Rosh Hashanah - RorDawg Style

Happy New Year! I am skipping any religious celebrations this year to honor the opening of Religulous. I kinda hate Bill Maher lately but tend to agree on his stance on religion so I hope to see this movie. I am sure I will enjoy it and find it rather funny.

Anyway if you are a bi coastal orphan like me and do not have any family home cooking here is a list of places I think would be great for a Rosh Hashanah food (at least what I will be eating).

I present to you Rosh Hashanah - The RorDawg Chronicles......

1) P.F. Chang's - I mean you are a Jew so you probably like Chinese food. This is where my family held their mock Rosh dinner and it was delicious. Who needs brisket when you can have Mongolian Beef.

2) Tasti D Lite - Perhaps you are busy, realized you have no food in your apt and are leaving for LA the next morning. Maybe you are lazy and want to just grab something to eat while you watch Chucky Bass on Gossip Girl. Tasti D Lite is the perfect solution, delicious and kosher!

3) In N Out Burger - When in LA!!!!! I figure it will be a nice treat for my Rosh Hashanah lunch.

4) Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf - What a Rosh breakfast treat. Instead of apples and honey, I am having a Caramel Ice Blended!!!

5) STK - You think grandma makes you feel like a superstar, forget it!!! I am going to STK in LA (2 locations so it is a chain) where the paparazzi will be outside taking pictures of me thinking I am Meadow Soprano or Chuy.

6) Jerry's Famous Deli - These are all over South Florida and LA. I figure I might as well have one Jew meal during the holidays so it will probably be here.

Happy New Year!

Rise, Shine and Have Some Chain Food

This is a topic I have never touched upon before. I realized I never wrote about the most important meal of the day......breakfast. I love breakfast! Last night I was in bed and all I could think about was French Toast Sticks. Breakfast is probably the one meal where I like most options on the menu. I think one of the greatest indulgences around is the breakfast options at fast food chains. McDonalds and Burger King have amazing breakfasts. When I was a freshman in college before I would go to my Hip Hop Dance class I would stop in McDonald's on Comm Ave to get a McDonalds breakfast. It was my treat for working so hard in Hip Hop.

Here is my list of my favorite breakfast items at Burger King and McDonalds.

1) McDonald's Hash Brown. Those ovals are heaven in a paper wrapping. Add some salt and pepper and you have perfection.

2) Burger King French Toast Sticks. These sticks are just right. Crispy on the outside, warm and eggy on the inside. Dip them in syrup and you got your self a pretty sweet meal.

3) Burget King Croissantwich. What a great idea, eggs, bacon and a croissant. I must have one of these sometime soon again.

4) McDonald's Bacon and Egg Biscuit. Notice I do not put cheese because I do not like cheese on my eggs. Also if you order it this way, you know it is fresh because they have to make it special for you. Everyone likes something special, right?

5) McDonald's pancakes, or as they call them, Hotcakes. These things are awesome. Light, fluffy and served in that awesome Styrofoam plate. These remind me of being a kid. I guess I ate them a lot as a kid.

I have to admit that I have never tried a McGriddle. I always wanted to but never got around to it. I think this posting has inspired me to go try one. Perhaps tomorrow morning???

The Economy is Rough, Chain It Up

Anyone who works around midtown has to notice the somber mood around town. It was sad to see all those cute Lehman Brother boys carrying their boxes out on Monday. There was a time when I was so jealous of bankers. I was intrigued and jealous of their big bonuses around Christmas time. The most I ever got was a gift certificate to Bloomingdale's. I thought hmm maybe I should go back to school and get into finance, but alas I have adult onset ADD and there is no way I could ever take the GMATs or GRESs So instead, I blog about chain restaurants.

Anyway I thought I would use this posting as a guide to some of the best chain restaurant deals around. With this tough economy, we could all use a good food deal.

1) Olive Garden all you can eat soup, salad and breadsticks. For around ten bucks you can eat all you want. I went once and found it very tasty and for ten bucks, what else could you want!

2) Applebee's now also has an all you can eat option. They are offering all you can eat chicken fingers, riblet basket or fried shrimp. This offer is only available in the burbs. From $9.95 - $13.95 you can have all the chicken fingers, riblets or shrimp you could want. You are only allowed one but you can mix and match with your friends. I called and asked. No question about which one I would pick. Chicken fingers, ching-ching! I might go and practice for my chicken fingers competitive eating competition.

