Guilty Pleasures

I was going to name this the Spaghettios thread, in honor of Miggie, but I think Guilty Pleasures might be more to the point. Awhile back Mig shared with us her love for Spaghettios, and although I've never had them (really), I can respect the fact that we all probably have a weakness for some kind of "tacky" food--canned of frozen or otherwise--that we do not readily admit to. And believe me, I'm sure that those of us from the New York City area can come across as "food snobs," so I just want to show that we are not. I'll get this thread started by admitting my weakness for Campbell's Chunky Soups and Velveeta "cheese."

Anyone else?

A thread in honor of me? I am so greatful. PB you are such a sweetie. Thank you

Looking forward to reading other people's guilty pleasures.

Ha Ha!!

Great avatar Miggie!!

Now, share a guilty pleasure with me. Maybe the Colonel has a weakness for Dinty Moore canned stew.

Chocolate bar with almonds.

Nutty Buddy Ice cream cones

Sunflower seeds (don't know how much guilt is involved, but I'm hooked on them. I think I need some sort of detox).

Pizza

That was the beef stew I ate last night. It's good to eat when you are camping.

I think canned soups have come a loooong way since the Campbell's alphabet soup days. Both Progresso and Chunky are very tasty. Low calorie, too, if you happen to be watching your weight.

Taco Bell

WHITE CASTLE Cheeseburgers.

You're speaking right to my soul, DC.

My "childhood" White Castle is still there, at Fordham Road and Hoffman Street. I grew up at Hoffman and 187th. What's funny, is that even the old Italian men would sneak there for a snack of half a dozen burgers, but they'd never admit it to ANYONE.

................especially their wives!

White Castle Cheeseburgers and their cheese fries.
Twinkies
Funny Bones
Fluffernutters

Boston Market Creamed Spinach

No, no, no! White Castle fries are a sacrilege. They're God-awful!

Now, their onion rings ain't bad.

Outback cheesefries.

Hey, this is supposed to be guilty pleasures.

I also like their clam strips.

My grandmother, God rest her soul, born in Cosenza, Calabria, LOVED Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips!

Remember them?

Tastykake Butterscotch krimpets
Snickers
Archway Blueberry filled cookies

While I try to limit fast food, I'll stop occasionally at Arby's. I usually pay for it later.

I also frequently get a taste for a good old fashioned PB & J.

PB & J is a gimmee! One of my favorites!

I was thinking more of foods that some people are ashamed to admit that they eat.

Well, we all know what Uncle Junior was ashamed of eating.

What?

It's as guilty a pleasure as any.

Go ahead and fess up Cardi, just admit you like spaghettio's

I recently had some Spaghettio's with the sliced hot dogs inside. it brought back memories. I got used to eating the boxed macaroni and cheese while in law school. I prefer the Velveeta shells and cheddar.

As a kid, I remember Campbell's selling a line of their condensed soup, called the "Manhandlers." I'm guessing they don't make it anymore?

I have a few:

• Cheese in a can - I think Kraft makes it; it has a little nozzle on top of the can and its perfect for putting on Saltines.
• Boboli "bread" - I'll stock up on one or two and along with a jar of pizza sauce and a package of mozzarella cheese they make a decent alternative to frozen pizzas.
• Potato sticks - the ones that come in the round container. They're similar to potato chips except they're cut differently.
• Chocolate covered Oreos - pop a few with a glass of cold milk Mmmmmmmmm.....

My mom makes the absolute best chocolate chip cookies. I looooove dipping them in milk until they are just about to break and then sucking the milk from the cookie. Every now and then, a small piece will break off a chocolate chip will sink to the bottom of the milk glass....

(Insert Homer Simpson voice here: "Mmmmmmmm...cookie.")

I refuse to dunk. I don't mind the dunking so much, but I can't stand the crumbs in my milk. Even when I was a little girl, my mom either had to strain the milk after I dunked, or throw it out.

Since SC mentioned Oreos, I have to tell you that deep fried Oreos are outrageously good. And they are definitely a guilty pleasure because you KNOW how bad they are for you. My daughter whipped up a couple of batches this summer and we couldn't stop eating them. We made her promise never to make them again, since my mother almost went into a diabetic coma.

