desired.

 

Rocket wrote:

Stella is Budweiser just with a British label. i have no proof of this though.

Almost but not exactly.  It is just as mass produced as Bud but for a long time was just more available in Europe.  Both brands are owned by AB InBev now with Stella being the flagship brand before they bought Bud.

Link to list of AB InBev brands

njerry wrote:

I admit I’ve become a bit of a snob regarding beers. After discovering craft beers, especially on tap, I am reluctant to buy a six-pack (let alone an entire case) of one beer. I would rather try something new instead of having a second bottle or can of something I’ve already tried, even if I really liked it. It’s more expensive that way, but life is short.

I still like to buy six packs of some beer as sometimes my appreciation or lack of can change over multiple tastings.

I was finally able to find some WarPigs (an ongoing brewing collaboration between 3 Floyds and Mikkeller).  Both beers were incredible but Lazurite might be my new favorite IPA of all time.  It’s super dank and way more hoppy than it’s proclaimed 70 IBUs would lead you to believe.

Todd wrote:

Link to list of AB InBev brands

One of AB InBev’s most recent acquisitions, Platform Beer Company, is a place we used to frequent.  For once, I think AB InBev might do a small craft brewery some good as Platform was all over the place as far as quality and consistency.  For instance, breweries generally use kveik yeast strains to go to higher ABV or to cultivate some of the more interesting flavors that kveik can provide.  Platform most likely used it for its temperature tolerance because it seemed like they didn’t have very tight controls on their processes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platform_Beer_Company

Most other craft breweries tend to lose something when AB InBev or another large conglomerate buys them.  For instance, Ballast Point’s Sculpin used to be one of if not the best IPAs around.  Then, I started to notice that something didn’t taste quite the same and they were doing tons of artificially flavored versions of their flagship beers.  So I stopped buying and moved on.  I found out later that they were bought by Constellation Brands, one of AB InBev’s competitors.

I’ve decided my two favorite types of beer are IPA/DIPA and Sour/Gose.

Today I had a Hill Farmstead “Double Riwaka” DIPA, and a Lost Nation “The Wind” gose. Both Vermont breweries, both new to my palate, both superb.

Favorite type of beer…that’s a tough one but it comes from Belgium. Probably tripels. Or whatever Duvel is.

Rocket wrote:

Stella is Budweiser just with a British label. i have no proof of this though.

It’s not, at least not in Europe, they could be pulling that scam in the US, I don’t know.

Stella definitely has more flavour and body than Budweiser. In the end though as Ronnie says it is a mass produced lager, they all taste relatively alike.

I’m doing dry January though so I shouldn’t really be in this conversation.

 

garjones wrote:

I’m doing dry January though so I shouldn’t really be in this conversation.

Dry? January?  

I was browsing Amazon this morning and had this suggested to me.

Has anyone ever seen this before? I know the world is in a tough place but do we really need to go to these lengths? Where is Charlton Heston when you need him.

garjones wrote:

I’m doing dry January though so I shouldn’t really be in this conversation.

BrewDog is doing a big push for their AF (Alcohol Free) beers.  They’ve opened a bar that is all AF beer and doing bottomless refills on their AF beers in all their pubs.  I never really cared for their Nanny State but have heard good things about the newer Punk AF and Stout AF.

https://www.brewdog.com/blog/we-are-opening-the-worlds-first-alcohol-free-beer-bar

Rocket wrote:

I was browsing Amazon this morning and had this suggested to me.

Has anyone ever seen this before? I know the world is in a tough place but do we really need to go to these lengths? Where is Charlton Heston when you need him.

It’s a complete meal replacement.  We’ve actually talked about it here a few times. Dr. Mike uses a similar but different brand called Huel (human fuel).

I’ve enjoyed some non-alcoholic beers in the past, but the truth is that during the times I’ve been off the booze I usually find something that I will enjoy a lot more than alcohol-free beer.

