Oh, you definitely can. Same goes for other dishes that are on just about every menu: braised short-rib, fried calamari, pulled pork sandwich.

What I’m arguing here isn’t that roast chicken isn’t good—it’s great if done well—it’s more the opportunity cost when eating out. I don’t eat out that much since I usually…

Potstickers/Gyoza: Dumplings are always good. But because it’s more efficient to cook them in full-pan batches than individually-sized servings, there’s always some that go into the fridge.

They’re even easier to eat when they’ve been in there for 4-5 hours: the skin is no longer hot, but still crispy and not dried…

That’s ridonkulous. I usually assume servers are giving me generally honest food assessments/recommendations, but what you’re describing is hybrid Parma-Iberico ham-fisted.

Maybe not. But if your servers are doing their jobs and checking up on clients during the meal, they should have a pretty good bead on which dishes are doing well or not even if they are vegetarian.

Once you cut out the roast chicken and fried calamari dishes that are intended for the unimaginative, you should have a…

Pointed questions are definitely the way to go. Not only does a question like, “what other flavors goes into your red wine glaze for the shrimp,” short-circuit any potential coaching by management to “push dish X,” it’s also good for finding out details that might be deal-breakers for you.

Like coconut. Yuck.

Akin to, “My greatest weakness is that I am a perfectionist” in an interview.

I’ve done the same. The Costco near me sells 8x leg quarters from leftover rotisserie chickens for $4.99. I’ll strip them of meat and use them in various ways, such as proto-Chicken Cheesesteak sandwiches.

Happy customers (usually) tip better. Servers are usually knowledgeable or can give you details on a dish that might swing your choice.  It's your money, time, and calories--you should always feel free to ask (1 or 2) questions.

Big fan of Cook’s from what I’ve read—like their comparison between carbon steel pans--do you think it’s worth $25?  What kind of pieces do they have?  How-tos?  Equipment Reviews?  Thinkpieces on larger food trends?

Some fast-casual Italian place near me has added “Nashville Hot Chicken” to their proteins options...except it’s basically just chicken tenders with spotty breading, fried, then covered with a near-buffalo sauce.

That’s...not Nashville Hot.  Just ridiculous and a cash-in gimmick.

Trump might loving that flag right now, but knowing his history, come November 2020 he’ll be divorcing it for a younger, more eastern European flag.

Sure, but if they truly sparked joy, they would’ve MariKon swept the crabmeat Warriors.

Not much you can do: most people are too caught up in their own little worlds to notice anything unless there’s a screw-up that they don’t think they’re responsible for. Expecting a 15% tip is the best way to save yourself from disappointment.

That said, being treated like an afterthought by servers is annoying. If…

I understand and agree with your numerous points, but why are you complaining to us for? Tell Kinja to get a PM function and message @KenTremendous so we can do something about Jackson.

I’d much rather drink carbonated sweet tea: brew it extra strong, add more sugar to it, and then mix in some seltzer.

That way you can head directly to Bojangles or Popeyes and not even bother with stopping at KFC.

I think you’d have to play Desert Bus, the worst game ever made.

It’s amazing what you can accomplish with a double screen setup.

But I like to give my letter writers the benefit of the doubt

Yeah, since Bannon has always seen himself as an ideological martyr, that would’ve been the better analogy.

But he’s a malignant dummy who talks about history and philosophy like an undergrad freshman.