san marzano tomatoes are rarely, if ever, sold crushed. And a lot of times when you buy crushed tomatoes, there’s added puree which basically screws up any recipe. Also, you can control the level of crushing, in case you want it a bit chunkier.   Read more

The version I grew up with was meatless as well. Only in the past couple of years did I decide to meat it up. I’m intrigued about different beans. I should try that next time. Have you used red beans or pintos before? Read more

I just might steal that idea for the next batch! Read more

My mom uses onions in hers, but I’ve always found them a bit superfluous. The red wine vinegar sounds like a nice touch, I might try that next time. I have poured some Cabernet in the pot when I needed to thin it out a bit and that worked pretty well too. Not crazy about using bacon because it tends to make things… Read more

there’s definitely a lot more going on, ingredient-wise in minestrone. Read more

I mistakenly read “hummus” as “humans.” For a second I thought vegans got a pass on the whole cannibalism thing! Read more

First couple decades of my life I ate a version that wasn’t even a distant cousin of soup. Read more

no judgment here. you can go to an Olive Garden in any part of the country and always get a consistent meal. That’s especially helpful in areas where there’s no Italian immigrant tradition to speak of. The mom-n-pops in those areas often can be...shall we say...lacking. Read more

I was in for a rude awakening the first time I went. I soon learned that the letters are there to actually be pronounced! Go figure! Read more

I actually knew a couple of guys who created a comic book called “Gabagool.” Read more

I don’t think there’s been a single dish from the Old Country that Italian Americans—especially Jersey Italian-Americans—haven’t tried to pour red sauce on. Read more

respectfully disagree. Read more

the qualification/disclaimer about the vowel thing would’ve been too long to write and so I rolled the dice. ;-) Though now I’m curious if anyone has ever tried to create a cross-cultural “gefilte fish parmagiana” recipe. Read more

indeed it is. And every time I order it that way I get a blank stare from the waitstaff. Kids these days! Read more

Cheers! (And, btw, I fall in the “Taylor Ham,” not “pork roll” camp. Yes, I know it’s not actually ham and that it’s officially “Taylor Pork Roll,” but I’ve been calling it “Taylor Ham” since I was about 2 and I’m not about to stop! Read more

I kind of think of Rutt’s Hut and Hot Grill as two completely different entities and I don’t really think one is better than the other. It’s just most of the time I prefer a Texas weiner. Having said that, Rutt’s yellow relish is in a culinary class all by itself. I’ve never personally been a fan of Italian hot dogs,… Read more

Yep, I remember Clixes. (My mom was a fan from her high school days). Didn’t include it because it’s defunct. Read more

I’ve only been in D.C. for just over 3 years. I love Ben’s Chili Bowl and the quintessential Half Smoke, but it still doesn’t hold a candle to a Jersey Texas Weiner. Read more

Taylor Ham is a close runner-up. But I’m a hot dog fiend, so I guess I’m a bit biased! Read more

not exactly, more like $35-$40 and up...volume and revenue is measured by the case, but individual bottles are marked up substantially at retail. Read more