Dave wrote:

I’ve enjoyed some non-alcoholic beers in the past, but the truth is that during the times I’ve been off the booze I usually find something that I will enjoy a lot more than alcohol-free beer.

I would like to find something I like in the AF area.  I like beer but don’t like feeling even close to drunk.

I tried something called HopTea over the break.  One flavor came close and there are a couple that I haven’t tried but it didn’t quite get it.  So far the alcohol free beers I’ve tried just haven’t been good.  So I’m curious with this new batch that BrewDog has brought out.

https://hoptea.com

RonnieM wrote:

BrewDog is doing a big push for their AF (Alcohol Free) beers.

I’m happy for them but I tend to agree with Dave, if I’m off the booze for a while I’d rather not bother.

I can’t get anything Brewdog here but as a Muslim majority country there are actually quite a few non-alcoholic beers around and easily available. They are pretty horrible malt tasting things.

 

I think Heineken 0.0 is not that bad for an alcohol free beer. But I wouldn’t bother, if I’m not drinking beer I’m normally drinking flavored water. I’m addicted to that stuff. I like the water with mint taste and grapefruit taste. And its zero calories which comes in handy.

I rarely drink beer outside of the summer time, but when I want a refreshing drink on a hot afternoon/evening a lager is a great choice, but I don’t always want the alcohol to go with it. I just want that sort of flavour rather than water, or fruit juice, or sweet lemonade/cola whatever.

The only alcohol free lager that I think is ok is Becks Blue. It’s a boring lager, no character at all, just the basics, but it hits the spot well enough that I’ll have some in my fridge and even choose it when I’m out and avoiding alcohol.

If I can find a better one I’ll go for that instead. I hope they keep developing alternatives.

SteveUK wrote:

The only alcohol free lager that I think is ok is Becks Blue. It’s a boring lager, no character at all, just the basics, but it hits the spot well enough that I’ll have some in my fridge and even choose it when I’m out and avoiding alcohol.

This is the one that my wife ended up favouring when she was pregnant. It’s the nicest one I’ve tasted.

Ghost Ship 0.5% is pretty good for a low-alcohol ale too.

Anonymous wrote:

Favorite type of beer…that’s a tough one but it comes from Belgium. Probably tripels. Or whatever Duvel is.

I think my favorite types of beer tend to be porters and stouts. I like the heavier body. My favorites are Samuel Smith Taddy Porter and Coopers Best Extra Stout.

njerry wrote:

garjones wrote:

I’m doing dry January though so I shouldn’t really be in this conversation.

Dry? January?  

I drink so infrequently that I can go months between drinks. The last time I had any alcohol was was early December at a Christmas party. Even then, I didn’t drink much. I so rarely have a desire for alcohol and when I do, I’ll normally just have one.

Todd wrote:

I think my favorite types of beer tend to be porters and stouts. I like the heavier body.

My favorite types of beers are the wet ones.  

Dave wrote:

I’ve enjoyed some non-alcoholic beers in the past, but the truth is that during the times I’ve been off the booze I usually find something that I will enjoy a lot more than alcohol-free beer.

I have a theory that nobody actually likes the taste of beer. They just convince themselves they do so they can pretend they are not only drinking it for the alcohol hit.

DavidM wrote:

I have a theory that nobody actually likes the taste of beer.

That’s a great theory, David.

I mean, it’s great that you have a theory.

The fact that it is based on a completely erroneous premise, and the fact that you are Mr. Wrongy McWrongFace, does not lessen my belief that it is great that you have a theory.

Good for you. 

You sure that isn’t just the beer talking?

 

 

I have a similar theory that nobody actually likes being in a pub. They just convince themselves they do as it’s the most socially acceptable way to consume beer. Pubs are actually horrible environments if you take a good look at them while still sober 

You’re not going to the right pubs.