Nobody here has mentioned Snowballs. Remember those things? The cakes with the pink marshmallow and coconut on the outside? Oh, they were so good. I haven't seen them in years, though.

The dessert of the dessert, huh?

Did you ever hear of FFV (Famous Foods of Virginia)? They used to make chocolate chip cookies that were sold here in New York in the 50's/60's. The cookies were about 3" across, hard (as opposed to the current softer chocolate chip cookies that are mostly sold now) and simply delicious!

I've done some lookups online but I can't find any references to those cookies.

Currently, I like the Famous Amos cookies.

Trader Joe's makes long, thin chocolate chip cookies that are covered in chocolate on one side. They are the perfect size for dunking.

No I never heard of FFV. It sounds good. I, too, like the harder cookies - that's what my mom makes.

Something about the store bought chocolate chip cookies just does not do it for me. Although I do like the Entemann's little ones.

I like Oreos as well, although not the ones dipped in more chocolate. Too much for me. Do they still make "double stuff" Oreos with the extra filling? I remember having those on occasion as a kid.

That reminds me - we used to call them "Chinese Restaurant cookies". They're about 5" across and have a dollop of hard chocolate in the middle of them ... I LOVE THEM! (My local bakery makes them).

Yeah... they're still sold. They're TOO sweet for my liking.

Chef Boy-ar-dee stuff in a can. It doesn't matter what it is, I'll just eat it unheated. But, I have to be really in the mood...or really pickled.

Sacrilege, ain't it?

Used to have a serious weakness for Campbell's Chunky Soups, but I haven't had them in quite awhile.

Every other year or so, I used to buy a big box of Yodels or Funny Bones and polish off the entire thing with a few tall glasses of milk.

But, you know, there are days (most days) when I think everything has become a guilty pleasure. Even breathing.

But, I refuse to give up my vices. Especially breathing.

Signor V.

I remember eating potato sticks. I thought they stopped making them. Now I think they're so pointy they can be used as a weapon to poke someone in the eye.

Oreo double stuff are the only ones I buy lately. The regular ones don't have enough filling. I love me some cream filling. Never had chocolate Oreos. To me the cookie is chocolaty enough.

My favorite potato chips are Pringles. I have to keep them away because I'll literally eat half the can in one sitting. Whenever I'm in the mood for a big salty flavor chip I like Munchos.

I like that they're consistantly the same size and that they're a little thicker than a normal potato chip BUT they have a "processed food" taste that I don't like. I can't stand "flavored" (i.e bar-b-que) potato chips.

Buckeye balls, ice cream sandwiches, funyuns, bugles

I'm afraid to ask.

Who's Buckeye?

SC,

You'd LOVE the homemade potato chips at Michael Jordan's, at Grand Central, if you haven't tried them already. They're a bit more than a guilty pleasure, though. They're like 10 bucks a bowl.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 cups confectioners' sugar
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips



DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, butter, vanilla and confectioners' sugar. The dough will look dry. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet.
Press a toothpick into the top of each ball (to be used later as the handle for dipping) and chill in freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.
Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler or in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until smooth.
Dip frozen peanut butter balls in chocolate holding onto the toothpick. Leave a small portion of peanut butter showing at the top to make them look like Buckeyes. Put back on the cookie sheet and refrigerate until serving.

Never had them. Potato chips are a snack for me.... I prefer fried potatoes or a baked potato if I'm eating in a restuarant.

What is with you and peanut butter, Mig? You own stock in Skippy?

Nope. Peter Pan peanut butter is the best. Since you mentioned it, I'm gonna have to make the Col. make me a peanut butter milkshake.

Oh, me too, of course, but the chips are served at the bar, in family style bowls.

I didn't think it possible, but you just outdid the SpaghettiO's. SKIPPY is THE peanut butter!!!

Oh, and Skippy peanut butter is the only peanut butter.

Peter Pan is fake just like spaghetti-o's

And you pay $10 for them?? Come to Brooklyn... I got a bridge I wanna sell ya.

