Does anyone know a good market for buying fresh epazote? Especially in south Dallas or the Duncanville area? Also, what is a safe quantity to eat in one sitting? Thanks!

Thanks for replying. As a matter of fact, we do use the chuck for chili as well, although pretty much exclusively for our beef enchiladas, rather than a traditional "bowl of red."

When we first started grinding, we tried different blends (combining chuck, sirloin, short ribs and I think brisket), using an 80/20 mix, but once we increased the mix to 65/35, we found the chuck was great on its own. One thing we do want to try at some point is grinding some rib eyes, adding fat to get to 65/35, for cheeseburgers. How anyone else experimented with this?

Top or bottom?

How do you prefer it?

Mary and I recently started grinding our own beef, using a 65/35 mix. It's absolutely delicious, perfect for cheeseburgers, meatballs, meat loaf, stuffed bell peppers, and anything else calling for ground beef. For the beef we use chuck steaks and chuck roasts. For the fat, we simply ask at the meat counter if we can "buy" beef fat from them. I say "buy", because each time we've asked, they've given us their beef fat trimmings for free.

So anyway, having such a delicious blend of ground beef now, it made me start thinking about how a burger should be constructed.

Assuming you use lettuce and tomato, do you put the lettuce and tomato on the bottom, then the beef patty atop, or start with the beef patty, putting the lettuce and tomato on top of the melted cheese?

I was always a bottom guy, Mary a top. Recently I tried putting lettuce and tomato on top of the patty, and found the burger tasted so much better.

So I'm curious. What are the rest of you? Bottom or top? It's such a simple issue, but I'll bet there are strong opinions as to which is best.

For the record, I toast a cut-open poppy seed Kaiser roll in butter. Spread Gray Poupon mustard across the bottom slice. Lovingly lower the burger atop, melted cheese on its surface. Add four dill pickle chips across the cheese. Top with a leaf of green leaf lettuce, thin slice of red onion, three circles of tomato. Salt and pepper the tomato slices. Slather mayonnaise on the cut half of the top half of the Kaiser roll. Clap on the lid. Eat.

I'm from the New York area and I've eaten pizzas all over America for 50 years, including the abominations they serve on the west coast. The very best NY style pizza, hands down, is Sam's Pizza and Subs in Cedar Hill. It's the "real deal", not some place that just slaps "NY style" on its menu. You get an incredible folding crust, each slice supple and hot, with that sheen of oil on top. If you want authentic NY pizza, Sam's is the place to go. While you're there, try their garlic knots, and Italian sub sandwich, with its incredible dressing. Seriously, if you really truly care about pizza, Sam's is the only place in northern Texas. I'm not affiliated with Sam's. But one of the joys in life is finding a truly great pizza place, where the pie has that smell and heft and taste of authentic pizza. Mary and I found it at Sam's. Thank God we only live a few miles away.

As I said, we are definitely going to try them. And we will order 'animal style,' Thanks for the tip!

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply! I guess an In N Out next door in Duncanville was just too much to ask for. I've eaten some extraordinary cheeseburgers in my time, and I don't know if In N Out will make that list, but I do want to try them. Thanks again!

(I remember years ago when Mary and I were living in San Francisco, some Chinese officials were visiting, and wanted more than anything else to try an American cheeseburger (about which they had heard so much.) Their American hosts took them to a lot of joints in town, including The World's Best Burger. The one they liked the most? McDonald's.)

According to Google, there's an In N Out Burger at 6501 N Macarthur Blvd
Duncanville, TX 75116. Can anyone confirm?

Thanks!

My wife and I are trying to find some way to buy Sugardale hams either over the Internet or by phone. We specifically want half hams or whole hams (i.e., not just the thick slices that are usually available in our Dallas-area stores.) Can anyone help? Thanks!

Would never go to TJ's. Tried them a few years ago and their lobster tanks were absolutely filthy.

The name of the ham I was looking for is Sugardale ham. It's actually one of the best hams we've ever had.

Cook's is a great ham. But the ham I'm talking about, with "Sugar" in the title, we found to be even more tender, with a more pleasing "hammy" taste. It was Sugar something, but for the life of me I can't remember the name.

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

I'm trying to remember the brand of ham my wife and I bought recently at an Albertson's. It was delicious. The name had the word "sugar" in it. Can anyone out there help with the actual brand name? (This was not a deli ham for sandwiches-- it was a ham for baking-- although it came pre-cooked.) Thanks!

Anyone know of restaurants that deliver meals to Cedar Hill? Other than Chinese/pizza places? My wife and I are hungry but lazy. Our goal is to get really, really fat eating home delivery Greek food, but any cuisine is welcome.