OT: HFNYR Official Foodie Thread including Craft Beer, Wine & Liquor

[NickyFotiu]

Trade Joe's is an awful shopping experience. Complete chaos inside & outside the store. The only thing that place has going for it is friendly employees & a good wine selection when you're outside of the Northeast region.

Some people love TJs. Some do not. Im in the middle. I do agree their employees are super friendly.

Neither of those things are THAT important compared to the meat. Good brisket is something from the other side. Give me a well executed brisket and some peace and quiet and I don’t need anything - sides or drinks - for a whole afternoon.

Meanwhile, our broke asses have been living off $.30 cent ramen packs so we splurged tonight and I’m introducing the wife to Whataburger. If you are unfamiliar, it’s the only fast food in the world I would ever compliment. It’s phenomenal. It deserves all the praise. It’s godly. I can’t wait.

My dad loved Whataburger. I didn't like it as much although I liked their chicken tenders and honey mustard sauce.

 

[NickyFotiu]

As @Boris Zubov said, TJ’s is a pretty awful place as far as the shopper experience. Especially if you’re not a crunchy, namaste save the whales mofo, but… they have a pretty good alcohol selection and some great products at great prices. Cashiers are real friendly as well. But the parking lot and the store are chaos. Bunch of people who just smoked a pound of “shucks, no, I’m not in a hurry… oh, I’m sorry, was I blocking the entire shelf you needed while I was lost in contemplation about whether to buy this mango chai probiotic tea?”

That all said… many of their chips, dips and snacks are top notch, their alcohol section is quite decent and they have these frozen cheese curds that are actually so damn good that they alone make it worth it to shop there.

Im not in love with TJs but there are a half dozen or so products I can only get there or are 35% less costly there. I don't go out of my way to shop there but if Im in the area I stop in a few times a year. I don't drink but Ive heard their wines are a good buy.

 

[JCProdigy]

I’m lucky to have several good pizza spots near where I live

Grant Street Cafe - Dumont
Nellies - Waldwick
Mountain House - Sparkill
Kinchley’s - Ramsey

All good thin crust bar pies

Every year, when I return to North Jersey for the holidays/family functions, I always stop by Kinchley's for some Fra Diavolo pizza and couple of beers at the bar.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Every year, when I return to North Jersey for the holidays/family functions, I always stop by Kinchley's for some Fra Diavolo pizza and couple of beers at the bar.

Went a couple weeks ago and downed an entire pie. Couldn’t stop.

 

[LokiDog]

Looking for a great pizza place in Dallas. There’s gotta be one. Maybe not. Maybe one of you should move down here and open one. With me.

While I’m out of work I’ve been so tempted to go ask for a job at one of the bbq spots around here and just basically plead my case as a smoke and meat loving veteran who just wants to be fulfilled and will work my ass off. I just don’t think pit hands make very much money unless they ever get to be a pit master and open their own thing. But man, if what they say about following your passion were true and money will follow, there wouldn’t be a more perfect job for me than just… being a purveyor of exceptionally smoked meats and the abundant joy that comes from experiencing them.

In the meanwhile, while unemployed, I’ve talked to my wife about things I wish I’d done/should start doing. I’ve always wanted to write. I always say “I’m going to” write eventually, but I never do anymore. I used to, through college but stopped somewhere along the way. The idea was always to write nerdy fiction but I decided to just start typing, stream of thought before bed each night. Maybe it will eventually morph into a memoir style thing. If anyone ever wants to lend some eyes, I’ll share offline.

 

[Ben Grimm]

I've discovered a new to me worst beer. It's not Keystone Light, it's not Milwaukee's Beast or Milwaukee's Worst as some call it, it's not Natural Light, it's

Spoiler

View attachment 768725

 

[Boris Zubov]

I've discovered a new to me worst beer. It's not Keystone Light, it's not Milwaukee's Beast or Milwaukee's Worst as some call it, it's not Natural Light, it's

Spoiler

View attachment 768725

That looks like Walmart canned their own beer. Scary.

 

[LokiDog]

Using this as a general OT thread; something kinda cool in progress right now:

My wife went to the Stars opening night events when I was at work last month and they were all wearing western hats. She reached out to a few of them on Instagram trying to market and - a few weeks later - Jani Hakanpää has reached out and is commissioning a custom hat. That alone is very cool, but if she nails it I’m really hopeful we can make hats for some of the other Stars players as well. That would be a big boost for her brand and maybe lead to some cool perks like tickets, etc. Pretty cool either way.

 

[Ben Grimm]

Using this as a general OT thread; something kinda cool in progress right now: My wife went to the Stars opening night events when I was at work last month and they were all wearing western hats. She reached out to a few of them on Instagram trying to market and - a few weeks later - Jani Hakanpää has reached out and is commissioning a custom hat. That alone is very cool, but if she nails it I’m really hopeful we can make hats for some of the other Stars players as well. That would be a big boost for her brand and maybe lead to some cool perks like tickets, etc. Pretty cool either way.

