i'm not really too hungry right now, but thanks for asking

Here are some BAM(H)! POW! SOB! questions about food!!!!!

20. Why does Hot Dog World have the best Greek salad in the world?
I have never had the Greek salad at Hot Dog World. Hot Dog World is a restaurant in Hendersonville, where Brad and Mary Henry live. In the Candler/Asheville area, we have Hot Dog King, and I do not believe that they serve Greek salad.

But I guess I don’t understand how anyone ever tried the Greek salad at Hot Dog World in the first place. Even if I were to visit Hot Dog World, knowing that they have a really good Greek salad, it would be hard for me to turn down the hot dogs. Because hot dogs are so delicious, and this is their world! If I were in a place called Greek Salad World (a.k.a. Greece), I certainly wouldn’t order hot dogs!

But I did learn a valuable lesson about not judging restaurants by their appearances the other day. In Asheville, there’s this restaurant that’s essentially attached to a gas station, and in most circumstances, that would lead me to say, “ewwwww.” But we went to this restaurant the other day, and I had a very delicious Cuban sandwich. The delicious food at this restaurant attached to a gas station taught me that maybe I need to get past any stereotypes that I might hold in relation to food. This would include ordering a Greek salad even if I am in a place devoted to hot dogs.

But I think the original question is moot because Apollo Flame in Asheville has the best Greek salad in the world.

21. Ice cream...some days you need mix-ins, some days you don't
One time after we ate dinner, BAM(H)! and I went to Marble Slab, which is one of those places where you pick an ice cream and some mix-ins, such as fruit or candy, and they mash it all up together for you. These places have different names all across the country, and dare I say, the world.

Sometimes ice cream with mix-ins is a really nice treat. You can feel kind of like a mad scientist or a culinary genius as you pick your combinations. But sometimes I would just rather have ice cream as-is. This is probably due to the fact that there are already many wonderful pre-packaged ice creams, including moose tracks and mint chocolate chip. So it’s hard to improve a good thing. But there are two problems that I sometimes have with mix-in ice cream: 1. Sometimes the mix-ins get frozen. This leads to things like hard M&M’s or rock-solid gummy bears. 2. Sometimes after they mix all the things together, the ice cream is a little runny, like it has lost some consistency. That said, some days I do enjoy getting ice cream with mix-ins. Some days, I don’t.

22. What’s with the Japanese steakhouses that do not employ Japanese cooks? I mean they should at least be Asian.
This question probably derives from a conversation I had with BAM(H) that recounted an office Christmas party I attended recently at a Japanese steakhouse. The kind where the guy slices and dices and sets things on fire, and you don’t even have to chat with other people at your table because you can just watch someone cooking. Except we had just some regular guy whose show was kind of mediocre, but everyone was still very quiet, probably because they were still going to wait for something to be set on fire, Japanese guy or no. What was with this Japanese steakhouse that did not employ Japanese cooks? BAM(H) and I pondered. I mean, they should at least be Asian.

In the time since that office party, I have come to a few hypotheses:
-We are having an immigration problem in this country. I had not heard that it was affecting Asians, but perhaps it is.
-There are actually not many Asian people in this part of the country.
-Maybe a person just wants a job where they don’t have to set something on fire every day.

I’ve also been wondering why we don’t use that white sauce at Japanese restaurants more often. I mean, I’d put that stuff on a hamburger and be happy as a duck. Or on nachos or something. Today I asked my youngest brother, who loves that sauce, if he’d be interested in a restaurant where every dish involved the sauce. He said no, which was sort of a surprise to me. Anyways. Here’s an interesting website that someone has taken the time to put together: http://www.japanese-steakhouse-white-sauce.com/