$10.00 -



Priceless -

I had to go back to Skippy pb when Peter Pan got recalled. But now that it is back on the market I'm back to the good stuff. Not that sloppy second Skippy junk.

Now I need a Spaghettio's/Peterpan avatar.

Hey, if you want a tasteless avatar just use a picture of George Steinbrenner.

You make me laugh

Thanks. Thats the second nicest thing I heard today.

What was the first??

Oh, and JIF is the best peanut butter.

JIF???????? Even Peter Pan is better than JIF!!!!!!!!

I beg to differ. Jif rules.

You LIVE to differ.

No way Jif sucks.

There are certain things that I just can't buy an offbrand name. Peanut butter is one of them. I like both Peter Pan & Jif. What do I usually buy???? Jif!


TIS

Well, yes.

THAT'S why I like you!!!

I hear that all the ladies say that to him!

SC, I wouldn't take that from someone who gets his picture taken with a piece of ice on his head

This from someone who eats Spaghetti out of a can and puts Ketchup on her steak!

You know I love ya MAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Don't forget that I like Outback Steakhouse and Olive Garden.

Outback I could live with. Olive garden....well maybe if I was in Ohio or someplace like that and was desperate for Italian food.

A wacky package from a wacky guy!

Skippy gets my vote, even if SC wants to pick on me for being frivolous with my potato chip money.

See, I would say the same thing about the Oreos dipped in extra chocolate. Different strokes...

I too am a fan of Peter Pan PB (I recall this discussion, I think, in another thread). My family prefers Skippy, which is what we usually buy. We recently got a new variety of Skippy, called Natural - or something like that - in a container with brown lettering. I couldn't tell a difference.

Anyway, I eat peanut butter most days.

Any cream cake or pastry is a treat in our house because we very rarely have them. Last night though we had some apple turnovers,thick of cream and chunky apple!
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Guilty pleasures:

Creamed Chipped beef on toast
Canned tuna right out of the can
Spraying canned whipped cream directly into my mouth.
Three Muskateers Bars
Velveeta on Philly Cheesesteaks.

Oh man, I haven't had that in awhile. I love this stuff. It sticks to your ribs. A hearty thing to eat for dinner on a cold night.

This sounds tasty!
Does creamed,chipped beef come in a tin then cos i can't say i've seen it over here in Never-Never-Land?

I don't believe I've ever seen it in a can. It's usually in a red bag, located in the section with packaged lunch meats. You add milk to it.

Yummmmmmm.

That's great stuff!!

I like to add a box of frozen peas to the chipped beef. They add sweetness and, of course fiber, which really lends to the poop-ability of the dish.

Hey, I've been good for weeks.

I also like those little vienna sausages in a can. I actually ate a can while watching football a couple weeks ago. It brought back memories of my childhood. It's surprising how much better they taste when you buy something because you want to, not just because you're broke and that's all you can afford.

I ate canned Hormel chili this past week, while watching the games. It wasn't too bad.

Looks like something my cat threw up.

Man, you are one picky eater.

Yeah but tasty puke though eh?

It kind of looks like chicken fried steak with the white gravy, that they make down south.

Now THAT'S a guilty pleasure!

I used to have three cats. One of them would eat whatever the other two threw up. My wife was grossed out by that, and I'd tell her to chill out - it was a "home-cooked meal" for that one cat.

Actually the colloquial term for this dish is S.O.S. (Sh*t On a Shingle)

One of my all time favorite snacks is saltine crackers and Hormel potted meat.

Sure, the potted meat looks kinda like wet dog food, but MAN is it good.

Here...have a looksie:

Really for a guy that can't cook, Spaghetti-Os aren't too bad, once in a while.

I've been craving Ramen Noodles...I hate Ramen noodles.

I haven't had chipped beef on toast in years. My mother used to make it sometimes for breakfast as well as lunch. She made a similar dish with tuna, and I'd have creamed tuna over toast. I liked both.

As a kid, I also liked chicken a la king over toast, which came in a can and was made by Swanson's, I think.