Cool. My best friend here is a Stars fan.

​

Who can resist these? Not me.

 

[LORDE]

Looking for a great pizza place in Dallas. There’s gotta be one. Maybe not. Maybe one of you should move down here and open one. With me.

While I’m out of work I’ve been so tempted to go ask for a job at one of the bbq spots around here and just basically plead my case as a smoke and meat loving veteran who just wants to be fulfilled and will work my ass off. I just don’t think pit hands make very much money unless they ever get to be a pit master and open their own thing. But man, if what they say about following your passion were true and money will follow, there wouldn’t be a more perfect job for me than just… being a purveyor of exceptionally smoked meats and the abundant joy that comes from experiencing them.

In the meanwhile, while unemployed, I’ve talked to my wife about things I wish I’d done/should start doing. I’ve always wanted to write. I always say “I’m going to” write eventually, but I never do anymore. I used to, through college but stopped somewhere along the way. The idea was always to write nerdy fiction but I decided to just start typing, stream of thought before bed each night. Maybe it will eventually morph into a memoir style thing. If anyone ever wants to lend some eyes, I’ll share offline.

All you have to do is learn their secrets while working as pit hand!

 

[kovazub94]

Just got back from Trader Joes. I really like half dozen or so products there. Today I got some sort of frozen apple pastry for the first time. Wasn't the best ever but it was good. Marie Calenders makes an amazing frozen apple pie with brown sugar on top in most supermarkets. Other stuff I like from TJs are,

Thai flavored cashews
Frozen potatoes with peppers and onions
Their everything ciabatta rolls

Next time there - get chocolate babka. Heavenly!!!! Cinnamon is good too but not even close to how good the chocolate one is.

P.S. how to tell you’re Russian (speaking) without saying you’re Russian: we call it Trader’s Joe,

 

[duhmetreE]

Wow! Impressive. What's accompanying it? & more importantly, what are we drinking with it?

I'm a simple bitch. Just potatoes and rice.

and I dont drink

 

[GAGLine]

Next time there - get chocolate babka. Heavenly!!!! Cinnamon is good too but not even close to how good the chocolate one is.

 

[kovazub94]

For those posters on the younger side, this is how Trader Joe’s looked in late 80’s - early 90’s...

 

[NickyFotiu]

Is Screaming Sicilian a good frozen pizza? What are your favorite grocery store sold frozen pizzas?

 

[Kane One]

Thought I’d post my latkes here:

 

[Boris Zubov]

Thought I’d post my latkes here:

View attachment 782225

These look great...although full disclosure, I've never had a latke.

 

[Kane One]

These look great...although full disclosure, I've never had a latke.

If there’s any kosher deli by you, get one with apple sauce. And while you’re there, may as well get a pastrami sandwich.

 

[Kane One]

Is Screaming Sicilian a good frozen pizza? What are your favorite grocery store sold frozen pizzas?

Red Baron

 

[Boris Zubov]

If there’s any kosher deli by you, get one with apple sauce. And while you’re there, may as well get a pastrami sandwich.

There's one kosher market nearby in West Hartford, but the parking lot is always a shit show. I've had Black & White cookies from there & they tasted like they were straight from Brooklyn.

 

[NickyFotiu]

Red Baron

Really? I never tried that. I wish I read your post before I bought Screamin Sicilian today. For some reason I did not think Red Baron would be good.

If there’s any kosher deli by you, get one with apple sauce. And while you’re there, may as well get a pastrami sandwich.

I miss Kosher Deli food so much. We had one but they closed it during Covid lockdowns. I loved their pastrami dogs. It was the best of 2 worlds lol.

 

[Kane One]

Really? I never tried that. I wish I read your post before I bought Screamin Sicilian today. For some reason I did not think Red Baron would be good.

Never heard of Screamin Sicilian but it definitely sounds better.

 

[Gardner McKay]

Never heard of Screamin Sicilian but it definitely sounds better.

It is. My wife loved Red Baron. It was her go to. When I started buying Screamin Sicilian, it was game over for the Baron.

 

[NickyFotiu]

It is. My wife loved Red Baron. It was her go to. When I started buying Screamin Sicilian, it was game over for the Baron.

Good to know I didn't waste my $7-$8 today.

Saw a air fryer on sale today at Costco. I think they are over hyped but was thinking of getting this one because it looks like I could fit a small pizza or half a pizza in there.

 

[NickyFotiu]

I tasted the Screaming Sicilian frozen pizza. Frozen pizza is never great but I would say the sauce and toppings seemed fresher and better tasting than the average frozen pizza. The crust was average.

Motor City probably has the best crust though for frozen pizza imo.

My favorite frozen pizza is Amnon's from Brooklyn but they don't sell it by me anymore.

There is a company Katies Pizza in St. Louis that I would really like to try. Their meatballs look great.

Katie's Pizza and Pasta

All of our products are made in house from scratch with the best ingredients and the same team of KPPO chefs.

katiespizza.com