3) McDonald's Dollar Menu. So you are not a millionaire anymore, you can still be a Dollar Menunaire. I mean for 3 bucks you can get a double cheeseburger, fries and a coke. Now that is a deal.

4) Wendy's 99cent Menu. This is my favorite value menu. No doubt for 3 bucks you can get a 5 piece chicken nugget with sweet and sour sauce, a yummy baked potato and a diet coke. What a feast!

5) McCormick & Schmick's $1.95 Bar menu. Put down your $15 cosmo at the rooftop bar and head over to McCormick & Schmicks to indulge on their $1.95 Happy Hour bar menu. Highlights include Cheeseburgers, Fish Tacos, Chicken Wings and Steamed Mussels.

So let the European tourists drink $5.00 coffees and $6.00 smoothies. Us tough New Yorkers will get through these hard times with my helpful guide!

The 100th Posting

Well can you believe it. It is my 100th posting. Who would have thought this little idea that was imagined while dining on Red Lobster biscuits would turn into such a major food blog. Ok maybe it is not a major food blog yet BUT I do have a lot of loyal supporters and because of that I am dedicating my 100th posting to them. I have created a list of my All-Star readers. Those who have been there from the beginning and have supported me with comments and kind notes (do not be offended if you did not make the list, but I had to cut it somewhere - if you are upset maybe you should comment more).

Here is my Chain of Food All-Star readers and where I would like to dine with them as a thank you for all of their support.

Nina - my girl, my hetero, I would love to dine with you at Buddakan in AC. I have been talking a lot about this place recently, I know, but we have had so much fun here and both love the edamame dumplings. Let's do it again!

Brian E. - I thought a lot about this one and have come up with The Hard Rock Cafe at Yankee Stadium before a Yankee Met game. I have no idea if Citi Field will have a chain in it because poor little Citi Field gets no press coverage. Regardless this is my pick. Also we can kill two birds with one stone because I still owe you a Mets game based on that silly Obama bet.

Bretty - For a while you used a fake name which was kinda odd. Does not matter though, nobody loves chains as much as us. I would like to dine at Del Friscos with you because that is the best and you are the best!! Also if I take you there maybe you will not make fun of me for being cheap.

Cousin - You always put such thoughtful remarks on this bad boy and for that I thank you. I would like to dine with you at Capital Grille. You introduced me to this wonderful place and I will always be grateful.

Paul, Nadine's Husband - You comment was probably the nicest thing anyone ever said about this blog. I was really touched, nobody ever called me their hero before. My pick for you is Dave and Busters.

Again, thanks everyone for reading. When I am published and become the food version of Candace Bushnell I promise to not forget anyone.

The Best Chain Appetizers

Hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought it was about time for me to create another best list. I have not done one in a while and figured this hazy, crazy, Wednesday in September would be the perfect time for one. So without further ado, I present to you the best appetizers served at chain restaurants.

1) Ravioli Edamame at Buddakan. You can see the posting below for more details on those little nuggets of joy.

2) Sesame Jack Chicken Strips from TGI Fridays. These are heaven on a plate. One of the most tasty things you can put in your mouth.

3) Rock Shrimp Tempura from Nobu. This is by far the best thing on their menu. A lot of other places offer this, but Nobu has by far the best one.

4) Spinach Artichoke Dip from CPK

5) Spinach Artichoke Dip from Houstons.

6) Chicken Lettuce Wraps from PF Changs. Oh boy these babies are good. So much fun to make and eat.

7) Avocado Egg Rolls from Cheesecake Factory. I love avocado and I love egg rolls so the combination is great.

7) Guacamole from Rosa Mexicana. Rosa beats out Dos Caminos in the avocado arena because they serve it with warm tortillas and I like that.

9) Quesidilla from Applebee's. Little Bretty introduced me to these and we both concur that they are the best quesidillas from any chain.

10) Fried zucchini from Carmine's. I try to make believe I don't love it but I do. It is an indulgence of fried wonderfulness. It is extra good topped with lemon and tomato sauce.

Let me know what you think of this list.

My next posting is my 100th so stay tuned. It is going to be extra special.