DavidM wrote:

Pubs are actually horrible environments if you take a good look at them while still sober

If all pubs were like the 10,000,000 faux-Irish Blarney Stone pubs that clutter the landscape in Manhattan, then yeah, you’re right. But then there is Haymaker, where I sneak off to hide every Thursday afternoon for great food, great craft beers, and great staff.

Or the Marble Arch Inn in Manchester, closer to your neck of the woods, where the food is much better than it has the right to be.

Or, for a real pub feel, it doesn’t get better than McNamara’s Pub in Louisburgh, County Mayo.

I could go on, but now I’m thirsty…

I have a theory that David goes to shitty pubs with shitty beer and assumes that’s what everyone else does.

DavidM wrote:

Dave wrote:

I’ve enjoyed some non-alcoholic beers in the past, but the truth is that during the times I’ve been off the booze I usually find something that I will enjoy a lot more than alcohol-free beer.

I have a theory that nobody actually likes the taste of beer. They just convince themselves they do so they can pretend they are not only drinking it for the alcohol hit.

Mah!

*throws beer bottle at David and his stupid wrong stupid face*

But you can’t go lobbing bottles at David’s face.

  He doesn’t have a head.

Anyway, Buffy says beer bad.

you need a beer to have a head

Buffy is not a good subject for making good choices

  over , really?

But Spike was so poetical. (Heh. I’ve just found his “poetry” online).

I’ve just had Drunken Donkey beer. It was beer…I guess. I kept calling it Drunkey Donkey because Wonkey Donkey.

Like coffee and wine, beer is something you have to work at.

I know my uncle/godfather used to slip me sips from a bottle when I was a little kid, but I went many years into adulthood before developing a taste for beer.

At 18 (drinking age) it was all bourbon and coke as my drink of choice. Then vodka and orange. Then vodka lemonade. Then scotch and lemonade. And then around 27yo I was put onto beer by a (female) colleague and gradually warmed to it. It’s now pretty much the only alcoholic bev I drink.

On Monday I had my first ever chicken burger. Not bad.

There’s a list of pretty typical, common foodstuffs that I have avoided in my life so far. Wife mocks me for that on occasion. I intend to tick them off the list this year, I guess.

Chicken burger.

Kebab.

Meat pie.

Big Mac.

I like beer. But with this one – I think it’s because I’m not a cow – apparently they started their brewery after feeding beer to their cows.

I’ve never had a kebab.

Or sausage in bread.

Andrew wrote:

On Monday I had my first ever chicken burger. Not bad.

Have you ever had a turkey burger?  There are times that I prefer them to beef now.

RonnieM wrote:

Andrew wrote:

On Monday I had my first ever chicken burger. Not bad.

Have you ever had a turkey burger?  There are times that I prefer them to beef now.

This past weekend, I had a lamb burger that was very good.

Todd wrote:

This past weekend, I had a lamb burger that was very good.

Lamb is very good.  It has to be cooked right though as it’s very lean and dries out quickly.

Like turkey, I’ve had brilliant lamb burgers and ones that tasted of dust because they were overcooked.

I’ve found Turkey burgers a bit bland in the past – when I’ve made them at home I’ve had to add quite a bit of spice to them to give them a decent flavour.

Dave wrote:

I’ve found Turkey burgers a bit bland in the past – when I’ve made them at home I’ve had to add quite a bit of spice to them to give them a decent flavour.

It may be down to how my wife spices them.  We’ve also found that we prefer the ground turkey we get from Aldi.  I really like them the way we cook them though.

We’ve substituted ground turkey and chicken in other traditionally beef dishes as well.  She made a pumpkin chili last night that used either ground turkey or chicken that was incredible.

Christel has some turkey chili at a restaurant last night that she really liked.

Todd wrote:

This past weekend, I had a lamb burger that was very good.

Lamb burger is the only kind of burger The Breslin in midtown Manhattan serves. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the only kind they need to serve. Sublime.