My daughter and the Col love potted meat. They also like those vienna's that Beth likes. All I got to say is YUCKIE. I'll stick to my Spaghettio's.

Now that fall is upon us, I am remembering probably my favorite dessert: pumpkin pie. Costco sells a 55" pie for $6.00. It is so delicious that I could probably eat the entire thing in two days if I was so inclined.

Costco sells more pumpkin pies than any place on earth. I agree. They are outstanding. Mel Kiper, the NFL Draft expert at ESPN, eats a pumpkin pie every day.

While Costco makes great pumpkin pies, Sam's Club makes a great triple chocolate cake. Problem is I don't get to Sam's too often.

Other fall favorites are apple cider and caramel apples, sprinkled with peanuts.

A 55" pie?????

Thats 4½ feet across!

I love a good "fall" pie.

My favorite pie ever, though, is Key Lime pie. I order it online from Kermit's in Key West. The shipping is practically usury, but I only order it a few times a year.

Pumpkin pie and cool whip that is heavenly.

You ever try REAL whipped cream, Mig?

I don't think so. I have been deprived of the finer things in life.

Try it once (or make your own). BIG difference!

Ok I'll have to find a recipe.

Buy some heavy cream. Put it in a chilled bowl. Whip with beaters until it forms stiff peaks. As you beat it, add confectioner's sugar, one teaspoon at a time, to taste. Some people add a touch of vanilla, but that's not for everyone. Don't underbeat it or it will be too watery. Don't overbeat it, or it will turn to butter.

It is a whole different WORLD than Cool Whip!!!

I do like Costco's pumpkin pie. It's quite good. So is their chocolate cake. They also sell terrific chocolate cake.

We have 4 cats SC so i know where you are coming from here.....

Marshmallows.

Pure f'n sugar, so that's as guilty a pleasure as I can think of.

If you love marsmallows, you must really love cotton candy. You can feel your teeth decaying while eating it.

Not so much, it's just tooooo sweet. But once in a great while at a Feast or a fair or something.

Speaking of which: Fried dough, commonly known as zeppole. Now THOSE are a guilty pleasure.

I'm going to prove that I am no math major with this statement, but it's 55" in diameter (I think that's the proper measurement - I hated high school geometry ). It's definitely not 4' across, but the point is it is a huge pie, and so remarkably good!

I'm guessing that the diameter (straight line passing through the center) of the pie is about 15-16 inches. Anyway goombah is absolutely right: it's a delicious pie, and it's big. And I'm in the mood for it now.

Don't feel bad, I only know about that stuff because thats how we measure our pizza pies here. klydon cleared it up (with his answer above). A 16" pie is, indeed, huge. Most of the ones I see around here are about 9" or 10" (and now I'm dying for one).

Costco Chocolate Cake! Home made whipped cream! Zeppole! Pizza!

I'm gonna go out to the store and buy all this shit!

LOCK THIS TOPIC! YOU'RE ALL KILLING ME!



Costco makes an outrageous chocolate cake!

Warm, salted fresh mozzarella, dripping right out of the water.

Not to crazy about it in water. I prefer it fresh, hot and dripping milk!

Now shut the FOCK up!

Fried dough with sugar goes by several names where I'm from, but I don't think zeppole is one of them. It is usually served at church festivals or carnivals, and I first knew it as "pizza fritta." It is the definition of a guilty pleasure. My grandmother would make fried dough in smaller pieces with sugar, and call them johnny doughs. As she's 93 and legally blind, I thought her johnny dough making days were over, but she surprised us with a batch last month.

Where I live now funnel cake has always been popular. They are large, heavy and delicious. I don't think anyone has ever finished one. It can feed a family of four. Sometimes it seems it gets larger as you eat it, a condition I refer to as the Miracle of the Funnel Cake.

I hear you, DC. I'm getting hungry right now. I swear I 've gained ten pounds just reading this thread.

I also love those Costco muffins - they have blueberry, chocolate chip, and another flavor in one package. They come 12 to a pack, which is too much for my family, but these things are about 3 regular sized muffins rolled into one.

