A few years ago, Heinz tried to switch the fast food places over from packets to tubs (their tub is designed so you can either peel it open for dipping or tear off a little spout for squeezing). But the fast food places were reluctant — the tub contains more than the packet, and they were scared that the customer who,…

In 2004, I went to Kenya for a two-week trip working in the Kibera slums. Our hosts took us to Carnivore, a very touristy Nairobi restaurant, near the airport, which serves a variety of exotic and less-exotic African meats. I wasn’t familiar with Brazilian steakhouses at the time and didn’t realize that Carnivore was…

When I think of criticism of Arby’s, I don’t think of “The Simpsons” -- I think of Jon Stewart, who made so many Arby’s jokes during his tenure on “The Daily Show” that the company -- trying to appear to be a good sport -- took special, one-time-only ads on his last couple of shows lampshading Stewart’s criticism.

I love making my own yogurt. As you say, there are benefits to having a supply of plain yogurt — if you want a particular flavor, just stir some fruit preserves, or granola, or honey and vanilla into that day’s serving. If you want to marinate chicken, marinate chicken. Yogurt-making is really pretty easy, and a lot…

I’ve never been able to figure out why McDonald’s in the U.S. — which is supposedly Coke’s biggest customer and the best place to buy Coca-Cola — does not carry Coke Zero Sugar, which I like much better than Diet Coke.

I went to college in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the early 1980s, and I think Chi-Chi’s was one of the first (nominally) Mexican restaurants I ever ate at. Oklahoma, at the time, had very strict alcoholic beverage laws, and I still remember a Chi-Chi’s in Tulsa being raided over some liquor law violation and it being all over…

Bojangles has great biscuits. I believe that, like at Hardee’s, the biscuits are made up in-house (“from scratch”) and not frozen or pre-made.

I’m not really surprised to hear about one of these entertainment types getting the clap.

When the golfer Arnold Palmer died, I watched an instant documentary about him and one thing I learned was that when he first became famous, he practiced signing autographs. He was annoyed by celebrities whose autograph was an unreadable scrawl and thought it was respectful to the fans to give them a readable…

I ordered some of the online-only mustard-flavored Doritos and they are waiting on my doorstep as we speak. I’m cautious, but hopeful.

There was an urban legend for a number of years about a syringe found in a McDonald’s ball pit. The original version had it in Midland, Texas, but at some point one version morphed to “Midland, Tennessee” — which is, in reality, a rural crossroads with, at most, a little country store/gas station not far from me.…

Just make sure you don’t ask for a tour of the Hormel plant:

I step from the kitchen into the dining room/living room and ask Alexa to set a timer. I have toyed with getting an Echo Dot just for the kitchen, but it’s an old apartment and outlets are at a premium. The nice thing about the Echo Dot with the digital clock is that, when it’s in timer mode, the clock face switches…

Came here to say this!

It’s not an either-or situation, thankfully. Yes, there’s something special about freshly-mashed potatoes, but, as you say, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the instant stuff as well. It’s like those “imitation crab” products. I try to think of them, not as imitation crab (they pale by comparison), but as their own…

Love Sidral Mundet. I pick it up occasionally from the Latino aisle of my local Kroger.

Just returned, today, from a two-week mission trip in Uganda. I’d never been to Uganda before, but I was thrilled to find that they have my two favorite drinks from Kenya: Stoney Tangawizi, a citrusy ginger drink with a great kick, and Krest bitter lemon, which is *just* bitter enough to be refreshing. I have not been…

Ronnie McDowell, who’s had a successful country career in his own right but will always be known for his Elvis-related work, sometimes plays a little venue in the rural Tennessee county where I was a newspaper reporter and editor for 35 years, and I got to do phone interviews with him a couple of times and saw his…

You can also re-use the regular bags, with some caveats -- the bag gets a couple of inches shorter each time, because you have trimmed off the seal when you cut it open. Also, you’re not supposed to reuse the bag after storing raw meat.