Food is going to h*ll

[senior chef]

Man, I get so upset about the quality of what passes for food these days.
Where I live, I go into south San Diego for shopping. There is not one decent deli in all of south San Diego. I sure would love to stock up on quality corned beef, salami, etc.
One day, being quite hungry, i stopped off at Subway and ordered a hot roast beef sub. My God, what a pitiful excuse for a sub.
A few weeks ago I wanted a chicken fried steak with biscuits and gravy. No such luck. No local restaurant had it.
Here, in south San Diego, there are literally hundreds and hundreds of taco shops , but if you want a decent sub, you'll have to make it yourself.

 

[Devi]

Sorry to say, @senior chef, but you'll probably have to drive north into Los Angeles proper. If that doesn't do it, possibly Beverly Hills.

 

[Blessed]

I love the things you mentioned. It must be hard not to be able to purchase the food you want. I have 2 corned beefs in the freezer now. Love a good rueben. Chicken fried steak and gravy, I am in Texas, so something I learned to cook very early. The biscuits, get those frozen. I can make homemade bread but have never been able to master a good biscuit. I salute all those that can make that heavenly delight.

 

[Murrmurr]

Quality is sacrificed to keep costs down/profits up. No one's gonna pay 8 or 9 bucks for a better Subway sandwich.

Several of our best non-corporate and unbranded restaurants went under during the pandemic. After being forced to close for a couple months or so, in order to reopen they faced the cost of installing new ventilation systems, or converting to a drive-through, or hiring and insuring delivery staff, or constructing and insuring an outdoor dining area. They had to just give it up and are stuck with huge debts.

My favorite Chinese restaurant served fantastic food at reasonable prices. It was family-owned, almost 50 years in business, located downtown, very courteous service, too. They had to close because of costs due to the pandemic, and they're not coming back

 

[Capt Lightning]

Another translation required. In US terms, what are biscuits? It's obviously something totally different to a UK biscuit which I think might be something like 'cookies' in the US. I've learned that US 'corned beef' is something totally different to corned beef in the UK.

 

[Blessed]

Yes, your biscuits are our cookies, our biscuits woul be more like scone, I think.
Corned beef here is a beef brisket that is brined with herbs, spices and pickling salt. Hope that helps!

 

[Lara]

...A few weeks ago I wanted a chicken fried steak with biscuits and gravy. No such luck. No local restaurant had it...Here, in south San Diego

Chicken Fried Steak with Biscuits and Gravy. They're everywhere on the Southern Atlantic coast. Pack your bags and book a flight Senior Chef

 

[senior chef]

Another translation required. In US terms, what are biscuits? It's obviously something totally different to a UK biscuit which I think might be something like 'cookies' in the US. I've learned that US 'corned beef' is something totally different to corned beef in the UK.

Yes, language is a problem. Our biscuits are somewhat similar to your scones. Your idea of a biscuit is what we call cookies. But, you folks insist on describing things that makes no sense to us. What you call the 1st floor is the 2nd level up from the ground level. What you call a torch, we call a welding torch. We call it a flashlight. If you ever travel to the U.S., good luck trying to find a chemist.

 

[senior chef]

I love the things you mentioned. It must be hard not to be able to purchase the food you want. I have 2 corned beefs in the freezer now. Love a good rueben. Chicken fried steak and gravy, I am in Texas, so something I learned to cook very early. The biscuits, get those frozen. I can make homemade bread but have never been able to master a good biscuit. I salute all those that can make that heavenly delight.

Yes, indeed. There are many steps to creating a high rising biscuit.
1st, and foremost, is to have a super hot oven 450-475 F.
2nd, use a very low protein flour, like White Lily.
3rd, is to use plenty of ICE COLD fat, like either butter or Crisco and cutting it in only until it resembles small course pebbles.
For great flavor, use buttermilk.
4th, only use a sharp biscuit cutter AND never twist it. Punch straight down.
To get maximum rise, bake biscuits touching each other.

 

[Capt Lightning]

Yes, language is a problem. Our biscuits are somewhat similar to your scones. Your idea of a biscuit is what we call cookies. But, you folks insist on describing things that makes no sense to us. What you call the 1st floor is the 2nd level up from the ground level. What you call a torch, we call a welding torch. We call it a flashlight. If you ever travel to the U.S., good luck trying to find a chemist.

No. the first floor is the first floor up from the ground floor, not the second. Flashlight is a rather old fashioned term - not much used. Chemist, more often called a Pharmacy or in Europe a version of 'Apothecary'. A drug store is more more for cosmetics, food supplements, hair care etc..

However the 'gravy' shown in that photo is what we would call a 'white sauce'. A pie or casserole that is topped with biscuits/scones, is called a 'cobbler'.

 

[Liberty]

Our food here in this part of Texas is excellent.. not much changed with the pandemic except eating inside...and several of us found out - don't order Tex Mex to go - good Tex Mex won't taste the same when you get it home and heat it up.