I never had the cake, DC, but it sounds delicious.

Now I sound like a pimp for Costco, but ya know what else is OUTSTANDING from them? Their rotisserie chicken - $5 and it is the most succulent bird you will ever have. Not a "guilty" pleasure, but a treat nevertheless.

I agree. And their cooked wings are also excellent.

As long as it's still warm, right?

That's why I go to my old neighborhood so early on Saturdays, to get it just after it's made, lightly salted and oozing "whiteness."

This thread is making me crazy.

Not only can you pick up these treats at Costco, but they're feeding you at every aisle with free samples of all kinds of things. If you still have room after checkout, you can get a quarter pound hot dog with sauerkraut and a large soda for $1.50.

See, that's ridiculous.

I love Costco. My husband and I call it the $400 store. You could go in to pick up that $5 chicken, and the next thing you know - $400.

The chicken is great. So is the chocolate cake. And the pies. And the muffins. Also, the chocolate chip cookies. And naturally, the cheesecake! I even like their frozen stuff. They used to sell frozen shrimp scampi which were delicious. I don't know if they still sell them, because I one day made the mistake of looking at the fat content, and have never bought them again.

I love to get the hotdog and soda!! One of my coworkers and I had a client near there and we used to love to go for lunch. Their $1 churro is also quite good. As is their soft-serve.

I am a sucker for those people giving samples. I swear I am still chewing the sample when I walk over to the display and buy whatever I'm eating, like a Costco Zombie.

They make a great Spinach/Artichoke dip (it may just be spinach and garlic, not sure) and it's very nice to warm it slightly and serve it with the pretzel chips that they sell.

Years ago, they used to sell pumpkin muffins in the fall, right up until Thanksgiving. They were sooooo good. They haven't had them in several years, though.

OK, I definitely see a trip to Costco in my future!!! Especially since I just got a big book of coupons from them in the mail.

Yeah those funnel cakes with powdered sugar and chocolate syrup is great. I also love elephant ears.

My Grandmother used to make Pizza Fritta. It's fried Pizza dough. She would fry up the dough and then we'd take a slice of fresh mozzarella and put it on top of the dough, pour some marinara sauce over it and then eat it witha knife and fork. Delicious! Zeppole is different. It's probably what you know as Johnny Dough.

Zeppole :




Pizza Fritta :




Mig, what are Elephant ears? How are they made?

Elephant ears

My mother used to put an anchovy in the pizza fritta, DC. I love it, with or without, as long as there's a good garlicky marinara sauce to pass around.

Hey, those sound good!

Now, my grandmother and mother fried small pieces (they weren't balls because I don't think they had a regular shape) of pizza dough, but we would put powdered sugar on them. We called them pizza fritta. We never had them as anything but dessert.

And then there are the other fried dough balls that you put honey and sprinkles on. My one grandmother called them struffoli, but the other called them something else, but I can't remember what.

I can't help it, but everytime I log onto the site, scroll down to this food thread and see the title of this topic "Guilty Pleasures" I feel like I'm going to watch a Showtime channel porn movie!

Well, they do say that food and sex are closely related.

We also call them struffoli. That half a finnochio Molto Mario once called them "Christmas Fritters." I almost broke my TV.

Christmas FRITTERS?? UGH!! I hate that stupid Mario!!

SB,

My grandmother made what sounds like you are describing here. We called it Sfinghi (sp). We all looked forward to it for the holidays.

TIS

What we know as sfingi are completely different from what you mentioned, TIS.



This is what we call Sfingi di San Giuseppe, and you can only get them in March, in celebration of St. Joseph's feast day.

Hmmm interesting SB. I am familiar with the St. Joseph's Day celebration but I can't say what you pictured looks real familiar. I know there are different receipes for sfinghi. I guess we should conclude that there must be different variations hu???? When I go back to see my parents, I'll ask them if they know different receipes/variations.


TIS

Just when I thought I'd recovered from Buckeye Balls!

It's gettin' so that I'm afraid to click on these links!

Signor V.

YOU GUYS HAVE NEVER HAD ELEPHANT EARS!?

