[pete]

Okay. Here is the scenario. It's 11pm. You have been working hard all day long, and had a rocking service. You leave your Jr. Sous Chef in charge of clean-up and finishing up the orders. You're starved and in need of some serious grub. Do you head home and cook for yourself, call delivery, or do you head out to a late night place? And what do you crave at that time of night? Sorry, a six-pack doesn't count!!!:bounce:

When I lived in Atlanta, we used to head over to "Fat Matt's Rib Shack" for a pulled pork sandwich and the rum baked beans, before heading out for a night of drinking (though the pitchers of tater tots at our favorite bar ranked right up there). In Chicago, I like to hit any of the late night noodle shops for Asian-inspired noodle dishes-the hotter, the better. Thankfully (for my heart) the bistro just around the corner from one of the places I worked, closed down. Many a late night there, eating foods one should not be consuming at 11pm! LOL!

 

[peachcreek]

By the time I am through and ready to eat, the last thing I want is something I have been looking at or smelling all shift no matter how good it is. I usually need to be gone for about an hour after work and maybe a beer or two to get an appetite back. My latest food jag has been a Mexican take-out place with burritos and tacos that seriously rock. AND it doesn't taste like anything I make. Thats even better.....

 

[monkeymay]

Yes, Yes, Yes!
Hot , sour and spicy Thai food from the joint that stays open till 4am on Hollywood Blvd.
Or carnitas, birria and lengua tacos from the 24 hr. stand where all the drag queens hang out...
Or Pink's Hot Dogs on La Brea for a chili/kraut dog, but they're only open till
about 2:30am and I haven't finished my beer yet...

Definitely nothing I have touched or smelled with the past 14 hours...Isn't it funny to crave something that will explode your palate and soothe your soul
when most people are in bed by that time?
I love the restaurant business!

Oh yeah - Gray's Papaya in NYC- hot dog and papaya whip is also an early morning fave...

I'm buying- who's in?

 

[pete]

Let's face it, at that time of night, after a long shift, anything is good as long as someone else is cooking it!!!!

 

[shimmer]

I always craved fresh fruit or a nice huge salad with NO meat, NO cheese, and very little dressing, you know, the opposite of the richness you would find in a restaurant....

And a huge glass of water, please.

:chef:

~~Shimmer~~

 

[culinarian247]

Pete knows how to wind down!!!

 

[kuan]

It's only open till 2:30am now? It used to be open at least "all night" when I was a kid. Oh well... probably the worst dogs in the world, but great to keep away those hungry pangs after a night of drinking. Jerry's deli on Ventura (the original) used to be a standard.

Kuan

 

[marzoli]

They roll up the sidewalks in Southeast Missouri about 9:00.

 

[monkeymay]

That's a drag - I get mad cause the all good sushi bars close around 10-
sheesh! (I'm into immediate gratification after work)
What do you guys do?
As for Pink's - if you're in line when they start closing the windows you'll get your dog- they usually serve till about 3am. (I can't help it - I LIKE Pink's)
Jerry's is still a late nite hot spot although a little too Valley for me (and I live in the Valley)
I always went to Canter's - it's old school.

Peace

 

[coolj]

If I can get there before midnight, Kelly O'Bryans, but more than likely. Bostons, cause they are open most of the night closing anywhere from 1 am to 4 am depending on the day of the week. but I usually am already starting my shift at 11pm, plus there's only my restaurant and one other that are open 24 hours a day, of course A&W has a 24 hour drive thru window.

 

[shroomgirl]

I caught a food show the other night that featured Pinks....said the dogs had a crunch to them.
We have a similar type place Woofies....they carry nathan dogs and make a really mean corndog. Too bad it's 40 minutes away.
Late night around here is Steak and Shake....24 hours.
We've had threads on what we eat, many are amazed we don't eat our own food.....kinda funny...

 

[monkeymay]

I think one of the reasons you're so hungry at the end of the nite is because you rarely eat while working - little bites here and there, tasting sauces, correcting seasoning, and it lulls you into this false sense of fullness...
by the time the shift is over, I often realize that I have forgotten to eat. I've TASTED everything, but I haven't eaten. ( I just came off a 2 week straight cooking job and lost 7 pounds -weird huh?)
So all that grease and wild flavor is about the only thing I can actually taste at the end of a long shift!
That's why I love Thai food- hits all the components for me. Hot. sweet. sour/salty with the contrast of the raw crunch of vegetables and peanuts against the smoothness of glass noodles...yum! I'm getting hungry...

FYI - a Pink's dog 'pops' in your mouth

 

[monkeymay]

Does A&W still have Momma and Poppa burgers? I used to love them when I was a kid - those frosted mugs of root beer (how great is good root beer anyway?)
No A&W's around here no more...

