thanks, the tips worked especially shaking it in between. I had been doing that but not enough and it was taking longer to grind.
How much coffee beans do u guys usually use for a pot of coffee?

thank you for the reply

I accidentally bought whole beans instead of grounds and was trying to use my "Magic Bullet" to grind the beans since I don't own a coffee grinder.
I have Starbucks House Blend coffee beans and a small Mr Coffee coffee maker.
About how many seconds is good for a decent grind?
Thanks.

I have a 26 year old microwave and popcorn takes over 3 minutes. I put it in for 5 and take it out when theres anywhere from 1:30-1:54 minutes left and it never gets scorched. I have problems using any other microwave cause they are not as old as mine.
I will break up the package next time.
BTW my fave popcorn is PopSecret Homestyle....the other butters usually have a bad aftertaste for me.
Of course nothing beats popcorn made on the stovetop.

That pork chop does look good. I may either get that or some burger. Thanks everyone for the input. When I said "anywhere" in my OP I meant "just" anywhere....not necessarily anywhere as in nowhere else.

thanks for the recs. I was actually looking at that mac and cheese and did notice the quesadilla. It depends how hungry I am when I get there.
thanks again.

I was looking over the menu and just wondered if anyone had any recs on what they actually liked from there (if there was anything) or what to stay away from since things can look interesting but be really bad or something may not seem all that great but is surprisingly good.

I know how chows feel about most chains but I am going to a birthday celebration Saturday at the Hollywood HardRock and would appreciate some recs on what I should think about ordering.
My favorite types of foods are beef (steak, burgers, ribs), shrimp and pasta. I usually like trying to get stuff I can't get anywhere when I go out to places like this....so I usually stay away from burgers unless they are really good.

Thanks in advance.

I use flavored coffee creamer instead of milk.

Wow being from LA I can't imagine NOT walking into any grocery store or even restaurant and finding Tapatio. Even many white people prefer it over Tabasco because its not vinegary.
But then again I have to go out of my way for pies and other foods.
Is it hard to find bouillon powder there, especially big jars of it?

I am not much of a sandwich eater. I especially never liked bologna or ham and cheese. I don't like the meat and cheese together, I always needed something in between, I usally put chips in between if there was no lettuce or pickle. Then I got a job at a deli and the boss said to always have something in between, so I knew it wasn't just me.
I also eat my fries first and I just got into cutting my burger in half and saving the toher half for later, especially in restaurants.

Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto

Thank you for this recipe pampatz. I don't care for beans myself but I wanted to make it for my dad who's on a high fiber diet. I made the soup today an he enjoyed it. Thank you again.

I peel back or take off the husk and eat the tamal spoon some salsa on top and eat with a fork.....if the tamales are really tasty or already spicy i might skip the salsa (some do not make it too spicy because of the kids) I never had a mushy tamale but some have thicker masa on it than others.
Christmas its the main dish...other times if you are lucky to get them as renz said to get some they are a treat to enjoy with the other food.
Next morning they are great with eggs...mmmmm
They can be enjoyed anytime as a snack, main dish, or accompany other food.
Christmas is when "everyone" makes them but some make them year around to sell or other special occasion or just because.

I hate spending too much money on eggs. But I splurged and bought some Egglands. This is probably the first and last carton I will ever have so I want to make the most out of them by preparing at least one each in different ways.

What is the best way to bring out its flavor?

I eat eggs but am not really big on them. I mostly eat them fried with bread (I love the yolk best) On hard boiled I usually prefer the white.Scrambled I am not too crazy about because most people make them way too dry.

these sound good. I have a bag of lentils also to cook and have been looking for something.

Yeah I usually do trust them to do that. But I was very happy with the service and her patience with my 86 year old dad I really wanted to make sure she got her fair tip :)

When you happen to dine near shift change how do you tip?
My dad and I went out to eat and we had already gotten all our food, refills etc and the waitress said she was going home and someone else would be taking over. The only thing we had left was our bill.
She was a good and attentive server and I wanted to make sure she got her fair share, I pretty much knew what the bill would be so I tipped her accordingly. Should I have asked for the check before she left or just wait and leave tip for whoever brought the check but did not do any actual service?
Most of the time when I got between shift or near break it was mid meal where I would still be needing refills or maybe order dessert or something so I just leave tip for the last server.

Thats it thank you very much. I knew it started with an S.

I didn't get to see the bottle very well it was a crowd of people around trying different things. but I guess its more of a shape of a St Brendan's bottle (wide and roundish)
The left side was the cream and the right side was dark.

at least I think it was an Irish cream. I tried it on a Carnival cruise last week. The bottle was distinctive, it seemed like the cream part and whiskey part was separated. I think the guy was saying its not sold in the US anymore. Does anyone know what I am talking about?

I have googled it and just keep coming up with a million Baileys, homemade or Carolans brands.

Thanks.

I do it all the time too. I do try to put in fridge once its mostly thawed out but I have left it out from morning till dinner time and cooked it and we are still alive. My mom did it too. Now there are things she did that I would NOT do like refreeze thawed meat several times. I would be very leary if it was left out all night though, but if it was just for the a day I think you should be ok.
Most meat I find in stores these days is partially frozen so I either use it that day or put it in freezer immediately.

Everyone has their favorite place both for prepared masa, tortillas as well as meat. You just have to shop around and find what fits your tastes and what you want to use the masa for tortillas or tamales.

My mom was Italian too and never fried her meatballs first, she just cooked them in the sauce.

About the flour thing....yeah bad idea. My friend had a grease fire one and went to grab the baking soda she kept by the stove for such emergencies but her husband and brother had taken it to use to clean something, so she grabbed some Bisquick figuring oh its probably got baking soda in it.....made the fire worse.

Theres Maggie's Pub. I haven't been there myself but did hear good things from non hounds.
http://www.maggiespub.com/

There was a tiny hole in the wall breakfast place in Downey called Chillikellys (sp) that I guess specialized in Chilaquiles, I never been there but thought the name was cute.

I passed by that place many many times but never knew how it was. If I had checked this site on that place sooner I probably would have tried it.

Thanks for the heads up.......occasional salt crunch still has to be better than someone mistaking the salt for the sugar when making brownies.....now thats really BLAH!

I agree with kittyfood about the supermarket sales. Sometimes they have better deals than BevMo. BevMo is great for seeing a wide selection. And they do carry many varities of tiny bottles (if maybe you want to try out certain brands without buying a full bottle).
Is there a particular brand you are looking for most? Personally I like Tres Generationes. Most stores charge anywhere from 40-50 for a 750mL bottle. I have gotten it at CVS for 29.99. Another local chain market we have here in LA is Super A and they often have this brand for that price.
Since you say selection is most important I would say BevMo if they have those there.
Some brands I have tried are:
Patron
Tres Generationes
Cabo Wabo
Casadores (its okay)