Hey that is 2 agreements in one day. We are on a roll now.

The question is, is it a freshly baked roll or one that you take out of your freezer and nuke it?

Frozen

Why are you so bad?

Not me!! It's not in my nature.

I'm not a big sweets person, nor fast food fan, but I can tell you that I love a good hot dog from nathans, a roast beef from arby's with curly fries, and maybe once in awhile some white castle... oh, and for breakfast, maybe taylor ham, but any of these items only get around to once a year... thankfully lol

Ham and pease pudding sandwiches!


http://www.bobjude.co.uk/bobjude/recipes/pease.html

I never had Costco's pumpkin muffins. But I did have one from Panera last week that was out of this world.

Don't forget the famous bear claw. I grab one of those from time to time.

Yesterday I bought one of my all-time favorite guilty pleasures...Keebler E.L. Fudge cookies. They first came out when I was in law school, and I've been buying them ever since.

And they're baked by elves.

Are those the only cookies you tried in college?

PB, I thought it was important to try a few cookies until I found the one I really liked.

I actually meant "special" brownies, in reference to you seeing the Keebler Elves.

Uh...oops.

Reminds me of an old episode of TAXI. Reverend Jim is making cookies with Famous Amos, and he keeps hallucinating about the Mickey Mouse Club's Mouseketeers coming after him.

"That Cubbie's got it in for me."

Hysterical!

Wasn't there also a Taxi episode when one of the characters (Latka maybe?) was making his "secret" recipe of something, and it turned out the secret ingredient was Cocaine???

Another classic. Alex takes two bites, sits down and writes an opera.

One of my all time favorite comedy shows.

I have a new guilty pleasure to add - chocolate fondue!

I love that show too!! Even though Reverend Jim was my favorite character, here's a "food" tidbit (kind of) from Latka while in his "Vince Ferrari" character.

He walked into the kitchen where simpka (his girlfriend) was making dinner. Vince struts in, takes a whiff and says, "what died in here?"

Ok, back to chocolate fondue? What is it SB?

TIS

Chocolate Fondue is a big pot of melted chocolate. It arrives surrounded by various bite-sized chunks of brownies, cookies and marshmallows, and some fresh fruit like apples, bananas and strawberries. You have fondue forks (which DC alluded to), which are long two-pronged forks. You use the forks to dip the goodies into the chocolate. It's delicious.

Sicilian Babe, when learning that her guilty pleasure came to the table cold. She was heard to yell at the waither, "AAAHHH BA FONDUE" :

Ha ha ha ha!!!! So clever!!! How'd you do that picture?

Another point for creativeness for SC!!!!


TIS

I do love those Chocolate Fountains that they usually have at a Venetian hour of a Wedding.

That looks great, DC. While I was in college, I worked at Alex And Henry's in Eastchester for 4 years. The Venetian hours were the BEST, not just because of the great desserts but because no one could eat after all the food we'd put out. We got to take that stuff home every single week.

Jeez. I went to a huge party there for one of my old bosses back in the mid 80's. A good friend of mine named Mario used to work there back then.

You know, it was years after I worked there, but that's where Chazz picked up a lot of the kids for BRONX TALE. The kid who played Crazy Mario, I forget his name, was a singing waiter there. Slick worked there too (same kid played Young Tommy in GOODFELLAS). They had some great music there. The best nights were when they just opened for dinner during the week. One night it'd be Pat Cooper or Ray Allen, we even had Jimmy Roselli a few times. And Carnevale, what a feast!!

LOL i have a problem with those chocolate fountains at weddings... its RECYCLED chocolate.. but once in a while i dip a pretzel underneath one ... chocolate covered pretzels are my fave...

MY father first introduced me to White Castle back in the 70s in Jersey City... while I didnt like onions, i realized thats what gave this burger a special flavor and I loved them... over the years they have declined, like everything else, and i had them just yesterday since Lodi Pizza was closed, and they just werent the same.. seems like exra salt, less meat and flavor... they certainly not are what they once were... Arby's roast beef is a good, but even healthy guilty pleasure i find ?

