My New Food Term- "Foodrick"

You know, I've had some discussions with people abut the term "foodie" recently. Some people find it to be, at the very least, weird. Who calls themselves a "foodie" anyway is one of the things I've heard. Personally, it doesn't bother me either way. If someone's biggest problem is with the term "foodie" then they have a bit too much time on their hands. Either that or just don't have anything else better to do.

So, while on Google+ today, it hit me. An epiphany...an "ah ha" moment of sorts. I have officially coined this new name that might take the world by storm. What's the beautiful thing? Well, there are a few. First is that this word has been created by me. It also appears on my copyright-protected blog. So either way, I can make some money should I so choose. Either way, it doesn't matter to me.

This new word is inspired partially by Yiddish. Does anyone remember "Welcome Back Kotter" from the 1970's? You'll see it on syndicated TV from time to time. Anyway, one of the main characters (Arnold Horshack) would use the word Schmendrick. That was used to describe a stupid person. Well, before I go further, I'm not about calling any of you stupid. If I did, would anyone read this blog? Nope. My new term is inspired from that phrase, which one meaning means fool. So I decided to call this new term "foodrick", a fool for all things culinary. It's different and gender neutral. Besides, I figured that I could throw this out and see what sticks. Any thoughts?

Any Way You Slice It: A Different Look at Chicago Pizza.

Ok. Everyone has heard about Chicago-Style Pizza. Deep dish-pan-stuff VS thin crust. The purpose of this is NOT to debate which city has the best pizza. That's opening another can of worms I would assume not touch (not now anyway). Actually, I will address it briefly. I am partial to the Chicago style but in reality, you're comparing apples and oranges in my opinion. Back to the topic at hand. I want to discuss "the cut" of a pizza. What do I mean? There's something unique to Chicago that I've always taken for granted and never thought much of.

While on another social networking site, the discussion came up about the country's best pizza. Of course you had Chicagoans like me saying Chicago. Folks from NYC saying theirs is the best and on and on they went. Now it's time to address "the cuts" of pizza. The picture above gives the visual (on the right is the traditional slice and the left is the "party cut"). Now you see the obvious difference. One other thing is that the party cut is unique to Chicago thin crust only. I saw this thread on Yelp. It made for entertaining reading. In fact, I'll post the link for review:http://www.yelp.com/topic/chicago-why-cut-your-pizza-into-little-squares

My comment was:
"I like pizza no matter how it's sliced so the cut isn't a big deal for me. There were people who were from other parts of the country but the "squares" were actually more common. OK, I'll say it. I generally don't eat pizza outside of Chicago (especially deep dish) because there have been too many letdowns. I'll give my take on the comments pasted below and I'll start with mine.
"I could care less if the pizza is in squares or slices. As long as it tastes good, that all that matters. I go to places that cut in squares (think Home Run Inn, Rosati's, etc and those who cut in slices (think Lou Malnati's, etc) and they both taste good to me. And if I use a fork to eat it, so what if it tastes good? I do admit though that the end pieces are a bit of a pain in the rear."


Here are some other thread comments:
- "It's also easier to discern which side is which when ordering a 1/2 cheese, 1/2 sausage pizza. There is a dividing line." I think this says it all. While I don't order 1/2 and 1/2 pizza, the party cut makes it a little easier to distinguish.

- "...sometimes the line is blurred in the pie cut, and you get a slice that's like 2/3 one side and 1/3 the other. And that is serious biz when there's a vegetarian/non-vegetarian, or on a similar note, a spinach/non-spinacherian sharing a pizza." Another point I didn't think of. It makes sense, but a vegetarian sharing a pizza with a carnivore seems a bit strange to me.

- "I believe Chicago pizza joints do this to p+++ off us coastal folk. Pie cut is the light and the way. Square cut is just ridiculous." Slightly different crust in each city (even the thin crust). More a thing of preference. Deal breaker for some, not so for others.

- "It also bodes better for portion control. I can say I had one piece of pizza and mean it." BINGO!!! There may be some who want to eat a lot of pizza and some very little. If you want it as a meal, take more slices. If you're making a big dinner, get a party cut pizza and use that as an appetizer. Bottom line- no wasted slices!! Worse case- host has a good lunch the following day.

- "Cuz the middle pieces are the bomb." <------THIS is the person you might (no, you will) have to watch. The "middle pieces" are those without a crust. I don't care about crust or no crust but I have to admit, the center cut of a pizza is similar to a center cut steak. I'll eat either or but I won't lie, I hit the center cut. Watch out for the center cut hogs.

So there you have it!! I'm not even sure how this might interest someone but I thought it might be slightly entertaining. Maybe you've been in the same conversation. I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel. All I tried to do was write about a discussion thread I saw, wrote about it and wondered if anyone else have run across this topic as well. OK. I really wanted to just get this out of my head. I hope you enjoyed this or at least got a good laugh).

Works Cited:
1. Image of pizza taken from thread on :http://www.soundopinions.org/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t21643.html.

Hot Dogs: Ketchup or No.

Everyone has an opinion. Do you put the red stuff on a hot dog? There's a part of me that says it's America. You can eat whatever you want. Who am I to tell you what to eat? The rest of me says I grew up in the Chicago area so that's weird to me.

So the answer to the million dollar question? Mine is no. I had a dog with ketchup ONCE and didn't like it. It REALLY tasted strange to me because it took a lot of flavor from the dog itself. Some may reply that if I'm so concerned about texture, why do Chicagoans like me "run it though the garden" (put on as much as we do)? I don't always drag it. Many days, I'll take mustard, onion, & tomato then add cheese. Some days I'm not in the mood for relish or sport peppers (I normally have access to some habanero sauce so that's where I get my heat). I'll get a pickle on the side.

Now, notice how I mentioned adding tomato and not ketchup? I feel the texture of the tomato provide a nice compliment to the texture of the hot dog. I say tomato- wedge, sliced, and even chopped. You can still taste the natural flavor of the tomatoes along with the other ingredients. Even a thick salsa works for me. Chance are you already have some of the basic ingredients in salsa that you may put on the dog itself. For me, ketchup impairs the flavor. I don't think it works like say a meatball and marinara. With the meatball sandwich, the meatball was cooked in the marinara (duh). Ketchup on a hot dog just doesn't play nice with my palate... not at all.

Sure I prefer Vienna or Daisy brand hot dogs (those are made locally and have enjoyed them my entire life). Call me a little bit of a hot dog snob. Best Kosher was also very good but seemed to have fallen off once Sara Lee bought them (and have since stopped making). It's almost like Nathan's for an east coaster. The jokes locally are many. Like you can add ketchup until you're 12 years old (as I said, it was never appealing to me). Or if you want ketchup on your hot dog (especially as an adult) they'll tell YOU where the ketchup dispenser is. So bottom line. I don't care as strange as I might think it is. Then again, I'm not the one eating the dog. That's on you. One day, I think some of you might come to my way of thinking. I might do a local hot dog tour or even include dogs from all around America. It will be hard to top Chicago's very own though.

Now on Facebook!!

Facebook page now open. If I can get at least 25 people to like the page, I'll put more effort there as well. We'll see how it turns out.