We've actually been eating out more, specifically takeout from our favorite Thai place. I swear some weeks we kept them in business. :)

We used to do takeout or dine out maybe 3 nights a week. Now we do maybe 1 takeout every 2 weeks. And that’s because the teenagers beg.

Pre-covid, I was dining out or buying takeout/ready meals at least 3-4 times a week. It's not that I didn't like cooking; I was just so busy and exhausted from work plus constant personal long-haul travel (my family is scattered across three continents).

It's quite eerie. One of the New Year's resolutions I wrote down on January 1 was "cook more". You know what they say...be careful what you wish for! :p I will never go back to my previous level of dine out/takeout, having further developed my cooking skills in isolation and invested in some quality equipment (KitchenAid, Vitamix, Cuisinart food processor). I am now able to make almost everything myself, from bread to mains to desserts.

I am also about to start making my own ice cream like gaobest . I bought the Salt & Straw ice cream cookbook the other day! (I'm a big fan of Salt & Straw, as someone who spends a lot of time in the USA).

However, I do want to continue supporting local businesses, so I think I will make eating out/takeout a once a week thing. Businesses where I live (Melbourne, Australia) are doing it so tough right now - after just three weeks of semi normality, everyone was forced back into lockdown and restaurants back to takeout-only, due to our second virus wave.

big kudos. I don’t actually make ice cream - I used to go to Salt & Straw often but now I’m only buying pints and waffle cones, then preparing ice cream cones at home. So that’s the extent of my making ice cream :-)

I still don’t desire return to restaurants or carryout; my spouse wants it so we get it and I’m often quietly not thrilled. We had to get lobster roll on Sunday and yes they’re good but I didn’t get mass joy from it. Good lesson for me.
then We went to a pool on Wednesday 45 minutes N of sf, and on the drive home we had to stop at Shake Shack and I was happy to stop there while not ordering anything. I just didn’t need it. :-)

I would pay quite a lot for an In n Out or Shack burger right now. Where we've moved has pretty substandard restaurant food aside from a handful of nicer seafood restaurants. Definitely the worst part of leaving NYC.

The Bay Area is like a second home to me! One end of my family has been there for decades. I make the 15 hour journey over from Australia at least once a year. If I actually lived there, I wouldn't be able to resist going out for Japanese and Mexican food every week. Within hours of landing at SFO in mid January, I was enjoying some Ramen Nagi at Valley Fair... :D You would also frequently find me about 1 mile south of Shake Shack, at State Bird Provisions :cool: But maybe that is just the "old me" talking - I agree, nowadays I derive so much more joy from creating things in my own kitchen!

All this chat about Shake Shack has got me craving their cheese fries. Otherwise, I could also do with a bagel loaded with birthday cake cream cheese from Tompkins Square Bagels!

There's a place that gets their bagels from NY boiled and frozen then they bake them here but it's really not the same. It's also $2+ just for a plain bagel.

I've got a setup almost ready for making smashburgers and shack-esque style burgers on my grill. I got a small plancha on the way and a good smashing device ready to go.

omg I’m convinced that my grilled burgers are better than shake shack, super duper, et al - just warm the bun with melted cheese; have toppings ahead of time; etc - that’s why I didn’t want anything from shake shack or super duper. I believe in my own cooking. Like they said about Cisco in 1999, I just eat my own dog food. I wouldn’t even pay $5 for a shake shack burger.

but you’ve so much ace food in Australia - surely very high quality Japanese. I can’t speak for the mexican. And surely there’s great bagel stuff in Australia. Having read the words “yum Cha” in lianne Moriarty’s books (big little lies, three wishes), I know that the China-ethnic food must be good, probably for every mainstream region.

i still want to order Ess A Bagels but of course now lack freezer space. I also like our own Wise Sons bagels.

Thanks to those here who encouraged me to poach eggs. Mega success. Straight to Number 1

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/...recipe-2107472

I believe you about your burgers and agree in general. I consider it an absolute truth that there is currently no fast food burger that is better than a home-cooked burger done the right way. Not to say the fast food burgers don't have a time and place. I happen to like Five Guys, then Shake Shack, not a big fan of In-n-Out. But a homemade burger (preferably griddle cooked, but also great grilled) will beat them every time. And, assuming you have the ingredients on hand, it doesn't really take much more time than the restaurants.

Funny related story. In the first couple months we were first dating, I was grilling burgers for my now-wife for the first time. Knowing I was a good cook, she asked how I was going to prepare them. I said "what do you mean"? She says "my mom always puts x, y, z in her burgers and they're delicious. What do you do?"

I told her that I salt and pepper both sides. She thought I was insane and was shocked when it turned out to be one of the best she had tasted. Moral, it doesn't take a lot of time and tricks...

I think it is hard to compare a Shake Shack or Smashburger hamberder with a grilled at home hamberder....2 different things and they can both be both excellent.
One of the things that many restaurants have easy access to that I do not is the special grind of beef...the best is short rib and brisket combo. I am not doing my own at home so I can't duplicate. One restaurant even includes ground up bacon in that mix. Yum

It also depends on the blend of the meat you are using as the more fat in it, the better the taste. I also only use salt and pepper in a 2:1 blend (I have a shaker that I premix in) on a 80/20 blend of ground beef while grilling (actually use a George Forman grill) and the flavor is great.

nice job Teddy Bear. I’m impressed.
i agree about fewer ingredients - for myself, it’s 85/15 or 80/20 ground beef. I melt cheddar on bunny buns in the toaster oven. Then for the beef, I’ll add more sliced cheese for the final minute.
so our child just gets ground beef, cheese, and bunny bun.
Those rare times I have it, I’ll add pickle and ketchup.
I’m very simple and am very crushed to respectfully not refer to a special person as a name I shan’t say. Sigh.

I’m also really obsessed with the term kipper kissing. Sigh.

That blend is great for burgers!

What exactly are bunny buns? Rabbit butts?