An interesting thing I’ve found where I live (central PA) is that there are a ton of small brewpubs now and ALL of them try to distribute locally. So when I go to local bar, they have beer from the brewery down the street and the surrounding towns. That’s great and all, but if I wanted their beer I’d go to their…

Back in my serving days a customer’s child threw up all over the table. When I brought her items to clean it up she said “you expect me to do this?”. Yes...yes I do. People suck.

I’ll have to see if I can find some of these. Hendricks is my go to. Monkey Shoulder is really good, but $$$$$$.

PA also. I loathe the liquor stores and their limited selections. Not sure how there is a private liquor store in Pittsburgh. I didn’t think they were allowed. Looks like this is the place. https://pennsylvanialibations.com/our-story/ I think they get away with it because they have a single distillery. Loopholes!

Great article! Now I have to eat ramen for dinner. It will be from a package...as that’s the best I can get in Central PA. Though I’ll add a lot of stuff to make it better. One day I’ll have a real authentic bowl of ramen!

Thank you! I’ve yet to taste a “complex” vodka. It’s supposed to be odorless/flavorless so spending $$$$ on vodka is such a waste to me. Yes, the bottom shelf stuff is awful and tastes horrific, but I can get away just fine with Smirnoff, Absolut, etc.. If i’m going to spend $40+ on liquor, it will NOT be vodka. Maybe…

Possibly unpopular opinion. Do you think she’s caught in a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation? Tons of vocal readers ask her why there wasn’t a gay character, Jewish character, etc.. It’s too late to change the books, so that damage is done. So she says, well Dumbledore was gay, to appease people I…

Lol, squirrels destroyed my pumpkins last year too! I heard spray lacquer works well to keep them off. Going to give that a try. Have yet to find any rogue pumpkin plants though.

Spider-man and Destiny 2...

NOLA style BBQ shrimp is traditionally served whole (head on, everything). There is deliciousness in the head of the shrimp! Kind of like when you eat crawfish and suck the juice out of the head. If you’re looking for a non-messy shrimp dish, NOLA style BBQ shrimp is NOT it, but man is it so good!! Best I’ve had is it…

I would say it’s kind of both?

Fellow NJ transplant myself, still holding down that area code!

Yup, I live in Harrisburg. Though, I classify the Lancaster area as separate from Harrisburg because it’s a bit of a drive. I find the food/drink scene in Lancaster much better than Harrisburg. I’ve been to Bruges a number of times. Really like that place and it is definitely unique for the area.

Yup, that’s the one! It’s obviously not a real substitute for dry aging, but it definitely enhanced the steak quite a bit. Texture, flavor were all improved. I did a side by side comparison with one that wasn’t “aged” and asked 3 guests to try it. Didn’t tell them which was which. They all liked the koji one better.

I’m going to have to try these instead of short ribs as short ribs have been crazy expensive lately. I’ll substitute in this recipe: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/three-ingredient-sweet-and-savory-short-ribs

I live in Central PA, which I like to refer to as the culinary black hole. There are a few gems for sure, but the overall lack of willing by the general population to try something new keeps great restaurants from opening. One of the bigger publications has a “best of” every year where people vote. Chain restaurants…

I’ve done that, it’s just never took the seasoning off for me. Though, I have a wood grill that gets to approx 1000 degrees that I normally do my steaks on. I’m definitely having steaks for dinner this weekend. Have a whole prime rib eye that I cut up from Costco. I’m going to give them the Koji treatment, which gives…

I don’t know about a metallic taste, but I made a homemade sloppy joe once that ruined the patina. Maybe the pan wasn’t seasoned enough, I don’t know. I will just stick to making tomato based sauces in other pans.

I’ve never had it so hot that the seasoning strips away, but I have had it where acidity has taken it off. When that happens, at least for me, I have to put it in the over on self clean to strip all of it off and start over. If I don’t do that, the surface is not smooth any more due to the areas that came off.…