The South Will Kill You

Yeah $25 sounds about right at most diners here and in NJ for that. Maybe closer to $30 at some of the better NJ diners. Problem with the south though is that all good brunch places are closed on Sundays which is usually when I'd go get it... The south also has Cookout though, which I'd KILL for to have here. Where I live our fast food options are boring, McDs, Burger King, Wendys, KFC etc. Cookout is the ****, the amount of fresh grilled food you get for the money is insane. Bojangles is also good for biscuits, but Chick Fil A is overrated but better than McDs and Wendys.
 
Yeah $25 sounds about right at most diners here and in NJ for that. Maybe closer to $30 at some of the better NJ diners. Problem with the south though is that all good brunch places are closed on Sundays which is usually when I'd go get it... The south also has Cookout though, which I'd KILL for to have here. Where I live our fast food options are boring, McDs, Burger King, Wendys, KFC etc. Cookout is the ****, the amount of fresh grilled food you get for the money is insane. Bojangles is also good for biscuits, but Chick Fil A is overrated but better than McDs and Wendys.
They have a buffet near me.. with ONE table of food.

ONE. Single. Table.
 
Definitely had and made chicken fried steak. Really good with gravy, for breakfast - tasty.

But chicken fried chicken, that is fried chicken fried. Cept no bones. I suppose.
It probably implies the chicken wasn't a fillet but just a grounded chicken patty.
 
Greens I think are the only thing that keeps southern folks alive. I LOVE collards. One garden I had two areas nothing but collards. Don't have to be cooked in fat.

Haha. You are right. But most people I knew always went for the flavor of cooking collards and mustard greens in fat. I remember thinking that my arteries must have been screaming for mercy when I ate some of the home cooked meals that were prepared by friends while we lived in S.C.
 
Greens I think are the only thing that keeps southern folks alive. I LOVE collards. One garden I had two areas nothing but collards. Don't have to be cooked in fat.

As for chicken fried, I bought half an organic beef. I had ALL the round steak made "cubed" (which means tenderized in these parts.) HOLY GROTTO does that make good chicken fried steak.......so yeah I don't eat 'em all with gravy.......sometimes unbreaded....sometimes with mexi spices.........otherwise I am NOT a fan of round steak.
Tough greens like collards, mustard and kale need that fat and salt to be nice and tender. I’ve haven’t attempted making chicken fried steak - but I should one day.
 
Definitely had and made chicken fried steak. Really good with gravy, for breakfast - tasty.

But chicken fried chicken, that is fried chicken fried. Cept no bones. I suppose.
Be careful - you compare the batter used on CFS to fried chicken - a thick/thin debate might erupt 😷
 
More like $35 here.
The basic difference is the minimum wage, lots of places in the South are still at the federal minimum wage of $7.25. My state is $14.25 and you won't find a meal that cheap here either. I think in some locations, the minimum wage is even higher than $14-$15/hour. I think there's also a few cities like Seattle where minimum wage is $17.27 and a few cities in California that are over $17.
 
am i the only one who finds none of this appealing?
make my extra special, once a month, lunchtime treat a reuben on rye, coleslaw, pickle on side with no cost/calory water with a lemon slice. generally i packed a lunch from home (sandwich, yogurt, fruit), coffee in a thermos, and dropped an extra $5-10/day into savings bonds or a private annuity for 30 years.
 
am i the only one who finds none of this appealing?
make my extra special, once a month, lunchtime treat a reuben on rye, coleslaw, pickle on side with no cost/calory water with a lemon slice. generally i packed a lunch from home (sandwich, yogurt, fruit), coffee in a thermos, and dropped an extra $5-10/day into savings bonds or a private annuity for 30 years.

Sounds healthy. We don't do that around here.

I've brought TN and KY BBQ home before from a roadtrip. Shame we don't have any good mom-and-pop BBQ places up here, or maybe it's a good thing so I don't gain weight.
 
Definitely had and made chicken fried steak. Really good with gravy, for breakfast - tasty.

But chicken fried chicken, that is fried chicken fried. Cept no bones. I suppose.
Recipe & story
"Turns out there's a completely rational etymological explanation for the phrase. Chicken-fried steak hearkens back to the 19th century when German immigrants to Texas brought with them Wiener schnitzel, the classic Austrian dish of pounded veal that's breaded and fried. Adapting it to local ingredients and tastes, those immigrants first pounded tough cuts of Texas beef into tender submission, then coated them not in breadcrumbs, but the seasoned-flour dredging mixture commonly used for fried chicken. Thus chicken-fried steak was born. (Read up more about its fascinating history.)

Fast-forward to this century, when chicken becomes the most popular meat across all of the U.S., and we have another update on the dish. In place of beef, cooks started using chicken breasts split in half horizontally and pounded out flat. Served with a peppery cream-based gravy, it's, er, a lighter and healthier take on the dish, perhaps."
 
am i the only one who finds none of this appealing?
make my extra special, once a month, lunchtime treat a reuben on rye, coleslaw, pickle on side with no cost/calory water with a lemon slice. generally i packed a lunch from home (sandwich, yogurt, fruit), coffee in a thermos, and dropped an extra $5-10/day into savings bonds or a private annuity for 30 years.
I don't find the savings bond or private annuity appealing. That's more like a bunt. If you're going to swing, swing for the fences by picking stocks or play it safer and at least go for a single with stock mutual funds. I looked at bond funds and pretty much none of them outperform stock funds over the long term including down years in the market.
 
am i the only one who finds none of this appealing?
make my extra special, once a month, lunchtime treat a reuben on rye, coleslaw, pickle on side with no cost/calory water with a lemon slice. generally i packed a lunch from home (sandwich, yogurt, fruit), coffee in a thermos, and dropped an extra $5-10/day into savings bonds or a private annuity for 30 years.
It is really an occasional comfort food and not an everyday meal. I like fried calamari and chicken but I wouldn't eat it more than once every 2 weeks either, and normally I would probably eat scramble eggs with rice and green beans daily instead of the fried stuff instead. Now the thermos coffee.... I would rather bring my coffee grind and a french press to work and add hot water there instead. Coffee tastes stale after 1 hour in a thermo even when brewed at work.
 
The basic difference is the minimum wage, lots of places in the South are still at the federal minimum wage of $7.25. My state is $14.25 and you won't find a meal that cheap here either. I think in some locations, the minimum wage is even higher than $14-$15/hour. I think there's also a few cities like Seattle where minimum wage is $17.27 and a few cities in California that are over $17.

Yes, the official minimum wage is still $7.25 but the lowest wage I've seen on a help needed sign within recent memory is $12.50 for zero experience to start.. Lots of manufacturing jobs are $17.50-19.50 for zero experience with raises after training and another in six months. Everyone is running massively understaff so you will get as much overtime as you want to work.

Restaurants would likely not be affected by normal minimum wage because it usually doesn't apply and income is primarily derived by tips (Kitchen Staff excepted).
 
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