 

[Victor]

Every region and city is different. Chicagoans are proud of Italian beef sandwiches and hotdogs and gyros. Way too many taco joints. All the same cheap but tasty street food. Agree senior chef. Subways everywhere with phony tuna dull bread and thin skimpy meat. Corned beef is found in Jewish and Irish neighborhoods. Irish. cuts it thick. Jewish is very thin cut on rye with mustard. But driving a good distance for this may not be worth it! Good luck

 

[Moon Rat]

I am a bit of a freak compared to those that have posted here. I don’t eat any of the things mentioned or shown. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a vegan or a dieter on a mission to only eat healthy. I enjoy a dessert from time to time and I have an occasional snack between meals. “Food is one of life’s pleasures” and I agree with that phrase. I was raised mainly on eating healthy foods and therefore, I continued eating what I grew up on.

 

[Gaer]

Hey Chef, Go to San Diego!
El Centro has GREAT tacos!
But,
San Diego will have everything you want.
You could load up there once a month
and bring it back to T.J.
What do ya think?

Thanks for the info about biscuits!

 

[oldaunt]

The food in my area has never been all that good, mostly too much salt and grease for my taste, so I never did eat out a lot. And I do make a great fluffy biscuit.

 

[Alligatorob]

i stopped off at Subway and ordered a hot roast beef sub. My God, what a pitiful excuse for a sub.

Isn't going to Subway and expecting great subs a bit like going to McDonalds and expecting a gourmet hamburger? Can't get anything like a New Orleans Po'boy or a good south Florida Cuban sandwich there...

chicken fried steak with biscuits and gravy

Not surprised you can't find a good one in San Diego, just the wrong part of the county.

I have found some good restaurants in San Diego, serving Mexican or Californian things.

There are many steps to creating a high rising biscuit.

Thanks for this, my mother taught me to make biscuits, very similar except for the cold fat part. She also said to be careful and not work the dough too much. I have always had better luck with Crisco than butter.

language is a problem.

I enjoy the language differences, the problem I have in the UK is driving. We drive on the right side of the road, they drive on the wrong one, LOL.

 

[MarkinPhx]

Thanks to your post I now have a desire for chicken fried steak. I can have all the great Mexican food I want where I live , which is great because I love it, but in order to have a great chicken friend steak I have to hop in my car and take a 16 hour drive east to a great place I know in Central Texas. Oh well, the desire for chicken fried steak will pass but sad that I can't find a place where I live that prepares it well.

 

[senior chef]

No. the first floor is the first floor up from the ground floor, not the second. Flashlight is a rather old fashioned term - not much used. Chemist, more often called a Pharmacy or in Europe a version of 'Apothecary'. A drug store is more more for cosmetics, food supplements, hair care etc..

However the 'gravy' shown in that photo is what we would call a 'white sauce'. A pie or casserole that is topped with biscuits/scones, is called a 'cobbler'.

Sorry, partner, but the 1st floor is the GROUND FLOOR. If walking along the city sidewalk and you enter a store you are on the 1st floor.

 

[terry123]

My mother made the best biscuits in the world. She used self rising flour, wesson oil and buttermilk. She made them every morning and cornbread at night. i make them the way she did but not everyday.

 

[-Oy-]

So chicken on a scone? With thick white stuff?

 

[caroln]

Every region and city is different. Chicagoans are proud of Italian beef sandwiches and hotdogs and gyros. Way too many taco joints. All the same cheap but tasty street food. Agree senior chef. Subways everywhere with phony tuna dull bread and thin skimpy meat. Corned beef is found in Jewish and Irish neighborhoods. Irish. cuts it thick. Jewish is very thin cut on rye with mustard. But driving a good distance for this may not be worth it! Good luck

After moving to Kentucky we were having food withdrawal symptoms, so we drove all the way back to Chicago on vacation to get (1) a pizza and (2) an Italian Beef. It was worth it!

 

[Nathan]

One day, being quite hungry, i stopped off at Subway and ordered a hot roast beef sub. My God, what a pitiful excuse for a sub.

Subway offers a healthy alternative to places like Quiznos, where you're assured of getting a tasty(fat & carb laden) sub sandwich. Of course, Subway will 'pump up' your sandwich as you wish, for those who're less concerned about price and carb & fat count.

 

[oldaunt]

Subway offers a healthy alternative to places like Quiznos, where you're assured of getting a tasty(fat & carb laden) sub sandwich. Of course, Subway will 'pump up' your sandwich as you wish, for those who're less concerned about price and carb & fat count.

And do you have any idea how much sugar there is in Subway's bread? Look it up sometime; its quite a lot.

 

[caroln]

No. the first floor is the first floor up from the ground floor, not the second. Flashlight is a rather old fashioned term - not much used. Chemist, more often called a Pharmacy or in Europe a version of 'Apothecary'. A drug store is more more for cosmetics, food supplements, hair care etc..

However the 'gravy' shown in that photo is what we would call a 'white sauce'. A pie or casserole that is topped with biscuits/scones, is called a 'cobbler'.

Here in Kentucky biscuits and gravy is called biscuits and gravy, not "biscuits and white sauce". If you want something like mashed potatoes with regular gravy, you say brown gravy.

Then of course there's au jus:

 

[Nathan]

And do you have any idea how much sugar there is in Subway's bread? Look it up sometime; its quite a lot.

Of course, sugar & salt content pumps up the flavor, which equates as increased profits.