 

[kuan]

Yep we have them here in Minnesota. There's an original drive-in in Forestville, MN, where Laura Ingalls and her husband lived for a very short time. I guess that's their claim to fame. I took some pics, wonder where they are.

Kuan

 

[shroomgirl]

Oh man!!! i spent my early childhood in Rancho Cordova....outside Sacramento....we had A& W remember the tiny mugs they gave kids for free? As I recall they also had a brownie ala mode that was pretty good....that was when I visisted my dad during high school years.

There is an A&W here in a small outskirt of St. Louis, pretty ragged.....they also are in some malls....Nothing like driving up.

I had a burger today at McConnells, my first time....interesting, they served it naked....asked how I wanted it cooked. I asked for grilled onions but there was no dressing<tomatoes, onion, pickles, lettuce> They did have goldens on the table<my personal fav mustard> and the onion rings were pretty good, not great but I'd buy um again. Draft Guinness bill under $12 . And they are open until 3am.

 

[monkeymay]

YES! - I remember the mugs - I had completely forgotten about them...
Root beer floats!!! Growing up in car culture LA I always loved ordering from the car hop and getting the tray attached to the side of your window. I don't remember A&W having them but we had Bob's Big Boy with the whole car/ dining experience (great bleu cheese dressing)....
What's McConnells? Are they a major St. Louis burger hot spot? Please advise as I am unfortunately ignorant about most of the Midwest and in desperate need of a good road trip...
I thought you guys had good BBQ?...

 

[kuan]

Careful there! Dem's fightin' words 'round 'ere! I think Kansas City is the only place in the Midwest which claims good BBQ! But if you like lutefisk and lox you're welcome to stopover in Minnesota for a short sojourn. Better make it quick though, we're thinking of making it part of Canada

Kuan

 

[shroomgirl]

So it's true, there is NYC and SF everything in between is a blur.
I adore the Mid-West, the rolling hills the gorgeous Fall and Spring, tons of state parks, great shroom hunting....I moved 8 years ago from Baton Rouge and could have lived anywhere....this place FEELS like home to me, though I did consider Berkley and Madison.

KC is the BBQ haven, So is Memphis....both are about 5 hours from St. Louis. Yesterday I went to Soulard the oldest open market west of the Mississippi. Off to "The Hill" authentic Italian, many stores still have Italian grandma speaking Italian to the rest of the community...shoot the posters for benefit's are still written in Italian....Volpi's Languana and pancetta....St. Louis is a wonderful town to visit, we have great restaurants and incredible ethnic spots as well as being a Total Sports town...Cardinals, Blues, Rams.....Most of the museums, zoo and Science Center is free. Budweiser as well as a few local breweries, Pretzel shops, German meat shops, Artisinal Breads....AND of course the ultra cool Clayton Farmer's Market, Saturdays June 1-Oct 26 8am-noon

 

[monkeymay]

Mea culpa, mea culpa - I told you I was an ignorant Cali girl!!!
I only see these places from 35,000 feet on my way to NYC!

I would love to eat my way through St. Louis - it sounds fantastic- but Minnesota? Monkeys don't do well in cold -
I spent a looong winter in Detroit once and it was not pretty.
(but I totally dig Detroit!).

I am down for the lutefisk though.(can't you just bring it here? it's so much nicer you know - 75 degrees and the sun is shiiininnnng...)

Peace.

 

[shroomgirl]

Funny story~ I moved my three boys who were born and raised in Southern Louisiana to St. Louis the 1st year the freezing cold/smow ice got -40, they canceled school because it was too cold for children to stand outside waiting for a bus...my 8 year old came home with a metal baseball bat frozen to his tongue, tears almost freezing on his face. Hasn't been that cold since.
I wonder what coaster know about the rest of the country.....we are considered the breadbasket, Missouri raises alot of soybeans, corn, wheat, pigs are big here, cattle too. We have an up and coming wine industry....Norton wine vies with old Bourdeuxs. Big German population, loads of charcuterie. In St. Louis there is a big Italian population, we have one of the few top rated Italian restaurants in the country (Tony's). There are essentially 4 cities in Mo. St. Louis, KC, Springfield and Columbia.
We have alot of depressed farmers....82% of our farmers make less than 100,00 gross. Most under 50,000. There is some of the prettiest country I know of in Missouri....and I've been all over CA.
We have tons of caves....so I can't figure out why we don't have blue veined cheeses aging in caves.....we have eau d vie being developed at this time...it smells devine. We have farmers growing frais du bois, garlic scapes, fingerlings, Japanese turnips, etc.....