Last time I went to Arby's, a few weeks ago -- a craving I've had for at least a DECADE OR TWO since I was there last! -- and it was gross. Couldn't even finish it.

White Castle is only good for late-night drunk food. And yes, it's still awesome in that regard. lol (Once or twice a year I may indulge )

Were they still using horse meat in the 70's? I heard they started out that way...

What you want is White ROSE -- there's one in Roselle. I visit the one in Highland Park once every year or three - freakin' awesome!

So you have a problem with chocolate fountains because you feel that they are recycled chocolate but you don't have a problem eating White Castle Burgers or Arby's Roast Beef?

Do you consider it "recycled" because the same chocolate flows all night? I guess you could think of it that way if you were a killjoy. There fun and interesting, IMO.

A friend of mine got one for Christmas last year and brought it over with some dipping goodies one night. It's rather messy, mostly because you set it up in the middle of the table and then everyone's stuff drips chocolate all over the place as the food travels from fountain to mouth. Also, you have to add oil to the chocolate in order to make it flow more easily. That was sort of gross.

I too ate at Arby's recently, and have to say that the quality of the roast beef wasn't what I remembered.

As for fast food, there is just something appealing about a McDonald's quarter pounder with cheese. I try to make it an occasional treat though.

I used to enjoy the Roy Rogers chain for a roast beef sandwich. There were a million of them on the way down the Jersey Shore, but have disappeared for the most part.

My brother used to tease his wife that they were going out for French food- to "Roy Rojay's".

They were good!

I mean, as far as fast food goes. The fried chicken, rb sandwiches and cole slaw were top notch, as far as French food goes.

Have you tried the new Angus Third Pounder? (Did it make it nationwide yet?) Pretty good

Roy Rogers fried chicken blows KFC away!

I get a craving for a Big Mac once every 6 or 8 months. I can't resist them. Hard to imagine, but in college I was capable of eating two, with large fries and coke. Now, the idea makes me ill.

Yeah, I can't handle those anymore either, Babe. About the only fast food I eat anymore, on an even semi-regular basis, is Chirpin Chicken, a small chain here in the city.

Here's a link: Chirping Chicken

The only Roy Rogers restaurants that I know of are on the PA Turnpike. I know there must be others.

I used to like their Doduble R-Bar burger, which was a cheeseburger with ham.

I was in Costco this past weekend. It was a 60" pumpkin pie in diameter for $5.99. I somehow fought the temptation to get one, now I am kicking myself. I'll be back in that area on Sunday and will definitely get one.

They also have them along the NJ Turnpike and I95. We passed quite a few of them this past weekend going to and from Virginia.

Their fried chicken was the best.

Yea, Roy Rogers Double R Burger would rock, ham, hamburger, cheese, the buns alone really made it, nice texture of the kaiser roll... my "upscale" guilty pleasure would be boneless buffalo wings from chilis, and the shanghai wings with wasabi sauce... its basically still fast food but yummy...

Hot wings are popular among my family and where we live. Most bars/restaurants sell them in 5 or 6 different degrees of heat and several different flavors.

One place in particular offers the "Melt Down" wings. Before they are served, you must sign a waiver that you will not hold the tavern liable for anything that might happen as a result of eating them. They will only serve 6 at a time.

My wife and I have gone there with other couples, and after a few beers we guys order them. They are more orange in color, almost flourescent, and after one bight it feels as though your face is going to melt. They are unimagineably hot, that the sensation runs through your body like lava.

The taste? Well, it has more of a chemical type flavor. There is no reason to eat them, other than to say you did. I've had them twice, and could only get one down each time. The record was eight in one night. It doesn't sound like much, but I'm sure the guy felt like Vesuvius for days.

Not a big hot wing person, although I do love Ranch wings from Planet Wings. As for Chili's, has anyone tried the southwestern eggrolls? YUM.

Klyd,

I believe that the show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on The Food network did a piece on this place in Pennsylvania.

Did they? The place is called The Eagle Hotel and looks like a classic dive, but the food is good, and the wings frequently win awards.