Southern Restraunt Sightings.

[Seanette]

PhoneGoddess, you're making me VERY hungry.

[ThinMick]

Hey, yet another New Mexican!

I'm racking my brain for classic New Mexican food that just doesn't exist other places, but I think you got most of it. All I've got are funny stories and weird foods involving green chile.

Pizza with chile: It's actually a good idea. As suspicious as I was of it when I first came here from New York, a dozen years ago, the chile really does add something -- especially in combination with pineapple.

Sushi with chile: This one *still* turns my head. We have a sushi place that sells what they call New Mexico Rolls, which are avocado and chile (and possibly some other veggies, I don't recall) in rice and nori. I can't really speak to the wisdom of this one.

Green Chile at Taco Bell, Sonic, and Denny's: I got so used to it, I made an ass of myself in San Jose, a few years back. Apparently, Californians look at you *really* oddly when you ask for your burrito with green chile. I suspect it's the standard chile vs. chili problem.

Ooh, that's one we missed... Red Chile Chocolate Biscochitos. There's something to be said for chile and chocolate that can be dunked in your morning coffee.

[Hempress]

Hi, neighbor!

We're currently looking for a new place for our dojang and one realtor wanted us to look in that area (we're currently at Park City). I told him thanks, but no thanks! I don't want to fight that traffic daily!

I'd rather stay by Park City, too. There's a lot of traffic there as well, but it's not too bad.

[Sofar]

Hey, yet another New Mexican!

Ah, I lived in Santa Fe for two years. They used to serve Frito Pie in our school's cafeteria.

[powerboy]

AHhhhhhhh Frito Pie. My ex GF's Mother, made me once. And that was one of the best things, I ever had.

[kerrisan]

That reminds me of Family Guy.

Peter Griffin: W-w-w-w-wait a second. You're telling me I flew all the way to Kentucky to get some of your fried chicken, and the Colonel isn't even working today?
KFC Employee: He ain't real. He dead.
Peter Griffin: What?
KFC Employee: I say he dead.
Peter Griffin: . . . IS MR. SANDERS IN?
KFC Employee: What wrong wid you? I say you he dead.
Peter Griffin: . . . THE COLONEL!

[BusBus]

The only place I ever had any problems in getting regular (unsweetened) ice tea was a restaurant in Vancouver, BC. The waitress said that all their ice tea was presweetened. Okaaay. So I had a hot tea instead.

Unsweetened iced tea pretty much does not exist north of the 49. Iced tea is a pre-made sugar drink. *yum* We get the same shock when we order an iced tea down south and get a glass of cold, bitter, tea *yuck*

[Cia]

Well after that incident I decided that southern Canada was like the southern US - very wierd.

[Dreamstalker]

Transplant of a sort here...was living near Santa Fe for college until this past May.

Pizza with chile: It's actually a good idea. As suspicious as I was of it when I first came here from New York, a dozen years ago, the chile really does add something -- especially in combination with pineapple.

Oooh, I've never tried that one. Two of my favorite toppings.

A good friend back in Santa Fe makes oatmeal cookies with a hint of green chile. Just enough for a bit of a kick.

Any of the New Mexicans here familiar with Horseman's Haven? Their claim to fame is "level 2" green chile. I don't know how they make it, but the last batch I had my lips were burning for two days and chapped for a week.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Dreamstalker, May I ask what college you went to?

I'm an old Johnnie, myself.

Which means, that yes, of course I know Horsemen's Haven! It's not like it used to be. They used to have level 3 chile, too. We'd go there after a particularly hard day of school and do shots of level 3 in between sneaking into the bathroom to do shots of tequila. We used to go in there on Friday afternoon and the whole place would be filled with Johnnies, like every table in that teeny little place taken. It was great. Before they moved they had a teeny tiny little restaurant that only had 8 or 9 tables and a small lunch bar with 3 or 4 stools.

I can still smell the chile wafting from the tiny little kitchen...

[Misanthropical]

Unsweetened iced tea pretty much does not exist north of the 49. Iced tea is a pre-made sugar drink. *yum* We get the same shock when we order an iced tea down south and get a glass of cold, bitter, tea *yuck*

I use to visit my grandfather in Alabama, when we would go to dinner I noticed that when I tried to order unsweetened ice tea, the waitress would look at me like I had just sprout another head.

My grandfather would tell the waitress we were visiting from the North, and tell me everyone drinks sweet tea in the South.

Another thing I noticed is that everything and I do mean everything is served with grits. YUCK!

[Sofar]

Aw, but grits.

[kerrisan]

In Texas, you can get sweetened or unsweetened iced tea. Which is good, because as I stated before, I HATE sweet tea. There is sugar at tables in sit-down restaurants so that you can sweeten your tea.

And alot of times down here, it's the African-Americans that eat most of the grits. I like 'em, but I prefer biscuits n' gravy and pan sausage.

[Mike Taylor]

Oddly enough, the best grits I ever had were from a little restaurant in Evanston IL that specialized in gourmet southern cooking. These weren't just plain old grits with salt & butter. These had sausage, shrimp, curry, bits of celery, mushrooms. Oh man, it was so good. Even greater still, it was right across the street from one of my favorite game shops, the late lamented Something Wicked.

It was a regular habit of mine to go have lunch there after picking up a new game book.

[Crawley]

There is sugar at tables in sit-down restaurants so that you can sweeten your tea.

The problem there is that unless the tea is hot, the sugar won't dissolve, it will just sink to the bottom.

Besides, why would anyone want unsweet tea? That's just wrong.


This message brought to you by a born and raised Southern boy.