Fred McGriff's Top 5 Foodstuffs to Spend Extra Money On

I found a pho place by my son's taekwondo place... I'll stroll up in there one day to scope it out!

i still haven't found a pho place near me at all. there should be an online pho locator.

  On 1/4/2012 at 5:16 PM, Fred McGriff said:

2. Salt. Get good salt. Maldon salt is my favorite. 8 bucks a box and the box will last months. Basic food tastes so much better with coarser, higher quality salt.

Oh yeah. I was actually going to recommend Maldon salt but you it would seem that you know what's up.

my mom gave me beef pho seasoning packets for christmas :)

Bacon should have made the list. Quality bacon (not necessarily expensive, but quality) is totally worth it. Cutting up slab bacon and frying it has made for some of the best mornings I've ever had.

  On 1/5/2012 at 4:18 PM, Fred McGriff said:

  On 1/5/2012 at 4:09 PM, acid1 said:

Pho

 

disagree. I had a bowl of haute pho once, it was 20 bucks and not really that great. I'll stick with my 6 dollar vat of hole-in-the-wall pho. so good and lacking nothing.

You spent 20 bucks on pho? Thats insane.

I do think there is many ways you can completely mess up Pho, and the cheap places do this far too often. Around here, there is a place you can get a 4 dollar bowl of pho and another place that has a 9 dollar bowl of pho.

Things to consider with your bowl of pho:

1) Level of oil - Some places use far too much oil, usually to make up for lack of quality

2) Clarity of broth - A well made pho has a clear broth and is flavorful, a bad place will make squid ink out of meat chunks.

3) Garnishes - Places will skimp out on garnishes. If you don't have mint, basil, lime wedge, jalapenos, and bean sprouts, its not worth it

4) Quality of the meat- Some places will not tenderize their meat or use extremely thin sliced meat to make up for quality.

5) Green onions - Some places will put 1-2 slivers of green onions per bowl, where other people will provide a healthy amount.

The 4 dollar place I mentioned above fails in pretty much all 5 of these categories whereas the 9 dollar bowl of pho excels. I will not settle for less when it comes to the nectar of the gods. You should not either Fred, I'm concerned about you.

  On 1/5/2012 at 6:34 PM, Fred McGriff said:

my mom gave me beef pho seasoning packets for christmas :)

Those Pho packets won't cut it - you really need to go through the laborious process of making the broth to get quality Pho.

It's only good if you make the broth with the bones of your vanquished enemies

  On 1/5/2012 at 9:49 PM, baph said:

It's only good if you make the broth with the bones of your vanquished enemies

Indeed... indeed! And I've got quite a SUPply now... almost at it's MAXimum - more than enough to fill three hats.

Wait, Max was banned?

I'm going to lol have a cry about that lol

  On 1/5/2012 at 9:53 PM, baph said:

Wait, Max was banned?

 

I'm going to lol have a cry about that lol

Maximus Mischief...

I have family in Maldon, Maldon salt is where it's at.

Also good bacons is GOOD! We have a pork butchers (what's with that?? think it's a Yorkshire thang!) and the bacon is fantastic.

  On 1/5/2012 at 9:53 PM, Joyrex said:

  On 1/5/2012 at 9:53 PM, baph said:

Wait, Max was banned?

 

I'm going to lol have a cry about that lol

 

Maximus Mischief...

Is there another Max? (besides sup, lol)

The german guy with the beret? Mosca's buttbuddy, who did minimal techno outta Berlin? Max Marlow.....

nah... he just doesn't post anymore. Last I heard from him he posted on my soundcloud about a year ago.

Pho by definition should be so cheap its virtually free, out of a bucket in a street in Vietnam with dogs nearby watching

  On 1/5/2012 at 9:59 PM, baph said:

  On 1/5/2012 at 9:53 PM, Joyrex said:

  On 1/5/2012 at 9:53 PM, baph said:

Wait, Max was banned?

 

I'm going to lol have a cry about that lol

 

Maximus Mischief...

 

Is there another Max? (besides sup, lol)

omg lol

this thread was an instant upgrade to my day

  On 1/5/2012 at 9:47 PM, Joyrex said:

  On 1/5/2012 at 6:34 PM, Fred McGriff said:

my mom gave me beef pho seasoning packets for christmas :)

 

Those Pho packets won't cut it - you really need to go through the laborious process of making the broth to get quality Pho.

way to take a shit on a thoughtful christmas present from my mother.

  On 1/5/2012 at 9:51 PM, Joyrex said:

  On 1/5/2012 at 9:49 PM, baph said:

It's only good if you make the broth with the bones of your vanquished enemies

 

Indeed... indeed! And I've got quite a SUPply now... almost at it's MAXimum - more than enough to fill three hats.

this may very well be the greatest thing posted in WATMM history.

over the holidays i've been buying my meat and fish from my local butcher and fishmonger - don't usually have the time to... it kicks supermarket pre-packed meat and fish arse... costs a fortune but compare some fishmonger fresh seabass or monkfsh to that other shit and you'll never go back. if it came down to it i'd happily get budget everything else just so i could get decent meat and fish cos you can't save shite meat and fish with fancy salt.

would hate to ruin it with shite salt though

im curious about this maldon salt. i have been using this crap

  On 1/6/2012 at 3:35 PM, Fred McGriff said:

would hate to ruin it with shite salt though

yeah i suppose you have a point. i've just been cooking some awesome butcher and fishmonger goods lately.

on a semi-related note...

i got £30 vouchers for a dept store i didn't know what to do with so on a whim i got a half decent chef's knife. previously we'd only ever had cheapo ikea knives. holy shit what a difference! cuts like a lazer! i can't wait to get home and chop stuff up and my knife skills have improved loads. got to be really careful though cos this thing could easily take my finger tips off.

tauboo's top extra effort when cooking things that can also involve extra money but not always

1. fresh ginger, garlic, nutmeg, chillies, lemon grass, herbs, etc. dried can be OK for chillies, oregano, thyme (to a lesser extent) but don't waste money on dry basil, coriander, parsley, chives, etc... it's like buying dried cabbage or something. not right. try and move somewhere that has a bay tree, very useful. rosemary seems to do well without attention so grow that if you can.

2. whole spices.. toast and pestle and mortar the fuck out of that shit.. you don't have to get every spice, like you might as well have ground cinnamon for example. consider how much you love fleshly ground pepper corns compared to the powder. yes.

to be continued