There are so many essential ones that were not mentioned, though. First of all, you need good regular soy sauce. I like Pearl River Bridge Golden Label for Chinese style, and Kikkoman for the lighter Japanese style. And ABC brand Indonesian dark soy sauce is essential for me. If you’ve ever had Indomie noodles, this…

Rao’s is the near concensus choice for best jarred marinara. My other favorites are The Silver Palate and Victoria. I’m not puttin’ no Prego on my homemade gnudi.

I am thinking the quality of the ricotta has little to do with the gnudi falling apart. Maybe slightly increase the proportion of egg if that's a problem? A dash of nutmeg is nice if you're going the browned butter and sage route. 

The scene from Mystic Pizza is total fiction. Sounds like the movie daughter of a cattleman in Texas whose refrigerator at home is stuffed with prime rib laughing at the rich people who make such a big deal about it. No, lobster was not an "unappealing surplus item" in the '70s. It's delicious, scarce, and has always…

Starbucks’ name sounds more descriptive and less confusing than yours. If I bought a “Mocha Cold Brew” I would expect cold brewed coffee with chocolate mixed into it. Is there cream? Your name doesn’t mention it. Is it regular cream or chocolate cream or Mocha cream? If you just describe exactly what the drink is you…

North Korea may not be the best place in all respects, but at least you can say “Threepeat” or “Super Bowl” there without an Intellectual Property lawyer crawling up your ass. 

Your “wine journey” sounds like a bit of a joke. You will never taste a Barolo or a Muscadet or a Châteauneuf-du-Pape if you stick to mass market boxed wines. It’s like talking up 8 oz. rectangular portions of cheese packaged in plastic by defending its packaging. No one’s complaining about the packaging. I’m not such…

It's surprising that labeling regulations don't require listing the weight. My Ben and Jerry's simply says "one pint." No way to compare one pint against another for density. 

Hard to get excited about this. I think the reason people started putting Tapatio in their ramen is the same reason they started to dunk their Wendy’s fries in a Frosty - it’s all they had available. I don't like the vinegary taste. Is it really better than a hot flavor from the Asian market? Or adding sriracha or…

Whole breast is even worse - fibrous, tasteless meat. It's like substituting pork tenderloin for a rack of spareribs. 

Hard to develop much passion about this. It doesn't sound especially gross, just not something I would want. I don't see onion as the star of my sandwich, and peanut butter is a pretty dominant flavor, fine for the base of my goi cuon dipping sauce but not something I want to be putting on everything. 

Checking the bag almost never identifies an error with the order. The conversion usually goes like this: "I said NO MAYO!, I told them NO MAYO!" 

It’s a LOT. I’ve got a nice carbon steel pan that’s been put away because I gave up on it. Nice big spot of rust on it too. I know I would end up with something nice if I stuck it out, but the whole process really tries my patience. When something sticks, man does it stick! I guess you have to use it twenty or thirty…

The Takeout itself has become pointless. 

Penzeys pre-ground pepper tastes amazing for months. I grind my own coffee every day but use pre-ground pepper. This stuff about pepper losing its flavor/aroma within 20 minutes is just parrot-speak.

Does the plastic menu you just touched have fewer germs than the salt shaker? Wash your hands before you eat! After you've seasoned the food to your liking. 

Fuck the pepper grinder. I use Penzeys fine table grind pepper and it tastes amazing for months. Unless I’m judicious, guests will say “wow, this is peppery!” The grinder is just pretentious bullshit. And if I get eggs at a diner in the morning, there’s no salt on them. There shouldn't be. I'm tired of this…

I don’t think the other guy even read what you wrote. You’re 100% right. I can make a great steak or beautiful seared scallops. I ain’t making no damn bouillabaisse or paella. 

I just dumped a crapload of dill on some of the Lay’s chips and thought they were improved. I’m embarrassed that I’ve never done this before. Black pepper, Cajun seasoning, Jerk seasoning - any would transform a bag of chips. In fact I can think of tons of even more adventurous flavors that would be interesting to…

I have mixed feelings. My biggest thing is soda. Nobody needs carbonated sugar water or artificial sweetener water. I think the reason SNAP pays for soda has more to do with big money lobbyists from Coke and Pepsi than anything else. On the other hand, people deserve some normalcy too. Don't food banks distribute…