FRIDAY FOOD THING
(Summer, 2008?)
A new PIT STOP convenience-store-gas-pump-place has recently opened nearby, alongside the Food Lion grocery store, which is now several years old; I hate to admit it, but Lake Gaston commerce is growing — not quickly in leaps in bounds, but — in tiny baby steps. The new Pit Stop is a very spacious convenience store, complete with a row of 12 or so gas pumps, and a walk-in beer cooler, which is becoming a refreshing meeting place for local traffic. Sometimes, after filling up my vehicle with ga$ while chatting with the next door pump-mate about this and that, I slip inside the beer cooler just for the thrill of stepping from a 100-degree day into a frosty, living room-sized ice box. More often than not, the persons with whom I was chatting it up at the pumps are in there, too, admiring the stacked cases of beer, pretending befuddlement about beer selection just like I do as we cool down.
“Nice weather, isn’t it?” I ask. After a while — when our lips begin to turn blue and our teeth are on the verge of rattling, one by one we shrug our shoulders and step out of the cooler.
All of which, as you already know, has absolutely nothing to do Pit Stops and coleslaw…
One day (after perusing the beer for a longer than normal period of time), I decided to warm up a bit with the purchase of two chili dogs, one of my all-time weaknesses. “Light on the chili,” I said. “Heavy on the onions.”
“You want coleslaw on those?” asked the little-old-lady clerk.
“Huh?” I grunted, not particularly liking coleslaw and being somewhat of a hot dog purist — and because my brain cells were still battling beer cooler-induced hypothermic ice crystals. I made a face. “Why would anyone want to put COLESLAW on chili dogs?” I asked, incredulously.
“Child,” she said, “folks been puttin’ slaw on chili dogs long before you were in diapers. Coleslaw on dogs is some kind of — magic.”
“You mean, like a peanut butter and banana sandwich?”
She made a face of her own. We looked at each other for a few seconds. “Tell you what,” I said. “I’ll put coleslaw on a chili dog after you’ve tried a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Fluff the banana into the peanut butter with a fork. It’s some kind of — magic.”
“Deal,” she said, and we both laughed. “Next time you come in here I’ll let you know.”
“Deal.”
I sat down at a table and ate my two chili dogs. I will be back for more. Perhaps with a dab of coleslaw.
The absolute, very best cole slaw dressing in the universe is Cain’s Tartar Sauce. I know, I know – sure sounds icky, doesn’t it!?! But it’s really great! Try it!
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Funny you should mention that. The other night I was eating fish — one of my favorite foods. I like lemon slices and tartar sauce served with my fish. I had made some light mac and cheese as a side dish. Somewhere along the way, some of the tartar sauce got mixed in with a forkful of the mac and cheese. I tell you what — the tartar sauce and mac and cheese blend tasted really good together. I was surprised. An unforeseen magic meld. I’m sure to most folks this sounds a bit icky, too. But my taste buds know better.
I have not yet tried Cain’s Tartar Sauce, but I do know that every brand of tartar sauce is different. WAY different. And some of them are so different I don’t like them at all. (Mom used to put a dollop of tartar sauce in scrambled eggs.) Like me, Mom was fearless when it came to mixing up foods. So was Dad — he used to layer his pancakes with sunny side-up eggs, and a thin smear of peanut butter, and maple syrup. We all yukked and made faces when he sawed through a stack and the egg yolk came rushing out. (Recently, I have begun trying chunky peanut butter in lots of different foods and recipes. But that is another story altogether.)
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Woo Hoo… Tims back.. These are the stories I like to read from Tim..
Don’t stray away…..
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A hot dog is not a hot dog without slaw and onions. I like mustard, onions and slaw on them. You should try the slaw.
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Oh yes! Boil a hot dog or two and steam your buns (or the hot dog buns) then put a slice or two of swiss cheese on the buns, add the hog dogs and top off with some creamy coleslaw and if you are really ambitious, some diced sweet gherkin pickles. YUM YUM YUM And this suggestion is coming to you from a gal who loves chili dogs with EXTRA onions and a dollop of yellow mustard. Try it!
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Try the slaw. It’s a NC thing. Can’t get it here in KY. They look at you like you did to the clerk when she asked you if you wanted it if you ask for it here. I miss NC.
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